The GFG Blog
2012Jun
Do women write better about death than men?
Charles
Jun
12
5 comments
At the Telegraph Hay Festival last weekend, Martin Amis opined that women write better about sex than men. They do so, he said, with greater sincerity. Men get carried away showing off their writerly potency. This set me wondering whether female celebrants write better, more emotionally articulate funerals than men.
Undertaking in China
Charles
Jun
11
No Comments
“Traditionally, older folks would say this profession is only for those people who are not married, have no children, and have no choice.” Source
Belated jubilee blog
Charles
Jun
11
1 comment
From Ed Mayo’s blog: ‘Jubilee has a different meaning for me, coming out of the Jubilee 2000 and debt campaigns. And I can’t help but smile at another meaning, unmeant for sure, in a co-operative advert cited by Private Eye this week: “Co-operative Funeralcare: congratulations to Her Majesty the Queen
New life for old dead people
Charles
Jun
11
9 comments
It may have passed us by here at the GFG-Batesville Tower. We can wear thin. Exciting innovation, breathlessly announced in gushing PR-ese, sometimes gets the yeah-yeah. We’re talking about the US trend for putting QR codes on headstones. Has it crossed the Atlantic yet? If not, why not? We concede
Linda Demelza Robinson
Charles
Jun
09
4 comments
Posted by James Leedam It was with great sadness that I heard that Linda Robinson died at the weekend. I received a telephone call from Diane Thomas, of Humber Woodland of Remembrance, to let me know that Linda had died. Diane didn’t know that we were in fact expecting Linda
Thoughts of a funeral-goer
Charles
Jun
08
4 comments
Posted by Lyra Mollington When my mother died, I coped really well. I felt fine at the funeral too. Well, a little bit angry at the detachment and complacency of the Anglican priest, but otherwise fine. However, for many years afterwards, I found it difficult not to dwell on the
The Art of Portrait Sculpture
Charles
Jun
07
3 comments
“Death Mask Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1769-1830” Can be seen at Presence: The Art of Portrait Sculpture With portraits by artists from Giacometti to Ron Mueck, Presence is a terrific gathering of people carved, cast, modelled in clay or turned to stone. The Observer’s Laura Cumming takes a look at some of
Death of a best friend
Charles
Jun
04
4 comments
posted by Quokkagirl I received a moving email the other day from a friend telling me that Archie, her beloved and faithful old Westie had finally lost his battle with cancer. The last time I saw Archie was a couple of months ago – looking older but still the feisty
Quote of the day
Charles
Jun
01
1 comment
“If I live ’til I’m 80, I fully intend to reacquaint myself with the world of opiate drugs. I think it’s ideal for the elderly. It should be there for the asking. If you’re over 70, you should be able to go and say, ‘Just give me some diamorphine and I won’t
Thoughts of a funeral-goer
Charles
Jun
01
5 comments
Posted by Lyra Mollington Three days ago I decided it was high time I donned my ‘mystery mourner hat’ again. There was quite a large crowd gathering which boded well for an interesting service. However, I felt slightly uneasy when I saw that the people standing outside the crematorium chapel
