My friend Chris just finished a stretch of 5 days of 14 hour days, so I wanted today to be as much for him, as it was for me. Luckily, we both have the same interests and so, we met outside Archway station to see the western half of Highgate cemetery.
Highgate is considered one of London’s magnificent 7 cemeteries, known particularly for its Victorian funerary architecture. Spread out on 37 acres, it has over 50,000 graves and over 850 of notable people. We got there for the noon tour rendezvous. Because that part of the cemetery was old and fragile, we could only go escorted. The tour was illuminating, enchanting and the stroll amongst the mausoleums and catacombs not at all eerie.
As we began, the first grave we saw was one of the recent ones buried. Looking at the picture at the head of this otherwise unmarked plot, you realized who this was. We were at the foot of Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian ex-spy who died of radiation poisoning a couple of years ago. It was surreal to actually be in the presence of someone who made world wide news. His was the only grave we were requested not to take any pictures of; a request from his family.
Onwards we continued to the start of the Egyptian avenue. The Victorians’ fascination with Egyptology pervades at the avenue entrance. We were greeting by an imposing obelisk and lotus flower columns; the lotus signifying life and death, as the bloom would open and close, upon sunset or sunrise.
You walk a little up this covered walkway which then opens up to the Circle of Lebanon, this sunken tomb comprised of 20 family vaults with doorways decorated in either the Egyptian, gothic or classical styles. We climbed a set of stone steps so we can see the magnificence of the cedar of Lebanon, a 300 year old cedar tree growing on top of the circle of vaults. It was incredible how tall this has grown and incredible the roots have not split through the vaults below.
The £5 tour was lovely with stops at many notable Brits and their contributions in English history. Quirky stories, tragic love stories, familial love…these real stories from hundreds of years ago are still emotions and stories we all go through today. I wondered, what will my story will be? How will my contributions to this world be remembered?
We journeyed on to Camden town. Imagine New York’s East Village and San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury combined, but bigger and with lots of market stalls and food stands. and throw in a canal too.
Camden is a smorgasbord par excellence: where past meets the post modern with cafes, cobblestones, antiques, artists, punks, goths and other style tribes. Completely subversive in feel. If you want excitement and buzz, go here, the alternative London.
I haven’t had Chinese food since I been in london, and even though its food stand Chinese, it didn’t matter. We scarfed down our lunch, at the side of the canal, watching a man operate the locks so the water levels could drain or flood, in order to let a barge pass. A feat of engineering that i don’t know how to explain, but fun to watch.
The awesome thing that I love about London is that there’s so much to see. A neighbourhood to cater to your mood on any given day. And yet, if you’re experiencing sensory overload, you can find yourself a cafe on any street for a spot of afternoon tea. This ritual really should be incorporated into our everyday life and I believe, would be the saving grace to our daily mental stresses. Chris had his green tea, I had my English breakfast (milk + 2 sugars, thank you) and before you know it, we whiled away a couple hours in conversation.
We were both in a cinematic mood, so we went down to the Curzon Theatre in Soho to catch In Search of a Midnight Kiss, an American indie movie that I don’t even recall being released stateside.
It’s a movie about 2 lost souls who meet on Craigslist to have someone to be with on New Years Eve. Without wanting to give anything away, this film evokes the feeling of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, but instead of being set in Vienna or Paris, this movie is a black and white love letter to LA.
I can see this movie becoming a cult favourite with the hipster set, and it’s good. The characters and the mishaps they find themselves in are pretty believable, (if sometimes over the top, but of course added for cinematic effect) because we’ve all been there or know of friends who’ve been there.
And like any Londoner, what does one do in the evening? Why, hit the pub, of course. we had a drink at The Tottenheim nearby. And what does one do after a drink at the pub, followed by a stroll? One is asked, ‘So, do you fancy a drink?’ (again? really?) It’s called pub crawling and it’s the norm.
But having skipped dinner for the cinema, I was hungry. So instead, we got some take away fish n’ chips in a open wrap and found some steps near Leicester Square. Now pub life might not be universal to me, but having a outdoor sit somewhere with take out eats on a nice summer night, now that’s something I know about.
View more photos of my trip on my Flickr album.
Poster: Midnight Kiss Productions
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