Guardian Life & Style (US) • Jan. 9, 2026, 5:24 a.m.

<p>People say my job must make me morbid, but I think the opposite is true, I truly appreciate life</p><p>Not many people can say their happy place is a&nbsp;cemetery, but mine certainly is. I didn’t set out to dig graves for a&nbsp;living – it’s nobody’s childhood dream – but working as a&nbsp;contract gardener for the council in Oxfordshire, I did some work tending cemeteries, and eventually I&nbsp;was offered a job digging graves.</p><p>I found it quite daunting at first.

I&nbsp;was responsible for digging the plots&nbsp;and being on hand during the funeral service, as well as filling in the grave. It&nbsp;felt like a huge responsibility.

I’d recently lost my nan and I’d sit and&nbsp;watch the funerals with a lump in my throat. From the beginning, I&nbsp;treated every grave as though it were&nbsp;for a member of my own family.

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