London - The Hardy Tree - Where's Kay?

Richard and I like to watch our British TV shows.  Quite often, there will be a mention of some historical landmark and we find it quite interesting.  On an episode of "New Tricks",  we were shown a train station in London and very close to it, a church with the gravestones stacked against an ash tree in the church graveyard.  It is called "The Hardy Tree" because the gravestones were placed there by Thomas Hardy. (Yes, the famous author of "Far From The Madding Crowd").  Before he became a writer, Thomas Hardy studied architecture in London and it was his job to supervise the removal of bodies and tombstones from the church graveyard of St. Pancras Church in order to build a railway station there. 

When I looked at more photos of this, the black fencing in the churchyard grounds at St. Pancras looked very familiar to me.  The Beatles were photographed there on July 28, 1968 to promote the single "Hey Jude" and the White Album. (It was really their album entitled "The Beatles" but since it had a solid white cover, everyone called it "The White Album"!)  Does anyone else remember the photo that I am talking about?  You would only know this if you studied all the albums from that decade!  Note: After looking at our Beatles albums, we found the photograph inside the red album
The Beatles/1962-1966 and the blue album The Beatles/1967-1970.
Perhaps the photos were taken at the time the White Album was released but they are in the albums I just told you about!  

Okay then, back to Thomas Hardy before the famous four lads from Liverpool came into the picture.  I have always found the writings of Thomas Hardy to be a bit melancholy. Perhaps this is due to the fact that he never recovered from his first wife's death.  It was his wish that he would be buried in the same grave with his first wife.  (He later re-married his much younger secretary.)  His family and friends wished to fulfill his wishes but his executor wanted him buried in Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey.  They compromised and his heart was buried with his wife, Emma in Dorset but his ashes are in Poet's Corner. 

If you are ever in London, you must see Westminster Abbey! You know those "Where's Waldo" books?  (In England, they are called "Where's Wally"!)  See if you can spot me in the photo below!

See, I told you I loved the Beatles and children's books...I almost always think of one or the other!

Once again, my friends, I have been very busy at work and have been typing so much that I am thinking of wearing my arm in a sling...no kidding!  Take care, everyone and hope you are all well and enjoying the season wherever you are.