Has it been that long ….

I guess it has been that long.  But SOOOOOO much has been happening!

We currently have around 40,000 poppies in our hands at poppy headquarters with many thousands set to arrive in the months after Remembrance Day. And … ostensibly only 22 more weeks of poppy making ( but we hope to have the bulk LONG before then) before all poppies are due to be delivered to us in Melbourne.

We have so many new groups joining including schools, libraries even whole towns, and we are sure we will make over 100,000 beautiful handmade poppies and Marg and I are delighted that you will all be such an important part of this wonderful Project.  Workshops are happening all over the country … and collection points are springing up everywhere … so keep your eye out on the blog or the facebook group for news in these areas.  Basically the whole nation is embracing this amazing project and we are thrilled.

Phillip Johnson and his team have been working hard on a concept for the project.  He has asked me to gently encourage the poppy team to greater aspirations and to keep making.

Western Australia is excited about having the display in WA for Remembrance Day 2015 and we are actively looking to where after that but our hope is for it to go to all Australian capital cities throughout the duration of the centenary and then to as many of the regions as we can accommodate.  That obviously depends on where the funding for transport comes from so still a lot to work out.

We are in the process of putting together a fundraising video to go to the crowd for funding to mount the Fed Square display.  Obviously this wonderful project has grown well beyond our initial expectations and consequently it will not be a simple “field” as we had initially envisaged.  So we need to raise funds to do it justice.  More about that soon. And we are about to approach the War Memorial again but from a different perspective this time about the possibility of a long term display and see where that takes us.

There is so much more happening … but I’ll keep some of it under wraps for a little while longer until we have fleshed out the detail.

Don’t forget that there are so many Centenary projects happening all around Australia … check your local Centenary Committee for details.  In Victoria has the First Convoy Commemoration in Melbourne on 19 October.   We will be mounting a display at the Melbourne service and also be there to collect poppies and maybe even make one or two …. and to meet those who come along.  If you are Victorian based and want to attend, you need to book tickets.   There will also be First Convoy Commemorations in Albany Western Australia from 31 October to 2 November which will feature a huge amount of poppies from the 5000 Poppies Project.  Can’t wait to see the pics of that.

So my poppy friends … keep making … but even more so … keep enjoying making.

Lynn & Marg.