On the eve of WW1, on 4th August 1914, British Foreign Secretary EdwardGrey uttered the historical and momentous words "The lamps are going offall over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our life time". Morethan anything this sentiment has come to encapsulate the feeling of the public.
It is fitting then that one hundredyears later, Edward Grey's words were given new weight with an act of publicremembrance. There were many ways to mark the centenary anniversary of the startof the First World War yesterday. The Great and the Good took part in aceremony at locations including Westminster Abbey, Glasgow, Belfast, Cardiffand Mons in Belgium.
Other commemorations included 888,246 ceramic poppiesflowing around the Tower of London; one for every British and colonial soldieror the 5000 ice statues in Birmingham. All evoke a mixture of sadness, prideand thanks felt by the people of this country for those who fell, but noteveryone could take part in this event.
One event that everyone could take part in, was LightsOut from 10pm to 11pm. This was a call from the British Legion for lightsto be turned off at 10pm on 4 August 2014 to jointogether in a national moment of reflection. Thiswas a poignant and moving idea but in today's modern world where electronicsinfuse every aspect of life, was this possible? How many would actually doit? How many people did take part? Iconicpublic monuments such as London Bridge, 10 Downing Street, the House ofParliament, Big Ben and the Eden Project were plunged into darkness with only asingle candle of reflection left burning.
According to the National Grid,figures show that there was a drop of 500 megawatts, around 10pm,in comparison to the same day last year. This is the equivalent of over eight million 60 watt light bulbs being switched off.
For more than a century, such a large number of people share this sentiment, which is a shining example of the gratitude thatmillions of British feel for those who gave so much for their country.
