In the week between Christmas and New Year (oh, lazy, hazy days filled with time on your hands and trying to get over your Christmas eating spree!) I read about an interesting word (and "hobby") on Diane's blog. She'd contributed to Julie of Sydney Eye's blog with a post pertaining to taphophilia. A taphophile is one who finds they are attracted to walking around cemeteries, reading the headstones and musing upon the family history contained therein.
I've been following Julie* and Diane's * blog for a couple of years now and decided to join in the Tuesday meme. As I'm frantically (lol!) busy with getting back into the flow of things, writing new articles and sharing our wonderful Kenyan safari on my blog, I used a post I'd written in 2009. It was a tribute to a very special cat which we'd taken home from West Africa in 2006. If you like, you can read this post by clicking this link
http://memorablemeanders.blogspot.com/2009/04/our-west-african-cat.html
I have dragged my poor long-suffering husband around cemetries when we tour South Africa on our motorcycle. I hope you'll join Julie on her blog and post any interesting photos and information you have about graves, headstones and cemeteries.
Note* both the blogger's I have highlighted above, have wonderfully descriptive posts about/ and photos of Australia and their travels, not just on taphophiles. Please do pop in and visit them to read about their interesting lives and surroundings Down Under.
I didn't know about this theme, anyway all Germans would be "taphophiles" because they love to walk on cimetaries. In Germany usually the cimetaries are made like a park with banks and playgrounds for children (in some) and families go there on a Sunday walk as I did with my parents, although we didn't have any relatives in this cimetary. It was just a beautiful park and I loved to read what was written on the stones or statues.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately Germans do this also in other countries and nobody understands why they go to a cimetary, some people are also offended by that. But it's in the uses. My grandma always said she would love that kids would play on her grave !
Love that header Jo!
ReplyDeleteGoing to check her blog out! Thanks!
hughugs
I always enjoy Julie's blogs, and she's a wonderful person, too. We arranged to meet when we were both in Paris in the spring and there was an instant connection. If we hadn't been leaving the next day, I'm sure I'd have joined Julie in some of her wanderings (perhaps to a cemetery) because neither of us can walk as fast as my energetic husband.
ReplyDeleteNow I have to check out the link to your old post and leave a comment there.
Luv, K
I enjoy visiting old cemeteries also.. I look at the gravestones and wonder about the people and their lives... Going to cemeteries is another great way to get info when I'm working on Genealogy..
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
A Taphophile? So that's it, is it? Thanks for teaching me a new word today that I'll pull on my un-suspecting friends next time we're in a cemetery! I'll have some fun with this.
ReplyDelete