It Was the Worst of Times....., a photo from South Lanarkshire, Scotland

Photographer's Note

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." - but for one family this was most definitely the very worst ever.

Yesterday I showed you some photographs taken during a country walk with friends in the hills near the little village of Coulter, near Biggar. On our way back we came to the lovely little Culter Kirk and just had to have a little wander around its grounds.

As you walk through the church gate, the first thing which strikes you is a family monument - and you can see and read one face of it in the first image in this triptych - a very depressing list of deaths of one poor couple's children:

A daughter, Janet, died in infancy on 18th December, 1848 - and then - worse to come:

Three children, Margaret, John & James, aged 3, 17 and 10 years respectively, died in the three week period from Christmas Eve, 1859 to 14th January, 1860. Horrendous!

So, as we are all suffering from the effects of the Coronavirus just now, we can only begin to imagine just what suffering that poor family must have gone through - and they would definitely not have had any sort of financial or psychological support other than from their own family members and, in those days, probably also the Church.

Also in this triptych, a photograph of Culter Kirk itself (you can see the monument to the right side of the path) and a shot of a wrought iron gate in the churchyard with a profound and very stark reminder of what is to come for all of us.

ISO 800, 1/160 sec at f/8, focal length 25mm.

You can see the location of Culter Kirk at: 55.591124, -3.543738 or click on Map: view.

jean113, ikeharel, holmertz, jhm, Fis2, pajaran, jemaflor, Royaldevon, ricardomattos oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

jean113 (27887) 2020-05-15 5:27

Hello John, a clever tryptch that tells a story.
Seeing the signs of history in the churchyard really makes one stop and think. How hard it must have been to lose their children in this way, and over such a short period of time.
The coronavirus is dominating our lives at the moment, but we have much to still be thankful for.

I like the way that you have 'sandwiched' the three shots together with the church in the centre. All excellent quality.

Interesting notes, thank you.
Kind regards, Jean.

holmertz (102732) 2020-05-15 7:41

Hello John,
I just saw Claude's amusing illustration of our present serious crisis, so this triptych immediately put me in a different mood. The photo in the middle would have been a good regular TE post any time, and the three together make an interesting contribution to the site. I just wonder what was behind these tragedies. Starvation or an epidemic?
Best regards,
Gert

Tue (92402) 2020-05-15 8:45

Hello John,
Three excellent photos of the church, the cemetery and their surroundings. The photo in the middle offers a very nice overview in a pleasant, soft sunlight and the one at the top tells the sad story of the harsh life many people had to endure in the middle of the 19th century. A good and clear photo of the inscriptions in the monument. Well put together along with the wrought iron gate.
Lars

jhm (211736) 2020-05-15 9:28

Hello John,

We're complaining about Covid-19, and rightly so.
But 150 years ago, few people could be medically saved.
Your story about this family reminds me of a family two villages away, where mother, grandmother and grandfather died in two weeks, a month ago from covid-19.
Now they usually have money and good medical care, but many are not spared.
Your photo requires a lot of attention and all three photos are beautifully made.
Well done, TFS.

I wish you the best for the weekend,
John.

Fis2 (170807) 2020-05-15 10:31

Witaj John!
Interesting photo set.
An curious family story.
Excellent presentation of this place.
Very well done.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

Silvio1953 (221659) 2020-05-15 22:49

Ciao caro John, really a sad collage, in each photo, excellent clarity, wonderful colors and fine details, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

jemaflor (147184) 2020-05-15 23:42

Hi John,
Interesting and well made presentation with this collage with 3 different photos, well managed your photos, perfect sharpness and interesting note, tfs.

Royaldevon (85932) 2020-05-16 4:04

Hello John,

Graveyards can be be so informative about families and their grandeur or, as in this case, their terrible losses and sadness!

Your photographs seem like a testimony to the present times, where we are enduring a pandemic affecting people across the world. There are families in this country, at a time when we are much more able to treat illnesses, who have lost more than one family member in a matter of days. You, as a doctor, will understand what is being endured in hospitals. I know, I worry for my son who works at The Christie and had to make wards available for patients suffering from the Corona Virus!

The middle photograph is the main photograph of the location, but the others add the emotion to what we see!

Keep safe,
Bev :-)

alvaraalto (42804) 2020-05-16 7:43

Hello John,
An intriguing and important triptych that makes us think in this bizarre period, unknown to us.
It puts our current collective situation in a personal light and new monuments of this kind may soon be erected that tell of personal suffering.
Excellent presentation
Have a good weekend.
Be careful and stay safe, groet Rob

ricardomattos (17460) 2020-05-16 13:20

Hi John,

Devo confessar que fiquei emocionado esta lápide hoje meu amigo. Lágrimas desceram ao imaginar a dor destes pais aí. Acho que estou mais sensivel ao ver tantas perdas de vidas nos noticiários. Mas há uma esperança e ela é real: Jesus.

Parabéns e abraço

Ricardo

lousat (139298) 2020-05-16 13:50

Hi John,now we have a lot of grandfathers deaths during the virus days,and it's a good idea to compare our days for the unlucky of this family,very unlucky with the childs. Impressive collage that make me think a lot....have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

emka (158198) 2020-05-16 23:33

Hello John, Impressive triptych that makes us think how fragile life is. I wonder what could be the reason of the death of these children in such a short time. Maybe a cholera epidemic? What a tragedy of the parents. As I could read on the other side of this monument, the parents lived until long life - the mother died in 1921, the father passed away when was 92. Probably they lost all their children.
I look with horror at the numbers connected with coronavirus. Up to now, in the UK it is 34,466 deaths. It is quite a big town. What tragedies are behind these numbers.

Nice view of this small lovely church.
Take care and stay healthy

MAlgo

Photo Information

Copyright: John Cannon (tyro) (30513)
Genre: Miejsca
Medium: Kolorowe
Date Taken: 2018-10-30
Camera: Canon EOS M 5, Canon EF-M 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM, Hoya 52mm Pro1D Protector
Naświetlenie: f/0.6, 1/21 sekund
Map: view
Wersja zdjęcia: Oryginalna wersja
Date Submitted: 2020-05-15 5:09