So here we are near the end of the year and in a month where we are charged to remember what has happened and use that to shape the future we wish to create. Bonfire night, Remembrance day, Armistice day, the list goes on. In a year in which there have been claims to remove reminders of the past as part of learning from it, these days are set to keep reminding us of what has happened.
These are days have come about due to 1 set of people calling another “other” and treating them accordingly. But what do you remember? For me I remember the pain which caused loss, the families missing people and the rebuilding which was needed to restore hope and a future. This year the remembrance service at the Cenotaph in London was very true; unable to have the usual crowds, there were only a few people there, with large gaps in between. Gaps which, for me, showed all those were no longer able to be there, no longer able to be part of anything. In such as year as this, where numbers of those who have died are shown daily in the media, these gaps show far more than maybe faces ever could (you can search engine 2020 for the pictures).
So how do you remember? I have photos, but I also have items. A very good friend just died and I remember her with her plants she had loved and with some gnomes I have just found, as we used to joke about them in her garden. I am moving house and, although some changes are needed to accommodate the 21st century, I want to keep as much original in the house as possible. The Jews used to use stones in piles or heaps as reminders, paintings were often commissioned as reminders and then statues. For the many, it was a lock of hair, before photos were commonplace, check out the story of Grace Darling! So people did not need to be dead to be remembered or to want to keep them close to your heart. Although I have set hair and fur as memoriam jewellery, I have also set it in jewellery for a mother’s day gift. This year I have been really reminded of this jewellery, as I am not able to see family very often in real life and friends even less and have sought a way to hold them close to me. How do you hold people close to you when you are apart? I think this next year will be even more important to hold each other together. If I can help you with your task, please ask. If you can help me, please do. I was also asked this by The Great British Bounce Back last month. Although the quote has been added to, I was quoted about memoriam jewellery here https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/small-business-reactions-lockdown-two-covid19-coronavirus-124644128.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9sLmZhY2Vib29rLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIPHY-Y2VRG8Xmg3ttfsYMfSQUMLh-_t1ioKQZ2eobG8iQdt2k1Qn3Rgp0v-VkWc_6AxYAO0xkDziy5AC67eVv-mvkFbEQ7ycEDaldL7CWmPJHxlaXEhbD2W7HPvg2BNECMCO_G7Z7Wrb_FzmpkWBCmI4IAmNg4nlE0kvO8Q_qCQ