Day out for the family skulls
From Wikipedia: Dia de los ñatitas (“Day of the Skulls”) is a festival celebrated in La Paz, Bolivia, on May 5. In pre–Columbian times, indigenous Andeans had a tradition of sharing a day with the bones of their ancestors on the third year after burial; however, only the skulls are used today. Traditionally, the skulls of family members are kept at […]
You are the referee
Here’s another pay-up-or-else story — true but anonymised and deliberately undated. A funeral director is refusing to hand over the ashes until the balance of the bill is settled — which it will be if the DSS claim is successful. Does he have the right to do this? You can’t arrest a corpse for debt […]
Another new death mag
The senior management team here at the GFG-Batesville Shard have spoken at some length to Sue White, above, about her new magazine venture, Farewell Magazine. We were impressed. Farewell Magazine is described below in a press release we have just had from her people: Funerals and dying are taboo subjects in today’s society, but one […]
Doing a good job?
Dying Matters is surveying its members to see what they think about how well it’s doing. The GFG was one of the first 100 orgs to sign up to Dying Matters. Statements on the survey (5 possible responses from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree) include: The Dying Matters Coalition has helped highlight the need for […]
Quote of the Day
“Military funerals have become pagan orgies of idolatrous blasphemy, where they pray to the dunghill gods of Sodom & play taps to a fallen fool.” Statement issued by the never knowingly understated Westboro Baptist Church. More here.
Journey’s end recedes
As medicine, diet, lifestyles etc reconfigure the landscape of dying by enabling us to live longer / enjoy extra twilight years (not me, I smoke), our relationship with death is altering. When death cuts a life cruelly short it is held to be a Bad Thing; when it brings to a merciful close a too-long […]
Pay up or else
Ian Godfrey’s brother Michael died intestate aged 40 in August of this year. His funeral arrangements were undertaken by Ian’s sister, Sally. The chosen funeral director was the Nailsea branch of Co-operative Funeralcare, who duly prepared an estimate. Click on it to bring it up to full size (Sally’s full name and address have been redacted): […]
Quote of the Day
“InvoCare has has seen little customer leakage.” Invocare is the major consolidated player in the Australian funeral industry, which bears close comparison in may respects with the UK funeral industry though it also has a strong US flavour. Invocare ceo Andrew Smith says: “Most families don’t pick a funeral director based on price. Most will pick based […]
Graveland
Carla Conte is holding an exhibition in late January 2013. The title is Graveland. The venue is the Crypt Gallery, London. Graveland takes a curious look at cemeteries and tributes from around the world, exploring ways we remember, through photography & art. Photography, stories, objects and decorations will show some of the many different ways […]
Judge throws dead man out of court
Two South Korean fisherfolk, Soon Ill Hwang and Dae Jun Lee, were accused in New Zealand of illegally dumping dead fish at sea. What happened next? Soon Ill Hwang was killed in a car crash. And then? A solicitor representing the fisheries ministry insisted to m’learned lud that the show must go on — Soon must be brought […]
