‘Killing time’ by Charles Cowling
First published 06/10/2008 Photo by Iván Díaz on Unsplash Wherever dead people go they are freed from time. It’s our apprehension of this that adds to our sense of their elsewhereness and convinces us that they will not be coming back. It adds to the mystery, too. It is difficult to conceive of timeless existence, much easier to […]
‘You say it best when you…..’ by Charles Cowling
First published 23/09/2008 Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash At yesterday’s funeral I invited people in the audience to have their say after they’d listened to tributes from the family. I tried to make it easy. I gave them time to think about it in advance, acknowledged that speaking in public is hard, invited them to speak from […]
Saying ‘Adios’: The Hidden Benefit of Direct Cremations in Spain
Guest post by Glynis German “I was interested to see a questionnaire prepared by The Good Funeral Guide (GFG) which I found on the End of Life Doula UK’s Facebook page a little while ago. GFG were gathering information on the topic of Direct Cremations, this low cost approach to funerals, growing in popularity in the UK. As there is very little research in this area, […]
Are you a funeral celebrant?
The GFG is delighted to have been invited to join representatives of various organisations on a working group to look at the role of funeral celebrants. We’ve called this working group the Funeral Celebrancy Council and last week the FCC spoke to hundreds of celebrants at the second National Celebrant Convention about the work we’ve been […]
Sacred Stones
“The barrow, its shape, its natural stone, its location, instantly gave me the same feeling of the past being an essential part of the present, of our lives being a shared history. Of peace and calm and connection. And I am drawn to the barrow as a place of rest and pilgrimage for exactly those […]
Stick to what you know
Guest post by Vita Incerta Was I alone in reading The Times journalist, Janice Turner’s piece about the funeral of her Godmother? In a rip roaring and impassioned annihilation, she tore apart the ‘crass, vain, sloppy buffoon’ who led her Godmother’s service. This wasn’t some half baked celebrant, nor a clueless member of the clergy. It […]
Does distance disadvantage the bereaved?
Guest blog post by civil funeral celebrant Wendy Coulton More often the next of kin I work with to plan non-religious funeral ceremonies live in another part of the UK but this week I have had my first experience of discussing and planning arrangements with relatives living on two different continents! Creating trust and an […]
Holding the line
There’s nothing new in a minister-naffs-off-mourners story, nor yet a Catholic-priest-bans-eulogy story. Some minsters are insensitive to the needs of their congregations, some insist on theological orthodoxy, some use a funeral as a conversion opportunity, some like to remind non-churchgoers that they will burn for all eternity in the fires of hell. Some clergy do […]
Don’t stop all the clocks
Posted by Baggaman Yesterday Quokkagirl had a go at crappy crematoria. Fair do’s. But it’s not all bad. Take the time limit. Is that a restraint or a constraint? A restraint is bad, something to be got round. A constraint is good. The best art, literature and music are inspired by self-imposed constraints. The haiku, […]
Funerals for peace?
Posted by Vale Why don’t we want to fight any more? After centuries of sending out the gunboats, the bombers or the troopships, with a wave, a cheery heart and perhaps a chorus of ‘Goodbyee’ suddenly we are not so keen. Britain’s reputation is at stake. Has the British bulldog turned into a lapdog? The […]
