Sir William Atherton at Kensal Green Cemetery – he's got plums!

I do love a wander in a cemetery. I visited all of London's 'Magnificent Seven' last year, some for the first time, others were repeat visits because there's always something new to see each time whether flora, fauna or man made monuments.

Kensal Green Cemetery as designed to resemble Paris's Père Lachaise, indeed some people have memorials at both sites (I say 'some' becausee I know of one, so it's likely there are others). Notable famous name graves at Kensal Green are the Brunels, Thackeray, Pinter, Babbage, Rattigan, Blondin and Pete Burns (who I hope isn't still spinning around).

Last time I was there I spotted an intriguing grave with fruit on it and took a few pics to find out more at a later date (that's now!).

The family vault of Sir William Atherton Knt – so he's a Sir and a Knight?!

I thought at first the motif was a pair of lemons, but when I got home and studied the photos, I decided they better resemble plums. Soft fruit at least. But why?

On closer inspection, it's evident that there is a bird (a cock bird?) at the very top standing on something that looks like an acorn (a nut!) which itself is balanced on two plums. The Latin phrase* underneath says 'NEC TEMERE, NEC TIMIDE' which translates to 'neither recklessly nor timidly' suggesting Mr Atherton was fearless – he had balls!

I mean, surely there a link to this symbolism – or am I simply being peurile? 

So, who was he? I decided he must have been a campaigner of sorts, or a politician, or a pugilist. I first checked the list of notable graves on KGC's Wikipedia page but Atherton is not there which seems odd, seeing as his monument is far from small and the man was a Sir, a Knight.

I then checked Find A Grave which lists his monument and describes it as 'a marble chest tomb with a cross' but there is no mention of the fruity design on the end. However, it does confirm my hunch that Atherton was a politician, also holding the position of Solicitor General and Attorney General. 

Further research, most of which can be found on Wikipedia here, shows he was indeed quite a force for good. He had tenacity. He had balls. Though I wonder what the whole family thought of the motif, if indeed they understood its meaning...?!

As regards Kensal Green Cemetery's own website, Atherton is listed in the Politicians section here but his titles of Sir, Knight and QC have been excluded. I wonder what he'd have to say about that?! 

*The motto's exact origin is unknown but it was recently adopted by this Dutch infantry brigade.

Save the countryside

This isn't about 'my' London, but about the green belt that surrounds it.

I copy and paste here from an email I received from 38 Degrees:

Our English countryside is under threat again. The government is trying to rush through massive changes to the planning system, which would make it much easier to build on green field sites. We've just a few weeks to stop this happening.
Experts are lining up to condemn the government plans. The National Trust warns of unchecked and damaging development. Friends of the Earth predicts “a building free-for-all that will blight our countryside with bad building.”
A massive people-powered petition can make the government think again. It worked to stop England's forests being sold off. It can work again to stop precious countryside being wrecked by bulldozers and concrete.
Please add your name now, and forward this message to all your friends:
The English countryside is something we all enjoy. It's far too precious to build on willy-nilly. Once our green fields are gone, they're gone forever.
If we work together, we can stand up for a balanced, careful approach to deciding what to build and where to build it. We can protect local communities' right to have their say, make sure social housing is built where it’s needed and protect wildlife and beautiful, tranquil places.
Having to act fast to stop an urgent threat to our countryside feels eerily familiar doesn't it! It's only a few months since half a million of us came together to stop plans to sell off England's forests. It worked that time - now let's come together again to stop this new threat to our beautiful green places.
Please take two minutes now to add your name to the petition.

Thanks.

Gutted in Tottenham

The streets of North London were witness to some awful scenes this weekend when a peaceful protest turned nasty. Angry disenfranchised people rioted; setting fire to and looting shops all in the name of 'justice'.

I can never understand how 'pissing in your own back yard' helps anything. Shop owners and businesses along High Road, Tottenham, should not have to pay the price for this. Areas of what was once a beautiful Edwardian high street have been reduced to burnt out shells. They are gutted. I am gutted. And not just for the buildings.

Then last night, Tottenham Hale retail park was targeted and people caused damaged and stole goods there too. I am not sure if they stole food or electrical goods...

What a horrible coincidence that my last post was about fire insurance markers.

High Road, Tottenham: the old 1930s London Cooperative Society Building (top left) was completely gutted by fire on Saturday night. I am, so far, unsure whether Criterion Parade (with eagle) and Windsor Parade, 1907 (top right), have suffered in the same way.

This isn't what the Govenment

I have just loaded up my latest Londonist post and the images I have chosen to use, as shown here, are all linked in some loose way to the mess that the government is in at the moment.

By the way, the heading here is the title of a track from the album 'Baby I'm a Want You' by Bread. Mum used to have the LP. I loved it. It's also got 'Everything I Own' on it, which Ken Booth covered and took to No.1 in the 70s. But got some words wrong thus destroying the whole meaning of a fundamental and beautiful line. Then Boy George went and copied Ken's version rather than go back to the original lyrics... How we despaired! (And I still do.)

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