Category: Religion
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Death in the British Museum: Object in Focus
Being invited by our wonderful Cemetery Club master of ceremonies Sheldon K. Goodman to participate in Death in the British Museum this coming Saturday has given me a little push towards reevaluating what the massive museum collection in Bloomsbury means to me. It has encouraged me to consider the importance of furnereal objects and how…
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The Tomb of Santa Claus
“Only the very young or very unsophisticated maintain the surviving faith in the legend of Santa Claus.” So was written in the Derry Journal on Friday 22nd December 1933. Santa Claus, as I’m sure everyone is aware, is a hybrid of different folklores and popularised by the iconic (and frankly, bloody annoying) advert Coca Cola trot…
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Visiting The House Of Life
A Grade II listed cemetery in Zone 3? A short walk from Dollis Hill tube station lies a cemetery I doubt many of the local people even know about. Hidden behind a wall from Pound Lane, this place of rest once catered to a thriving local Jewish community who have long since moved away to…
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From Shadow and Images Into Truth
As part of the celebration of LGBT history month, we’re using cemeteries as a starting point to talk about historical people who have links to being LGBT. Today we examine the question mark that lingers over Cardinal Henry Newman. In 2008 Newman was venerated under direct orders from the Congregation of Saints. For this, they…
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A Visit to Agatha Christie’s Grave
Agatha Christie, the world’s best selling author, was born on 15th September 1890 in Torquay. She is know as the Queen of Crime for her detective fiction stories and her two most famous detectives are Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She is also the only female playwright to have had three productions in London’s West End…
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Amongst the Stones of Leytonstone
Multiple stone eyes gazed heavenward as myself and Paul entered a mass of marble in Leytonstone, East London. The second part of a day trip which had firstly taken us to Chingford Mount, we decided to explore this vast, crowded expanse of weathered, wonky crosses and angels. St Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery opened in 1868 in response to…
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The Lost Docks, Prince and Engineer of Southwark
On a chilly Sunday morning, Steve and I went to Bermondsey tube station to go on a tour of Thames-side Southwark, led by the charismatic Tim Thomas (who wore the best flat cap I’ve ever seen). An actor (gleefully telling us it was he who bumped off Simon Callow in the third act of Four Weddings and…
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The Life & Opinions of Laurence Sterne, Gentleman
Laurence Sterne was a name I’d encountered before. I’d read his most prominent novel on a free to download app on my iPhone, and was rather confused by what I was reading. It was enjoyable: but it was written in a style that was clearly for readers of yesteryear. As part of my tour-guide training,…
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The Mystery of Montague Fowler, Part Four
There was no denying it: it was soaking wet and the rain was penetrating our clothing, giving us an uncomfortable chill. It was overcast, boggy and damp. I, along with Christina, have visited many cemeteries before but on this occasion, it was verging on the downright unpleasant. There was no blue sky. It was just…
Cemetery Club 