NIGEL Rees in his book of epitaphs tells of a Tasmanian gravestone on which the bottom line reads: Lord she is thin.

Apparently, the stonemason ran out of space and put the final `e' on the other side.

Which is quite amusing but not as apposite as the tale of the couple from Kent who moved to Yorkshire. When his wife died, the old chap gave Walter the stonemason instructions about the wording on his wife's headstone and was shocked when he turned up at the grave to read the words: Lord she is thin.

"You've missed out the `e'. It doesn't make sense," he told the stonemason.

"Don't worry," said Walter. "I can put it in.

"Come back tomorrow and it'll be reet."

The next day the old chap went back to the graveyard and the stone now read: E lord, she is thin.