"Not many people can say their happy place is a cemetery, but mine certainly is. I didn't set out to dig graves for a living it's nobody's childhood dream but working as a contract gardener for the council in Oxfordshire, I did some work tending cemeteries, and eventually I was offered a job digging graves. I found it quite daunting at first. I was responsible for digging the plots and being on hand during the funeral service,"
"I eventually set up my own business and was asked to take on gravedigging for a natural burial ground called Leedam. It is made up of 40 acres of meadow and woodland. Instead of headstones, we plant trees, so the deceased can return to nature. It's so peaceful and beautiful in every season. I understand why people want to spend eternity there. I feel truly lucky that I get to play such an important role at the end of somebody's life."
A gravedigger finds peace working in cemeteries and initially feels daunted by responsibility for digging plots, attending services, and filling graves. The gravedigger treats every grave as though for family and starts a business, later working at a 40-acre natural burial ground called Leedam. Meadows and woodland replace headstones with planted trees so the deceased return to nature. Graves receive finishing touches by hand with beds of fresh grass or leaves to soften the appearance. Families are sometimes met before funerals and personal details inform the work. More than 1,000 burials over 20 years include memorable themed funerals such as a Star Wars procession.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]