I present to you, after a lifetime of attaching and then losing poppies five minutes later, this bleeding edge adaptation. One tiny cable tie. Considerably improved spring-loaded reverse V for an extra 'stem' when mounting through whatever hole, zip pull, etc. you choose to jam it in. Current Poppy is the first I've bought this year, A WHOLE FOUR DAYS later! I know. Genius, right? I am, obviously, now living in fear of a crack team of RBL officials descending upon me for having thwarted their great 'when they lose them, they will get more' plan, so again, obviously, if poppies are your thing then keep bunging money in the box at the same rate, but without the constant need to replace or that regular 'looking down while thinking 'oh bollocks' feeling'. Giving ways etc. (Personally, I like to use tins held by old blokes or really small cadets in ill-fitting uniforms. A combination of the two is always good.) : Poppy Appeal - Ways to give
Here's how I make my poppy stay on my work hi-viz waterproof. Throw the green stem away altogether. Tape the leaf to the petals & use a black marker to replace the centre bit then put it in the plastic ID card holder bit on said waterproof jacket.
Don't people see the lack of a 'Haig Fund' centre and assume that you're some sort of p*k*y who made his own ?
Just out of curiosity, has anyone got any idea when the poppies actually stopped having 'Haig Fund' in the centre (and replaced it with 'Poppy Appeal')?
Timeline on factory site says 1994 for the change: Poppy centre name change - The Poppy Factory 2006 - Scottish collection name change officially just a 'modernisation' of image: Charity's new name has poppy appeal | HeraldScotland We can all have our theories as to why the change really happened keeping eyes peeled for any outrage... Haig or Poppy!.. We've got quite good at avoiding that these days! , but I can't yet find anything definitive or 'official' from the organisation itself. I still think the little leaf is a tad racy.
Ah, hang on: 1970 - 2000 - Lady Haig Poppy Factory Factory/appeal chops and changes in same year maybe related? General change as part of other shifts?
Thanks... being the super observant person that I am, I only actually noticed the change last year! Giving me a couple of years' grace to consider the shifting of 'old stock', I was only 20 years behind the times!!!
Dunno, but I remember them. The black bit looked like it was made from pitch, or some other non-modern plastic. The stem was wire, possibly wrapped in green material, but that may have only been the posh version - there were at least two types and also the big car radiator grill type. The wire meant they never fell off as you could poke it through almost anything. Edit: not a fan of the modern rusty pin attachment accessory.
Has the leaf come and gone over the years? Sure I can recall as a kid in the 80s wanting a 'New' poppy with a leaf, but also have a dim idea that grandad and his retired officer cronies had leaves on theirs long before. Very very early poppies, silk ones, seem to often have leaves, just wondering about the paper ones. I can't help being interested in ephemera... people don't save these things do they. Well, some do, and they are worthy nerds, and the seat of all knowledge. Among the barbed wire collectors and pylon photographers I bet there's an expert on poppies through the ages somewhere.
Been enjoying that site quite a bit this week. Seems to have bubbled up large and complete very recently, as you used to basically get our threads on Remembrance history while googling. Good stuff.
The '1958?' sample is how I remember it in the '60s. Wire stem, no leaf until the later pop-together plastic job arrived. Gonna remove the leaf this year!