Brompton Cemetery

Well, you know, I spent the long weekend in grey, overcast, occasionally drizzly, and finally torrentially downpouring Ireland, so when I got back, last night, to a London with blue skies and sunshine, and summery temperatures, and spent today looking out the office window at brilliant sunshine.. well, I just didn't feel like going to the cinema! And I didn't have anything booked, so that was ok.

So I thought about where the nearest green space is - we don't have a garden. The nearest green space is Brompton Cemetery, not five minutes walk away, and when I looked it up online, it turned out to be open till 8 tonight. There also seemed to be an entrance on Old Brompton Road.. so off I trotted, taking with me the most excellent book I'm currently reading: The Dead Summer, by Helen Moorhouse. And my camera.

I've passed it many times, on my way to or from the local Cineworld, but never knew whether it was open to the public, because it was always closed when I was passing. I always admired the brick wall though, with openings - complete with iron grilles - so you could see into the graveyard, higgledy piggledy with lopsided headstones. I always thought it looked deliciously spooky. Well, this evening I strolled through the ornate gate, read the signs confirming the closing time (and what number to call if you were locked in), and marvelled at the sheer quantity of gravestones. Apparently, there are 35,000 altogether - not that I visited them all. I had read that Emmeline Pankhurst is buried here, but really, trying to find anything in this graveyard if you don't have some prior idea where it is..!

I was immediately taken with the atmosphere of the place. It's geometrically laid out, with many perpendicular avenues, but some parts are very overgrown, and these are the most interesting, I think. Many sections are absolutely jammed with monuments, ornate mixed up with simple, with some mausoleums. Benches are numerous, which meant I had a selection on which to read my book.. and what a terrific setting for a ghost story. The benches are wooden, rather than metal, which is nice.

It's a real haven from the noise and bustle of the city, and I'm delighted to have found it. I shared it with many joggers, a couple of cyclists, a guy in a business suit - there is an entrance at the other end, and it must be a very handy shortcut - and a chap walking his dog. As I left, eventually, with the evening chill coming on, a family was coming in. It's a great place to hang out.

Photos here.. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10204111274486413.1073741844.1361836980&type=1&l=e9e222220d

Tomorrow, the current plan is to go see a Japanese film noir from 1948 - Drunken Angel - at the Prince Charles Cinema. Unless I have a better idea, of course! Then I'm at the Guildford office on Thursday, before flying back to Ireland on Friday for a Christy Moore concert on Saturday. At Glor, again.