Grimaldi Park

Childhood visits to Blackpool Tower Circus have left me with an uneasy feeling about clowns. I know I’m not alone in being disturbed by the exaggerated makeup, masks and unpredictable tragic-comedic behaviours but that didn’t prevent me visiting the Grimaldi Park in Islington last week. I was actually on an (unsuccessful) geocache hunt but the park itself, a former graveyard, was interesting in its own right. The “original” clown, Joseph Grimaldi is buried there, his grave adorned with theatrical masks but additionally, there are two sunken “caskets” of bronze tiles, designed to play musical notes when walked or danced on.