Believed to be Britain's longest grave, this memorial which is more than 98ft long, is dedicated to the crew of the 'Hera' who lost their lives when their vessel sank off the Cornish coast.
One hundreds year ago today, the German barque 'Hera' had been 90 days into it's voyage to Chile when it hit rocks off the Roseland peninsula and was wrecked. It was carrying a cargo of nitrates when it struck a reef during a thick fog. Of a crew of 24, only five of them survived and only 12 bodies that were recovered are now buried in the churchyard of St.Symphorian in the village of Veryan in Cornwall.
A Maltese sailor was almost missed by rescuers after spending the night clinging to rigging in cold winter seas. When the lifeboat retrieved only four of the men, Joseph Cauchi had to call out to be saved or he too would have perished.
In this centenary year the crew of the 'Hera' are being honoured with a requiem service, concert and exhibition by the local community.
Doctor Guy Pitchal was a Psychoanalyst who was known for his work with many French celebrities, including the singer Dalidawhose own monument is not far from this one.
It makes perfect sense to me, that a psychoanalyst should have such a fascinating monument that highlights how we perceive the world around us, by proving that things are not always as we think they appear to be.
Sadly the quality of this short clip is pretty poor, as the pathways are cobbled and this made filming and maintaining your balance whilst walking was rather difficult. But it shows how the concave face becomes convex as it appears to turn and watch you as you pass by.
Celebrating 100 years ago today the birth of Benjamin Britten ~ British Composer, Conductor and Pianist.
Benjamin was born in Lowestoft on the 22nd November 1913 and was the youngest of four children. His father Robert was a dentist and would not allow a gramophone or radio into the house, but his mother Edith was a talented amateur musician and secretary of the Lowestoft Musical Society who held musical soirees at their house.
Benjamin Britten
Benjamin's mother gave him piano lessons and he showed musical talent from an early age. He later studied at the Royal College of Music in London and first came to public attention with a choral work in 1934 with 'A Boy was Born'. Britten leapt to international fame in 1945 with the premier of 'Peter Grimes'.
Peter Pears in 'Peter Grimes'
Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas and established himself as one of the leading 20th Century composers in that genre.
Britten's other works included, solo vocal, chamber, orchestral, choral, instrumental and film music. He took great interest in writing music for children and wrote 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra' in 1945.
'Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra' played by the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra
Britten would often compose with particular performers in mind and his frequent choice was his personal and professional partner, the tenor Peter Pears.
Britten was also a celebrated pianist and conductor who performed many of his own works as well as those of other composers such as Bach's Brandenburg concertos.
Britten and Pears
Together with Peter Pears and Eric Crozier, Benjamin Britten founded the annual Aldeburgh Festival and was responsible for the creation of the Snape Maltings Concert Hall in 1967. In the last year of Britten's life, he was the first composer to be awarded a life Peerage.
Benjamin Britten died on the 4th December 1976 of heart failure, 10 years later his partner Peter Pears rests eternally by his side in the churchyard of St.Peter and St.Paul in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.
Very often the delicate stained glass windows in mausoleums are damaged or missing altogether, this may be due to the elements, vandals or just the ravages of time. So it was a joy to find many of these works of art in tact and still looking beautiful more than a century later in the Cemeteries of Paris. Here are a selection of those to be found in Montmatre.
