We should be careful how we leave
“If we are fortunate enough to die consciously, then we should take full advantage of opportunities to create peace for all parties. Our last words and intentions matter so much to those left behind. We should be careful how we leave.”
Circling once more
India’s Zoroastrian community is breeding vultures so that it can once more dispose of its dead atop Towers of Silence. Once vulture rich, with a population of around 400 million, India has seen a steep decline caused by poisoning. The vultures have been consuming painkilling meds administered to cattle. Their decline to a few thousand […]
Cross your fingers for QSA’s Down to Earth project
Shortlisted for the Guardian Charity Award is Quaker Social Action, which works to improve the lives of people on low incomes. Its Down to Earth project has now been running in east London for two years. It has helped people to buy inexpensive funerals. At the same time, it has guided people in the creation […]
Hands on funeral for homeless man
Undertaker Rupert Callender in Totnes is appealing to his fellow townspeople to turn out to help carry the coffin of a homeless man, Michael Gething, through the streets to his funeral — and then on to the burying ground at Follaton, just outside the town. Rupert Callender said: “The act of carrying his coffin all […]
Hope for heroes
It’s been quiet for many undertakers and celebrants recently (though not in Scotland, our Caledonian agent tells us). Don’t despair! Hat-tip to Vale
No easy day for Special Force Black
To Hereford for the inaugural meeting of the newly-formed Guild Of Outstanding Funeral Staff, an invitation-only body of elite funeral service professionals dedicated to restoring rigour to funerals. The Guild stands in opposition to what it identifies as the ‘beeline to blandness’ being pursued by funeral directors and celebrants in response to consumer calls for […]
Bunch of boobies?
“These pink blazers show the insidious creep of cause marketing. Chicken buckets, perfume and now your friendly neighborhood funeral director. It will literally follow us to the grave. How soon before we are offered pink granite headstones with a tasteful (and licensed) ribbon symbol replacing the dash between the dates of our births and deaths? […]
Modern life
Q: Alright – so I’ve got a dwarf that I thought was awesome who has died. I want to build a nice memorial to him, but he liked coffins (he really did. he even engraved one in the floor =P) and I’d like to stick him in one of those as well. Is that possible? […]
Quote of the day
“Families come together for weddings, yes. But they come closer together at funerals.” Source
Dying to achieve a lifelike appearance
A lawsuit by a New Jersey mortician stricken with leukemia is casting a spotlight on embalming, a standard practice in the funeral industry. William Moore, 38 claims his illness was caused by exposure to formaldehyde, an ingredient in embalming fluid. He is suing his workplace and several manufacturers of embalming chemicals. Moore was diagnosed with acute […]
