Bloody hell its a Sunday morning and instead of lazing in bed with the papers and a pot of coffee I'm being reminded of all sorts of things from the past. (and yes I know that to be reminded of things they have to be in the past, as its a tad difficult to be reminded of things that haven't happened).

Anyroad, I'm reading this book by Howard Jacobson called 'The Making of Henry'. It's about life and death and the bit in between, not in a maudlin kind of way more introspective. The erstwhile hero, Henry Nagel, is pondering what he should have on his gravestone and rues the fact that his first choice is, (because he feels he has been a failure) not appropriate.This being

HENRY NAGEL
NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION

Quite a neat one that and it reminded me of something my Dad told me years ago about one of my GreatGrandfathers.

Seems that around 1880 Samuel H. owned and ran a pub/hotel in Scunthorpe called 'THe Blue Bell'. I can remember this place from my youth and a right rough old dive it was. Shortly before it was knocked down to build a 'carbuncle' of a library I was asked by the local history society to photograph it extensively as it was Scunthorpe's oldest building.(those town planners must have had greasy palms). I was only thiteen at the time and to get photographs published in the local rag really was a feather in my precocious cap.

Samuel it seems had the same off-beat sense of humour as my father and myself and to this end donated quite heavily to a small church in a village near Louth. The upshot was that he was given a plot in the best place in the cemetery and could have what he wished inscribed on his gravestone. What he had carved on the stone was :

BENEATH THIS SOD LIES ANOTHER

Now that's what I call a sense of humour. I've never seen this but my father visited ages ago and took a photograph which I remember seeing.

Dennypoos................brightening everyones Sunday.