Talking Tombstones of Föhr ~ Boldixsum, Germany

Here rests in God

Seel Lobbe ~ last name is not legible

Daughter Anna so born 1711 the 15th

June. Married to the Shipman Nikels Jappen

1735 the 30th December. 

During the marriage were born 2 daughters and after

the husband died in 1740 in November 

during a journey to St. Valert,

she walked into another marriage

to Commander Namen Frerck 1744 the 4th December.

Unfortunately the remaining information on this stone is underground. 

It is a fine example of the 'Talking Tombstones of Föhr' ~ a North Frisian Island off the coast of Germany ~ The tombstones are so called because of the amount of personal information they contain and the carvings upon them also depict a wealth of information too.

Pictured above we can see the woman ascending to heaven with the five daughters from her second marriage looking on from one side and her first two daughters looking on from the other side and are shown smaller and lower.

Silent Sunday Cemetery Scapes ~ St. Nicolai, Boldixsum, Föhr, Germany

Saxophone Inventor ~ Adolphe Sax

Adolphe Sax was born on 6th November 1814 in Wallonia, Belgium. His father was an instrument designer and so Adolphe began to make his own instruments at an early age. Adolphe studied music at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

Adolphe's first important invention was an improvement of the bass clarinet which he patented at the age of 24.

He moved to Paris in 1841 and began working on a new set of instruments, these valved bugles became so successful that they became known as Saxhorns, with a range of approximately seven sizes in all from Sopranino to subcontrabass and he patented them in 1846. 

He also created the Saxtromba, but this was to survive only briefly and the unsuccessful clarinette~bourdon an early design of contrabass clarinet.

Saxhorn instruments spread rapidly throughout the world and remain largely unchanged today. The British Brass Band movement exclusively adopted the saxhorn range and they are widely used in Concert bands. However they never became a standard Orchestral instrument for which they had been intended to be used.

A plaque on the side of Adolphe Sax's tomb

The saxophone made Adolphe his reputation and secured him a teaching post at the Paris Conservatoire in 1857.

Adolphe suffered from lip cancer between 1853~58 and although he made a full recovery, he died in Paris in 1894.

The Saxophone Family

Belgium's Famous Son is celebrated on currency and postage

A variety of Saxophone styles

Light Jazz Sax ~ Cry me a River ~ Tenor Sax

Ravel ~ Bolero ~ Mi~Bemol Saxophone Ensemble

Piazzolla ~ Libertango ~ The Italian Saxophone Quartet

Rimsky Korsakov ~ Scheherazade ~ Mi~Bemol Saxophone Ensemble

Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Orchestra ~ In the Mood

Valentine's Day ~ Serge Gainsbourg ~ 'Je t'aime..'

You can tell by the lipstick kisses and other mementos ~ I once found a cabbage which had a message in Japanese writing on it ! ~ that the admirers of Serge Gainsbourg have an emotional connection to the man who gave us the once controversial song Je t'aime...moi non plus 

Serge Gainsbourg's name at Birth: Lucien Ginsburg ~ 2nd April 1928 ~ 2nd March 1991

Father: Joseph 1898 ~ 1971  Mother: Olga 1894 ~ 1985 

Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin

Although the song was banned in several countries as it gave the impression of two people making love, it reached no.1 in the UK charts in 1969. 

Je t'aime...moi non plus

Silent Sunday Cemetery Scapes ~ Welford Road Cemetery, Leicester

Protecting Monuments ~ All Wrapped Up for Winter

In Loving

Memory of

A Beloved Husband and Father

George Cox

Died Feb 7th 1968

Aged 69 Years

Christina Maria

A Devoted Wife and Mother

Died Feb 12th 1980

Aged 80 Years

Looking more like a Ghostly Spectre than a Saint, this monument has been all wrapped up for protection against the winter despite the mild sunny autumn afternoon when we found it. 

The Saint depicted is St. Martin de Porres 1579~1639, who was a lay brother of the Dominican Order, he is the patron saint of people of mixed race and those seeking interacial harmony. 

Click here to see the monument Unveiled 

Silent Sunday Cemetery Scapes ~ San Michele, Venice, Italy