Tag Archives: inscriptions

Headstones For Liverpool Fans

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As one of the most successful clubs in world football it is no surprise that headstones for Liverpool fans are so popular. You need not walk around any of the city’s cemeteries for long before seeing headstones marking the grave of someone who was clearly a Liverpool fan.

There are various options for Liverpool FC related headstones. If you wish the whole gravestone can be hand carved into the shape of the club crest, or alternatively a conventional headstone can be used with the club badge then etched or sandblasted onto it. The beauty of modern technological advances is that traditional hand crafted methods can exist side by side with new techniques. Sandstone, Portland stone and marble are easier to carve, while granite is ideal for etchings or sandblasting.

lfcheadstone

You may instead consider having the Liverpool FC crest printed onto a ceramic plaque which is then fixed to the headstone. These plaques are kiln finished and extremely durable against extreme weather conditions and vandalism. These plaques can also be added to existing memorials that are already fixed in the cemetery, so they can make ideal gifts for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries and so on.

If having the Liverpool FC crest is too indiscreet, then perhaps a simple inscription may be more suitable for you. There are many phrases associated with the club, You’ll Never Walk Alone especially, which can alternatively be abbreviated to Y.N.W.A. and added to the headstone inscription. 

One aspect of a Liverpool FC related headstone you need to consider is whether the colours of the club crest will match your choice of material. If you want an image etched in grayscale onto the headstone, then black granite is the most suitable. If you are looking at the etching being coloured, then consider what red goes best with; sandstone would arguably be better than grey granite for example.  

If your loved one was a Liverpool fan and you would like a headstone to reflect this, at Sarsfield Memorials we are sure to have something for you. We have over sixty years of experience of guiding customers on the right type of memorial for you and will be glad to assist. Please feel free to contact us for a discussion on how we can best meet your requirements and a free no obligation quote.

The Qingming Festival

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Every April Chinese communities around the world mark Qingming,  or ‘tomb sweeping’ festival, which takes place twice a year in Spring and Autumn. This is when the graves of relatives are visited, swept and tidied. Prayers are offered, as well as tea, wine and joss sticks. In China and Taiwan it is a public holiday on either the 4th or 5th of the month, while foreign Chinese communities tend to carry out their visits on one of the weekends either before or after.

In Liverpool, Anfield and Everton cemeteries have sections specifically for Chinese graves. Chinese graves are traditionally situated on higher ground as they represent better feng shui. The size of the headstone is significant too, with elders having larger ones than younger persons. Prior to the burial, strict funeral customs are observed, with rituals varying according to the deceased’s rank. When an elderly person dies for example, their son must sit next to the coffin during the wake which takes place in the home. For a younger person however, the elders are not expected to show grief and the body remains at the funeral home.

Chinese gravestone

Inscriptions on Chinese headstones usually contain more detail than on Western ones. There are usually at least three columns of characters, with the middle one containing larger writing due to the information being more important. That is where the deceased’s name is inscribed, usually with the family name first followed by the given name. The columns on either side and writing along the top contain information about the date and place of birth, starting with the village and the writing increasing in size as it goes through county, district and province. When it comes to details about death, the date that it occurred and sometimes even the time is inscribed.

Apart from at Qingming, members of the Chinese community are not expected to visit graves on a regular basis. When they do however, it is quite an event. The See Yep association (named after the four counties in the south west of the Guangdong province in China) organise visits to both Anfield and Everton cemeteries, with coaches departing from Chinatown in the city centre.

Members of the association visit to pay respect not just to their own ancestors but all compatriots buried there. At Anfield, the Chinese section is on the left after heading in through the Cherry Lane entrance, while at Everton it is on the right hand side after the road bends to the right once the chapel has been passed. 

Memorials For Mother’s Day

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Mother’s Day is a time of year when you may be thinking of updating the headstone of your mum’s grave. It may be that you want to add an inscription or verse to an existing gravestone or get a new memorial, either replacing what is currently there or erecting one at a new grave.

Common inscriptions on headstones are much dearly beloved mother of and a devoted wife and mother. You may wish to add a bit more with a verse. Below is an example of a verse that can be added to mother’s gravestone, while further samples can be viewed here

Your smile has gone forever
And your hand we cannot touch,
We have so many memories
Of you, Mum, we love so much.

It may be that you wish to come up with your own verse for your mother’s memorial, just be aware that the more words there are, the smaller the lettering is and they may be harder to read. The style is important too, as some fonts have to be cut deeper into the headstone and will differ in final appearance depending on the material. If you contact us we will be able to discuss the options for you depending on the material of your existing headstone or a new one that you may choose.

white marble gravestone looking as good as new after 50 years

Whether it be adding to new headstones, existing ones or replicating the original lettering, inscriptions can be added to gravestones in lead, enamel or gold-leaf. The style can be raised lead lettering, cut and leaded, v-cut, incised or sand blasted. We use traditional hand cut techniques using a hammer and chisel, but also sandblasting and the ultra modern CNC (Computer Numerical Control) method.

If you are thinking of adding or replacing a headstone at a grave, do bear in mind that if your mother is recently departed, then there is a period of around six months where the ground is allowed to settle before it can be installed. If she is being laid to rest in a family plot the existing gravestone needs to be removed and either a new one placed there or an inscription added to the existing one.

In either case, the ground again needs the time to re-settle. It is not advisable to simply leave the headstone lying flat on the ground as this makes it prone to weathering and resultant damaged lettering, or even worse accidental damage or mindless vandalism.  At Sarsfield Memorials though we will store your memorial for you free of charge in optimum conditions until the ground is ready for it to be re-installed.

If you have an enquiry regarding a headstone for a new grave, replacing an existing one or adding an inscription, please contact us and we will be happy to provide a free no obligation quote.