The extraordinariness of ordinary people
“I just love the work. Much of it isn’t anything to do with being at the cutting edge of any ‘new’ movement, but about listening to people, giving them attention and valuing a person’s life that I am told was just ordinary.” Sue Goodrum, celebrant.
Close thine eyes
Posted by Vale I was at a funeral recently when this song by Purcell was played at the committal. We listened to the Treorchy Male Voice Choir, but I couldn’t find their version on You Tube so this is the Kirkintilloch Male Voice Choir instead. Close thine eyes and sleep secure; Thy soul is safe, […]
Shrine on you crazy diamond
It’s amazing, really, just how terrifically buttoned-up Brits are when it comes to commemorating their dead. Other cultures offer us examples of observances, duties, rituals and practices which can teach us a thing or two. We really ought to take them up on it. One of these is the household shrine. We’ve touched on this before […]
Yes, where were the humanists?
We’ve held this over awhile, but the question it asks remains topical. The article is about the aftermath of the Newtown shootings: The funerals and burials over the past two weeks have taken place in Catholic, Congregational, Mormon and United Methodist houses of worship, among others. They have been held in Protestant megachurches and in […]
Only in…
Continuing today’s hearse theme: Parked opposite the biggest state hospital in the region are a few odd-looking, modified vehicles with a prominent stage and a decorative dome above. They are equipped with steps, stretchers and chairs and are marked with philosophical quotes like “towards the creator bidding adieu to creation”. A player in the funerary […]
Introducing the self-drive hearse
There’s a small but growing number of funeral shoppers who are becoming increasingly determined to find funeral directors who will assist them, or partner with them, in arranging a funeral. Some simply want to roll their sleeves up and do their bit for the person who’s died; others want to keep the costs down. It’s […]
Great myths of Funeralworld
Posted by Richard Rawlinson No. 1: If politicians stopped shirking the critical issue of grave space running out in urban churchyards and cemeteries, and instead hastened legislation to reuse graves after a period of 75 years, they would be hounded out of office by an outraged public, and tabloid headlines such as, ‘Government to dig up […]
Living dangerously
No one here at the GFG-Batesville Shard volunteered to do this gig, so we’ve sent along the work experience lad. Probably the last we’ll see of him. The venue is the Royal College of Art. Coco de Mer stock a range of mischiefmaking Valentine’s Day gifts — if you’re just waking up to the imminence […]
British flowers for British funerals
At Lower Blakemere Farm in Herefordshire, Heather Gorringe has been growing British flowers for British funerals since just last year. She says: Most flowers for funerals are just too formal, too regimented, and often just too white. Our flowers will look as if they have been gathered from our garden (and many of them will have been). […]
‘This is the way it should be done’
An account of a home funeral: This is the first time I am so close. There is a body bag on the table, waiting to be opened. Our best friends’ 22-year-old son’s body is inside. His mother and father are across from me, brothers beside, with several women gathered to form the circle around the […]
