Highgate Cemetery

On my last day in UK recently I paid a return visit to Highgate cemetery in North London. Given it was Labour Day in the US it seemed fitting to begin  in the "East" cemetery at the grave of its most famous resident.
Karl is still popular.
He's surrounded by a scattering of relatively recent companions/fellow travellers/social activists/ who in their final resting places find peace close to "The Big Guy".
During his life Marx professed disdain for religion and the deification of leaders so its ironic his grave has taken on the characteristics of a Shrine today.

From Politics to Pop Culture.
 Malcolm McLaren, former founder/manager/promoter of the Sex Pistols has occupied his plot with this temporary marker since 2010. Instead of flowers someone seems to replace a single ciggie for him everyday which seems a bit ghoulish given he died of cancer.
Its a bit difficult to make out, but the guy below is Douglas Adams, author of the Hitch hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

No idea who this is below, but the stone was well off the beaten path, surrounded by overgrowth and broken tomb stones.

Again, no idea who this is but seems keen to make it clear that Dead is Dead.

For the most part the cemetery looks like the picture above.
Its a wild overgrown, old feeling place.
Years ago when I was last here it was late March and the plants were just starting to wake up after a dark English winter.
The canopy of green overhead and wild growth after the wettest summer on record paint a very different picture this time.
The light and colours haven't been photo-shopped (other than the B&W pics) and I've tried to be as faithful to what I saw as I could.

Green shadows but not gloomy.

Clouds and flashes of sunshine.
The rain opened up as the gates closed behind us.

That's it for today.

Tomorrow its back to Europe: Holland, Norway and the UK.

More as and when.

Love to all

T