Does your lapel have poppy appeal?

  I have a soft spot for Remembrance Sunday, which makes me think of paper poppies on duffle coats, misty mornings, Taps played on a bugle, Michael Foot in his donkey jacket at the Cenotaph and increasingly old men blinking back tears before sinking pints down the Legion. What it doesn’t make me think of is Swarovski crystals, X Factor and glittery earrings, but a combination of that has just made the Remembrance Poppy a covetable must-have accessory which is selling out faster than a 3DS on Christmas Eve. The cufflinks and enamel poppy wreath badge sold out days ago, and don’t even think about trying to get your hands on the over the top Queen Mother style poppy corsage. There’s something lovely about teenagers cherishing and coveting this symbol of the futility of war, even if they do need to wrap it in diamante and crystals. What’s not so great is Googling British Legion poppies, and being sent straight to eBay with the reassuring tag line  “Find  it cheaper on eBay”. Er is it me or is that sooooo not the point? Have you been tempted into buying a poppy with bling or are you happy to do it the old-fashioned way and buy a new one every day outside the school gate as you struggle with a pin a poppy and a trombone? Let me know by posting a comment.