Fiery funeral
The story: Scores of Viking warriors descended on the shores of Lough Neagh last weekend, where they engaged in battle and bade farewell to one of their own on a blazing funeral pyre, watched by hundreds of people, young and old. The full story: It was a re-enactment. Good fun, though — great spectacle.
Lay ministers for Catholic funerals
Posted by Richard Rawlinson Due to a shortage of priestly vocations in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, Archbishop Patrick Kelly has come up with a solution that’s likely to get a mixed response: lay people presiding over Catholic funerals when priests are not available. He’s commissioned 22 lay ministers to celebrate funeral ceremonies, starting this autumn, in […]
David Twiston Davies, formerly chief obituary writer at the Daily Telegraph, gave a brilliant talk about his onetime trade at the Joy of Death Festival 2012. Here’s a snippet Whatever the truth, everybody wants to know why somebody has died. Unfortunately the reasons given immediately after a death are often proved to be wrong. Max […]
The gift of life is a sentence of death
From the Indian Express Contrary to the usual norm of life, one gypsy tribe from Rajasthan actually rejoice and revel in deaths in their family counting them as one of the happiest events in their lives while treating births as occasions of great grief … what distinguishes the Satiyaa community from the other tribes is after […]
Fictional funeral
From Benjamin Black’s latest novel of suspense, Vengeance. The scene is a funeral: “The vicar droned, his eyes fixed dreamily on a corner of the sky above the trees, a hymn was raggedly sung, someone let fall a sob that sounded like a fox’s bark.”
Yet more exhumation news
Posted by Richard Rawlinson Not Richard III this time but the remains of the woman believed to have inspired Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Lisa Gherardini. A dig at the now-derelict Convent of St Orsola in Florence is said to be getting close to discovering the buried remains of the noblewoman with the enigmatic smile. But […]
Mozart v Rogers & Hammerstein
I was at a funeral for a much loved gentleman last week – he wasn’t into opera at all, but had heard Mozart on The Shawshank Redemption and loved it. He was a great believer in daring to dream. The whole room was surprised when we played an excerpt from the Marriage of Figaro as the […]
Richard III – is he or isn’t he?
Posted by Richard the Rawlinson The fully articulated skeleton of what might be Richard III is now being rigorously examined in a laboratory. Leicester University archeologists and DNA scientists are undoubtedly handling these human remains with great care due to their historic value, but perhaps also because of our tradition that the dead, exhumed or otherwise, […]
Richard III: fresh calls for state sendoff
Tory MP Chris Skidmore has tabled an early day motion in the House of Commons. It moves: ‘That this House notes the discovery of a skeleton beneath a car park in Leicester believed to be that of Richard III; praises the work of the archaeologists and historians responsible for the find; hopes that DNA evidence […]
Ageism
Text message sent to the Oldie magazine: Racism is rightly condemned but comics still feel free to make jokes about dentures. Another: Thanks to the good lady on Stockport station who told me my shoelaces were undone. I was quite well aware of that, but appreciate her concern.
