Tuesday 14 August 2012

The Last Resting Place In Valley's End

 Although I have no immediate, or even long-term, plans to join the Valley's End inhabitants who have reached their final destination in this utterly peaceful spot, there can be few people who would object to being laid to rest here.










Pure white bindweed grows in the hedge
and white daisies litter the grass around the graves.

The cemetery is the least oppressive place
I can think of, nobody insists on forcing
garish flowers or elaborate funeral processions
on the tranquil scene. Now and then somebody
sits on one of the benches which are dotted around
the perimeter; the ones resting here don't mind at all.

The concept of trespass is unknown.






Some officious person keen on Health And Safety decided that nearly all the crosses were unsafe, in danger of falling over if the living should lean against them or shake them loose - most unlikely, as all who come here, the troubled and untroubled, be they mourners or those just visiting, are instantly stilled by the tranquility and hushed into a calm and peaceful frame of mind. But once these matters have been mentioned, they need to be acted upon, hence the dismantling of the gravestones.

The cattle in the field behind saw it happen, ruminated for a little while, then turned their attention back to more pressing matters.  Now that the fuss is over and the 'job's-worths' have been satisfied, it will be a long time before noisy tools return to the cemetery to finish the job.

I doubt that the dead are bothered.




This post joins the many who have banded together to show the best of their world in Our World Tuesday.


38 comments:

  1. Not bothered at all, abstracted into purity, I would think. (though not a spiritual one for me)

    Yes, too, the history of crosses...they seem always to lead to the unsafe. ~Mary

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  2. Such a beautiful tranquil spot. Thank you.

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  3. Oh, Friko, I am so very fond of cemeteries. I can think of no more beautiful and soulful a place to be laid to rest than here.

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  4. That is a very restful spot to be laid to rest. I, however, will have my ashes scattered and will skip the cemetery business. Beautiful shots, Friko. Although I don't always comment, I always read your posts, just so you know. :-)

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  5. dismantling the grave stone...that is terrible...i love to go walking in our local cemetary....it is peaceful...thanks for giving us a glimpse into yours....

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  6. Lovely pictures, Friko, of such a peaceful spot.

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  7. Spread my ashes in the field. Right after they prop me against a lamp post in my finery at the wake.

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  8. This is really beautifully written, in such a calming way. What a lovely cemetery. I enjoy spending time in them. They make great picnic spots.

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  9. such a lovely meditation on a tranquil place. Very enjoyable, and more...


    Aloha from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral
    =^..^=
    > < } } ( ° >

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  10. I have my spot picked too, here on my island, in the "green" part of the island cemetery. That means they dig a hole land put you in -- no messing with your body -- just in the ground to blend back in with the planet.

    Yours is a lovely spot. I think sprinkling is okay, but perhaps my children and grandchildren might enjoy having a little part of the earth to visit and consider that I am part of. At least for the foreseeable future.

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  11. Hello:
    One of the delights and joys of travelling through the British countryside is to happen upon graveyards or cemeteries such as this one for the absolute peace and, more often than not, great beauty that they afford. And often there is an interesting church to hand.

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  12. I can't imagine some officious person taking down all the crosses.
    A beautiful spot for one's final rest, I should think, Friko.
    K

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  13. Wunderschön in Wort und Bild...

    Lieben Gruß
    CL

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  14. Beautiful, thought provoking writing, Friko. Like you and many here, I too love the tranquility and that reverberating peace of graveyards. There's something about their aloofness from the rest of the world that tugs one so.

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  15. 'Free at last, free at last' from all the pulls and tangles of the world.

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  16. The cemetery is always a sad place, quiet and sometimes forgotten by living people. Great photos, Frico!

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  17. What a beautiful place...tis peaceful for sure.
    Hugs
    SUeAnn

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  18. The crosses lying down bring new meaning to "Laid to Rest".

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  19. how stupid. I'm really tired of the 'authorities' deciding we need to be protected from even the miniscule chance of harm.

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  20. I love this post Friko, it made me feel peaceful. I always liked cemeteries. As a young girl, 12, 13, 14 years old, whenever something ore someone would bother me, I would go to visit the cemetery of my hometown, which was very beautiful with tall trees and lovely flowerbeds. That always made me calm and soothed my anger! I never was afraid there. :-)

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    1. Oh you see, the taken down crosses even did not penetrate my mind much, I just saw the beauty of the place! :-)

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    2. Friko, actually I wanted to dedicate the post on "love" to you, but I was afraid this would make you even more sad. But anyway, I knew you will read it.
      It will take a while till the wonderful memories will overpower the sadness...
      And: I am so afraid - our Dafi is 12 years old now and she really slows down.
      A dear hug to you!

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  21. I am bothered by the fallen crosses
    but it is done
    it is a beautiful place anyway
    in a way the crosses look like they are protecting the grave site

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  22. 'Jobs-worth' folk can be found everywhere, even in the most tranquil of places.

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  23. Dreadful thing, to pull down the crosses. Vandalism.

    If the Health and Safety wallahs ever decide that the railings pose a danger, please let me know...I rather covet them.

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  24. The gravestones! Whatever will they think of next? Still, it adds something, je ne sais quoi, to the atmosphere, perhaps?

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  25. I like Mary's (FrankandMary) comment very much.

    I find the dismantling of graves due to 'safety concerns' to be very myopic. Pressure little truly disgusts me, but this sort of action may be foremost among that select grouping.

    A worthy addition to the Our Word Tuesday collective, Friko.

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  26. I think graveyards are rather exclusive these days... I don't think either of the two places I feel most attached to -- the small New England town where I grew up, or the pretty English village where I raised my four children -- would accept my remains.

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  27. My responses to this post were quite varied as I read though it. I was struck by the absurdity of the crosses being dismantled, and by the indignity of it all. Truly, only those at rest are able to not have a response. The sheep, some call them dumb followers, certainly would never come up with such a crazy idea, and those buried beneath the cross don't care.

    Despite the evidence of the dismantling of monuments erect to mark an important place for those who remain, the spot remains beautiful and peaceful.

    I see juxtaposition in the words and photos in this piece and find your thoughts quite brilliant.

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  28. Ah the crosses some people bear, as mmy people would have it!
    XO
    WWW

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  29. There are different schools of thought about cemetery management. In a lot of big old Victorian urban ones, they set aside some of the areas that are full (and no longer much visited, let alone maintained, by families) as wildlife sanctuaries, which I think is rather sweet. Others are maintained as restful public open spaces, with keen volunteer "friends" organisations to help look after them. Perhaps sometimes too keen: one group near me decided to try to encourage people to visit the historic parts of the cemetery, by advertising a "Family Fun Day"........

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  30. Do you ever wonder why the grass and trees in cemeteries are so lush?

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  31. What an odd thing for a Health and Safety group to focus on. I'd think that there would be concern for the community's Mental Health and Safety should all those gravestones and crosses be pulled down. Perhaps they'll want to do something with Stonehenge.

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  32. Bindweed in a graveyard - very symbolic. When all the gardeners are dead, convolvulus will inherit the earth - or, at least, this bit of it.

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  33. Lovely thoughtful post Friko. I doubt the dead are bothered re the Health & Safety idiocy but I don't know, the present day risk aversion lunacy of H&S surely bothers me.

    Anna :o]

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  34. It is indeed a lovely spot, but it bothers me a good bit that the "authorities" would take it upon themselves to dismantle the stones. I am heartily sick of nearly everyone who thinks it their responsibility to protect me from myself. Ah, well. I'll simply have to hone my ability to ignore idiocy a bit sharper. ;)

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  35. Hi Friko - it's terrible that the headstones have just been pushed over - honestly do people have no respect (don't answer .. I know .... ) - it'll be written about as another of our ridiculous ideas in a few decades - the silly H&S posturings of the early 21st C ... I'd love to rest easy there - either alive or dead ... your Valley's End is idyllic ... Cheers Hilary

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