It feels kinda weird not to be opening mountains of mail each week at PHQ these days (sometimes in excess of 5000 poppies at a sitting), now that our poppy collection is all but complete. And it is so quiet with everyone totally focused on the assembly stage of our AWM installation … 62,000 stems to be assembled. And while we are well and truly oversubscribed on poppies, we are also working to ensure that everyone is represented at the AWM installation to commemorate the Centenary of the end of the Great War on Remembrance Day in November as best we can.
For the remaining poppies (and there are many) I have mentioned that we are also creating a number of additional large scale installations for Remembrance Day … the wheels are moving slowly but we will give you more news on these when we can … Suffice to say they are exciting and we are looking forward to being able to unveil our plans to you in due course.
Our motto is and always has been “no poppy left behind” so we are working hard to incorporate every single poppy into one or another of our installations. It’s a big big task, but we think we are up to it.
So while we may be a little quiet on social media and the blog … be assured that the teams at PHQ (East Malvern RSL Vic), Mornington, Gippsland and Canberra are working away to complete our stunning installations of love, honour and respect for those who have served and sacrificed, their families and their communities.
And, just as exciting, there are many who are working on local installations for their own towns all across Australia, not to mention the many other places around the globe will be covered in a sea poppies come November.
LEST WE FORGET!
5000 POPPIES 
If only I lived closer….but I am going to do something special for Mackay. I have already knitted 349 poppies to acknowledge each soldier who came from the Mackay and district area who were killed in the First World War. Marie Williams