Friday's Funerary Symbols ~ Bluebells

Bluebells are a symbol of humility, gratitude, constancy and ever~lasting love. Bluebells are also associated with the Fairy Realm and when the flowers 'bells' are rung, this would call the wee folk to come together.

Another name for Bluebells is 'Dead Man's Bells' due to the belief that the fairies were thought to cast spells on those who picked or trod on them.  

In Scotland they are widely known as 'Harebells' where it is believed that Witches would shape~shift into Hares and hide amongst the flowers.

Bluebells love partial shade and for this reason they are found in wooded areas. The dappled sunlight that filters down through the mature trees of Key Hill Cemetery in Birmingham, provides exactly the right setting for them to flourish all over the graves there. 

Although when carved in stone the Bluebell is similar in appearance to the Lily~of~the~Valley, it's the narrow leaf and slimmer shaped bell that defines it here.   

Emily Bronte 1850

'The Bluebell is the sweetest flower

that waves in summer air

its blossoms have the mightiest power

to soothe my spirit's care'

Silent Sunday Cemetery Scapes ~ Overgrown

Ascension Burial Ground, Cambridge

Mill Road, Cambridge

Chelmsford, Essex

Saffron Walden, Essex

Mill Road Cemetery, Cambridge

Monday Mourning ~ Snowdrops

The Snowdrops ~ Galanthus Nivalis ~ are at their best right now and in abundance in the Churchyard of St. Mary's in the village of Burwell in Cambridgeshire.

Love Flower, hemmed in with snows,

And white as they But hardier for, once more I see thee bend

Thy forehead as if fearful to offend,

Like an unbidden guest...

Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring

And pensive monitor of fleeting years.

Wordsworth 

Snowdrops are symbolic of consolation as this Legend of their origins tell : 

Eve sat weeping after being expelled from the Garden of Eden because no flowers had bloomed since the Autumn and snow had fallen ceaselessly. An angel came and comforted her and as the angel spoke, he caught a snowflake in his hand and he breathed upon it, it then fell to earth as the first snowdrop. As the flower bloomed, Hope was born.

A German legend tells a different snowdrop story : 

When God made all things on the Earth, He asked the 'Snow' to go to the flowers and get a little color from them. One by one the flowers refused saddened by the other flowers refusals, it asked a snowdrop to give it a little of it's colour and the snowdrop agreed. As a reward, the 'Snow' allows the little flower to bloom first whenever spring shows.

Monks brought snowdrop bulbs from Rome to England and were the first to plant them around old monasteries. 

Because of this snowdrops became known as the church flower. Traditionally on Candlemas ~ 2nd February the image of the Virgin Mary was taken down and a handful of snowdrop blooms were scattered in its place. 

However a single flower indicates impending death and it should never be brought into the house.

Interestingly in October 2010, the UK's National Institute for Clinical Excellence ~ NICE ~ authorised the use of a number of drugs believed to slow the progress of early onset Alzheimer's disease. One of these is Galantamine which was first used, in eastern Europe in the 1950s, to deal with memory impairment. 
NICE said that recent research had shown a cost effective benefit from the drugs.
Galantamine can be extracted from a number of genera, including Galanthus, though Snowdrops are not one of the plants used commercially.

St. Mary's, Burwell.

Friday's Funerary Art ~ Death's Delicate Stone Flowers

These beautifully carved stone flowers are a true testament to the finest craft and artistry of the Master Stone Mason, not just because of their intricacy, but also because of their unusual uniqueness. They are weathered now, but would have been stunning in brilliant white marble when first done.

This monument in Bishops Stortford Cemetery in Hertfordshire is dedicated to three members of the Death Family, the fourth plate having been left blank.  

Requiescat in Pace

In Loving Memory of

Lydia Unwin Death

of 'The Cedars'

Bassingbourne, Cambs

who was accidentally killed

by a Motor ~ Cyclist at

Scarborough

on August 13th 1904

Aged 78

The Lord God Hath Given Rest

After he had served his own generation by the will of God he fell on sleep

In Loving Memory of

Woodham Death

of 'South Lodge' Thorley

who Died March 19 ~ 1889

Aged 81 years

'He giveth his beloved sleep'

Erected by his sorrowing niece

Sarah Death

An Old Disciple

In Loving Memory of

Sarah Death

of 'South Lodge'

Bps Stortford

who Passed away in

her sleep on the Eve

of her 94th Birthday

Februaury 18 ~ 1920

Born at

Burnt Mill, Essex

February 19 ~ 1827

This woman was full of good works

Summer Solstice

Today is the longest day of the year.

Daisies in St.Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Widdington, Essex

Happy Easter

Wishing You a Happy and Peaceful Easter

Spring Is Just Around the Corner

Who would have thought that since my last post when the snow laid all around, just a few short weeks would pass before the sun would appear and these Snowdrops would herald the beginning of Spring.

Ladybirds bask in the sun then get busy, doing whatever it is that ladybirds do....