Rest

I woke up well-rested and dry! Jess must have slept well too, I think, she just lay next to me all night and seemed to be a happy camper :-)

This afternoon I was playing at Collin Gala with the Samba Sisters (it's Gala season now - we have another one tomorrow).

Once we'd finished, instead of heading off with the others for ice cream, I went to visit the old Dunscore cemetery near Merkland. This is the place where most of my local ancestors are buried, as they lived nearby in and around Burnhead. It's also the resting place of the infamous Grierson of Lag, persecutor of Covenanters, and Robert Riddell, a close friend of Robert Burns. The original Dunscore Church stood here, but by 1645 was so ruinous that a new one was built 3 miles away, on the site of the present church. The copper font from the old church was brought to the new church and placed in one of the walls, but in 1923 it was taken out and set on a stand. It's still used for baptism.

Another link with the old church is a carved red sandstone block with the date 1649 and the inscription "How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts to me." One of my tasks tomorrow is to find that block and photograph it.

I hadn't been to the cemetery for a few years, but had been asked to take a photo for the Dunscore Heritage project. I was surprised to find that the place was quite overgrown with grasses and wildflowers. I quite liked that, as there were a lot of birds and butterflies, but it's sad to see that some of the graves are leaning or fallen down and broken.