THE start of November is reliable for bringing three things. The first of these is that once you step outside, you’re going to get drenched with the rain.

Or, if it’s unseasonably cold, you might get hail stones although given the unpredictability of the weather, you might end up with it raining pianos or men.

The second of these is the inappropriately early decorations of a Christmas theme in supermarkets.

Perhaps it is understandable that in November, the supermarkets wish to sell enough Christmas treats to give you type II diabetes and stock up on enough sprouts so that you too can fart like Celia Imrie on the Celebrity Traitors.

But Christmas decorations? In early November? It’s a bah humbug from us.

That being said, perhaps it is too easy to take for granted that we live in a society where it’s free to do all of that. You’re free to celebrate Christmas as early as you wish and the grinches among us are free to hiss and grumble about the fact that one day you’ll steal that Christmas.

The reason we have that freedom brings us onto the third, and most important of the three reliable things, which is the poignant reminder to remember and thank those who gave their lives so that we can be free today. We are, of course, talking about the Remembrance and Armistice days.

It doesn’t take a genius to notice that the world around us is getting more divided, more radicalised and more angry, which is a potent mixture that can, if not addressed lead to a chain of events similar to what led up to what we saw in mainland Europe. It didn’t begin with the horrors, that was the ending.

As the sands of time pass, the people who both lived through the war and experienced the horror at its worst are becoming far and few between and it is as important today that we listen to their stories, document their experiences and uphold the promise that never again shall we respond with indifference in the face of evil.

As the often repeated phrase goes – Lest We Forget.

In that vein, it is also true that wars still happen today, we still have a military, and those forces have veterans who have been through experiences that us mere mortals can only comprehend.

So, while we’re rightly giving our thanks to those who fight to retain our freedom, it is also important that in a time of such uncertainty, we do our bit to look after the veterans of today.

Op Kernow is a tremendous local charity which provides direct assistance to veterans, serving personnel and their families.

Led by our very own Gary Baker, the team often fly under the radar while doing tremendous work to advocate for and help said veterans and personnel directly in ways you might not always see.

So, we’ll end this column with an appeal – donate a few quid to fund their work at www.gofundme.com/f/op-kernow