Nunhead Cemetery Open Day is a wonderful community event which attracts thousands of people from across London. Many local groups are represented alongside community choirs, plants for sale, home-made cakes and bug hunts for small children.
SELHuG has a stall there each year, selling second-hand books and chatting to passers-by. Many people have attended a humanist wedding or funeral, and tell us how meaningful they find them. They ask if we do naming ceremonies – we do – and how to find a celebrant on the British Humanist Association website.
It’s an opportunity to answer questions, from ‘what is humanism?’ to ‘how do I talk to my grown-up children about my death?’ The open day usually coincides with ‘Dying Matters Awareness Week’ so we have leaflets about that alongside our own materials.
We are able to tell people about the local group and range of meetings and social events we organise throughout the year. And it’s great to stroll through the magnificent cemetery and see people sunbathing, picnicking and playing with their children in the many glades and grassy spaces.
Thank you to everyone who donated books, lent gazebos and volunteered on the day, and to the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery for managing it with such aplomb.
