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Should poppy sales be all year round?
Rupa Huq, Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Ealing Central and Acton, joined Roy Bartlett - one of the legion of poppy sellers - raising money this year.
As remembrance season draws to an end on the 11th, the sight of poppy sellers on Ealing’s streets ends for another year. The selfless folk bearing collection tins and boxes of paper poppies at various sites around the borough are out in all weathers every year but often we don’t get an insight into their own stories or experiences so last week I joined ex service-man Roy Bartlett from the Argyle Road area of W13 at his pitch by the entrance to Waitrose in West Ealing. Roy has been a regular at this time of year in the store for many years. It’s 2pm when we start and a steady stream of shoppers come by. The type of poppy on offer has widened this year from the traditional pin one to an adhesive sticker variant (popular with children) and larger plastic version. It’s a tad chilly by the store entrance but Roy has a good vantage point and is well positioned seated in his motability scooter. The staff are nothing if not accommodating – offering warm drinks to Roy and me. “You’ll have me going to the toilet!” jokes Roy aged 84 refusing the offer. He has an infectious smile that many cannot resist, donating even when they are already donning the distinctive red paper flowers in their lapels. Bartlett is a multi-faceted character: ex-RAF, lifelong Ealing resident and grand-dad. He sports a clutch of medals gained from National Service to what he calls “the cold war”, a term not often heard these days. He spent the second world war living over his parents hardware shop in South Ealing Road until evacuation to near High Wycombe which he admits isn’t far away by modern standards. Roy told me that we’ll have to wait until the Spring to know this year’s precise total but whatever the figure it was a honour to have lent a hand to fundraising for such a worthwhile cause. Indeed there may even be an argument to keep up efforts all year-long rather than just the 14 days around poppy day. Rupa Huq
10th November 2014 |