I have to agree, when popular culture meets military ceremony, the result is usually pretty cringe-making. Saturday's Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance was no exception. I doubt the show impressed the young or the old (though it might have appealed to "Creme Brule" fans). When will military directors of music learn that songs written for bass guitar and wailing diva cannot successfully be arranged for military woodwind and brass? Incidentally, I thought the Barclay Square number was inoffensive enough, as it did, at least, have its origins in WW2 nostalgia.
The Festival ought to stick to what it does best, celebrating military tradition and remembering the fallen.
Furthermore, as Britain is a predominantly secular society, please can we be spared the religious bilge? As many of the above poems demonstrate, it is possible movingly and respectfully to remember the dead, without the whole thing being hijacked by the god squad.