Twelve Days of a Green & Ethical Christmas
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Twelve ways to have a green and ethical Christmas
I love Christmas, and I have published another lens about our family Christmas but it also makes me feel more than a little uneasy when I see the waste that is generated and which then has to be disposed of. We recycle as much as we can. Anything that is not collected as part of the normal local authority recycling collection is carefully sorted and taken to our local waste disposal site.
No one person, government, country or continent can reverse the damage being done to the world. It is up to every single one of us to take some responsibility. There's so many tips I could have included in this lens. These tips are not necessarily the ones that I think are the most important, some aren't even my favourites, they are just the ones I happened to choose.
Please take a look and make a promise to yourself that you will do just one of these things. If you already do some of them, then choose a new one. And let's all make another small step to changing those habits of a lifetime that need to be changed.
And while you are doing that, have a very, very Happy Christmas!
01 December 2008
The Muppets and John Denver at Christmas
This lens is NOT like this!
John Denver & The Muppets - 12 Days of Christmas
John Denver & The Muppets singing 12 Days of Christmas from the 1979 A Christmas Together holiday special.
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A turkey in a pear tree
Did you know that when not forced to live in cruel, cramped, filthy conditions in factory farms, turkeys spend their days caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dustbaths, preening their feathers and roosting high in trees and it could even be a pear tree.
According to the British Turkey website 10 million units of turkey were sold over Christmas 2007 in the UK. Each year 300 million turkeys are slaughtered annually in the USA (source GoVeg.com).
What these statistics do not tell you is how the majority of these turkeys were reared. For factory farmed turkeys, for 5 - 6 months life consists of trying to exist in an area barely bigger than the roasting tin in which they will eventually be cooked.
Compassion in World Farming believes that no animal should be factory reared and scores UK supermarkets on their meat production policies. Check out their website to see how well your favourite supermarket is doing and where you can buy meat that has been farmed ethically and compassionately.
If you are going to have turkey at Christmas, or Thanksgiving, then buy one that is free range. Or you could always have a Vegetarian Christmas. Look at the alternative to turkey that Pamela Anderson was promoting in 2007 on behalf of GoVeg.com.
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two Tote Bags
According to The World Watch Institute, between 5 and 6 TRILLION plastic bags were produced around the world in 2002. Plastic bags do horrendous damage to wildlife and the environment. But all over the world many stores still insist on handing them out. As shoppers, we have the power to put a stop to this by refusing to accept them.So do the world a favour! If you don't have a tote bag, put it on your Christmas list. Then do the world a bigger favour and give them as gifts to your friends.
There is a fantastic selection of purses and tote bags at Ethical Superstore
Tote bags on CafePress
Sunflower Tote Bag
Price: 17.49 
Peace Sign Tote Bag
Price: 17.49
Tote Bag
Price: 15.00
Go Green Tote Bag
Price: 27.95
More info about shopping bags
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Plastic Bags Should Be Banned In All Stores
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Plastic Bags Should Be Banned In All Stores Somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. At the supermarket check out you are given a choice - paper or plastic? The answer should be 'Neither thank you I...
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Earth-Friendly Shopping Bags You Can Make
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An easy-to-make crocheted bag that is earth-friendly and convenient to use. The instructions are here for you. This pattern is a quick make-it-in-a-few-hours project. After making a couple, you begin to see how you can alter the pattern to make a ba...
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Plastic bag alternatives
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Facts, figures, recycling ideas, alternative bags, alternative uses, valuable resources and links Each year the world uses 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags. The US accounts for about 380 billions. As shocking as this is, it's even more shockin...
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three "Green" cards
According to the Royal Mail, in the UK we send over 75,000,000 (yes seventy five million) Christmas cards each year. In the USA, according to a question asked on Yahoo, it is 1.9 billion. In 2008 the UK organisation the Woodland Trust launched an appeal to recycle 100 million cards, so that 24,000 trees could be planted.
You can do your bit by either buying recycled cards, or make new cards out of the cards you received last year. And if you don't fancy any arts and crafts, please make sure you put any unwanted cards in for recycling at your local waste disposal centre or at the shops that offer the facility.
In the UK you can buy ethically produced Christmas cards from
Recycled cards
More designs are available on Amazon
From Our Home to Yours (Holiday Boxed Cards - 100% Recycled Paper)
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
People of Earth Join in Peace (Boxed Cards - 100% Recycled Paper)
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
Snowman Under Mistletoe (Holiday Boxed Cards - 100% Recycled Paper)
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
Holiday Giraffe (Holiday Boxed Cards - 100% Recycled Paper)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
Angels in Blue (Holiday Boxed Cards - 100% Recycled Paper)
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
Someone else who believes in recycling Christmas cards
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Recycle It! Greeting Cards
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Everyone loves to receive postcards, and greeting cards for special occasions. They're simple, thoughtful, and beautiful - especially Christmas and holiday cards. They're so memorable and nice, that many people hold on to their greeting cards for yea...
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Four soap nuts
Going "eco-friendly" often involves more expense but Soapnuts are very economical to use and a lot cheaper than normal detergents and fabric conditioners. I have seen estimates ranging from savings of between 50% - 75%.Four soap nuts is usually enough to wash 3 family loads of coloured clothing. Buy a bag to try yourself, buy a bag to give to friends - they come in various sizes - the soapnuts, I mean, not your friends! Put a small bag in Christmas Stockings.
Go on, go nuts!
UK Suppliers
More information on Soapnuts
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Soapnuts - The Environmentally Friendly & Natural Cleaner
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Soapnuts are one of the best "ecosoaps" on the planet! They are an environmentally friendly, natural and cheap alternative to commercial detergents, which are easy to use in the home. We have four children and like many parents, my husband and I are...
Buy Soapnuts
Maggie's Soap Nuts 20 load tub
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
Maggie's Soap Nuts. (50 Loads) 100% Natural Laundry Soap. Grows on TreesTM.
Amazon Price: $17.09 (as of 07/06/2009)
Maggie's Soap Nuts. (1 Kilo, 200+ Loads) 100% Natural Laundry Soap. Grows on TreesTM.
Amazon Price: $34.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
Maggie's Soap Nuts. (20 Loads) 100% Natural Laundry Soap. Grows on TreesTM.
Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Five Gold Stars
Five gold stars? Well isn't that one of the best presents anyone can get on Squidoo?According to Observer Magazine, some 140,000 tonnes of gold are stored in bank vaults worldwide, while just 2,500 tonnes of "new" gold is mined each year.
While old gold is hoarded or languishes unused in the bottom of countless jewellry boxes, mining this quantity of "new" gold causes a disproportionate amount of ecological chaos. The "carbon footprint", or should I say "gold footprint", of an average gold ring includes around 18 tonnes of waste and 5 tonnes of water. In drought ridden Honduras, a large gold mine will draw around 220 gallons of water per minute. As for the human cost, between 1990 and 1998 more than 30,000 people were displaced by gold mining.
In the USA Wal-Mart now sells more gold than anyone else. Once again the solution is in the hands of the consumer. As long as YOU keep buying it then Wal-Mart will keep selling it.
Greenkarat, not only sells ethically produced jewellry in the USA, they will make rings for you from gold donated by you, your friends and family - what a great way to recycle all those broken gold chains!
In the UK Fifi Bijoux say "We source the gold for our jewellery exclusively from fair trading, co-operative mines with eco-sustainabilty and environmental stewardship. We only purchase gold from small scale, artisanal mines."
The antique gold necklace is available from
If you need more convincing about buying ethical gold.....
........then read this lens
This lens by Mortira is brilliant!-
The Truth About Gold
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Although environmental awareness grows stronger everyday, one area that is continually ignored is the impact of precious stones and metals. In particular, the lure of gold slips under the radar of most eco-conscious people. The price of gold has rise...
Antique gold for ladies on ebay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Mens antique gold on ebay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byOn the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Six nanny goats......
Heifer International believes that a holistic approach is necessary in order to build sustainable communities. In 2007 Heifer had 867 active projects in 53 countries/provinces and 28 sates in the USA.
Heifer projects around the world help families achieve self-reliance through the gift of livestock and training. Each recipient of an animal pledges to give back to their own community one of the offspring of each animal they receive to a neighbour in need and in this way whole communities can be transformed.
Add your Environmentally Friendly lenses here
And they do not have to just be about Christmas
1
Soapnuts - The Environmentally Friendly & Natural Cleaner
Have you heard of Soapnuts, the environmentally fr more...1 point
2
Janey Lee Grace
Janey is a UK expert in the field of 'natural' liv more...1 point
3
The Environment Lensography
A lensography of the best lenses about pollution, more...1 point
4
Severn Suzuki - a famous environmental video: where is she now?
She's full of fire about the environment. She spok more...1 point
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15 Simple Ways to Prevent Global Warming
There are many ways to become eco-friendly. It's n more...1 point
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7
Green Toys for Safe Play
No the toys are not green - well not in color that more...1 point
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Inexpensive Eco-Friendly Christmas
With these difficult economic and ecological times more...0 points
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A Green Dog Christmas!
There are over 74 million dogs in the US, and you more...0 points
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The Organic Garden
Welcome to The Organic Garden, my name is Lauren, more...0 points
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The Big Green Help
Yes it is true Nickelodeon is helping to promote g more...0 points
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Increase Your Green Consciousness
Consider the following: Going green is the most im more...0 points
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I'm Going Green Are You
I created this lens to focus on Going Green. It's more...0 points
Santa's Carbon Footprint
More stats to make you sit up and take notice
Santa's Carbon Footprint
He's fat, he's jolly...but is he green? Hop on a satirical sleigh ride to discover the true environmental impact of St. Nick. Rudolph's got the dirt, and he's ready to dish.
What do you think?
Should we worry about the environmental impact of Christmas
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes, we are concerned about the environment and will be trying to do our bit to reuse and recycle
TheGreenerMe says:
Oh yeah, we've cut way back on packaging and wrapping paper, we don't buy bows anymore, send more ecards...
Posted January 08, 2009
klieneine says:
Absolutely, Most people don't think twice about how much wrapping paper they throw in the garbage or about how much energy it takes to light all those Christmas lights.
Posted December 23, 2008
jooloo says:
Great site. We definitely need to improve our environmental impact. We are behind the rest of the world. In Ireland if you don't bring your own bad, they charge you for one. I'm a depression baby and have saved all wrapping paper for years.
Posted December 11, 2008
Intuitive says:
Absolutely. Hard for me to not get lured in by all the glitz and glamour, though.
Posted December 11, 2008
Spook says:
Funnily enough our family always re-cycle and Christmas will be no different. We all need to play our part.
Posted December 11, 2008
Give me a break - it's Christmas for goodness sake!
JRSchroeder says:
I think just changing habits for Christmas will be too little for any saving of the earth. Christmas will probably always be a peak season.
We need to support drastic environmental policy changes and businesses that lead the way in changing our economy to a green, sustainable one.
Posted December 02, 2008
Calculate your Carbon footprint
- Carbonfootprint.com
- Calculate your carbon footprint using our online calculator, learn how to reduce it and then offset your past emissions through one of our carbon offset projects.
- Treehugger.com
- In addition to metrics like ecological footprint, each of us (and each of the products and services we use and consume every day) has a carbon footprint; it's a way to measure the relative impact of our actions --
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven roles of wrapping
Janey Lee Grace tells us in her excellent book Imperfectly Natural Home, in the UK alone we throw out 80 square kilometres of wrapping paper, which would cover an area half the size of Washington DC or the whole of the island of Guernsey! Other sources say that the USA uses enough wrapping paper to cover the whole of Washington DC!
So please buy recycled wrapping paper and then recycle it!
Janey Lee Grace on Squidoo
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Janey Lee Grace
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Janey Lee Grace is a UK expert in the field of "natural" living. Janey describes herself as an "Imperfectly Natural Woman" and has written a best selling book with the same title. More recently "The Wright Stuff" on UK TV has started referring to her...
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Imperfectly natural
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Imperfectly Natural.com is the home of natural alternatives. How did I become the Editor of this website that has over 3-400,000 hits a month? It is all thanks to Squidoo! This lens tells you how I first met the Imperfectly Natural Woman, Janey Lee...
Janey Lee Grace - Eco Christmas Ideas
Janey Lee Grace Eco Christmas
How to live life the natural way
Books by Janey Lee Grace
Imperfectly Natural Home: Everything You Need to Know to Create a Natural Home
Amazon Price: $15.56 (as of 07/06/2009)
Imperfectly Natural Woman: Getting Life Right the Natural Way
Amazon Price: $18.96 (as of 07/06/2009)
Recycled gift wrap on ebay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byOn the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eight recycled glasses
Waste on line states that annually total glass use in the UK is estimated at around 3.6 million tonnes. The UK glass industry has the capacity to recycle over one million tonnes of glass each year and this coupled with glass' unique ability to be infinitely recycled without ruining the quality means there is just no excuse to not recycle glass.Making recycled glass uses less energy because crushed recycled glass melts at a lower temperature than the original components of glass. In the USA about 20% of glass is recycled.
You can buy recycled glasses at
Recycled glasses
Italian Recycled Glass Set of 3
Amazon Price: $10.50 (as of 07/06/2009)
Rings Recycled Glass Beverage Glass
Amazon Price: $2.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
Recycled Glass Tumbler - 12 Ounce in Green by tag
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
Recycled glass for the home
Rosanna Mondo Tumblers, Set of 6
Amazon Price: $103.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
Recycled Glass Pitcher in Green by tag
Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
Glass Toothbrush Holder Spanish Green
Amazon Price: $4.25 (as of 07/06/2009)
Recycled Glass Soap Dish
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Nine wooden toys
Close-up of Wooden Toy Giraffes Photographic Print
Buy at AllPosters.com
Look for toys made from sustainably managed forests and be careful of toxic paint. Buy toys that are painted with plant based dyes or paints containing no toxic chemicals.
You can buy wooden toys at
Wooden toys on Amazon
ImagiPLAY Dog Family Puzzle
Amazon Price: $12.87 (as of 07/06/2009)
Waldorf Wooden Building Blocks, Natural
Amazon Price: $38.98 (as of 07/06/2009)
Early Learning Centre - Click-Clack Dino Pull Toy
Amazon Price: $23.18 (as of 07/06/2009)
Large Stacking and Nesting Boxes, Natural
Amazon Price: $57.98 (as of 07/06/2009)
Small Stacking and Nesting Boxes, Natural
Amazon Price: $28.98 (as of 07/06/2009)
More lovely wooden toys
Beautiful, handmade wooden toys-
Amish Rocking Horses
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Amish made rocking horses come in different sizes, shapes and configurations, but they are all fun! These are made so well they are great under heavy use, as in a daycare, school or large family. As al...
Natural wooden toys on ebay
Check the item descriptions to make sure they are non-toxic and come from sustainable forests
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byOn the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Ten acres of forest
$100 or £50 will buy an acre of rain forest in your name or someone you wish to gift it to. My certificate is on my office wall!
Current projects include focusing on land acquisition and management in four important areas, which have been identified as critical to preserving dwindling habitat for many threatened and endangered species. The areas are the Ecuadorian Andes and rainforests in Columbia, Brazil and Paraguay.
A walk in a rainforest
This one is not in South America but in Australia, but it will give you an idea of the beauty of the rainforest-
A walk in a tropical rainforest - tropical rainforest plants and sights
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Experience a walk in the tropical rainforest in D'Angular National Park, Mount Glorious. This rain forest is 20 minutes drive from the city of Brisbane. This lens is designed to enable you to feel as if you are a part of the tropical rainforest biome...
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eleven angel blessings....
You can find Fair Trade or Recycled Christmas decorations in lots of online stores these days. All of the decorations in this module can be found at
Squidoo's own Angels
Reused? Recycled? Goodness knows but we love them!-
WHO? SquidAngels!
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Get to know the SquidAngels! We are a small group of dedicated lensmasters with special powers to bless remarkable lenses for a little LensRank (and ego) boost. We also help to keep Squidoo safe from spam and other bad apples. Did you know?: Eve...
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SquidAngels Headquarters
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Welcome to SquidAngels Headquarters A place to meet Squidoo's team of angels.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Twelve fairtrade chocolates
In October 2007, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, whose archiepiscopal seat is in the same city as the confectioner Nestlé Rowntree, said that buying only Fairtrade chocolate would help to end the "21st-century iniquity" of child labour.Citing research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, he said that although child labour was prohibited in Britain there was a connection with Britain's manufacturers because of the conditions under which cocoa was produced.
According to the Stop the Traffik campaign for an end to modern slavery, more than 12,000 trafficked children are working on Ivory Coast plantations to produce 43 per cent of the world's cocoa beans.
Extract from article published in The Times, on 31 October 2007. You can read the rest of the article here
Buy Fairtrade chocolate at the
Act NOW for the environment
A Powerful Environment Video! Global Warming Planet
Think Environment. Think Green. Global Warming Planet Environmental It's Our Environment. Act now for the environment
If you liked this lens....
then you may like this other lens with an "eco" message
This lens features original photos taken by my very creative eldest daughter-
Valentines Day
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Valentine's Day is celebrated all over the world and is another of those special days which appears to have been hijacked by commercialism - but the soppy romantic in me still loves it! However, if you do want to buy chocs or flowers for the loved o...
Thanks for the help
The SquidU Forum is a great place to research for a lens!
The following Lensmasters responded to my call for names of Animal Welfare organisations in the USA:Flowergardener
Enslavedbyfaeries
lisadh
GrowWear
Thank you!
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Did this lens make you stop and think? Will you be doing anything to help the environment at Christmas?
TheGreenerMe wrote...
This lens is still relevant even in early June. I just featured this on my 50 lensmasters who are going green lens. I also lensrolled to my real vs fake Christmas trees debate. Wonderful work!
Posted June 03, 2009
Mortira wrote...
This is one of my all time favorite lists! Welcome to the Green Crusaders group!
Posted March 26, 2009
NatureMaven wrote...
Great lens! 5 stars, and thanks for your help on Squid U. I once knew a cello player who saved old used cello strings and had the silver made into a really nice ring!
Posted February 04, 2009
About AJ
AJ is very proud and humble to be a Squidoo Angel
I am also very proud to have been awarded lens of the day for
Auditory Processing Disorder TWICE!
And then I got it for Twelve ways to have a green & ethical Christmas!
Lensmaster aj2008, aka AJ , has been a member since July 10 2008, has rated 1,991 lenses, favorited 403, and has created 52 lenses from scratch. AJ donates their royalties to Save the Children. This member's top-ranked page is "Bullying At Primary School". See all my lenses
"British" lenses by AJ
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Autumn at AJ's
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Autumn in the UK starts in September and goes through until the beginning of December. Autumn is a huge topic to tackle in just one lens, so in order to narrow it down I decided to write something more personal. Each season has its own special meanin...
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Prince Charles is 60
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Destined to become King Charles III, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne was 60 on 14 November 2008. In January 2008 Charles became the world's longest serving heir apparent, passing the record of 59 years and 73 days previously held by Ki...
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Queen Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II became Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 06 February 1952. In addition she is Head of the Commonwealth. However, Elizabeth was not born to be Queen. Her Uncle was King Edward VIII, but he was never cro...
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David Miliband
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In September 2008 it was widely thought that David Miliband was gearing up for a Labour Party leadership challenge, which if successful, would have ousted Gordon Brown as Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He is a member of the Pri...
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Remembrance Day
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Remembrance Day is on the second Sunday in November. In the UK Ceremonies and Services are held in Churches and at War Memorials in cities, towns and villages all over country. The nation pays homage to those who died in the two World Wars and other...
by aj2008
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