Thoughts of a funeral-goer
Posted by Lyra Mollington Our neighbour Keith had no idea that the woman who visited him every day in the care home was his wife of 57 years. Their children and grandchildren were also strangers to him. After he died, Doreen felt guilty that she wasn’t as grief stricken as she thought she should have […]
Panning for gold
We have a list of good funeral directors on the GFG website. It’s got stagnant. We’ve not added to it for a while, nor have we maintained a relationship with some of the funeral directors we recommend. Most of our recommended funeral directors are as good as it gets; some need to be weeded out. […]
Down to Earth wants volunteers
Down to Earth Mentoring Programme Down to Earth is now recruiting volunteer mentors to support people on a low income as they deal with the funeral planning process. What will mentoring for Down to Earth be like? Challenging but rewarding! You will work closely with individuals and families on low incomes who are organising a funeral—sometimes their own. You […]
Religious funerals: why Jews bury their dead
Posted by our religious correspondent, Richard Rawlinson The first crematorium to be opened in London, in 1902, is directly opposite Golders Green Jewish Cemetery, opened in 1895. Apart from their Hoop Lane location, they share little in common. Traditional Jews, like traditional Christians and Muslims, believe in burial: and burial only in a Jewish cemetery, […]
Raising the money in hard times
Anne Dunbar, co-owner of a funeral home in the Dayton suburb of Springfield, Ohio, reports that 15 to 20 families a year now ask that newspaper obituaries include a plea for contributions toward funeral expenses. It’s not uncommon, in the US, for families to raise money for a funeral, and here’s a new way of doing […]
Cockup
The following is an abridged version of a story in this is Cheshire A GRIEVING sibling says she is angry and upset after the wrong picture was placed by her brother’s coffin at his funeral. Directors at Co-op Funeralcare also forgot to lay a Manchester United flag over the coffin as directed. The 63-year-old said: […]
Does this make the case for a secular funeral ritual?
Here’s an interesting and stimulating view of funerals from Guardian commenter Sussexperson: Each to their own, and all that, but there are serious flaws in the “capturing the person” style of funeral. I’ve been involved in a depressingly large number of those over recent years, so can speak from bitter experience. You don’t, as a […]
Dead Dad
Brian Appleyard writes: Mueck exhibited only one piece at the Sensation show: Dead Dad, a hyper-realistic sculpture of the corpse of his father. The first shock was that it was little more than half life-size. The second shock was — well, I’ll come back to that. Some years later, Craig Raine, the poet and critic, […]
For sale: Timothy Leary’s flotation tank
Are you intrigued by the healing or consciousness-changing potential of floatation tanks? Now is your chance to experience the floatation chamber in your own home with a unique piece of psychedelic history. The winning bidder will also receive signed, framed portraits of Leary and Lillyby visionary light photographer Dean Chamberlain. These prints are valued at $1,200 each. […]
Quote of the day
One interesting fact I encounter is what constitutes a ‘religious funeral’. I have on a number of occasions met and prayed with distressed familes who have had humanist funerals because they thought that ‘non-religious’ meant C of E! Comment in the Guardian here.
