mostly david ephgrave

This morning, when walking through Hitchin Cemetery, I spotted an epitaph which read, ‘In the midst of life, we are in death’. Though a graveyard isn’t the place for levity, that sounded too depressing. Wouldn’t it be more positive if the ‘death’ and ‘life’ were switched?     I’ve since looked it up and discovered it’s based on a Latin phrase, that often crops up in hymns or sermons; you learn something new every day. Seeing it engraved on a moss-covered stone led me to think what would be appropriate for me. My all-time favourite belongs to Spike Milligan, whose gravestone states ‘I told you I was ill’.  (I'll just let that sink in.) It never fails to raise a smile. It’s as if his entire life was the set-up for the most glorious of punchlines. What could be a more fitting tribute to a man who so many laugh for so long? Unfortunately, a compromise was made; to please the local diocese, it had to be inscribed i...