I love “The Graveyard Book”, I’ve posted about it here before, when I spent a few immensely enjoyable days reading it in various graveyards in my vicinity. So when, over at his blog, the esteemed author Mister Neil Gaiman answered a question a reader had about the precise steps for the Danse Macabre, and mentioned that he would try to link to any video footage of readers dancing the Macabray that found its way to the interweb – well, I knew what had to be done.
A few weeks later and here is the video, thanks to the wonderful efforts of Ben, Erin, Lili, Lizbt, M1K3Y, Melodie, Michael, Omega, Rachel, Sam and Warren – who all took time out on Sunday to come down to my local botanic garden and prance around for a spell. Thank you peoples.
Things didn’t go entirely as I’d hoped, as some thoughtless couple decided to choose the exact same time to get married in precisely the bit of the gardens that I had plotted out the shoot in the day before – but the ‘best laid plans of the living and the dead’ as they say…
I went to my local graveyard today, took a packed lunch and everything. I was there to enjoy the all-too-rare good weather and to start to read my favourite author’s latest, The Graveyard Book.
It was a lovely, if solitary adventure and I enjoyed the whole experience so much that I have decided to read the book only while in the graveyard. (Well, any graveyard – I don’t have to limit myself to todays.)
If nothing else the restriction will hopefully mean I can take my time with the story, savouring it like a fine literary liqueur. The temptation to gobble it down in one or two greedy sittings is very real when you like an author’s work as much as I like the inimitable Mister Gaiman’s.
So far – three chapters in – am loving it.
If you are a Gaiman fan, or even if you have never heard of the chap, I wholeheartedly recommend you get yourself a copy of The Graveyard Book and read it in your local cemetery – aloud, if you feel the need.
I read it out loud myself, firstly because it slows me down and secondly, well… the dead like a good story too.
Below are a few photos I took of my particular local place of internment.
Note the grave broke ope. (Vandalism I presume. Or a restless former resident…)
I do like the pointing hand on top of the headstone in the last photo too. Its a nice touch. “I’m going straight up, dammit!”
A merry crew on a fine spring day.
