James Dempster
@cocktaillion.bsky.social
160 followers 230 following 760 posts
Heraldist, delver into obscure, arcane & occult. Photos, bad art, worse poems. Even stranger than I think I am. Lefty. All views own/odd. He/him. 🩷💛🩵
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cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 15 - Damaged.
Sandstone monument in the form of a square pillar with urn. The urn has fallen (or been removed) and now rests against the base, still in one piece. The sandstone has weathered so badly that there are only the slightest traces to suggest that the front face ever had an inscription.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
This evening brought to you by this. I'd forgotten how good this is, and of course the whole "Robyn Nice" conundrum.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
Would you like to test that by throwing the goblin into that nearby volcano? Oh dear, it was a nilbog. And he's rather pissed off and he's going to follow you around for the rest of the campaign.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
True, I'm 61 in a couple of weeks and getting sillier by the day. It keeps you young and a hair's breadth to the right side of insanity. 🤪
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 14 - Inside.
Sandstone wall memorial. The upper section an arch within a rope border surmounted by a spike finial on top of a triangle, Below this S scrolls and below them two further spiked finials on triangles which are on ball feet. Below them the initials W and S. Within the arch at the top carved MR (the R slightly smaller) and below that the interlaced initials WS and MF. Below that left to right, a coffin, the impaled arms of Sanders and Falconer, and an hourglass.

The top panel is on a cornice supported by two Cherub heads emerging out of vaguely Corinthian columns which rest on bases carved with oak leaves like squashed fleurs-de-lys, all resting on a lower cornice.

Between the columns the lower panel contains the inscription
HERE LYES UNDER
This pulpit the corps of
Mr wm sanders lait min
ister of this parochin
who deceased the 13 of
may 1670 & of kathar
in & Elspet sanders his
children
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 13 - Skeleton.
A wide (not quite square) sandstone monument with a slightly curved top. There are three vertical panels. The one in the centre is slightly wider than the two either side and contains a standing skeleton wearing a closed crown (i.e. one with arches) carved in low relief. 

The side panels are split horizontally into three parts with the centre section being slightly deeper than those at top and bottom. These central parts contain carvings, also in low relief. 

On the left a tree-like flower consisting of a central stem rising out of arched roots and ending in a rose. Immediately below this are two leaves and below them, on side stems arching downwards, two more rose blooms. 

On the right a palm(?) tree with nine fronds each side and one at the top. It also grows out of arched roots. On the far right, between the palm trunk and the edge of the panel is a skull. It appears to be impaled (ear-to-ear level) by a pole-arm, the axe head of which can be seen covering the top of the roots and the shaft crossing horizontally over the trunk and out of the left edge of the panel, at the same height as the hands of the skeleton, as if it was holding the weapon.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
Consumer Duty DFT Template.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
Aargh - Maastricht. Apologies. Autocorrect keeps on wanting to make it Christmas anyway.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 12 - Notable Woman.

Not the easiest find, certainly not locally. I've had to settle for a distinguished woman in Masstricht.

A translation reads "The most distinguished woman Johanna Margaret Hamers, most truly endowed with all virtues"
Interior memorial. Top, in the coats of arms of husband and wife in two cartouches side by side carved in relief in alabaster. Below after a pediment a second alabaster section with the start of an inscription in Latin. The alabaster panels are set into a black stone frame.

Lectissimae Feminae
Johannae Margaritae Hamers
Verissimo Omnium Virtutum

The most distinguished woman
Johanna Margaret Hamers, 
most truly endowed with all virtues
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 11 - Military.

Actually Naval rather than military. I hope no-one minds.
A large pale grey granite cross (taller than the wall of the graveyard behind it). The cross sits on a shallow square base. This all sits on a larger base carved to look like a rock. 

On the base of the cross a panel with the name "Strickland" barely visible.  A chain carved in high relief surrounds the base in front of the cross, carved such that it appears to be passing through the stone, the lower part sitting on the rock-like portion. From this hangs a high relief anchor in the centre but at a 30 or so degree diagonal angle. One of the flukes partly covers the leftmost of two roughly circular flat panels on the rocky part. It is the only one with an inscription, the one on the right being blank.

The inscription - in black raised lead - reads.

In loving
And deathless memory
Of my husband
Percy Strickland
Lieutenant, Royal Navy
H.M.S. 'Dublin'
Killed in action
Jutland May 31st
1916,
cocktaillion.bsky.social
The internet says six per stable stops them breeding. Probably turns them into tribbles or something. NB I don't know what I'm talking about as I'm neither the 1/1,000th or the 1/10th.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
My first thought was Bootsy in a business suit 😁
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 10 - Urn.
The top of a dark grey polished granite memorial. A square top composed of four pediments with acroteria, all with shallow carved foliage, is surmounted by a square plinth on which is a part covered urn. Just below the shoulder of the urn is decoration consisting of a series of incised shallow circles between two lines
cocktaillion.bsky.social
Both the loading bay, and part of the former Safeway store in Elgin, now converted into council offices, are haunted, with CCTV footage. It was built in the 1990s, on the site of a car park, on the site of an 18th century haunted house, on part of the site of the former Greyfriars monastery.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 9 - Hand.
The top of a sandstone gravestone. The topmost edge is formed of a border of flower buds. Three on each sides face down, those on the top face towards the centre. On each corner a fleur-de-lis rises up from the top edge and the centre curves upwards to form an arch-like section, higher than the fleurs-de-lis. 

Top centre of the arched portion the date 1853. Below it in small capitals the word "Erected" in a curve out of which is a vertically striped sleeve with plain cuff and a hand gripping a carved border, below which the main inscription. Either side of the striped part of the sleeve "B" and "Y" in script lettering. Either side of the cuff "James" and "Gordon" in capitals. Only the top line of the main inscription can be seen. It's in script lettering and reads "Farmer Goat Craig of Dallas".
cocktaillion.bsky.social
The almost grownup (once we can get the leader off the water slide) centre right party is surely the Liberal - Democrats. But say that to Polly and it'll be head spinning, pea soup everywhere time.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 8 - Glass.

You don't see many immortelles these days, too fragile for modern times. Even here, the cloche seems to be a replacement as it's a bit too small. Whether it had flowers in it as well as the now unreadable plaque, its difficult to say.
Looking down at an immortelle, a glass cloche inside a metal framework. Sometimes they contained dried flowers, more often ceramic flowers. This one contains a rounded metal plaque, once painted white, but now mainly rusted. Any inscription on the plaque is unreadable. Between the immortelle and the gravestone (which is leaning at about 30 degrees off vertical) is quite a build up of thatch from modern mowing.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 7 - Angel.

The angel Joffrey? 😁
Carved head, shoulders and chest of an angel in low relief within the top of a pointed arch gravestone. In one hand the angel holds a scroll with the inscription. The other hand is held against the angel's breast.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 6 - Gender.
All very male, erected by (Master Trades)men for another man.
Large sandstone high cross, the cross part with unequal rounded ends, the size of the ends getting less pronounced as one goes upwards, and filled with Celtic interlacing. A Tao-Rho symbol is in the centre. The upright is filled with five large panels, three of interlacing and two with inscriptions. The large panels are separated by narrow bands of interlacing. First panel of inscription.
Erected By 
The Master
Tradesmen Of 
This District
To Shew 
Their Esteem Second panel of inscription
[Cross Patee] In Memoriam
George Melven
Architect Who
Died At Elgin
20th September 1879
Aged 56 Years
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 5 - Bird.
White marble cross with a carved dove perched on the left arm and pecking at lilies carved in high relief emerging from the upper arm and spreading across the face of the cross.
cocktaillion.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves 👻 No. 4 - Languages.
I could have used this on 18th for mistake, because it definitely says Vaya con Dids rather than Vaya con Dios
Gravestone of Helen Hamilton and John Dalgarno. English and Spanish.
Reposted by James Dempster