What to wear for a funeral
Guest post by Wendy Coulton Choosing what to wear when conducting a funeral is an important aspect as a professional and for the bereaved I am serving. Advice which stuck with me when I was trained as a funeral celebrant was that I am not mourning and therefore it is not a requirement for me […]
Requiem for the topper and the silver-knobbed cane?
Writing in the spring 2013 issue of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management Journal, the editor, Bob Coates, writes: What was once the abnormal is now the normal with respect to funeral ceremonies on our premises … Less enamoured, however, may be the funeral director. Some may find the frankness of discussion, particularly over […]
Black or coloured?
Posted by Richard Rawlinson With the trend for approaching funerals as celebrations of life, I gather it’s become more fashionable to wear bright colours that challenge the convention of wearing black for mourning. Is this the experience of undertakers and celebrants here? If so, are people dressing down in line with the general trend for more […]
Undertaker chic
Posted by Richard Rawlinson Autumn/winter 2012/13 fashions are in the stores and Downton Abbey is back on TV for another series. Black is often a fashion favourite for the cooler seasons, but when black is coupled with Dowtonesque, Edwardian styling, the trend takes on a distinctly funereal look. The mood continues into interiors trends with cool […]
Taboo or not taboo?
Posted by Michael Jarvis, onetime Manager of the Natural Death Centre For very many people in the UK ‘death’ is a subject left unmentioned. If you are reading this then you are part of a minority. A minority, furthermore, who would generally like to see more public openness regarding dying, death and funerals. We know the benefits: […]
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. […]
Mourning glory
By our funeral historian, Richard Rawlinson Ashes into Glass is a jewellery company that inserts cremation ashes into crystal glass rings, pendants, earring and cufflinks. See the results here “It has helped me feel a little calmer about losing my dear Mum by knowing that a little part of her is always with me,” says Teresa Evans […]
Publishing event of the year!
The Natural Death Handbook, Fifth Edition A thoroughly updated and revised edition of the Natural Death Centre‘s celebrated handbook. Now presented alongside a new collection of essays on death, dying and funeral practices by doctors, historians, authors, poets, theologians and artists including Richard Barnett, David Jay Brown, Dr Sheila Cassidy, Charles Cowling, Bill Drummond, Stephen Grasso, […]
Please help!
Judith Simpson is a PhD student in the School of Design at the University of Leeds. She is researching the way in which the dead body is dressed, ‘styled’ and presented and how (or even if) this relates to what people believe about life and death. Here is Judith’s appeal to YOU: I am asking […]
The Last Outfit
Posted by Charles These last outfits were chosen by some of the 23 people taking part in a photo project initiated by The Straits Times, the leading Singapore daily, in partnership with Lien Foundation, a Singapore philanthropic house. Entitled “The Last Outfit”, the project showcases individuals in the clothes they wish to wear for their […]
