Categories: uncategorized
Date: 15 August 2004 19:21:27
OK, so I know that August's culture vulture report has already happened, but after my last entry I was feeling really crappy, so, just as I announced, I went for a walk. I started off in a park a few minutes away from my house, which had a great view over central London, and I found myself looking at it and thinking that, despite this being a fabulous city, my heart really isn't in it any more. And so I left, as it was making me feel even worse than I was already.
However, rather than go straight home I had a sudden flash of inspiration and walked past my house and 5 minutes in the other direction to Nunhead Cemetery - this literally is just round the corner from me, but although I've been here over 3 years I've never been in. What a find! (more info here). Really atmospheric - large family vaults jostling for space with angels and headstones of varying states of grandeur and disrepair - and so peaceful (apart from the planes flying over - you're never far from a major flight path in south London sadly). In most places it's really overgrown, and you think you're just looking at a bit of woodland and then you suddenly notice all these wonky headstones covered in ivy and brambles - it would have been really creepy if it hadn't been so tranquil. They also have a few areas where the lawn is mown and more recent burials are, but I didn't like those areas so much, they seemed rather clinical to me (plus there was an alarming amount of artificial flowers - I preferred the weeds). Occasionally though the undergrowth had been tidied up a bit and there were a series of graves of young soldiers who'd died in WW1 - mainly Commonwealth soldiers, from Canada, Oz and NZ - and the stark contrast of the mown lawns and white headstones compared with the surrounding undergrowth and moss covered stone graves really made me stop in my tracks and consider their sacrifice.
The church on the grounds is kind of ruined - it has no roof anyhow, although the walls are all intact - but it looked lovely, and I think it's being done up by a Lottery Heritage grant. I'll definitely have to go back and do some sketching there sometime.
I didn't manage to see the whole site - partly because the weather looked a bit unsure what it was going to do, and partly because I was brewing a headache (I don't get them very often but when I do it feels like my head's going to explode) - but I'll definitely be back there again.
I still can't get over how I've lived in south-east London for 14 years and there are all these gems around that I've still not experienced. What am I like?