Memorial day - 47

The statues featured in Memorial day blogs are normally erected in memory of famous people, though last weeks was to the 202 people killed by the Bali bomb.

In the UK, from Victorian times to about fifty years ago, most people would have some form of memorial as a permanent mark of their existence - namely their grave.

Depending on your status, graves varied from very ornate structures down to a plain headstone detailing only the deceased name and dates of birth and death.

Now more people are cremated and the only mark of their existence is an entry in a memorial book or a small plaque in a garden of remembrance.

Due to the grave copings, graveyards are not easy to maintain, and many are now overgrown with brambles and wild rhubarb . In some graveyards, to facilitate maintenance, the copings have been removed, leaving just the headstones and the area laid out as lawns.

R.I.P.