My LJ’s 20th anniversary: The Magnificent Seven: Highgate Cemetery

[nanila]

I had imagined doing a big roundup post for the 20th anniversary of my LiveJournal, but due to rampant sleepiness on the 11th of July after my solo trip to London, I managed to miss it completely. (It was a mistake not to set a reminder in my calendar.) I still will, but in lieu of the roundup for now, here is a photo post from my final act of the London trip, which was to the eastern half of Highgate Cemetery.

Thanks to my DW/LJ, I know that I finished my photography project to visit all of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries in 2012. Someone asked me on my return home this weekend, “Who is buried in Highgate, apart from Karl Marx?” While I can answer that question with a list of names, the honest answer is that I don’t care. I don’t visit these places to hunt for the graves of specific famous people, not even Douglas Adams (sorry, mate. I do know where my towel is though). In fact, because I keep a journal, I have a precisely formulated explanation for my visits.

Maybe it’s obvious from my choice of photographs, but I don’t care much about finding the graves of the notable persons buried in these cemeteries. For me, the attraction of these places comes from the collective obliteration of individual identity. The sense that pain and sorrow have been absorbed and transformed into something that is rather beautiful - the admission, and acceptance, of death. -- Me, April 2012.

I love my journal so much. ♥ ♥ ♥























































































This trip has inspired me to repeat the Magnificent Seven project, in reverse order, over the next few months. Next up, then: West Norwood cemetery.

Comments

[brainwane]

Thank you for these. I love this:

the collective obliteration of individual identity. The sense that pain and sorrow have been absorbed and transformed into something that is rather beautiful - the admission, and acceptance, of death.

I've been thinking about the difference between resignation and acceptance recently; I think resignation is like "I am willing to integrate the fact of this into my mental model of the world, I won't deny that it's real and it's happening/going to happen, but I still begrudge it and think it's bad," where acceptance is more like "this is happening/going to happen, and, I have equanimity about it; there are bad parts but I am also open to noticing potential good parts." At least that's how it is for me. Thank you for these cemetery photos; the beauty of your photos and the articulation you share help me reflect on mortality and acceptance.

[nanila]

I resonate with your thoughts on resignation and acceptance. Thank you.

[corvidology]

I always found old graveyards very calming but then in the country they're often at the centre of most villages anyway.

[nanila]

That's true! I like that. Keeping graveyards physically close, not pushing them to the fringes of town, creates the sense that the dead are welcome in, and can continue to contribute to, living spaces.

[azurelunatic]

That DEAD stone is amazing!

IAWTC

[jesse_the_k]

It's stunning! (Do you recall how thick that stone is?)

I'm a big fan of cemeteries and you've just explained why they're soothing.

Re: IAWTC

[nanila]

I think about 10 cm? It was pretty substantial!

[nanila]

Dead headstone!

[cmcmck]

Love the celtic style cross!

[nanila]

The ivy has been cleared away from a lot of the headstones, but I'm glad it was left on that one.

[hamsterwoman]

Beautiful photos (my favorite is of the figure curled over the stone, with the glint of a wedding band), and I know what you mean about the beauty of cemeteries.

[nanila]

I hadn't noticed the wedding band, thank you for pointing that out! It's meant to be Sisyphus, according to the guidebook.

[antisoppist]

Oooh graveyards :-)

[nanila]

Yes, so peaceful. Especially when you head toward the middle, away from where the famous people are buried. No one goes down there except for aging goths and genealogy obsessives.

[kotturinn]

Beautiful photos, thanks. Hope the rest of the revisits are as rewarding for you.

[nanila]

Thank you. Me too. I'm sure they will be. I prize my alone time highly and this is one of my favourite ways to spend it.

[lurkingcat]

These are beautiful - thank you for sharing. I do love the D E A D one.

[nanila]

Thank you! Yes, it is a good one. The D E A D stone is a satisfyingly chunky piece of statuary. Despite being obviously modern in design, I like that nod toward the massive monuments that are mostly a feature of older graves.

[slemslempike]

I too love the DEAD stone! I like walking through graveyards and especially picking out what I might like myself. I quite fancy an open book - obviously this is mostly the bible, but I would like a girlsown quote instead. Maybe the start of Autumn Term.

[nanila]

I wholeheartedly support this idea. :)

[pbristow]

"... But here my last Mile Ends:
Like All Saints, at the Highgate,
where Angels will attend..."

(From an extra verse by Paul Bristow to "Underground Music" by Vile Eric Shredby (aka Clive Derbyshire) and Ivor Biggun (aka Doc Cox). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh41xkRaKxc )

[nanila]

Excellent. :D Thanks!

[pbristow]

...And meerkats, apparently! =:oo

[sfred]

Happy anniversary!

[nanila]

Thank you! Here's hoping for many more years of journalling.

[zasu]

Absolutely beautiful photos! Each one was so interesting! Now I'm trying to figure out if I want a traditional, moss stained angel (despite my complete lack of religion), or the modern iron work that spells out DEAD

[nanila]

Thank you! It's a tough call. 😁

Happy anniversary - and here's to cemeteries!

[ed_rex]

Lovely photos, and I really like the occasional use of colour amidst the black and whites.

Thank you also for giving me another incentive to come back to my journal more often (we'll see whether it happens of course). My own 20th anniversary remains a couple of years in the future, but I'd like to see it in with an active journal again.