Around the war memorial there gathers a group of people who represent us, the inhabitants of the town. There are members of the armed forces and cadets from the two senior schools, often there is a band, there are local politicians and representatives of all our many charitable groups. At the appointed time wreaths are laid at the base of the cross (which carries the names of the war dead from the two world wars - surnames of which are still to be found amongst those still living in the town). Then people come forward and stick the small wooden crosses, on which they have written the name or names of their relatives who gave their lives, in turves of grass that have been placed on the steps at the bottom of the memorial. It is a serious occasion and treated as such by all who participate and by those who just happen to be passing by.
So, how can it be that some three months after this occasion that those small crosses should be found dumped on the pavement in the middle of the town to be picked up and dumped once more by the garbage collectors?
It is, quite literally, inexplicable.
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