Tidying up

On their last morning with us the cousins, or at least G, decided he would like a visit to the ancestral grave about an hour's drive away.  The four of us packed ourselves into the car and sped along towards the motorway.  We eventually reached the churchyard and carried the gardening equipment to the most overgrown area under the spreading sweet chestnut tree near the fence.  The grass had grown but it wasn't too bad. One year we found an elder bush growing up out of the plot but it seems to have disappeared completely.  After a few minutes of cutting the grass,uncovering my parents' plaque and cleaning the metal lettering on the rest of the memorials, we had finished. Just as we were leaving we met the grave digger who was a very pleasant man and was all for having sheep in part of the churchyard to keep the grass under control but there were a few of "the old brigade" who wouldn't hear of it!  I was pleased to note that "our" stone is in the conservation area and in the spring there are waves of snowdrops and primroses and a few bluebells spreading across the area.  He also explained how many of the humps of newer graves sink at different speeds depending on the material of the individual coffin and how the brass handles are no longer brass but probably painted plastic. This all appeared very interesting to the American cousins!

After returning home we had a speedy lunch and after fond farewells they drove on to stay with friends near Salisbury.