Vibes | A Zestful Quest

(… a quiet moment in silence)

2009-03-10 13:12:15

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice–

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

“Mend my life!”

each voice cried.

But you didn’t stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do–

determined to save

the only life you could save.

The Journey

~Mary Oliver

It was a beautiful sunny winter’s day today: a perfect day to go out and take pictures since the light outside is brilliant for photography during the winter months. I watched a documentary about The Magnificent Seven on the BBC a while ago and decided that evening that I just had to go and check things out for myself. The Magnificent Seven are seven cemeteries used by the citizens of nineteenth century London, the first was Kensal Green-1833, followed by Norwood-1838, Highgate in 1839, Abney Park, Brompton and Nunhead in 1840 and finally Tower Hamlets in 1841.

One particular cemetery caught my attention because of the amazing wildly overgrown Victorian tombs, mausoleums and gravestones. Not just that, this cemetery is also known to be of inspiration to Bram Stoker and his book Dracula. Additionally, the Highgate Cemetery is well known for its so-called occult past, being the site of the alleged Highgate Vampire according to the local tales. Some of the graves have been seriously damaged, vaults broken open and coffins smashed apart, mostly in the sixties and seventies by vandals and/or those looking for vampires.

Rumour has it that there also has been devils worshippers activity, some masses were held in a maze of catacombs that ran beneath the cemetery. One particular tomb hidden deep within the heart of the cemetery, a small mausoleum with a marble floor but which contained no coffins, had been converted into a small temple where these activities seemed to have taken place. These days access to the cemetery is only possible through a guided tour. Today the owners are The Highgate Cemetery Charity and management is by Friends of Highgate Cemetery Ltd, both charities.

The Cemetery houses a colony of urban foxes and lots of different plants including hornbeam, exotic limes, oak, hazel, sweet chestnut, field maple, tulips and one California Redwood [it’s unknown how it ended up in London at the cemetery but growing steady and tall]. Some fifty species of bird and eighteen of butterfly have been spotted here, and among the spiders, three rarely sighted in the United Kingdom. Today was the perfect opportunity to feel the vibes of this intriguing and amazing place and not just because of its history, but also because of its woodland paths, its Victorian funerary architecture and beautiful wild landscaping.