In Memoriam

I love cemeteries. I always find them peaceful places to wander around, reading the inscriptions and wondering about the life stories of the people interred there.

Reading Old Cemetery (for anyone who's seen the film Cemetery Junction - this is that cemetery!) is a wonderful old municipal burial ground, dating back to the 1840s. It's full of gothic memorials, and the fact that these days much of it is neglected - overgrown, and with stones fallen, broken or leaning at crazy angles - just adds to its charm. I only had time for a short visit today, but I could easily spend a full day there with the camera!

Soon after I arrived I was rained and hailed on, to the extent that I had to take shelter under the gnarled old trees. But just after that I spotted the stone on the left; as the sun came out, it illuminated the side with the strand of ivy running up it. (You can see the edge of a circular carving on the other side of the cross; if anyone's wondering what it is, it's a lifebelt. Maybe a metaphor for salvation, but it could also refer to the fact that, according to the inscription, the gentleman buried there was captain of the local swimming club!)

I spotted the one on the right just as I was leaving. It's quite overgrown, and I had pretty much to stick my camera into the vegetation to capture it! It's obviously been a splendid memorial in its day, and I think it sums up a lot of what's happened to the cemetery over the years.