Funeral directors as social entrepreneurs?
Yesterday I wrote about the two problems that most bedevil funeral directors. First, in the public perception, they offer poor value for money, a charge of which they are, most of them, innocent. Second, they may feel that they occupy a marginalised position in society because people wonder what’s under their fingernails. As ever, it […]
Rebranding the Dismal Trade
Funeral directors know that they are viewed with suspicion, aversion, distrust. It’s what they do that lies at the root of this – the dark art of dealing with dead bodies. Yuk. How different they are from us. We don’t like people who are different from us. But most people express their feelings about funeral […]
David vs Goliath
This blog gets as tired of the sound of its own voice as, probably, you do. So it welcomes guest posts from whoever wishes to sound off, air a view, explore an idea — whatever. If you would like to make use of this platform, please feel free. Just send me what you want to […]
Good with grief
The banner on The Co-operative website proclaims that it is “good for everyone.” This accords with the long-held and passionate belief of all who toil at GFG HQ. To us, it’s a resounding statement of the obvious. We thought it was common knowledge. It looks, though, as if Co-op’s marketing creatives have stalled in their […]
Dying inside (2)
A few days ago I blogged about death and dying inside prison. If it’s the sort of thing that interests you at all, you’ll be interested in a post over at Jailhouselawyer’s blog. In most British prisons there are old men in their late sixties and seventies, at least three-quarters of them very ill and […]
Something for the weekend
An insight here into the Nigerian way of death. For mankind, death is an inevitable end. Whenever it comes, no matter the age of the dead, pains, sorrow and unquantifiable anguish are its accomplices. Ironically, this is simply not so for those in the business of coffin making and funeral management. While their patrons mourn […]
Death and hunger
Funerals in Britain are customarily followed by eating and drinking. Are there any time-honoured foods served at funerals? Are there traditional regional variants? Are there any funeral-specific favourites — the sorts of food people associate most strongly with funerals? I’m not talking generic sausage rolls and eggy sandwiches here. Is the custom of taking food […]
On Going by Owen Sheers
It’s been a slow news day here at the GFG luxury penthouse suite in Thanatology Towers. So here’s a very good poem by Owen Sheers. If you like it, buy the collection. It’s called Skirrid Hill and it’s published by seren. On Going i. m. Jean Sheers There were instruments, as there always are, To measure, record and […]
No kidding
Here’s what seems to me to be an extraordinary story from the US. It’s a blog post by a mum of four (8, 7, 4, 7 months) about her family field trip to a funeral director. Here’s an extract: When I set up the appointment, the funeral director said, “How much do you want to […]
Communard in the community
There was a nice piece in yesterday’s Mirror about Richard Coles. In the eighties he was one half of the Communards; now he’s a Church of England priest. In an age in which churchpeople are customarily pelted with derision, it’s worth calling to mind some of the virtuous deeds that Coles and his kind perform […]
