Ethical? Ha!
Over at the Guardian’s ethical living blog they’ve put the Co-op under the spotlight.You ask, they answer from now til Friday. Well, of course, oh yes, I have been asking (under my moniker of raggedexile, adopted when I was living in joyous penury on the guano-spattered Isle of Portland). Have at them! Good sport! Make […]
The good, the bad and the ugly
I was pretty rude last week about AB Walker and Son. Having been so, I fired off an email to Julian Walker offering a platform for a riposte. Within a few days I had a reply. It was a cheery reply, a generous reply: the reply of a man who is confident but not at […]
Co-operative Funeralcare and the GMB: a response
Here is a response from Phil Edwards, Head of Public Relations at The Co-operative, to the stance which The Good Funeral Guide has taken on Co-operative Funeralcare’s derecognition of the GMB union, which I reproduce unmediated. You should read it together with the statement by the GMB. Dear Mr Cowling, Thank you for the opportunity […]
A statement to the Good Funeral Guide from the GMB
The co-operative movement has a history to be proud of. Founded by working people for working people, its principles were formulated by the Rochdale Pioneers in 1844. Given its origins, it makes you blink and/or howl with disbelief to learn that Co-operative Funeralcare, the People’s Undertaker, has derecognised a trade union, the GMB. This seems […]
Funeralcare screwupdate
At Teesside crematorium a family is waiting for the coffin containing the body of Olwyn Laidlaw to be carried from the hearse. They are fighting back tears. Then someone comes up to them and says, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this but that’s not your mum. I don’t know how it’s happened.’ Devastating. […]
Funeralcare screwupdate
I’ve blogged about Co-op Funeralcare screwups in the past. I have been critical and it has unsettled people. We all screw up sometimes; to err is human. Be a little kinder, people have said (cos remember, you screw up sometimes, too, yes?) Of course. And I hope I come out with my hands up. But […]
Fobbed off and let down
There’s no rule of thumb that will help us find a good funeral director. The soulless efficiency of the firm that sells us car insurance suits us very well so long as it’s the cheapest. But when someone has died, what we look for is an intensely personal service, and it naturally seems most likely […]
Silly stunt
Co-op Funeralcare are always on the lookout for little PR stunts to get a pic + 75 words into the local paper — heart of the community stuff: a little sponsored run here, a coffee morning and open day there, and sixty quid raised for charity. Nothing wrong in that. No one ever got successful […]
FuneralCare shame
When I blogged about FuneralCare derecognising the GMB union I invited the press officer at FCare to respond in the interests of fairness and right to reply. Phil Edwards of FCare duly responded by email: “This deserves a reply. How much time do we have?” I told him to take his time. But this was […]
Scowl
Ethical is the new virtuous. Saints don’t wear haloes any more, they wear little whirling propellers on their roofs to, I don’t know, charge their iPhones, is it? Ethical living used to be about more than remembering to bring your bag for life to the supermarket or taking as much pride in your compost bin […]
