Oscar’s
“Oscar Wilde’s grave vies with that of Jim Morrison as the biggest tourist attraction in this graveyard of the great and good (Balzac, Chopin, Delacroix, Ingres, Molière, Piaf, and the lovers Abélard and Héloïse among others). It is regularly covered in red lipstick kisses and is both a lovers’ rendezvous and a rallying point against […]
Cancer pain is uncontrolled in most of the world
To state the obvious: 1) most advanced cancer patients have pain, and 2) we have excellent pain medications which can effectively treat more than 90% of cancer pain. Therefore, most patients with cancer receive proper prescriptions for pain. Obvious, yes? True? No. In Europe, Australia and North America narcotic analgesics are widely available, and frequently […]
I was smiling so long as I was next to you
In case you missed it, there was one of those stunning, magical moments on the radio on Sunday. On Broadcasting House, Emilie Blachère, a reporter for Paris Match, read a love letter/poem to her partner Rémi Ochlik, who died in Syria alongside Marie Colvin last year. Hear her read it on the BBC iPlayer. Go to 54 mins […]
Origins of sayings #1 – Everyone wants a piece of him
A number of popular sayings derive from death and funerals. One such is the saying ‘Everyone wants a piece of him’. This is a surprisingly ancient saying dating back 800 years. Here’s how it happened. When Richard I (Lionheart) died, his entrails were interred in the central French town of Chalus, where he died in a […]
RICHARD III – ILLEGALLY EXHUMED?
Posted by John Bradfield ED’s note: John Bradfield, founder of the Alice Barker Trust and author of the groundbreaking Green Burial, the DIY Guide, campaigns, together with Teresa Evans, for the legal rights of the bereaved. Here he argues that Richard III was illegally exhumed. He presents this argument in the context of his and Teresa’s wider […]
More great myths of Funeral world…
…or are these ones true? Posted by Richard Rawlinson No. 3: A company offering the expensive service of deep freezing and preserving corpses of wealthy folk who hoped that future generations would be able to revive them back to life, went in liquidation. Because of unpaid bills the electricity supply was cut off and the bodies […]
To our critics
Dear Ian and Frank, It was good to see you commenting once more on the blog. It shows that people of all shades of opinion read it, not just a clique. I hope you appreciate the way I allow you to say whatever you like, however abusive (so long as it isn’t also libellous). […]
Why doctors say no
Physicians see and treat patients who have undergone CPR. Those patients are usually paralyzed, swollen with fluid, and unconscious. Upon witnessing that, physicians might buy cialis online forum wonder what the differences are between “living” and “existing”. This could explain why their end-of-life care preferences differ from that of the general public. Source
Philosophical brain teaser
Posted by Richard Rawlinson Some readers might recall Roal Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected on TV. ‘William and Mary’ was a particularly beastly story about an academic having his brain and one eye transplanted from his body after death, and attached to an artificial heart so they both continue to function. William can see and […]
Bright eyes
Posted by Vale Remember Watership Down? The best selling childrens book about a band of rabbits? Adams, the author, gives the warrens he writes about social structures and a strong lapin culture. There are even myths and legends. Even a rabbit version of the Grim Reaper himself who appears to rabbits as ‘the Black Rabbit […]
