We woke to fog yesterday morning. There is a myth abroad that England is regularly shrouded in fog but this is utter nonsense. We hardly ever see fog here in Sheffield. Yesterday's thick mistiness related to the improving air temperature, the snowy ground and the absence of wind.
I took a morning walk up to nearby Ecclesall Churchyard. In my mind I had a vision of golden light emanating from the church windows in the fog. It would make a dramatic scene worth photographing. As it happens,when I got to the church I realised that the mental image wasn't replicated in reality.
Even so I took a bunch of other pictures, including the grave of our old neighbours - Ken and Doris who both died back in the nineties. They had no relatives here and as old age squeezed them I gave them a lot of practical support. Ultimately, I arranged their funerals and even ordered the headstone which included an extract from one of Doris's own poems. They were lovely, well-meaning people who seemed to belong to a more innocent time. They were very grateful of my help which motivated me to help them more. Their entire "estate" was left to their niece who emigrated to New Zealand years ago - apart from a gift of £5000 which they left to me though I am still not sure how or when Doris amended her will to include me.
The inscription reads:
Our bitter tears shall cease to flow
As we leave this desolate life below
To join all the saints in heaven above
There to find everlasting love
Ken and Doris used to lie in the last row of the graveyard but there is a good number of graves beyond them now. I also spotted the grave of Elizabeth Winter. It seemed fitting to come across that grave on such a snowy day.
I would have thought a bigger bequest might have been fitting for someone who took on the job of family but people have funny priorities around that kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of everlasting love in heaven is nice but I hope for more than a desolate life in the here and now!
Good job, Neil
I wanted nothing and expected nothing Kylie. £5000 was an unexpected bonus. If you lived far out in the Australian bush, it would be a very desolate life.
DeleteI know you would never expect anything! Does a bloodline make one person more deserving than another.
DeleteWhen she was little, Josie was like a daughter to Ken and Doris for they had no children of their own. I have met her and she is a very pleasant woman but I do appreciate the point you are making. Blood isn't everything.
DeleteA heartfelt post, Mr. Pudding...heartwarming on a cold day...
ReplyDeleteThank you Lee and thanks for calling by again.
DeleteThe lamp post photo is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving it a thumbs up Sue.
DeleteKen and Doris sound like a lovely couple. I'm glad you were able or rather chose to look after them in their declining years. Many or even most people would have just wandered around in a fog and let them fend for themselves. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI felt enriched just by knowing them Bob. It was a two way street.
DeleteThe lamppost photo and that last picture are wonderful. Elizabeth Fleur Winter is an interesting name, and how sweet that there's a little flower reflecting in her polished headstone.
ReplyDeleteWhen my darling and very rich uncle died he left his money according to who needed it the most, which ended up meaning that if only I had been a bigger fuck up, I would have gotten a bigger bequest. Yes, it's strange how people make out their wills.
Elizabeth Fleur Winter sounds like a character in a romantic novel...
DeleteIt was a warm afternoon in the early fall. We gathered in the family attorney's office to hear Uncle Cedric's will being read.
An elegant woman in black lace was sitting by the open window. It was only later that we discovered she had been Uncle Cedric's secret lover for quarter of a century and that he had left almost everything to her. Her name was one that would torment my waking dreams - Elizabeth Fleur Winter.
I remember the fogs back in the 50's. I walked home from school one day and couldn't even see the where the kerbs were.
ReplyDeleteCemetaries, I love them. Ours has been turned into a kind of wild life area and is really pleasant to sit in and cogitate.
Briony
x
With smoky chimneys cities could often sit under blankets of smog. Thank heavens clean air legislation has improved air quality to a big extent.
DeleteA really beautiful post, on many levels.
ReplyDeleteI half expected to see Mr Tumnus on the photo after the lamp.....
We have an "Ecclesall" close by.
I will have to research what it means.
Thank you again for taking the time to write.
Is your Eccleshall with an "h" Christina?
DeleteMr Tumnus was nowhere to be seen.
Thanks for calling by again and leaving another encouraging comment.
Do forgive me. In my excited state, thinking I might see Mr Tumnus I mistook Ecclesall for Eccleshill......
DeleteI hope you won't write "see me" on my copy book.
No young lady, I shall just call you to my study for a jolly good caning!
DeleteHahaha!
DeleteGood that you looked after this couple. It's very sad to see
ReplyDeleteelderly couples who have no support.
Cities can be lonely places and the way we live these days we are often locked inside our houses.
DeleteI have no plans for my hereafter. I wonder if I should have a gravesite and what it would mean to anyone. Room for thought.
ReplyDeleteTo save money, you could carve your own headstone Mr C. May I suggest the following verse:-
DeleteA-wop-bop-a-loo-lop a-lop bam boo
LOL!
DeleteTootie Fruity, aw, rutti! (sing along, children)
Glad you like that idea Mr C but "LOL!" would be good too!
DeleteI like fog, provided it does not last for days on end. It adds an almost magical touch to even the most familiar roads and places, and your pictures capture that atmosphere very well.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Fleur Winter does indeed sound like a character from a book or film.
The memories you have of Ken and Doris are certainly to be treasured.
I thought I might bump into Sherlock Holmes in the fog but he was nowhere to be seen.
DeleteHow kind of you to help your neighbors as much as you did. They were fortunate to call you a friend. Your photographs are stunning. I especially love the first one. It is gorgeous with depth and beauty.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you can tell Bonnie but I used a flash for the angel. Thanks for calling by again.
DeleteOne of the most interesting guided tours i ever went on was in that cemetery .
ReplyDeleteOld cemeteries can say a lot about times gone by.
DeleteLove, love the picture of the street lamp in the fog and the branches in the background. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWould you people please clear up the awful weather soon, please??? The Princess and her British consort will be arriving there next weekend and I don't want them to think they are still in Minnesota!
Last Monday it was The Ice Age in England. Today it is Springtime and the birds are twittering. I think that Princess Meghan and Harry will be fine your royal highness.
DeleteI am scared to walk in the fog since a child after watching the film Midnight Lace with Doris Day.
ReplyDeleteLovely post in memory of your neighbours Ken and Doris. The photo with the lamp is outstanding! Really beautiful.
Greetings Maria x
You are very kind Maria. I don't think I have ever seen "Midnight Lace". Probably a bit too scary for me.
DeleteYour foggy photos are striking. Kudos to you for helping that older couple. A lot of people wouldn't have bothered.
ReplyDeleteIt all began on an icy morning when I saw them tiptoeing nervously on their way to the post office. I gave them a lift.
DeleteI think England USED to be foggy, when it was really smoggy from coal burning. That's what I've always heard about London, anyway. It must be touching to see Ken and Doris's grave, considering how well you knew them and how much of a role you had in the marker.
ReplyDeleteLondon is not England. It's a different country, socially, economically, culturally, climatically and every other -ally you might suggest Steve.
Delete