Returning

I went back to the ruined village at Nether Ancrum, hoping to find an ancient gravestone for my Hallowe'en Blip. But the old stones are very decayed and overgrown with moss and the lettering and carvings have nearly all disappeared. It is very damp and shady down there.

The buildings don't look as if it will be long before they return to the earth from which they sprang too.

In our singing group we've been learning Jim Reid's setting of Violet Jacob's poem 'Hallowe'en'.  She conjures a picture of a farm where the traditional Hallowe'en customs are being celebrated by the young folks, while an older man remembers the belief that the dead return on Hallow eve, and wishes he could see once more his friend who died in battle in the First World War. Violet Jacob's only son died at the Somme in 1916.

I can't get through it without a lump in my throat.

http://youtu.be/FisdvJmgVNYI

Extras: the Surbiton Set have different approach .....