The website of Minda Powers-Douglas, Epitaphs Magazine and The Cemetery Club.
Taphophile of the Week: Jeane Trend-Hill
 Jeane Trend-Hill in City of London Cemetery, London, England. "This is one of my favourite monuments, Gladys Spencer reclining on her piano. Gladys was a teacher and something of a music hall star."
Meet Jeane Trend-Hill, Headstone Hunter, Essex, England
(5/8/13) How long have you been interested in cemeteries and why? My love of cemeteries began as a young child when I visited family member’s graves with my parents. Whilst the adults chatted and arranged flowers, I would wander off and look at all the angels, doves and crosses. I was struck by their beauty and as I got older I began photographing them purely for my own enjoyment. I have since gone on to set up the Silent Cities Project - I’ve produced a series of cemetery photography books, studied grave symbolism and Mortuary Science and I am also involved with monument restoration and preservation to help future generations enjoy an important part of our history and heritage. What are your favorite cemeteries? (we all have more than one!) In no particular order - San Michelle in Venice, it’s an entire cemetery island. Pouble Nou in Barcelona Spain for the amazing ‘Kiss of death’ monument, which is a winged skeleton figure lifting a man for the final kiss goodbye. Highgate Cemetery London, beautifully gothic and romantic, Kensal Green Cemetery London for its array of different memorials, and I have just returned from Central Cemetery Zentralfriedhof Vienna Austria where all the composers like Mozart and Strauss are buried. What are your favorite monuments? The Kiss of death as I mentioned, along with Mary the sleeping angel on a bed of clouds in Highgate and the resting place of an architect Arthur Beresford Pite in West Norwood Cemetery London, whose building I worked in for many years and I am currently involved in his grave restoration. I like all different sorts of things though, from a simple wooden cross that may have been hand carved with love, to something very elaborate and over the top. I prefer the older monuments (pre 1940), some of the more modern ones seem to be lacking in imagination. Stonemasonry is a lost art, hand carving from a single block of marble or granite and of course few people could afford anything like that now anyway. I also love Victorian catacombs and have been lucky enough to see a few not generally open to the public. Where is the farthest you've traveled to visit a cemetery? I did a day trip to Barcelona once just to photograph a certain monument, but the furthest ... I have been to Australia twice in 1995 and 1996, but lost my cemetery photos from there due to a computer crash. What has been the most surprising thing you've seen in a cemetery? The sad state of neglect in some of them, but more usually the things people leave behind. I’ve handed in cameras and phones, watched tiny fox cubs playing, seen rare birds (although I have had to have those pointed out to me), clothing (lets not go there!) and bones of course, although that’s not really surprising. What do you tell people if they think your cemetery infatuation is weird? I try to show them the beautiful side of cemeteries through my photographs. They are havens for wildlife, flowers and plants and of course the amazing architecture. There is so much history to be found too. I think people are coming round to it more nowadays, but of course there will always be the odd one who thinks I’m weird – that’s fine, there are a lot of us about!! What cemeteries are on your bucket list? I’d like to get back to the USA one day and also see some of the cemeteries in Berlin and I haven’t finished with Italy yet. I keep on adding to the list! Visit Jeane's website and Facebook Page. More Events
- Cemetery tour in Philadelphia - May 18-19
Explore Philadelphia’s iconic landscapes and little-known places during What’s Out There Weekend Philadelphia. On May 18th and 19th, The Cultural Landscape Foundation will host FREE, expert-led tours at over two-dozen historically significant examples of landscape architecture in the area, including hidden gems in Fairmount Park, the Beaux Arts grounds of the Rodin Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Colonial Revival efforts of the National Park Service, the groundbreaking Modernist expressions of Society Hill, and romantic landscapes of the city’s abundant cemeteries and arboreta. The tours will teach people about city shaping, landscape architecture and the design history of places they may pass every day but don’t necessarily know about. Learn more at http://tclf.org/landscapes/wot-weekend-Philly2013. Say It Loud, Say It Proud!
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The Sunken Cemetery of Camiguin
Photo by Shubert Ciencia, Wikipedia Creative Commons
Story by GhostWriterL (5/16/13) Sоmе оf uѕ wаnt tо еxреrіеnсе ѕоmеthіng оut оf thе оrdіnаrу. Sоmе lооk fоr brеаth-tаkіng ѕсеnеrу, ѕоmе уеаrn fоr а tаѕtе оf hіѕtоrу, whіlе ѕоmе wіѕh tо lеаrn mоrе аbоut thе ѕuреrnаturаl. Vеrу fеw рlасеѕ іn thе wоrld hаvе аll thеѕе thrее, аnd thаt рlасе іѕ саllеd Cаmіguіn. Thе Cаmіguіn Iѕlаnd іѕ lосаtеd аt thе сеntеr оf thе Phіlірріnе Arсhіреlаgо. Fоr сеnturіеѕ, јuѕt lіkе thе rеѕt оf thе соuntrу, іt wаѕ а fоrmеr роѕѕеѕѕіоn оf Sраіn, thе Unіtеd Stаtеѕ, аnd Jараn. Thіѕ fасt hаѕ аllоwеd Cаmіguіn tо gаіn аnd dеvеlор ѕеvеrаl fеаturеѕ thаt ѕераrаtе іt frоm thе rеѕt, bу lеарѕ аnd bоundѕ. Hеrе wе gо. Cаmіguіn'ѕ nаturаl hоt ѕрrіngѕ, соld ѕрrіngѕ, аnd wаtеr fаllѕ аrе wеll-knоwn thrоughоut Aѕіа аnd thе rеѕt оf thе wоrld fоr thеіr рrіѕtіnе wаtеrѕ аnd unѕроіlеd ѕtаtе. Ardеnt hоt ѕрrіngѕ, wаrmеd bу thе асtіvе vоlсаnо Mt. Hіbоk-hіbоk, іѕ rumоrеd tо hаvе grеаt hеаlіng роwеrѕ, аnd іѕ vіѕіtеd оftеn bу реорlе whо lооk fоr оthеr аltеrnаtіvеѕ wауѕ tо mаіntаіn оr іmрrоvе thеіr hеаlth Thе сеnturіеѕ-оld соlоnіаl Rоmаn Cаthоlіс сhurсhеѕ аnd аnсеѕtrаl hоmеѕ аrе fаmоuѕ fоr thеіr unіquе аrсhіtесturе аnd hіѕtоrу. Thеѕе ѕtruсturеѕ wеrе mаіnlу іnѕріrеd bу еіghtееnth-сеnturу Sраnіѕh ѕtуlеѕ аlbеіt wіth а lосаl flаvоr. Thеу hаvе іnсоrроrаtеd thе uѕе оf іndіgеnоuѕ mаtеrіаlѕ fоr соnѕtruсtіоn, аnd hаvе wеаthеrеd thе tеѕt оf tіmе. Hоwеvеr, thе mаіn аttrасtіоn оf Cаmіguіn іѕ іtѕ ееrіе undеrwаtеr сеmеtеrу. Thе сіtу сеmеtеrу оf thе Cаmіguіn'ѕ оld саріtаl wаѕ burіеd undеrwаtеr аftеr а vеrу vіоlеnt еruрtіоn оf Mt. Vulсаn thаt lаѕtеd fоr аlmоѕt fіvе уеаrѕ іn thе lаѕt quаrtеr оf thе nіnеtееnth сеnturу. Thе сеmеtеrу, аlоng wіth thе іѕlаnd'ѕ fоrmеr саріtаl сіtу, wаѕ реrmаnеntlу ѕubmеrgеd іn ѕеаwаtеr ѕіnсе thеn. Rumоrеd tо bе thе hоmе оf mаnу lоѕt ѕоulѕ, thе ѕunkеn сеmеtеrу hаѕ bесоmе а fаmоuѕ dіvіng ѕроt fоr mаnу еnthuѕіаѕtѕ uр tо thіѕ dау. To see more photos, click here. Minda's Latest Video (4/14/13)
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Merchandise for Sale
Still need to pick up some gifts for the taphophile or genealogist in your life? Look no further! Right now I have a surplus of wax cakes for gravestone rubbings (these are handmade and blended by me). I also have some T-shirts, bumper stickers, stickers, a key chain, Gravestone in Your Pocket packs, and car magnets still available. (Prices do not include shipping and handling.)
E-mail me now to make your purchase! At these prices, they won't last! 
• "I Dig Cemeteries" T-shirt - $15 each
- Large (last 2 in stock) - XLarge (SOLD - but can be pre-ordered) • Wax rubbing cakes - $4 each (2 for $7, 3 for $10) - Red (1) - Orange (2) - Deep blue (3) - Charcoal (2) - Green (1) - Red/magenta (4) - Purple (2) - Brown (2) • Car magnets - $15 each (11.25" x 8.5") - "Save cemeteries ... it's patriotic!" version - Version below 
• "I Dig Cemeteries" stickers - 2 for $1
• "I Dig Cemeteries" stickers - 2 for $1 (3" x 2")
• Gravestone in Your Pocket - $3
- Set of 25 business-size cards you can carry with you or in your glove box for research on the go. Only available on TheCemeteryClub.com. 
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