Civil cemetery
Back in September – bear with me, this is on theme for spooky October, I promise – I went to a friend's civil partnership at Abney Park cemetery in London. (You will be astonished, flabbergasted , to learn that this was a friend from my goth clubbing days.) Abney Park is one of what's come to be known as the 'magnificent seven'. These are the seven cemeteries, inspired by Pere Lachaise in Paris, created around what was then the edge of London as the rapidly-growing capital's church burial grounds simply couldn't hold any more bodies. Kensal Green (1833) was the first, then came West Norwood (the first in the world to use the gothic style), Highgate (the really famous one), Abney Park, Brompton, Nunhead, and Tower Hamlets (the only one not at least partially still in operation; it's now a nature reserve). I looked around for an angel with two arms. Most are missing one. Needless to say, it has always been my goal to see all seven. Some mad blighters attempt
