The GFG Blog
2023Jul
‘Mooving Funerals’
Fran Hall
Jul
25
7 comments
We recently had our attention drawn to a new campaign that has been launched by the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF), in conjunction with Westerleigh, the cremation company. The campaign (described as a toolkit) is intended to aid small funeral businesses faced with the aggressive marketing tactics of
1,000 days
Fran Hall
Jul
15
4 comments
Today it is 1,000 days since Steve died. It feels right to acknowledge this somehow, at least by writing something. I don’t feel inclined to go and spend time by his grave, unlike at the more ancient markers of time, when the seasons turn at the solstices; I’m always drawn
Cremating Poppy: Oh, if only I had..!
Fran Hall
Jul
06
2 comments
Guest post by former GFG Director John Porter On 20th May 2023, our beloved Poppy was put to sleep. We knew this act of love, mercy and kindness was the right decision and it was handled with great sensitivity and compassion by our vet. Poppy was with us 13½ years
2023May
Lonely Funerals: Compassionate Verses
Fran Hall
May
30
No Comments
It’s been a while since we posted on the GFG Blog, but this weekend, we heard about a project in Scotland that is too important not to share with our readers. Michael Hannah is an independent funeral celebrant based in Dundee. He has generously written this guest post for us.
2022Nov
The infamous Richard Sage
Fran Hall
Nov
12
1 comment
Currently going by the name Mark Kerbey, we have news about Richard Sage, serial fraudster notorious to readers of this blog. For more than three decades, this gentleman has been defrauding individuals and organisations, resulting in more than 40 counts of fraud and a number of stretches in prison. At
2022Aug
The Coroner’s Service (or lack of)
Fran Hall
Aug
31
No Comments
We recently heard from someone who is at their wits’ end. They are waiting for an inquest into their parent’s death. Their parent died on the Isle of Wight in May 2020. The coroner was involved, and an inquest is required. But here we are, 120 weeks on, and a
Direct cremation
Fran Hall
Aug
24
5 comments
We have a lot of thoughts about direct cremation. Mostly, we have questions. Particularly about the pricing. How are these ultra low costs for what is a labour-intensive service achieved? Who is carrying out the physical collection and care of the people who have died? Where are they taken to?
How much does cremation cost in 2022?
Fran Hall
Aug
15
3 comments
With well over 3/4 of British funerals now culminating in cremation, and with the relentless promotion of direct cremation on mainstream TV channels, we thought it was about time to look at the cost of being cremated in 2022. The Competition and Markets Authority’s Funeral Market Investigation Order 2021 mandated that all
What to wear to a funeral
Fran Hall
Aug
09
No Comments
Recent photographs of the former President Trump and his family solemnly lining the steps of the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York City, watching Ivana Trump’s $125,000 ‘golden hued casket’ as it was carried to the waiting hearse offer us absolute visual confirmation of what the Western world
Funeral plans – a bonfire of vanities
Fran Hall
Aug
04
1 comment
If you or a member of your family have taken out a pre-paid funeral plan, read on. Important information below! On Friday last week, the crowded funeral plan landscape suddenly became a little less bustling. Quite a lot less, actually. On 29th July 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority took on the
