Death Cafe
This post is reproduced with permission from Jayd Kent’s One Queer Femme Anatomy blog. It describes the first-ever pop-up death cafe, the brainchild of Jon Underwood, curator of the Death Cafe blog and one of the nicest and, underneath that, brainiest people you could meet. A death cafe is long-held dream of John. How marvellous […]
The things they say
Over at the Connecting Directors site in America a funeral director observes: Never trust a funeral director who says, “This is the last thing you can do for your loved one.” What other upselling tricks and wiles do our native undertakers possess? Including facial expressions?
Undertakers’ nightmares #1 – the Social Fund Funeral Payment
Posted by Nick Gandon Methinks that the lunatics have taken over the asylum at the Department for Work and Pensions. Maybe lunatics is an unkind (and no doubt very non-pc) description, which on reflection, I should perhaps replace with the term “jobsworths”. Long known throughout the undertaking profession for their crazy deliberations over the claims […]
The Last Performance
At a funeral home death is something that may become a daily routine. And it is also where some kind of performance is taking place. ‘The last performance’ is a behind-the-scenes look at the place where funeral rites are prepared. Directed by Jorge Tur Moltó. On Vimeo here.
What does dying feel like?
Philip Gould, one of the architects of New Labour, is dying of cancer. In a way, he says, it’s a privilege to be in his position – to have a deadline, to be given a chance to sort everything. “I do really feel I know where I am now.” Don’t get me wrong, he says […]
Keep calm and carry on
Posted by Charles There is a tendency among some visitors to this blog vastly to overrate the significance of death. How salutary it is, therefore, to remind ourselves that our legislators keep mortality both in perspective and in its place. Maternity leave As an employee you have the right to 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave […]
The bitter spice that sweetens the dish
Posted by Jonathan A celebrant said today: “Even when funerals are designed to be a celebration of life, I nearly always begin by acknowledging people’s grief and sadness.” Jose (see his thought provoking blog post of 19th September), ever enquiring and studiously leaving no stone unturned, wants to know about incorporating grieving and celebration of life […]
A good funeral: part 1
Posted by Sweetpea In the light of our recent discussions about the merits of secular, civil and religious funerals, one interesting thread started to appear. Namely, what should a funeral not fail to include? Can a funeral ever really be meaningful to anyone? Does any funeral do the things that people need it to do? […]
Words, words, words
First posted by Charles on 9 Feb 2010 I’m putting this back up as a contribution to recent debates started by Jose and Richard. Following my post about the ineptitude and ineffectiveness of words, I stumbled on this piece in the Sydney Morning Herald. It’s actually about citizenship ceremonies, but you’d never guess it from […]
Euphemisms 1: Officials and officiousness
Posted by Vale Euphemisms are all about not facing up to reality. We like to think we use them for good reasons, but they have a darker side too. This poem, written by Harold Pinter in 1997, uses one of the words we often shy from, yet it too is a euphemism. It was written […]
