11 November: Poppies

Poppies are the symbol of remembrance, of all those killed in wars, in particular the First World War which ended on this date in 1918. Here are ten things you might not know about poppies.

1. The variety of poppy associated with Remembrance Day is the common field poppy or Papaver Rhoeas. It's not the only variety - there are more than 70 others, and they're not all red. Some are white, lilac, Yellow, violet or blue. Different strains you might find growing in a garden include Shirley, Iceland, California, Himalayan and Welsh.
2. There is a lot of symbolism attatched to poppies. As well as remembering the fallen in wars, they also symbolise sleep, death, rest and recovery, imagination, resurrection and eternal life, beauty, success, peace, extravagance, luxury and messages in Dreams. In Greek mythology poppies were associated with Demeter, goddess of agriculture.
3. The common field poppy is often one of the first wild flowers to grow in abandoned areas or fallow fields, since their seeds can remain active in the soil for up to eight years. After corn fields were churned up by the battles of the first world war, when the war ended, the poppies grew on those fields in abundance, which is one reason it came to symbolise those who fell in the war. John McRae's poem, In Flanders Fields did a lot to associate poppies with remembrance.
4. However, it wasn't the first time the poppy has been associated with such things. In the Iliad, poppies are mentioned in connection with the untimely death of a young prince.
5. During the 1920s, Poppy became a popular girl's name, especially for girls born in November. By WWII, however, its popularity had waned. It has seen a revival in recent years and was the 13th most popular name for girls in England and Wales in 2012.
6. Opium poppies have been used as medicine since ancient times. Poppy seeds were found in Egyptian tombs. Eating poppy seeds was prescribed by doctors in ancient times for pain relief, and it is from these plants that the modern drugs morphine, codeine and heroin derive. Eating poppy seeds, even completely innocently when they're in buns or cakes, can result in a positive drugs test. Poppy seeds are even banned in some places, like Singapore.
7. The arms of the Royal College of Anaesthetists features opium poppies. The idea that they can put a person to sleep is reinforced in the film Wizard of Oz when the characters are in danger of falling asleep forever in a poppy field.
8. Remembrance poppies are designed so they can be made with one hand, so that veterans who'd lost a hand or arm could make them.
9. Poppies appear on currency in Canada and North Macedonia. It also features on North Macedonia's coat of arms. In Albania, the poppy is an unofficial national flower, because it is similar in colour to the Albanian flag. The California poppy is the state flower of California.
10. White poppies have come to symbolise pacifism and Black ones the campaign to end world poverty.

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Terry Kennedy is inexplicably and inexorably drawn to the small town of Fiveswood as a place to live and work after university. He is sure he has never visited the town before, but when he arrives there, it seems oddly familiar.

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