How to stay alive after you’re dead
Posted by Thomas Staley “All living things seek to perpetuate themselves into the future, but humans seek to perpetuate themselves forever. This seeking – this will to ‘immortality’ – is the foundation of human achievement; it is the wellspring of religion, the muse of philosophy, the architect of our cities and the impulse behind the […]
Nice work if you can get it
Here’s an attractive sounding job spec for someone considering a career as a funeral director: It’s providing the service that leaves a lasting impression. It’s being encouraged to gain new skills. And it’s delivering extraordinary service… Joining our talented team, you’ll provide a … service to an exceptional standard, both front-of-house and behind-the-scenes. You’ll prepare for […]
The soft bigotry of low expectations
Posted by May Andrews “If we can just get through this, then we can get on with our lives.” I’ve heard it so many times, in so many different ways, but it all boils down to this: many families perceive a funeral to be something they must endure, an unpleasant trial, which they must […]
If we can sparkle he may land tonight
What is the role of ritual in a secular funeral service? What does a contemporary ritual look like? These and related questions have been debated many times on this blog. So we were intrigued to learn of a brand new ritual created by the Church of England to celebrate Godparents’ Day. Quoting from today’s Times: […]
Why do funeral workers creep people out?
Everyone in the death business knows what normal people think of them. They are reminded of it every time they’re asked what they do for a living. I often lie. Perhaps you do, too, sometimes. A freshly published academic study titled On The Nature Of Creepiness offers us, perhaps, some insights into this unflattering characteristic commonly ascribed to deathworkers […]
NDC birthday party
Nicholas Albery, founder of the Natural Death Centre By Josefine Speyer The Natural Death Centre was 25 years old on 14 April 2016! Celebrating this event with two Natural Death Salons to benefit the NDC. There are still places at the next Natural Death Salon on Sunday 8 May. We will be showing the documentary […]
Why am I still here?
When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. First there was the cancer diary. Nigella Lawson’s husband John Diamond wrote one, you remember. Since the advent of the self-published blog countless people have died out loud. Next, boomers started writing about the slow and distressing decline of their parents. […]
Bet his is bigger than yours
Dignity’s figures are out. All going swimmingly, obviously. Mike McCollum looking good on his salary of £50K a week. Find the report here.
Repairing the dead
SIn Shanghai a funeral home has started using 3D printing technology to replicate parts of the face of a dead person whose head has been badly smashed and disfigured. Chinese people reckon it to be of paramount importance to present a dead person at their funeral looking good. The 3D printing process is reckoned to achieve […]
Help yourself to some of this
When John Taplin of Open Prepaid Funeral Plans first proposed that we work together to create a GFG funeral plan I told him to f*** off. Not in so many words. I was icily polite. I was practised in the art having previously spurned the seductive sweet talk of another funeral plan pedlar which wanted to fly me […]
