Quote of the day
“I was just thinking about my funeral and stuff a couple days ago and thinking who would be at the funeral. People who I want to be in the funeral? I wanna have world leaders that were, like, affected, that said, you know, ‘Kanye gave me my shot here.’” Kanye West
When suffering becomes pointless
In a very good article which addresses society’s need to address the consequences of technological advances in medicine, Dr Alex Lickerman says this: The notion that dying is a right seems nonsensical to argue: death is given to all of us equally without the need of anyone’s sanction. The right to die well, on the other […]
Dilemma of the Day
From the Chicago Sun-Times: Dear Abby: “Saddened in New Jersey” (Oct. 2) complained that her sister’s 4-year-old daughter put stickers on the hands and face of her deceased grandmother during her wake. Find out what Abby said next here.
What Adele teaches us about grief
I first heard Adele’s song at the funeral of a young boy who died by suicide earlier this year. Songs are like that. They can become woven around memories of events that made a strong emotional impact on us. The depth of grief I witnessed among his friends was heartbreaking. One of them who spoke […]
Quote of the day
“But our machines have now been running 70 or 80 years, and we must expect that, worn as they are, here a pivot, there a wheel, now a pinion, next a spring, will be giving way; and however we may tinker them up for a while, all will at length surcease motion.” Thomas Jefferson, 1814
League of gentlemen
Anyone who knows the funeral industry knows that large swathes of it regard evolution with fear and loathing. Last week’s blog about funeral directors who post their prices on their website will have affected a good many of their fellows with F & L. It is beneath the dignity of a funeral director to resort […]
Creating ambience
Regular blog reader Melissa Stewart has been getting into the spirit of Christmas by burning incense made by the Cistercian monks of Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire. “I like the waft when I’m singing carols,” she says. She writes to suggest that incense would work well for some funerals. It all depends on the venue, of […]
Showboating the dead
Intriguing piece here from the Standard, ‘Kenya’s Bold Newspaper’ satirising modern funeral fads in a countrywhere oneupmanship is, according to the author, so rampant and absurd that ‘Even someone who dies in a Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru hospital or at a witchdoctor’s dungeon, is reported to have died in London, Germany or the US.’ and ‘if […]
Priests and secular celebrants
By Richard Rawlinson Today’s elderly, even when not religious, are more likely to choose a funeral conducted by a priest (pastor/vicar depending on denomination) than a secular celebrant. Given the choice between a person in a robe or business suit, they opt for the former. Their decision seems as natural to them as taking the […]
Touchy-feely felt
How’s it going with the Christmas shopping? Look, with time running out, it’s time to get going. Here at the GFG-Batesville Tower we like to support our own — the people who share our values. There are precious few of these in the high street for, verily, they are a precious few. One of the […]
