Bring on the empty corpses
Book review: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty Caitlin Doughty, graduate in medieval history and author of a sunny thesis entitled The Suppression of Demonic Births in Late Medieval Witchcraft Theory, rejects a promising career in academia in favour of one as a corpse handler and incinerator of the dead. Anticipating bewilderment she asks, […]
Poppy is hiring
Poppy Mardall is looking for her young company’s third full-time employee. Her fresh approach to the business of funerals makes this a job more suitable, perhaps, for someone outside the industry. But she is very open to applications from those within it who feel that her philosophy is also their philosophy. She says: This is […]
Royal funeral
Not wanting to leave anything to chance, or to the event planning abilities of others, pioneering LGBT activist Jose Sarria laid out specific instructions for how his funeral would go down. His Imperial Court family — all those members of the organization that he founded when he named himself Empress I in 1965 — made it happen, and all […]
Forward into the past
Most progressive initiatives in the world of death and funerals are characterised by a spirit of ‘Stop the clock, I want to go back’. Up in Tyneside, Michele Rutherford (DipFD) has just launched a retro initiative. It’s for those people who don’t want men in black macs taking away the person who has died, but […]
Bizarre Burials tonight Channel 5 @ 10pm
I’ve been sitting on a nice email which arrived a few days ago from Back2Back, a TV production company: I just wanted to let you know that our documentary is airing on Thursday 10th Jan, at 10pm on Channel 5. Cripes, that’s tonight already, isn’t it? They add: Thank you so much for all your help and contribution […]
In jest?
Lockwood woman’s colourful funeral request – including a jester to walk in front of hearse Funeral director Debbie Ingham dressed as a jester at the funeral of Margaret Harper IT WAS a fitting end to a colourful life. Lockwood grandmother Margaret Harper had only one dying wish – that no-one wore black to her funeral. […]
The order is rapidly fadin’
Blog reader Kathryn Edwards has drawn our attention to an interesting article in the Guardian. Thanks, Kathryn. In it, Rosanna Greenstreet tells how her aunt Molly donated her body for medical education or research, thereby denying everyone the benefit of a funeral. Greenstreet tells us what family and friends did instead: Molly didn’t believe in […]
A folklorist’s funeral
There’s a very charming and touching account here of what would conventionally be reckoned the very alternative funeral of Thomas Hine, pictured above. His beautiful Leafshroud, below, was made by Yuli Somme here.
Drive thru’ funeral
Posted by Vale They’ve been operating in Los Angeles (where else?) since 1974. Lately though they’ve become especially popular with local gangs – many of whom are killed in drive by shootings and who feel safer behind the bullet proof glass. Found on the web here.
A case of miserable mismatch
Spare a thought this morning for Lynda Hannah, owner of Living Legacies, a green funeral company in New Zealand with an alternative, less than rigidly formal approach to funerals. Ms Hannah likes to empower families to play their part, do what they can, take ownership. There are funeral directors of her ilk in the UK. Perhaps, after […]
