But first a story.

This story takes place in Glendalough in the midst of the graveyard that dates back to the 6th century. Talking with a tour guide, she said, “Do you want to see my favourite grave stone here?” Not one to pass up an insider’s insight, I agreed. With a twinkle in her eye, she led me to a particular gravestone … and moved around to the back. “Do you see the upside-down text? I bet that isn’t something you’ve seen before”. Indeed, I hadn’t.

Backside

“What sort of gravestone has text on both sides?” I wondered.

Front

The story goes that this grave stone was originally that of an untrustworthy family. After commissioning the stone from the craftsmen and installing it to mark the grave, they were unable (or refused?) to pay. So, in the middle of the night the craftsmen and his mates went to the graveyard and snatched the stone back to re-use.

Turning it upside down, he re-carved the top to sell to another client. Annoyed with the previous defaulters, he tried to hide or remove the former inscription but over time the weather revealed it once more.

Now, I haven’t been in a lot of graveyards, but I found this quite unique. There were no other examples like it in Glendalough. So next time you’re in a cemetery, be sure to look at the back of the gravestones as well as the front! You never know what you’ll find.

Happy Halloween!

There’s more to be had on Flickr. Go check them out!

In particular, I wanted to highlight a particular photograph I took today. This one came out amazingly well with a wonderful contrast and differential between light and dark. When I saw it on my camera’s digital screen, I thought it looked good, but seeing it on the computer shows even moreso the power in the imagery. I hope you like it!

The best part? I have not retouched the image at all. It came out this way from the camera straight away. So yeah, I’m really pleased!