The GFG Blog
2014Jan
Seen and heard: should young children attend funerals?
Charles
Jan
12
5 comments
Posted by Richard Rawlinson Some say death is too sanitised these days, with few people dying at home where all the family can say goodbye, and with professionals now taking over the duties of preparing the body for the funeral. Has this social development made us over-protective of children, just as they’re
An Irish love story
Charles
Jan
11
6 comments
An elderly man lay dying in his bed. While suffering the agonies of impending death, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favourite scones wafting up the stairs. He gathered his remaining strength, and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning on the wall, he slowly made his way out of
Knights Templar ghosts walk among Bristolians
Charles
Jan
10
8 comments
Posted by Richard Rawlinson I’ve just seen a Templar knight in Bristol, walking the streets in helmet, chain mail and white tunic with red cross. This is not uncommon in a city with a rich Templar history, reflected by the station name, Temple Mead, and a Weatherspoon pub called Knights Templar.
Any takers for the real face of death?
Charles
Jan
09
5 comments
A few weeks ago I posted a blog about embalming — a short piece, just three quotes, no comment. One of the quotes acclaimed the art of the embalmer who, ‘by and through his professional attainments‘ in causing a corpse, by artificial means, to be made tolerably presentable to the living, glorifies
A funeral with a steam engine theme
Charles
Jan
08
4 comments
Vintage Lorry Funerals has a number of members in the company’s support team who can provide items to supplement the Floral Tributes or a Theme if their inclusion can enhance a display to exceed a Family’s expectations. A Garden Contractor has supplied a Victorian Railway Porter’s Cart, a 1950’s Milk
Did Marc Bolan predict his own death?
Charles
Jan
06
4 comments
Posted by Richard Rawlinson T-Rex star Marc Bolan died, aged 29, in a car crash in west London in the early hours of a September morning in 1977. His girlfriend Gloria Jones was driving him home from a night in Mayfair when her purple Mini smashed into a tree by the
Your kids, your legacy
Charles
Jan
03
1 comment
From today’s Times Diary: Given a reminder of mortality by Michael Schumacher’s recent accident, Sir Matthew Pinsent, who is a year younger than the German racing driver, decided to have a serious talk with his three children about his plans in the event of anything happening to him and his
The makes-you-proud-to-be-British way of death
Charles
Jan
02
4 comments
Alice Pitman, in the Christmas edition of the Oldie magazine, describes her extremely unwell 88 year-old mother rising to the occasion in hospital: Eventually a porter came and perfunctorily wheeled her to theatre. [We] followed down an interminably long corridor, the Aged P issuing instructions over her shoulder about what
Caitlin Moran offers posthumous advice to her daughter
Charles
Jan
01
11 comments
Here’s one we missed earlier: journalist Caitlin Moran’s draft last letter to her daughter published in The Times in July of last year (remember 2013?). You can find the entire article (£) here. My daughter is about to turn 13 and I’ve been smoking a lot recently, and so –
2013Dec
Right, that’s your lot
Charles
Dec
22
6 comments
As 2013 totters down the pub for a festive pint, it’s time for us to hang up our trocar and call it a day. A big thank you to all our readers. An even bigger thank you to all our guest bloggers; you keep us fresh and unpredictable. Biggest
