13th November 2022

 At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, I observed two minutes silence to remember those who fell in both world wars. I also remembered the ten members of my own family who died during my lifetime. Yesterday I attended an annual commemoration of those from Birmingham who fell, including in the Holocaust. I found the sermon interesting as it conflated fresh bread and mature wine with the young complementing the old. Each age has a role to play in life, supporting and respecting the other. I was therefore not amused to read about food retailer KFC’s ‘push’ article, pitching its chicken to German customers, of all people (!),  celebrating Kristallnacht. Fortunately, the message caused outrage everywhere, so KFC has since apologised, citing its ‘push’ program, based on some sort of algorithm.  I know I am now old and that many young people say we should forget the past. No! No! No! It’s only by remembering what happened that we can hope to avoid it in the future. The only ‘push’ I want to see, whatever your age, is a push towards mutual respect and global peace.