Thursday 8 May 2008

grave mistake

i decided to go and cut  the graves  today, i knew they would  be bad.  they were.  i was born in a little village called  Hindolvestone,   and lived there until me and mum moved in 1971         after  my dad  died.     he is buried in the churchyard, as are  my grandparents,      i try and go over  every 3  to  4  weeks and do the graves.        put some flowers on, keep them tidy.   it  was bloody hard work.  i couldnt even see  my grand dads grave stone,  and dads  was pretty much the same.   i took the old hayter lawnmower  to do it,      and  now they are neat and tidy.    i don't understand the church council,no-one seems to do anything in there       it really is a disgrace.     what annoys me is,i go and  do dads,and  my grandparents,but  i don't do just  them. i also do the graves  near  theirs,it takes me about 20 minutes extra.   now there is  someone who cares   for several graves  up there, the relations  of those buried  pay him to tend the graves  and keep them cut.       and  thats what he does.    he cuts one,   and 2 down, etc.   but instead of just running his mower along and cutting the others      he ignores them.    oh well,  i did my bit.

Hindolvestone churchyard is away from the church.      it is on the site of the OLD church, which collapsed  back in the late 1800s         i was always told  that  there was a crack showing up in the tower,and the parishioners decided to cancel  church service that sunday.        and  it collapsed.       just  when people wouldve been at prayer. all that is left is the old tower,  the new church is opposite the bungalow i used to live, a very uninspiring looking church,and  was made partly by the recycled stones of the old one.   

as you see,not a lot left  now.   i think the ivy is keeping it standing  lol.   

it was peaceful up there, no-one else there   and all the noise  i could hear were wood pigeond calling.           and  as i cut the grass,i was remembering.              like all villages        or  most, in norfolk. Hindol   is a dying place.       oh,new houses  built,in fact  a lot.      but  there is nothing there now.   i am 55,and when i was 11        hindolvestone  boasted  :- 2 pubs,the Red Lion   and the  Maids Head ( i was actually born  in that lol       my  mum was landlady.   thay packed it in when i was born    too much work for mum.)  3 shops,1 included the post office,  and  1      kept everything      you name it,hardware , clothes   ,groceries       the lot.        a garage and filling station.    ok   1 pump  lol        but  petrol was sold,   a dairy        supplying  locals and further afield.       a  school,       where i went  until i won the eleven plus and  ended up in Fakenham Grammar school      not  happy memories  those  lol.     on top of all these, we also used to have the  fish man come round twice a week,    butcher  also twice a week,and  norman macrell      who operated a mobile shop.  him and  his wife ruth  were from the  next village,and kept the local shop there and bakery.he came round  3 times a week,         so  everything  was freshly bought.      meat,fish,bread,  nothing was pre-packed.      and  of course  my dad  had a huge vegetable garden         and we grew all our own   fruit and veg.

all gone.      hindol  has no shop,no post office,no pub.     the  school is now the village hall,and social club.        the petrol pumps are gone,and  like many more villages,half the houses are second homes,holiday homes       sad to see         but inevitable.     i'm not  getting into the    "supermarkets are killing traditional village life"  argument.     people shop where they can get  the cheapest items.       i do myself.    but  it is sad.     and  i don't suppose many people there even would remember  me and  mum.  

i got home    tired out.  it was a lovely hot morning,       and  the mower did take some pushing.      now  i have noticed that  when i am tired  i get a tremor in my right arm,     not  bad usually.      it was today.            i made mum a cup of tea,took hers through to her,     and  my  hand jerked.           and           goodbye  mums favourite cup and saucer.         good job  i didn't spill it over  her.        oh the joys  of MS,    and  so i sit here tonight  typing this,and i stink.       lol           i had to use a muscle rub,  just  to help ease the pain in  my neck  and  legs.          take care  all         

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's such a shame that graveyards etc are not looked after anymore, the place where my Mum is interred is just the same, oh well progress they call it, your right village life almost doesn't exsist anymore. Hindolvestone sounds like an interesting place, it's a shame it's mainly holiday homes now. Regards to your Mum

Take care

Yasmin
xx

Anonymous said...

Hi Mort,
We must be on the same page.  I also tended my family's graves.  The picture of the churchyard looks as if it could be in a movie, it is so quaint.  Sounds like hindovestone was a lovely town.
Kelly

Anonymous said...

http://journals.aol.co.uk/sybilsybil45/villagelife/

Hope you have it now !!  It is sad to see so many cemetries down here in England so overgrown. I come from Scotland a wee village about 12 miles south west of Edinburgh.. I go up at least once a year with my Sister and Brother in law and of course we always go to the cemetry. Thankfully it is beautifully kept and all we ever do is take the shears up to trim back the rosemary that we planted and tends to grow a bit fast ! The cemetry keeper keeps all the grass beautifully. Mind you the whole cemetry is grassed over ( and it is a very large cemetry) so we are not allowed to have devisions between the graves..if you know what I mean..we do have a few ins. in front of the tombstone where we always plant some pansies and have some bulbs in that come up in the spring time.  Take care Love Sybil x

Anonymous said...

How sad to see your childhood hometown deteriorate like that. Such a shame! The picture is beautiful. I love old cemeteries. Such peaceful places, and I love to read the stones.  
Sorry you broke your Mum's china. Glad she wasn't hurt, though. Take care Mort. Hope you have a good weekend.
Love, Pam xoxoxo

Anonymous said...

Village life isnt the same as we remember it ,A different life infact ,Did you pass the 11 plus? so did I,arent we clever ?,love to you both ...Jan xx

Anonymous said...

Church yards, in the town where I now live, have dinner on the ground twice a year where you bring your tools and clean up the graveyard first.  It's a lovely idea and keeps the graves looking good.  In between most have someone that mows every couple of weeks in the summer.  My parents are in Urns (both cremated) so I don't have to think about cleaning the graves.  Take care of yourself Mort.  Once again...you try to do too much.
Hugs, Joyce

Anonymous said...

I was sad to read this entry my fav other man. Sometimes It Is so hard to look around at what Is gone. Well done for tidying the graves. I am sure your mum understands about the cup and saucer. Just one of those things. You should've seen the damage and mayhem I caused when I had been strimming the garden! Hedgehogs and rabbits ran for their lives, then the neighbours took off to be on the safe side! ;-) Seriously though. Please take It easy and have a Rest Mort Now weekend! I Insist. Hope your mum Is okay. I think about you so much, I am surprised your ears don't burst Into flames! lol. Love Pam xx

Anonymous said...

Oh Mort why do you punish yourself .....take things a bit slower, and not like a bull in a china shop.    Hope muscle rub has done the trick.
Take care
Luv Jaynee X

Anonymous said...

Hey mate,  love the picture and history in the entry.  Great reading.
Some of us are made to add just a little extra,  I think it is nice.  Others do only thier bit and nothing else.  It is sad in a way, because I think you and many others draw a good feeling by going the extra mile.  I do think there are those who appreciate it whether you ever know it or not.  sorry about the cup & saucer and for the sore muscles.  Take care, again,  enjoyable reading, this entry. Jack

Anonymous said...

Hi Hun! my you had a busy day! the story you told of the place you were born and grew up was so lovely. could just see it in  my mind. what a treat that was for someone in america ! lol
you really have a lot of responsibility for any one person. with the graves and all that.i really admire you . it makes me tired just hearing of all you do. i think you pack a lot of living into your days.  me, i am content to sit and do as little as possible. in other words  i am lazy!  lol   june

Anonymous said...

Hi Mort,
I know exactly what you mean about keeping graves neat and tidy.  My family from generations back are all buried in one small graveyard a few miles from where I now live.  Literally 80% of the graves there have my maiden name, being farmers they didnt move around.  Martin and I visit regularly and keep them cut back and tidy.  I find it very comforting actually to be surrounded by generations of my ancestors.  But I agree - it is very hard work at times.  And some graves are never attended to so Martin ends up doing those as well - good job its a very small graveyard!

Anonymous said...

I have found you through Jayne's journal...funny face.I looked back over your recent entries and see you are a MS sufferer. My father-in-law had MS and I know how frustrating it is. His MS took many years to progress as he first started limping at about 40 and he had many periods when it did not progress much. He was 70 when he died and from a heart attack eventually. I do hope your MS progresses slowly too and that you are able to keep up with your gardening as your fish pond andplants look gorgeous. I have a private journal but I have added you to my visitor list should you want to pop in at any time...you would be very welcome! Love Conniex

Anonymous said...

Hey Bud,

I know you are going to be  blessed for the hard work that you are doing and I know your father does appreciate it!  The Church and Village really sounds great! The Picture looks just like something from Dickens!! Get some rest and tell your mother hello!

God Bless

Randy

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to stop by to say,  Wish Mum a happy Mother's day.  Of course i never thought until now, it probably isn's mother's day there or is it?  If not it is always good to wish a Mother, a happy day!.....
jack

Anonymous said...

It's a god job we can't smell you through the power of computers ;)  lol.........  Sounds like you had a good productive day.  It's a shame graves don't get looked after like they used to.  Don't get me started on the second homes malarkey!!!!

Jenny

http://journals.aol.co.uk/Jmoqueen/MyLife

Anonymous said...

You know Mort, I am so late getting in here to read this and I do understand  how upset you get when the graves are so unkempt.  Marty's dad is buried in one.  May I please say this just one time, (well maybe more) but later.  You  must try and do things in the cooler part of the day.  Someday you could get stranded to where you can not  get yourself out of a situation.  Please be careful.  Lucy