Dogwash

I'm not sure I entirely agree with Jon Snow's stance on newsreaders dressing neutrally and eschewing sectarian symbols such as remembrance poppies and discreet crosses. There's too much of an unhealthy dash of dogmatic laïcité there for my taste. But I respect his right to that position and very much agree with his dislike for poppy fascism. I too wear the remembrance poppy each year – I choose so to do – but I find it cringeworthy that everyone who appears on television or in similar public situations has a poppy forced upon them whether they like it or not and are subjected to opprobrium if they resile. You do get some highly unlikely people sitting on the interviewees' couch with a temporary poppy stuck to their chests; a tediously insincere practice which mocks those of us who wear the symbol by choice and with conviction.

Update Apparently Mr Snow's laïcité is not as consistent as he would wish us to believe.