We shall remember them

Despite being in Bruges yesterday, we saw surprisingly little in the way of formal events, although there was a glorious peal of bells from all directions from 11am onwards. A couple of lovely ceramic poppy displays graced the canal sides and I got a bit emotional when we heard a piper playing Highland Cathedral.





But the main thing that touched me was the port of Zeebrugge itself. Looking at the harbour mouth, the canal and the moles, thinking of the suicidal Zeebrugge raids. Is this where the ships came in? Was that where Arthur Harrison led his men?



As with the many installations around this country - 'ghost soldiers' in churchyards or on sporting pitches or by village signs - we are seeing this conflict in terms of the past co-existing or interlaying the present.