Events

London Month of the Dead

Thursday 24 October 2019 £12Book now

TO BE, OR NOT TO BE
Literary Suicides with Gary Lachman

Writing has always been a precarious profession. From Petronius in ancient Rome to the 20th Century Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima, writers, more than any other artists, have taken their own lives in an extraordinary number of ways. With bullets, poison, drugs and swords, poets, playwrights, novelists and philosophers have sent themselves off into the big sleep. Others, one step shy of that last exit, have made great literature about the urge to self-destruction.

In this talk, Gary Lachman explores the different ways in which this disparate group of men and women of letters have put finis to their often troubled lives and the motivations that sent them on their way.

from 7pm

Pandemic 1918

Thursday 21 November 2019 £10Book now

A talk by Catharine Arnold

‘In the dying months of WW1, Spanish flu overwhelmed the globe, killing up to 100 million people. In her compelling account of the pandemic, author Catharine Arnold describes the inexorable advance of the most devastating disease known to humankind since the Black Death.  
In Pandemic 1918, Catharine Arnold recounts the bitter history of Spanish flu through its victims and survivors, from writers and world leaders to those who have no memorial. For this talk, Catharine will be focusing on the impact of Spanish flu on London as witnessed by Virginia Woolf, Duff Cooper, Vera Brittain and many other Londoners.
Catharine’s previous books include Necropolis London and its Dead which was inspired by her research at Highgate Cemetery.  
Catharine Arnold read history at Cambridge and has a further degree in psychology. Catharine’s other books include Bedlam, City of Sin, and Underworld London Crime and Punishment. 

Starts at 7.30pm. Doors open 7.00pm. Ticket includes a glass of wine.

One Day Stonemasonry Course

Saturday 13 June 2020 £120Book now

Cemetery stonemason Neil Luxton leads a day's course on basic stonemasonry techniques.

Starting with a tour around some of the West Cemetery's monuments to see some notable examples of stonemasonry, Having supplied you with a stone slab and tools, Neil will help you with your design. You will then be taken through the techniques you need to be able to carve your design (come prepared with an A4 format design) into the stone, and off you go... Throughout the afternoon, Neil will keep a close eye on your progress, giving advice and showing you exactly what you should be doing. You will end up with a carving you can take home.