Yakuza funeral
Posted by Charles Belgian photographer Anton Kusters has just finished a project following a yakuza family. Yakuza? Japanese organized criminals. More here. A magazine journalist asked Kusters this question: Photographically, what was the most powerful situation that you encountered during this project? He replied: The funeral, which was mind-blowing. I got a phone call that […]
Beyond the Abyss
Posted by our religious correspondent Richard Rawlinson The North Texas Church of Freethought, according to its website [http://www.churchoffreethought.org], offers “atheists, agnostics, humanists, and freethinkers all the educational, inspirational, and social and emotional benefits of traditional faith-based churches”. A group of non-believers who acknowledge how many aspects of religion continue to attract, their interest is in what they […]
What You Need to be a Celebrant (the unofficial version)
Posted by Gloriamundi Health warning: this will be opinionated – it’s only my view 1. Ask yourself why you want to do it, and listen to the answers. The motivations of celebrants are varied, and not necessarily clear to themselves at first. It’s a role that reveals yourself to yourself. That can be quite a tough […]
The inexorable advance of the Co-opoly
Posted by Charles When a public service organisation falters as a result either of market change, incompetence or poor leadership, it doesn’t fix what needs fixing, it repudiates its public service ethos and starts wooing the psychopathic private sector. The public service ethos is systemically unbusinesslike, couldn’t run a whelk stall, etc. The private sector […]
The Letting Go
First published in the New York Times by SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE It had rained heavily the night before. The steep stone steps of the ghat are slick and slippery, and when my father pulls me onto the boat, the water feels more stable than the ground. The boatman rows out toward the open river, and the […]
“You’re born alone, you die alone and in between you cheat yourself out of that realisation as agreeably as you can.” Robert Lenkiewicz
Posted by Rupert Callender of the Green Funeral Company Claire and I spent the last day of August At Torre Abbey on the seafront at Torquay, seeing an exhibition called Death and the Maiden, featuring the work of the painter Robert Lenkiewicz. To the uninitiated, Robert was a flamboyant Plymouth based artist, instantly recognisable by […]
Forever Yours
I’m swept away in this moment I feel your heartbeat next to mine My hands are tremblings It’s overwhelming A whisper breaks through the silence A vow to test the breathe of time Until forever I’ll be forever Yours Not just tonight I’m by your side For all your life Till death comes between us […]
Posh resurrection men
Posted by Charles The remains of horses and wooden chariots have been unearthed from a Zhou Dynasty tomb in Luoyang, Henan Province, China that dates back almost 3,000-years. The completed excavation unearthed four horse-and-chariot pits, dating back to as far as 770BC, and the pits have well-preserved evidence of bronze ware and ceramics from the […]
Shooting the messenger
Posted by Nicola Dela-Croix When I meet grieving families in my role as a celebrant, I always try hard not to judge them if their behaviour is less than polite. For example, the initial phone call where you gently introduce yourself, but are made to feel as welcome as a pre-recorded “Do not hang up… […]
Blessed are those who mourn
Posted by Charles Here’s a thing. RJ Scholes, funeral directors of Stamford in Lincolnshire, have bought a new hearse and a new limousine. So what, I hear you exclaim. What kind? I hear undertakers who read this blog enquire. Ans: Ford Fairlanes. Not all that classy, I wouldn’t have thought, mere Fords? It seems that […]
