People say my job must make me morbid, but I think the opposite is true, I truly appreciate life
N
ot 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, as well as filling in the grave. It felt like a huge responsibility. I’d recently lost my nan and I’d sit and watch the funerals with a lump in my throat. From the beginning, I treated every grave as though it were for a member of my own family. For the first time, I felt like my job really mattered.
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.
