The GFG Blog
2012Feb
Street Spirit
Charles
Feb
16
No Comments
Rows of houses, all bearing down on me I can feel their blue hands touching me All these things into position All these things we’ll one day swallow whole And fade out again and fade out This machine will, will not communicate These thoughts and the strain I am under
Go like a Pharaoh
Charles
Feb
16
No Comments
Fred Guentert, 89, of Orlando, Florida, has spent years getting ready to go. In his workshop he has been building his coffin — and not just any old coffin, either. Fred’s is an Egyptian, Pharoah-style coffin, and he’s been crafting it since the 80s. He’s an Egypt nut, you see.
Embalmer of the day
Charles
Feb
16
1 comment
“I had to rebuild it in nine hours. I used everything: duct tape, masking tape, tissue builder, wound filler … I put, like, coat hangers and caulk in there and put him into a little baby outfit … He looked awesome.” US embalmer Troy Schoeller on reconstructing the body of a
Your caring undertaker knows best
Charles
Feb
16
6 comments
From the current price list of a ‘family owned’ UK funeral director: “As the natural processes of decomposition begins immediately after death, any clients wishing to visit their deceased relative or friend in the Private Chapel of Rest must agree to the necessary preservation treatment being provided”. Discuss
Thought for the day
Charles
Feb
15
No Comments
“I’ve always thought death would be like dreaming, but without the possibility of waking up. And in those dreams, as in our dreams in life, everyone will get what they want to some degree. For the atheists convinced everything will go blank, maybe it will.” Rogue scientist Rupert Sheldrake, author
Take him, earth, for cherishing
Charles
Feb
15
2 comments
Tony Piper, a very good friend of the GFG, whose wise and gentle counsel we value incredibly highly, sang these words the other night at a concert London. As he did so he wondered “What would be the most moving and powerful words of committal we could find, courtesy the
Let’s make the case for funerals
Charles
Feb
14
10 comments
Guest post by Rupert Callender, owner of The Green Funeral Company. Often this blog can trot nicely along with the usual suspects commenting dryly from the sidelines, a good natured conversation amongst friends. It’s easy to forget it has a wide, international readership, easy that is, until a seemingly innocuous
Time It’s Time
Charles
Feb
13
2 comments
Nobody knows how long Rustling leaves unrhyme Lullaby breeze unsung Babel of dreams unwinds in memory As bad as bad becomes It’s not a part of you And love is only sleeping Wrapped in neglect Time it’s time to live, Time it’s time to live through the pain Time it’s
Wind beneath our wings — but our art will go on
Charles
Feb
13
No Comments
As of tomorrow, Tuesday, the good ship GFG is going to acquire a Marie Celeste ambience. Its bloggertariat, the opinionated and infuriating Charles, and his fellow scribbler, the judicious and even-handed Vale, are escaping for a few days. There will be a deathly hush in the blog — maybe the
Brass is best
Charles
Feb
13
No Comments
Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote a poem about them. Novelist Amy Tan’s mother was serenaded by them as she lay in state. Muckraker Jessica Mitford’s memorial procession was led by them. And more than 300 Chinese families a year hire the Green Street Mortuary Band to give their loved ones a proper
