Flowers for a hero

It occurred to me recently that florists in America and across Europe have probably seen a marked increase in requests for flowers and particularly for arrangements of flowers that spell out the name of a loved one.

Floral tributes such as DAD, SON, and even DAUGHTER are becoming an all too regular image in the daily news bulletins that feature the repatriation of our brave troops returning from Afghanistan. Last time I checked the figures on the internet there had been 1,465 coalition casualties – and sadly, this figure has continued to grow.

Tributes of flowers are usually only placed by the family and close friends of the deceased. They are an attractive way of expressing love and sympathy. I remember when my daughter Naomi was still born - her funeral service was as fragrant as a heavenly flower garden.

At the service her name 'N A O M I' stood in centre place - made with beautiful white flowers.

(SEE PHOTOGRAPH AT BOTTOM OF PAGE)

The flowers at funerals always die and wither quite quickly, but the image, scent, and colourful display is a vivid memory that can be revisited in the future - and often the most pleasant one that we retain from the dreadful day we officially say goodbye to a loved one.

It is usually very difficult to put feelings into words at a funeral and flowers are probably the best visual expression of love, sympathy, and respect.

I have noticed that the funerals we are seeing on the television are becoming more and more public as hundreds of people show support and sympathy for the families who are losing their loved ones at War. Many people send flowers anonymously on these sad occasions while others simply throw single flowers as the hearse passes by.

I was in London in August 2003 when Princess Diana died and I will never forget the phenomenal sight of hundreds of thousands of flowers placed close to Kensington Palace. The scent of those flowers permeated the streets of London for miles around. Days after returning home, I could smell the sweet scent of a mixed bouquet in my clothing. I did not know Princess Diana but the flowers gave me a deep sense of the sad loss experienced by thousands of people across the world.

I would like to encourage you, the reader of this Hubpage, to send flowers, perhaps anonymously, to the next military funeral in your area. I believe your flowers will help to create a lasting memory for the family while showing that we really do appreciate what the coalition forces are doing on our behalf.

Flowers will never die in the memory of bereaved families because they can be recalled in the future as indelible memories. They can act as a reminder that every life given to the greater cause is valued and that strangers who care genuinely shared the loss.

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