Wednesday 26 August 2009

A Visit to the Pet Cemetery

I obtained these four photographs from America recently. They document a couple's visit to the Pet Haven Cemetery and Crematory. I am guessing that the photographs date from the 1950s. Sadly, I don't recognise the automobile, but I know one of you will! Here the woman poses next to car with the cemetery sign in the background.


Then she is photographed, I presume next to the grave of her much loved pet. I am now starting to suspect that something unusual is going on, certainly by today's standards.


The woman is joined by her husband for a plotside photograph. Was it taken by a passing visitor or a relative? I just don't know.


The final photograph shows a view of the cemetery. Click on the image and you will be suprised. Everywhere you look is a Christmas tree, some very ornately decorated with hanging baubles etc. I presume it was the custom to allow the beloved animals, who have passed over to the other side, to share in the custome of celebrating Christmas. Was this the norm back then and does this quaint custom of decorating Christmas trees in pet cemeteries still continue. It would be interesting to know. I looked up the Pet Haven cemetery, but Google listed many cemeteries of that name across America. Sadly, there is nothing written on the back of photographs to indicate the location of the site pictured here.

Saturday 22 August 2009

Blackpool Tower

Nearly a month on from my last post, but I have a good reason. As you know, I now work in Blackpool during the week. It is quite frustrating each morning and again each evening as I drive along the promenade and spot picture opportunity after picture opportunity. So far, I have captured none of them, but, rest assured, I will get to photograph some of them soon.

Photographically, it's the sort of location that would drive Mr Toad of the Magic Lantern Show blog wild with excitement - unbelievable! I did, however, stop in a carpark for a few minutes and glimpsed a distant view of the famous tower. Here it is in all its glory. [click on the image for a closer look]


The top of the tower is quite ornate. The structure is 518 feet 9 inches (18 3 metres) high and was completed in 1894. Five million bricks, 2,500 tonnes of iron and 93 tonnes of cast stell were used in its construction. Fascinating fact - the cast steel and iron are distrubuted in such a way that if it did ever collapse, it would fall into the sea . . . or so they tell us!More useful information can be found on Wikipedia, click here to visit.