Trail of Poppies by Phil Brotherton.
© 2017 Phil Brotherton.
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:
phil@trailofpoppies.co.uk
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-64136-760-8
“You going far, mate?”
“No, not really. I’m going back home to East Morton, just over t’ hill.”
“Where’ve you come from then? It looks like you’ve been out a while.”
“Well, I started in Turkey, in April.”
“You’re kidding, aren’t you?”
“Erm, no! Here, have a card.”
The man was just having a nice summer’s walk with his family, when I happened to be cycling up the last steep hill before home.
That short conversation made me stop for a while on top of Baildon Moor, to think about and realise how far I’d actually gone!
Looking north from the hill, I could see a track that leads onto Rombald’s Moor. It’s one of my favourite places, where we walk our dog most evenings. Just down the hill from the track is our little house, where my wife & dog were waiting patiently for my return.
To my left on the moor, was the place where my Dad’s ashes were scattered, I wished that he could’ve been there to see what I’d done...
Looking south, back the way I’d come, brought a tear to my eyes. My mind visualised my route: Fourteen countries, mountains, valleys, flat plains, but most of all, the battlefields where millions died a century ago.
They were the reason why I did that long journey. It wasn’t my journey, it was theirs...