Memory Pebbles

Pebbles can make lovely remembrance stones, whether they are painted with someone's name or a word or image that commemorates them. I have painted Memory Pebbles for Louise and Daddy's grave in London to remember them and some family friends who have also died.

Memory Pebbles

Louise the Baby Goat loved yellow

Louise's pebbles say 'Louise' and 'Baby Goat', which is a reference to our much loved imaginary childhood game of 'Mummy Goat and Baby Goat'. We used to run about with a skipping rope around Louise's middle, and she was always Baby Goat. I asked if I could be Baby Goat once, but Louise said no and I was glad that she did. Most girls pretend to be ponies or unicorns, but not us. Nope, we were goats. Louise's pebbles are yellow, her favorite colour. I chose the pebbles that I thought she would have picked herself, because the life has removed her freedom to walk along beaches and feel sand under her feet.

Daddy's pebble

Daddy's flowers

I painted 'Daddy' for my dad, as well as a Picture Pebble of three flowers. He used to draw them in every cards that he gave to other people and on the inside covers of books he gave to Louise, Dan and me. Daddy died in the same car accident as Louise, and they have the same headstone (neither are buried there). He was the most patient person I have ever met, and was a man of great integrity. In a sense, part of me is glad he died when I was five because it means that Louise isn't alone and I will always remember him from the point of view of a child- he is still completely perfect in my eyes.

Greg's Memory Pebble

I also painted a pebble for Greg, a friend of my parents. He died in 2011 and has a wife and three daughters who are a all a couple of years older than me. I remember once we were on holiday with them, as well as other families from the same friendship group. We went to someone else's chalet for dinner, where Louise, Dan and I all fell asleep. Mum carried Dan home, Daddy took Louise and Greg carried me. I remember briefly waking up and being amazed because he was going a short cut that involved walking down an extremely steep hill covered in trees and ferns that I would never have been able to navigate.

Will's Memory Pebble

There is also a pebble for Will on the grave. Will is the son of another family from the same friendship group as Greg. He drowned a year ago during a kayak race, aged seventeen. When Greg died, everybody talked about how one friendship group had lost so much: two fathers and one daughter. When Will died, there were no words to explain the loss: two fathers, one daughter and one son. Will's pebble says 'Willpower' because this is a word frequently used to remember him. It was etched into orange wrist bands that they gave to everyone at Will's funeral. I like having pebbles for Will and Greg at the grave because I like to think of them all together in whatever comes after life. Will is probably trying to have debates with Daddy and Greg  about anything and everything, and Louise is wishing that they would all talk about something else!

Pebbles on Daddy and Louise's Grave

Memory Pebbles for a loved one that you have lost can be ordered from eBay by typing 'the pebble garden personalised painted pebbles' into the eBay search box. If you would like some pebbles but don't want to use eBay or paypal, please email me to discuss other options.