Move along there, Sir!

Of course, before the First World War, humorous postcards were very popular in Britain. Sometimes there was a graveyard theme as in the card below where a drunken toff is being moved on by a policeman. The drunk's response is quite interesting. He has a point, you know!

Angel Serenity

I photographed this angel just a couple of days ago. What intrigues me is that she forms part of the gravestone and is not a separate, standing figure. Her expression is one of serenity - a refreshing change from the usual weeping, mourning angels more commonly seen.

In terms of of photographing headstones and especially something like this angel, there an important thing to remember. Move around and vary the angle of your shot - it makes a real difference. Here are just a few examples to show what can be achieved. I have not included the standard profile photograph or the close-ups of the inscription, the latter to save having to write down the details - as long as the inscription is legible and . . . you are confident of your photographic competence. What you don't want to have happen is that you travel 50 miles to visit the cemetery and then get back to find everything is badly exposed! Of course, everything is so much better now - with a digital camera, you can check if the photo came out straight away.

Good luck and . . . keep making a record of history!

Graveyard Cat

This fine young tabby cat was enjoying his nap in the sun at Frome Dissenters' Cemetery until I came along. As he was deciding whether to stay or flee (no, I am not that frightening!), I took one quick shot before moving away to look at another part of the cemetery. Sometimes I see several different cats resting and hunting - it must be a nightmare for the poor mice that traverse the paths between the rows of headstones! Once I met a friendly black cat here - the sort often pictured in the company of a Witch. I wonder why they get such bad press, especially when a black cat crossing your path is considered 'good luck'? What do others think of graveyard cats?

A Curious Encounter in a Somerset Graveyard

It was one of those rare occurences in a graveyard, the feeling of being watched. Normally it turns out to be the graveyard cat or a concerned churchwarden who has received a tip-off about a strange person who keeps lying on the ground next to graves. On this occasion, it was was neither. I was engaged in capturing an image of a headstone [the 104th of the brief visit I was making to discover new material to share with you, the readers of this blog] and as I moved away, I saw a brief movement in the corner of my eye. Did someone or something wink at me?

I was almost struck dumb as I realised the flowers carved on the stone had faces. Now the Victorian stone mason may have been displaying that he had a sense of humour or I might have been imaging things and . . . as someone remarked on this blog before, it had nothing to do with 'Chardonnay' - I am Temperance!

Photographs were duly taken and scrutinised once downloaded to my laptop. There is, in my mind, absolutely no doubt these are faces and I was minded to recall the popular 1950s childrens television programme - The Flowerpot Men. Bill and Ben were the names of the two characters who lived by the potting shed. Their friend, I kid you not, was Little Weed - a weed in a pot - who was prone to shouting in a high-pitched voice 'Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!!!!!'

Phew, that's enough reminiscing, but could the character of Little Weed have been inspired by the flower faces on this headstone? Let me know what you think? I doubt there are other examples of this unless, dear readers, you know otherwise?


The flower above has a smiling face, while the one below looks very glum. Poor thing!

Lichen consumes a Headstone

There is a small graveyard in St David's, Pembrokeshire where, it seems, that Lichen is making a bid to take over the world. I have not seen such growth anywhere else in Britain. Have you ever seen similar sights? I would be interested to know.

In Memoriam - a series of glimpses into attitudes to death and how it is marked

As an occasional student of funerary architecture, I often visit cemeteries and graveyards. It is surprising what interesting stories arise by just reading the words on the headstones. Not so many years ago, I found a headstone that marked the grave of an Edwardian gentleman and his wife. After her name was inscribed the words 'The escaped Nun'. Now that's a story to think about.

Some of the larger London Cemeteries have open days where guided tours take place. In one case, the catacombs were opened and it was fascinating to see how the Victorians commemorated Death. Often while visiting junk shops and bric-a-brac fairs, I would find postcards and photographs of tombs and funerals filed under the heading of Social History. They cost just a few pence and I would put them in a postcard album. Recently, I found two of the albums which contain several hundred cards. I thought you might appreciate my sharing a few of the more unusual images with you.

Somerset Curiosity

A walk through a Somerset graveyard led to the discovery of this menacing looking item of grave architecture. Most of the surface of the tomb had eroded away since it was first constructed some 200 years before. Such adornments on tombs and headstones on modern graves are rare.

What's in a Name?

I came across this cross in our local churchyard. I was interested in the Christian name, Arthurina. When I did some research, it was listed as the female version of Arthur. This got me thinking. Was she referred to as Arthur for short? I thought this was pretty unique, but as I started writing this, I thought of Fredericka which must be the female version of Frederick. I guess there must be others, but I can't think of any. Does anyone know of other examples of cross-naming?

Another Angel

Here is another angel. Note how young she is. She dates from the early 1900s. I'd love to hear your views on the subject of angels.