Friday, January 19, 2018

the resurrection men

A cine film taken in either
1965 or 1966: In Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh.
Pictured are my late Mum & Dad.
The third person seen is the Kirkyard's caretaker.Even then,  it was "closed" both for burials and for visting.He had come  specially to unlock the area & show us around.
Some of my maternal relatives are buried here.You can see from the inscriptions on the grave stone that they are buried 8 -.Deep.
 Greyfriars Kirkyard is famous as the scene of some of the early trade & work of the murderers & grave robbers Burke and Hare Of course,it is quite poignant,me watching this silent film..........
This is a sepia saturday post.See other contributers here
a photo i took inside Brompton Cemetery, London.
 
....Read More

13 comments:

Little Nell said...

Absolutely priceless footage Tony; animated sepia! Bang on theme as well.

Sandra Williamson said...

How wonderful have a cine film. Are you the photographer? I found the wiki entry for Greyfriars Kirkyard very interesting as well. Thanks for sharing.

tony said...

Thank You Sandra yesterday,I was asking myself the very same question....! I,m not sure.I was there for sure,but It was either myself or my brother Zyg who took this film. ( we interchanged the task of filming..sorta like the Coen Brothers!)
Nell Thank You. The fact that it is silent actually adds to the atmosphere, I think.

Jofeath said...

Fascinating! I've seen the sculpture of Greyfriars Bobby but see it's not actually in the kirkyard itself. A lot of notable Scots are buried there.

tony said...

Indeed Jo. As a child, I remember being very moved by the story of Greyfriars Bobby.
Re: Notable Burials : I like the sound of "Vice Admiral Sir John Home of Blackadder ! (died 1803)

Molly of Molly's Canopy said...

How wonderful to have this video of your parents taken on such a moving occasion. In their fifties, my mom and late dad made a regular trip every May to visit graves on both sides of the family. I would give anything to have footage like this of their visits. Thank you for posting this!

Mike Brubaker said...

As much as I love old sepia-tone images, without color or movement they are still just a semblance of reality. I remember those days of cinefilm cameras when the film reels came back and the family gathered around the projector, there was a real delight in the magic of the cine images. We are so spoiled today by technology that now wants us to experience virtual 3-D images made with smartphones. With stereo sound too. Just have to wear goggles.

I did not know the story of Burke and Hare. Very chilling! Two years ago I played in the orchestra for a production of the musical Sweeney Todd. The storyline still brings a shudder too, but now with a melody.

tony said...

Mike the trouble will cine reels& projectors was if they got stuck & began to burn!Quite psychedelic on the screen..... but a bit of a fire hazard!
Molly Thank You.It was just by chance it was taken. We had bought the camera because my Dad was returning for a trip to Poland in 1965.His Mum (my Grandma) was dying and he hadnt seen her in 20 years. He wanted a recordof our trip thru The Iron Curtain......
Which makes me think this film in Scotland was taken in the Spring of 1965 to let us get some camera practice .......

Wendy said...

Locked in a cemetery! Before Christmas I was at a wreath-laying ceremony. When it was over I used the time to do some photographs for Findagrave.com. I had entered the cemetery at one end, but when I was finished, I found the gate was locked. I was the only living person there. I went from gate to gate before finding one open. I wasn't terribly scared, but I was prepared to be embarrassed. Glad for that open gate!

tony said...

Wendy ah,the stuff of bad dreams! Its always the uneven turf in graveyards that worries me!

Kristin said...

Being locked in a cemetery. Gory body snatchers, murders. If it weren't for that nice little video of your parents, this would be a totally macabre post.

La Nightingail said...

As has been said, you are very lucky to have that bit of film. I never got locked in a cemetery but wouldn't have been worried or scared had I been caught in our local cemetery. It was beautiful with winding roads & walkways up and down the grassy flowered hills with waterfalls and a little bubbling brook. I used to take walks in there all the time and say "hello" to 3 of my grandparents along the way. :)

tony said...

Nightingail I remember walking in Greece once...a pretty hilltop Village cemetery.I caught myself thinking 'I'd loved to be buried here..'until I considered the logic of that statement!Still ,it was a nice gift from the residents to the visitors!
Kristin yes, i guess the ,Macabreis a defence mechanism on my part?

Phil

  Phil died early in the morning of Sunday 17th March at home with his Wife Iris by his side.