Finding Burton

"The only thing in life is language.  Not love.  Not anything else."  -- Richard Burton

We knew that it was there.  The splendid Welsh actor and bon vivant, Richard Burton, who loved language above all else, whose personal and professional lives were both turbulent - to say the least -  found his final resting place near Lake Geneva in Switzerland in 1984.

This resting place is in le Vieux-Cimetière (Old Cemetery) in Céligny, a tiny municipality, that, while it is surrounded by the canton of Vaud, is formed by two enclaves of the canton of Geneva.  Céligny is within walking distance of my apartment, although it is not necessarily a short walk.  It is, in fact, slightly longer than the 8+ kilometer circuit that is so far my personal best for a morning walk.

The village slumbers somberly throughout the winter, but becomes festive during the late spring and summer when it is bedecked with flowers and flowering plants of all colors.  It is in the midst of vineyards and orchards and not far from other small villages.  With its slightly elevated location, it has a lovely view of the lake with the French Alps as background.

HWMBO and I loved to cycle in the area because it was so scenic.  We especially liked approaching the village from its upper entrance and then gliding down the long slope toward the lake on our bicycles.  We even stopped there on occasion to have Sunday brunch.  They didn't mind that we were still in biking attire, but would generally place us outside on the terrace, so as not to detract from the Sunday diners who were more appropriately dressed for the day.

Both HWMBO and I knew that Burton's grave was there.  According to local folklore, his widow (not his twice-divorced ex, Elizabeth Taylor), Sally Hay, either herself places or has someone else place fresh flowers on his grave every day.  So, on one of our bike excursions there, we stopped to visit it.  We looked at every single grave in the cemetery.  No Burton.

Fast forward to Thursday, two days ago, when Friend D was visiting.  I was driving her around the local circuits and we passed through Céligny.  I mentioned my previous unsuccessful quest with HWMBO, and she entered into the spirit of adventure.  "Let's go find it," she announced.  And so we parked the car in the tiny village center and set off for the cemetery.  The gate there proclaims, "Ici l'égalité" (Here is equality).  However profound, true and sobering this thought may be, it's too bad that too many don't remember it before they are put into the ground.

The gate creaked as we entered and two women who were tending one of the graves looked up at us and nodded at our "bonjours."  After a few moments of gratuitously checking headstones, which was interesting but, in light of my previous visit there likely to be fruitless, we approached the women.  Friend D, proud of her French fluency, asked them where Richard Burton's grave was.  They knew immediately exactly what we meant and answered, "But it's not here.  It's in the other cemetery."  They then proceeded to give us directions to the "other" cemetery.  On we continued for about a quarter of a mile.  Sure enough, around a corner, completely hidden by tall hedgerows, sheltered by evergreens and next to a running brook, was the smaller cemetery known as the "Old" Cemetery.  We were a bit mystified as to why it would be called "Old" when many burials there seemed to be quite recent.  But that is a question that will remain unanswered for the time being.

And there it was, not far from the entrance, Richard Burton's grave, his ruggedly-hewn headstone looking as rough-edged as some of his own life experiences.  And yes, there was indeed one fresh flower placed there.  It was also clear that when the weather turns warmer, other flowers will grow there by themselves. Indeed, I have seen photos where some are shown.  But this is what we saw:

Burton is not the only exile from the British Isles to rest in the Old Cemetery at Céligny.  Scottish novelist Alistair Maclean joined him there in 1987 and his grave is nearby.  I found that especially fitting.  Burton played the starring role in the film version of Maclean's novel "Where Eagles Dare," which I've always loved.   It is a frequent TV re-run on this side of The Pond and I like to think that the two old friends have much to enjoy still.