Rangers and the Famous ICF: My Life With Scotland’s Most-Feared Football Hooligan Gang- Sandy Chugg, Book review
**** out of five
I knew nothing about the Scottish firms beyond their propensity to behave appallingly at any game in England be it club or national.
I have never seen a Sottish club side play, but did see the national side in Euro96 versus Holland. Apart from their being drunk at 8.30am as I was turning up for work, they were good as gold.
A number of factors contributed. Birmingham is a City still enraged by the IRA pub bombings, The Republican element of Scotland’s support, particularly that of Celtic, was always going to kept on a short leash by their ( Rangers) loyalist compatriots. Villa’s mob were out the night before to “encourage” respectful behaviour, and that was honoured. Hollands support was no pushover either, and the Scots clearly did not fancy a battle on several fronts. So the overwhelming mood was good natured. The Dutch and Brummies enjoyed the Scots’ “Jimmy Hill is a Poof” chants and flags. There has never been any love lost between the cities of Coventry and Birmingham.
Chuggs’s authenticity and credibility is beyond question. However his claims of being a reformed non combatant family man are less convincing. But that has no impact on his accounts of historic activity.
I was not aware that the scots had amalgamated their club firms to create a National one- The SNF. Whether they travelled on SNCF trains in France is unclear. I was equally unaware that the two Dundee firms mobs had teamed up to create the Dundee utility.
The violence depicted is brutal, visceral and compromising. Chugg, with the ICF is at the centre of it. Their legendary trouncing of Celtic : when fifty ICF took on a thousand Celtic fans before the controversial title decider of 1999 and the Raid on the Gallowgate: when the ICF took it to the pubs of the Gallowgate, Celtic’s spiritual home, are recounted in reverential terms.
Although the firms of many rivals are namechecked, the ICFs romp through the lower leagues after Rangers’ punishment demotion is ignored, as is Ross McGill, Glasgow and Scotland organised Crime Kingpin and Union Bears leader.
Well written, humorous and self deprecating, for me Chugg tries a little too hard in the final chapters to convince us that he is a reformed and changed man. He also name checks his solicitor, who presumably ensured that there would be no legal come back on his tales and admissions of illegal behaviour.
Th book serves well as a testament to the bigotry and sectarian hatred which permeates the game in Scotland. As a first hand record of football violence it is unsurpassed. A bleak tale of what it was like to be young and poor and Glasgow
An astonishing book which skilfully weaves science, geology and geography with informed conjecture to reappraise 75000 years of human history
Origin, Evolution, and Transformations of Human Civilization and Earth: Evidence of Cosmic Impacts, Climate Changes, and Ancient Civilization Decline are all pulled into the equation
Bisceglia takes readers on a journey through time, exploring life’s beginnings and the cyclical nature of human civilizations. He presents evidence of catastrophic events, such as cometary bombardments, climate changes, and reductions in genetic diversity that have shaped our past. He challenges conventional theories and presents compelling evidence for the existence of advanced ancient civilizations like Sundaland and Mount Atlas, which have been lost to time.
Life and Universe: “Living” Vs “Dead” Perspective Emergence-
Bisceglia challenges the traditional view that the cosmos is “dead,” presenting a “living” perspective based on evidence of abundant life in the cosmos. He examines different origin theories and delves into the hypotheses of life arising from non-life and being distributed by space dust, exploring evidence for microorganisms across the Universe.
Origin Theories: “Big Bang” and “M-Theory”-
Bisceglia argues that the theory of the Big Bang, while widely accepted, is outdated and proposes that the “M-Theory” provides a more fitting explanation for the Universe’s origin. The “M-Theory” suggests that infinitely small, vibrating strings form an endless number of three-dimensional membranes, each representing a universe. These membranes, existing in eleven dimensions, occasionally collide, creating “collisions” that might have been previously misunderstood as the “Big Bang.” He suggests that our perception of time is merely an illusion and that reality might have no beginning or end.
The Big Bang theory is a simpler explanation for the observable universe, adhering to the principle of Occam’s Razor, which suggests that the simplest explanation is often preferred until more complex theories are proven necessary.
The Big Bang theory has been successful in predicting various phenomena in cosmology, which lends it considerable credibility that M-Theory has yet to achieve.
The concept of “infinitely small, vibrating strings” is a theoretical construct that has not been observed directly, and thus its existence is speculative.
The concept of eleven dimensions is purely theoretical and has not been empirically verified; it remains a mathematical construct without direct physical evidence.
The idea of membranes colliding in higher dimensions is a feature of a specific branch of string theory, which is not universally accepted even within the theoretical physics community.
Psychological studies show that humans and other animals have an innate sense of time, necessary for survival, which suggests that time has a basis in biological reality.
Philosophical and theological perspectives often posit a creation event or a prime mover, implying a specific beginning to reality.
Theories About Life’s Origins: Spontaneous Generation and Panspermia-
Bisceglia examines two contrasting theories about how life began here: the concept of life forming from inorganic substances and panspermia. Abiogenesis, the more accepted theory, proposes that life spontaneously arose from non-living matter, inorganic materials combining by chance within hydrothermal vents. However, Bisceglia highlights the improbability of complex enzymes assembling randomly, citing calculations suggesting a one in 10^40,000 chance.
He then presents panspermia, supported by scientists like Fred Hoyle and Francis Crick, which suggests that microorganisms predate Earth’s ability to generate life, arriving from space. Evidence of microorganisms in ancient meteors and fossils dating back 4.3 billion years strengthen this argument. Bisceglia concludes that life’s existence on Earth predates Earth’s ability to spontaneously generate it, leading to the possibility of extraterrestrial origins.
The hydrothermal vent hypothesis relies on the presence of specific minerals and environmental conditions that may not have been prevalent or stable enough on the early Earth to facilitate abiogenesis.
The improbability argument does not consider the role of natural selection, which can act on small, random changes to gradually increase complexity and function over time.
The discovery of extremophiles on Earth—organisms that can survive in extreme conditions—suggests that life could have originated in harsh environments on Earth without the need for extraterrestrial sources.
Fossils dating back 4.3 billion years may not be definitive evidence of life, as the interpretation of these fossils can be contentious and alternative abiotic explanations for their formation might exist.
The improbability of complex enzymes assembling randomly does not rule out abiogenesis if alternative pathways or mechanisms for the origin of life exist that have not yet been discovered or fully understood.
Life Evidence Across Universe, Including Space Microorganisms
Bisceglia further supports panspermia by showcasing the abundance of life evidence across the Universe, particularly as microorganisms. He cites research indicating Halley’s comet contains biological substances, organic molecules and ethyl alcohol on comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko, and potential bacteria or archaea in 4.5 billion-year-old meteorites. This evidence suggests that existence beyond Earth is not confined to our planet and travels through cosmic bodies. This leads to the notion of a Universe that is alive rather than dead, challenging the traditional physics model where life is merely a “local accident.”
While Bisceglia points to evidence of organic molecules and potential microorganisms in space, the presence of these substances does not necessarily confirm life, as abiotic processes can also produce complex organic compounds.
Homo Reloaded Summary
Mysterious “Reloads,” Civilization Near-Extinctions, Sundaland Disappearance, and “Y-Chromosome Catastrophe” are at the centre of this well researched and simply explained work
Bisceglia dives deeper into several mysterious “restarts” that human civilizations have faced throughout history, focusing on the near-extinction events, examining the factors that contributed to the disappearance of advanced civilizations like Sundaland, and dissecting the “Y-Chromosome Catastrophe” and its potential causes.
Decline in Homo Sapiens Population 75,000 and 12.8 Thousand Years Ago
Bisceglia examines two significant population declines in Homo sapiens history. The first, approximately 75,000 years ago, possibly triggered by the eruption of the Toba supervolcano and a subsequent volcanic winter, significantly reduced the Sapiens population. The second decline happened around 12,800 years ago, coinciding with the comet impacts and the Younger Dryas period. He explores various possible causes for the demographic collapse, including climate change, warfare, and catastrophic events, proposing that these factors might have acted in conjunction.
“Genetic Bottleneck” Reduced Sapiens Population to Low Levels
Bisceglia analyzes the idea of “bottlenecks” and how they affect a species’ genetic diversity. He highlights the severe bottleneck that our specie experienced
Human Civilization Origins: Göbekli Tepe, North Africa, Sahara (E.G., Atlantis)
Bisceglia challenges the conventional view of human civilization origins, exploring evidence of advanced pre-agricultural societies in Göbekli Tepe and North Africa. He examines the possibility of a sophisticated civilization in the Saharan region, potentially linked to Plato’s Atlantis, before its desertification. He analyzes the evidence of advanced construction techniques and sophisticated understanding of astronomy, challenging the traditional narrative of human development.
Göbekli Tepe: Unearthing and Implications of a 12-Millennia-Old Stone Site
Bisceglia examines Göbekli Tepe, a megalithic site in Turkey that’s 12 millennia old, highlighting its significant implications for our understanding of humanity’s civilizational origins. He describes the site’s remarkable stone structures, suggesting it could mean that an advanced pre-agricultural society with sophisticated organizational and construction capabilities existed. The lack of burial evidence at Göbekli Tepe leads Bisceglia to explore alternative theories about its purpose, suggesting it might have served as a ritualistic centre or a site for communal gatherings. The Site’s Stone Structures Suggest Advanced civilistaion
Facilitators of Civilization: Connections Between Akhenaten, Moses, Jesus, and the Turin Shroud
Bisceglia explores the role of people he calls “facilitators,” who significantly influenced how human consciousness and civilization developed. He focuses on the enigmatic Pharaoh Akhenaten, suggesting a connection to Moses and their shared monotheistic beliefs. He then delves into the person of Jesus Christ, examining his origins, features, and possible connections to the Turin Shroud, ultimately questioning whether he was a “revolutionary” from another world.
The Revolutionary Religious and Cultural Changes Under Akhenaten-
Bisceglia examines the reign of Akhenaten, the Egyptian monarch who initiated a radical religious revolution, introducing the worship of Aton, the “one true God” depicted as the solar disk. He describes Akhenaten’s monotheistic beliefs, rejection of traditional Egyptian gods, and the establishment of Akhetaten as a capital city dedicated to Aton. Bisceglia analyzes how these theological shifts includingAkhenaten’s Monotheism and Reverence for Aton in Egypt impacted Egyptian society, leading to conflict with the powerful priesthood and ultimately contributing to Akhenaten’s downfall.
The only flaw in the book is a tendency to over-argue astonishing claims. Sometime raw simplicity is best
Alan Edwards with Keith Richards in Nice, 1982. Photograph: Denis O’Regan/Courtesy of Alan Edwards
This is one of the best insights into the Rock and pop business i have read.
**** out of five
Alan Edwards, founder of public relations company the Outside Organisation has had a client list that reads like the who’s who of modern rock and pop, his clients have included David Bowie (with whom Edwards worked for nearly four decades), the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, Blondie, Prince and the Spice Girls.
Pacy. witty, self deprecating and well told the story abounds with energy. His admiration and affectio for Bowie is clear.
Why did he succeed? He was smarter than most of his contemporaries and clients, with the notable exceptions of Bowie, Jagger and McCartney. he also worked phenomenally hard and didn’t succumb to the rock and roll lifestyle, he was too busy for that.
Snappy title for one of the worst books I have read in a very long time.
It is reheated nonsense scraped from other internet forums with virtually no first person accounts whatsoever.
I can find no biographical details on the author. However his language , Stroller), sidewalk, and soccer, suggest he is American in a book devoid of authenticity or credibility.
Paul claims to be a Wolves fan but offers precious little first hand evidence or accounts. Thus it becomes a combination of third party anecdote, fantasy, conjecture and embarrassing cod analysis littered with flawed conclusions
He also fails to understand that the highest grade of hooligan is category C, not A.
In all probability this book was written by artificial intelligence.
I saw Tina Turner at Portman rd football ground Ipswich thirty five years ago in 1990. At fifty years old, she was fit, energetic and had a magnificent voice.
In its seventh year (and the longest-running show) at the West End’s Aldwych Theatre, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical is now embarking on its first UK and Ireland tour in 2025. In a bravura tale of compelling performances, powerhouse vocals, and a story as inspiring and raw, as the woman herself.
This is not a ‘jukebox’ musical, playwright Katori Hall skilfully weaves the music and narrative, never afraid to let the latter lead the way. The music is not performed chronologically.
Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy is outstanding as Tina , uncannily capturing Tina’s body movement and shimmies. Opposite David King-Yombo as the violent but gifted Ike Turner .
Director brings the best out of Chizaram Ochuba-Okafor shines as Young Tina. Indeed the entire family, including Alline Bullock, as Tina’s sister and Rush and Chambers and Letitia Hector, as Tina’s parents, provide vital depth to the proceedings
Mark Thompson’s set, Bruno Poet’s lighting, and Jeff Sugg’s projection design work are a joy and the finale in which a live concert performance is evoked is stunning.
Inevitably Nutbush city limits, Proud Mary and River Deep Mountain High seize the musical moments But private dancer and we don’t need another hero come close. MacCarthy becomes Tina in the same way that Alexandra burke became Whitney in the bodyguard. Her vocals are faultless, imitating Tina but still breathing her own personality into the songs.
At 75 minutes a half, we are given our money’s worth, yet the ending is a little abrupt. The role that chance and David Bowie played in resurrecting her career is a trifle underplayed but realistically you cannot fault the song choice or narrative arc.
This is a carefully and lavishly crafted musical that pushes at the boundaries of the jukebox musical and tribute forms. A terrific evening’s entertainment
Often described as a ‘super-orchestra’ , it brings together outstanding musicians from the UK and abroad, including principals and leaders from other orchestras, notable soloists and members of distinguished chamber groups.
‘Sinfonia of London sets the gold standard – an orchestra of generals that takes the unfashionable, the obscure, the overlooked, and makes it unmissable.’ (The Sunday Times)
The orchestra comes together for special projects throughout the year, including concerts and recordings, to create exceptional musical experiences.
John Wilson and Sinfonia of London performing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s greatest hits at one of the finest Symphomy hall in the world promised to be a musical extravaganza and delivered.
From the opening overture the lush sonic sound bathed us in is magnificence before the special guest soloists Louise Dearman, Nathaniel Hackmann & Scarlett Strallen arrive to work their magic
The concert included music from “South Pacific,” “The Sound of Music,” “Oklahoma!,” “Carousel,” and “The King and I.” The performance showcased a number of popular songs like “Lady and the Tramp”
Louise Dearman was terrific in the comic standard- to keep my love alive
Scarlet Strallen mdd Julie Andrews a distant memory with her take on Sound of Music
There was barely a dry eye in the house for Nathaniel Hackmann’s emotional “You’ll Never walk Alone”
Wilson’s decision to resurrect , reappraise and rearrange and represent Rodgers and Hammerstein’s back catalogue was fully vindicated , my only gripe was that the first half was a full hour, while the second half struggled to surpass the forty minute mark- we wanted more!
This is not a conventional review. Everyone knows the story, most have seen the film. There is an acting cast of upwards of forty including rotation and a band of several. Director Emily Armstrong has had to morph into Ridley Scott to deal with this enormous cast and crew. I couldn’t possibly name check everyone.
Does she succeed? Yes she does.
As with Annie, Oliver, and the King and I, a large cast of children helps enormously with ticket sales, tonight the House was sold out. Yet although a commercial banker, artistically it is a bit of a minefield. The film has mountains and numerous locations, an amateur production does not. But what is present is a catalogue of some of the best and most loved songs in musical theatre. Armstrong ensures she wrings every ounce of magic from them. The stage set team opt for a surreal impressionist backdrop.
More challenging is the central theme of the rise of the Far Right, a phenomena emerging in the Uk with reform , and in Europe. The message that acquiescence is not the answer is not dodged. Swastikas fly ominously
Pivotal to the show’s success is the casting of Amy Davies as Maria who channels her inner Julie Andrews to the maximum, but in a 2025 way. Fey, demure, frustrated, unfulfilled, lustful; all of those emotions are neatly deployed.
Opposite her Paul Westood is a pleasing Captain Von Trapp, initially stiff, then lovelorn.
Star of the supporting cast is Liz Berriman as the Mother Abbess. The first half, on the warmest evening of the year, was a remarkable 95 minutes. Using the railway, it is possible to climb Mount Snowdon in half that time and the Germans would surely have made Paris, Stalingrad and Warsaw in that time too. Yet just as the heat and time were starting to overwhelm, Liz steps up and gloriously exhorts us to “Climb Every Mountain” and we made it to the interval! And everything is alright.
My other favourite supporting cast actor was, Nick Snowdon as Quisling Max Detweiler who almost evoked the biggest laugh of the night when a slip of the tongue meant that he announced that Von Trapp was joining the Royal rather than German navy! The much shorter, 50 minute second half whizzed by. I can be a miserable curmudgeon, but even I had a tear in my eye when the children sang ” So long Farewell Aufwiedersehn Goodnight”
All in all a hugely enjoyable evening with the band miraculously playing from the cafeteria through lack of space yet still sounding great. The Von Trapps will continue to avoid the Nazis until Saturday 28th June.
A criticism that could never be levelled at Derby Theatre is that it is predictable and boring. Next year we have the Classic Macbeth, tonight we had Kiss me Quickstep a contemporaneous tilt at dramatizing the modern media interest in ballroom dancing.
Even better it is in the hands of prolific local playwright and literary polymath Nottingham’s Amanda Whittington. Her plays tend to focus on a female perspective and there is plenty for her to have a go at here with sequins galore, fabulous frocks, fixed smiles, fake tan and the backstage bitching of competitive ballroom dancing. The wardrobe department will rarely have been busier.
Three couples take centre stage in a production sharply directed by Theresa Heskin which has the razzle dazzle to the fore.
The cast feature Russian Luka Kralj, who has come from Russia to compete in the championships, and his partner Nancy Knight, in training since she was three, aided and abetted by her rich dad, Mick, who is determined to bankroll her dreams.
Jodie and Justin Atherton overcome a car breakdown to stagger in. Lee Hart and Samantha Shaw, sashay and swagger as favourites for the title.
There is little to fault the acting in Theresa Heskins’s production. Hannah Edwards is engaging as Nancy, especially when she sticks to her principles. There is tension towards the end when she clashes with her win-at-all-costs dad, played with vigour and credibility by Jack Lord. Isaac Stanmore gives an impressive portrayal of Luka whose focus on perfection is matched by his persuasive Russian accent.
Abigail Moore and Matt Crosby are arresting as Jodie and Justin, the couple whose motives for taking part in the competition change more times than Jodie swaps her costume. They are probably the finest dancers too, admirably strutting their stuff in both the ballroom and Latin sections.
Amy Barnes is captivating as Samantha, the envied dancer who has appeared twice on the cover of Dancing Times but who swigs vodka as she struggles to find her real self. Ed White shines as Lee who feels his drive and ambition are far more important than Samantha’s self-doubt. As he says, “competitive dancing is not about confidence. It’s the illusion of confidence. And you can create that.”
When members of a community ensemble from the Academy for Theatre Arts take to the floor, there are 11 couples displaying their talents at one time. The dance routines are little short of extraordinary. There’s a winsome waltz, a tingling tango, a sizzling samba and a pulsating paso doble.
The dance routines are dazzling, the script stitches it all together, no-one puts a foot wrong.
Not only is Earl Slick my favourite Bowie guitarist, he is also one of my favourite all time guitarists. So my expectations of this book were high. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.
licks credits read like excerpts from a compendium of contemporary music. from John Lennon to the New York Dolls – but it was his association with David that defined him he was barely out of his teens when David Bowie hired him to play guitar on the ground-breaking 1974 Diamond Dogs tour. a relationship that would endure through thick and thin for the next forty years playing on Young Americans, Station to Station and the 2013 comeback, The Next Day, Slick played on the tour that followed Bowie’s hit Let’s Dance album and was at his side for the epic Glastonbury show in 2000.
Other collaborations read like a roll call of rock ‘n’ roll royalty including Mick Jagger, The Cure, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Joe Cocker, Buddy Guy, Ian Hunter, David Coverdale and Eric Clapton. And in the ‘80s he became an MTV star in his own right with the success of Phantom, Rocker and Slick. Through it all he lived the rock ‘n’ roll life to the hilt, until it nearly killed him.
The wise decision to use musician and journalist Jeff Slate to write the book with him pays dividends. It is lucid, chronological and insightful professionally musically and personally. It does not rely upon salacious gossip, the raw truth is powerful, and interesting enough.
My favourite woman of mystery Coco not only organised auditions, but also sometimes ran them. Slick overdubbed Ronson’s lead guitar on the Ziggy Stardust motion picture album on “Width of a circle” due to technical issues on the original recording. ( check out the versions on “David Live” and “The motion picture album”.Drug use was so endemic amongst the touring party that Slick was “snowballing” taking cocaine and heroin. He cannot remember the “Across the universe” session he was so out of it ( most of us are keen to forget it too). He was amongst the mutineers for the recording of the David Live Album when they arrived to find recording equipment and vans- but no payment proposals for the album. Despite several contractual/ financial spats his admiration for, and desire to play with, David never diminished. I could not help but reflect that Ronson could have learned much from Slick in his business dealings.
A fine book and must for all Bowie fans. Slik closes by saying that his epitaph was written on the liner notes to Station to Station :
As a past Staffordshire Poet laureate I have always been fascinated by George Heath, the gifted poet who died aged only 25 years old of “Consumption” or what we call Tuberculosis a major killer up until the early 20th century.
Originally, nobody knew what caused the various forms of tuberculosis, so called from tubercle bacillus (usually the offending microbes are specifically Mycobacterium tuberculosis).
The word “tuberculosis” was coined by Johann Lukas Schönle in 1839, from the Latin “tuberculum,” meaning “small, swelling bump or pimple.” However, it wouldn’t be until 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch discovered the tubercle bacillus, for which he won a Nobel Prize in 1905, that the name “tuberculosis” began being exclusively used to refer to the disease formerly popularly known as consumption.
The microbes that cause the disease have been around for at least 15,000-20,000 years with known human deaths being caused by the bacteria dating back at least as far as 5,000 years ago, so the current name is an extremely recent moniker relative to how long the disease has been around.
The much older name originally came from the ancient Greeks who called the disease something meaning “consumption,” “phthisis,” specifically referring to pulmonary tuberculosis, with the earliest references to this being in 460 BC.
The “father of Western medicine,” Hippocrates, estimated that phthisis was the most widespread disease of his age. He further told his students that they shouldn’t attempt to treat patients in the last stages of phthisis, as they were sure to die and it would ruin his protégés’ reputation as healers if they made a practice of attempting to heal such individuals.
The disease seemed to consume the individual, with their weight drastically dropping as the disease progressed.
St Michaels Church Horton is beautifully located even if the building itself is routine. A Parish church built in C15 with C17 alterations and largely internal circa 1864 restoration by Sugden. Coursed sandstone; red tile roof to nave and chancel, with verge parapets.
The Victorians loved their Church cemetries. This one is atypical.
Serena Trowbridge ( Reader in Victorian Literature, Birmingham City University) writes:
” Victorians ritualised death. Black mourning clothes were worn for set periods of time after bereavement, the length of time depending on the relationship. After this, grey or purple would then be worn. Jewellery was made of the hair of the deceased and photographs were taken of the corpse with their family. Curtains in the house were drawn after a death, and the bell and door-knocker muffled.
The Victorian attitude to death was epitomised by the public mourning of Prince Albert in 1861. Queen Victoria’s consolation, beside the Bible, was the reading of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s In Memoriam (1849), a long poem which explores the undulating patterns of grief. Victoria’s response to the poem exemplifies the Victorian approach to death, in which the dead are mourned and memorialised rather than seen as lost forever. This Christian approach is also reflected in the graveyards of the period.
From 1832 or 1841, cemeteries were constructed around London to cope with the growing problem of the burial of the dead. Cremation was rare and seen as unacceptable, and existing graveyards were overflowing, with coffins often stacked up.
Perhaps the most famous of these London cemeteries is Highgate, opened in 1839. It became the resting place for many famous figures, including the author George Eliot, the poet Christina Rossetti, and members of Dickens’ family.
Another cemetery, at Brookwood in Surrey, was opened in 1854 after the cholera epidemic of 1848-9 overwhelmed the system. It was served by the London Necropolis Railway, which ran trains from Waterloo carrying mourners and coffins. The Necropolis Railway emphasised the class-bound nature of death and mourning, with carriages and waiting rooms (which doubled as funeral parlours) divided into first, second and third class.
Sacred space
Graveyards offered a sacred space for bereaved families to reflect on their losses. This encounter between the living and the dead provides one of the most famous scenes in Victorian literature, when young orphan Pip visits the graves of his family in the opening pages of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations (1861).
Pip explains how his images of his family were formed by their tombstones:
The shape of the letters on my father’s, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, ‘Also Georgiana Wife of the Above,’ I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly.
The site of the burial of the dead also proves a turning point for Pip’s future. He is surprised by the appearance of “a fearful man”, Magwitch, who demands Pip’s help. The child’s terrified acquiescence alters the course of his life in ways he does not yet fully understand.
This tendency to situate significant encounters among the dead is widespread in Victorian fiction. In The Woman in White (1860) by Wilkie Collins, a key encounter between the hero and the elusive woman in white takes place in a graveyard:
Under the wan wild evening light, that woman and I were met together again, a grave between us, the dead about us, the lonesome hills closing us round on every side.
As the hero-narrator points out, “the lifelong interests which might hang suspended on the next chance words” make him anxious and add drama to an already tense scene.
As spaces charged with emotion, then, in which one may reflect on one’s own future as well as past, graveyards provide a fruitful literary backdrop. Thomas Hardy uses this concept regularly, notably in Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891), in which the tombs of the heroine’s supposed ancestors provide uncomfortable settings for several encounters with her past and present, leading to her ultimate downfall.
Death and resurrection
Death was not an end for the majority of Victorians, but the beginning of a new future. As Tennyson wrote in his poem “Crossing the Bar”:
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the Bar.
The conviction in resurrection and ascension to Heaven which sustained the mourners was accompanied by a growing interest in séances and spiritualism as a way to remain in contact with the dead, and of course the graveyard consequently featured in many ghost stories.
Truth is even stranger, however. In 1869, the body of Elizabeth Siddal, painter and poet, was exhumed by firelight in Highgate Cemetery, to recover the manuscripts of poems tossed in with her body by her grieving husband, the Pre-Raphelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. it was said that her body was perfectly preserved, and that her red hair had continued growing and filled the coffin.
The worm-eaten manuscripts are now in the British Library, and it has been suggested that Siddal’s exhumation inspired Bram Stoker in his portrayal of Lucy Westenra in Dracula (1897).
Graveyards are a place where different human concerns meet: sadness, loss, history, tragedy, and uncertainty for the future. Yet these fictional graveyard encounters contain seeds of hope, in which the characters move from loss to a brighter future.
“George Heath was born in the village of Gratton in the Staffordshire Moorlands in 1844.
Educated at the village school, he worked on his father’s farm, then was apprenticed to a builder.
While working on the church in the neighbouring village of Horton, he caught a chill which developed into consumption and he died five years later at the age of 25.
…He was also a poet. During his brief lifetime he achieved little more than local fame as ‘the Moorland Poet’…
He was also a poet. During his brief lifetime he achieved little more than local fame as ‘the Moorland Poet’ and ‘the Invalid Poet’.
He published two slim volumes of verse but after his death his friends produced an edition of his poems and also arranged for a memorial stone to be erected over his grave in Horton churchyard.
Death and the frustration of unfulfilled ambition are the two major themes of his poetry, and the epitaph on his gravestone (quoted above) reveals his own belief that his work would be forgotten. Hopefully he will be proved wrong.”
Garyswordz 