Graveyard shift

[la_rainette]

Picspam! Mainly for copperbadge and juniper200, cos Sam said you'd be interested.

I like cemeteries. As a child, whenever I went to visit my grandma in the small East German town where she still lives today, the one day I really enjoyed was cemetery day. On other days, my grandma would drag me about town, guitar case in hand, and I would have to play and sing songs in French to her old friends, who didn't understand French or care much about music anyhow, and she would brag, and I would squirm uncomfortably in my frilly dress (cos jeans were Forbidden). I was 12, 13, 14, 15, and I hated every minute of it.

On cemetery day, however, I would get to wear jeans, and I would get to use the Giant Watering Can, and I would get to trace lovely patterns with the rake in the sand around my great-grandfather's grave, and other graves of people I had never known. Ocasionally, she would send me on my merry way, I would get to sit on a bench somewhere with a book. And that I really, really enjoyed, cos the cemetery was fabulous. The town was grey and uniformly drab ("GDR White", we used to call that colour), but the cemetery was bright, full of flowers, beautiful trees, and peace.

I loved to go there.

Sometimes I would look at the dates on the graves, and try to figure out how old these people were when they died (and now I would like to know who's never done that. Can you honestly say you've never done that?) Sometimes I'd just sit under the great willow and enjoy the moment.

So when we go places, I will stop and visit cemeteries, and sometimes take pictures. The pictures under the cut were taken in Scotland and in Ireland.




Scotland, taken near Stirling. What fascinated me most was the no-frill approach to death. Where there is death, there will be bones, let's be very clear about it.



Oh, and skulls, too.



This was taken in Ireland. These HUGE Irish crosses just blew my mind.



This one is special. It was taken at the entrance of the catholic cemetery in Belfast.

I went to Ireland when I was in my early twenties with a friend, and Belfast -- It was the first time we had ever entered a city that was clearly at war, and we were a little unprepared.

Friend: Oh my goodness, look, a tank.
rainette: a tent? where?
Both *gape as huge tank drives by in the middle of the city*

We went to the Catholic part of town. You know you have reached it when you see that the traffic lights wear protective grids -- cos they get vandalized too often? The IRA murals were spectacular. We didn't quite dare stop and get out of our car in that area -- I am sure it was quite safe, but the tension throughout the city was quite palpable and culminated in that very area.

The cemetery on the picture is a forest of Irish crosses. In this cemetery lies Bobby Sands. I was too young to really understand what was at stake when he died, but not too young to weep, or be angry, even if the complexity of the situation escaped me, and I have no doubt that it still does. Anything I say here is purely based on personal observation, and should not be construed as a Voicing of Opinion. :) I'm just sayin'. I hope you like the pictures.

Comments

[friede.livejournal.com]

You know, the last of the Second Hunger Strikers died 4 days before I was born.

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

No, I didn't know. How come you know that, did you look it up? Did your family tell you?

man, I'm old :D

[friede.livejournal.com]

Oh, I remembered it was in '81, and then I Wiki'd.

(not old -- I'm just... not :) )

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Oh, OK. :)

Oh, not old, actually. More like positively ANCIENT. *g*

No, I'm joking, it's just, I feel so much younger than I actually am in years. :) It always surprises me to realize, oh my, I remember this, I was a teen when it hapened, it was 10 years ago. No, wait. erm. It was TWENTY years ago, oh my God! *laughs* It'll happen to you too one day. ;)

[dramawench.livejournal.com]

Wow - those pictures are incredible! Those Irish crosses are gorgeous - they make my spine tingle. I guess that's my Irish Catholic roots poking me :D

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

*nods* the crosses are incredible. I have no Irish roots (though I envy you those, it's a fabulous heritage to have), but they gave me goosebumps, too.

[bookwench31.livejournal.com]

These are wonderful. I love graveyards, there's just something about them. The oldest graveyard in Athens was directly between the art building and the anthro building at UGA and I would walk up from the parking lot with my roommate and she would head for the art building and I'd turn and walk the path through the graveyard to get to the anthro building. It was great.
We used to talk our professors into having class out in the graveyard on nice days.

I really love that last picture. The way the light is hitting it and the shadows falling, it's just beautiful.

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :) It made my throat go tight, it was so amazing. Seeing Bobby Sands grave was -- something, too.

I'm pleased to see I am not the only one who likes graveyards. *g*

[maple-clef.livejournal.com]

Oh, I've done definitely done that... At primary school we'd sometimes go on a 'field trip' to the local graveyard, and would do rubbings of the headstones of people such as the Dashwoods (local famous people, associated with the Hell-Fire club). Although, I liked to look at some of the unknowns and try to imagine life stories from the few lines of writing that marked their passing. I've done it more recently, too: ponderous, reflective places, graveyards.

Thanks for the picspam - I particularly like the Belfast picture, and the long shadows cast across the path...

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

*nods* yes, exactly. :) It's something I enjoy doing, too, though it's more complicated when you go with children cos you have to make sure they don't bloody pick the flowers.

You're welcome, glad you like the pics. :D

[terrylj.livejournal.com]

Aaaaaahhhh, cemeteries! I love cemeteries! I'll have to post some pics I took from my last trip. (I find them for fun too. However, I have never seen any as beautiful as these.) I like to try to find the oldest graves. Of course, this being a relatively new country, I'd love to see some REALLY old ones from other countries.

Then there's the tiny graves, that tend to collect, over the years, collections of angel statues, glass balls, teddy bears, etc. Sometimes they're edged with glass marbles. Those make me tear up every time.

Beautiful pictures! Thanks so much for putting them up!

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I'm glad you like them. :) and yes, please, do post the pictures you took!

[juniper200.livejournal.com]

Those are beautiful. The British Isles have my favorite historic grave iconography. It's so honest and earthy. And once they turn a little more Baroque, they're a celebration of life, death and eternal life all at the same time. Thanks for posting these!

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, I'm glad you like them. :) Do you have any that you could post, too? I'd be interested in seeing them.