Grave admonishment

All you that ftop to read my Stone
Consider how soon that I was gone
Both old and young a warning take
And amend your lives before it is too late

This is part of a weathered gravestone in the secluded churchyard of St Mary le Tower. Although right in the very centre of Ipswich, its a leafy little island of peace hidden in plain sight behind knapped flint walls and protected by shops and cafes from from the bustle and hurry of shoppers and workers.

Here there are roses and blossom and waving grasses around long-forgotten final resting places...

..and also here, some verse to make you think!

This one for Samuel Eley who died one March, nearly 200 years ago, aged 37. I wonder whether he had amended his life before it was too late. We will never know