When I'd finished a small proofreading job this morning, I made the most of the beautiful autumn weather and went for a local walk. There were plenty of toadstools to photograph!





And a slightly hazy view from the mountain:



I've also read Wearing the Poppy by AJ Toledo, better known on LJ as alliekiwi . She sent this book for Gabe as part of a swap for First Term at Cotterford and it arrived yesterday. Gabe read it as soon as he returned from school, and you will be pleased, alliekiwi , to know he went and found his Anzac pin and pinned it on his school uniform straight after reading it!



The book, written for children, tells the story of AJ Toledo's Great-Uncle Jock, who was killed fighting with the ANZACs in the First World War, at the age of 27. It also explains why New Zealanders wear a poppy on Anzac Day (25 April) - the poppies shipped out for Armistice Day didn't arrive in time for 11 November and so were worn to commemorate the day the ANZACs went into battle in Gallipoli (25 April 1915). Here in Australia we wear a pin on Anzac Day and some people wear poppies on Remembrance Day, so I guess our poppies must have turned up. However, Anzac Day is our main day of remembrance and all the kids know about it. Remembrance Day isn't observed the way it is in Europe.

This was timely reading for Gabe, as there was a report in the newspapers here yesterday saying that Australia seems to have forgotten that the New Zealanders were part of Anzac Day (the papers dubbed it Aac Day). So now he has another perspective as they learn about Anzac Day at school. I really enjoyed reading it too, alliekiwi , and I'm glad your great-uncle will be remembered by thousands of kids in this way.