At last, another celebrant trainer
A flurry of forwarded emails flies into our inbox. “What do you think of this?!?” they all demand. This? The NFFD’s freshly launched celebrant training venture. The consensus is that it stinks. What do we think? Well, let’s have a look. The NFFD’s given reason for entering the celebrant training market is “growing demand”. Some […]
More to it than wearing a hat and making a face
Guest post — At the request of the writer, her name has been withheld for the time being I first became aware of this blog when I was researching the effect of Downton Abbey on British attitudes to what used to be called domestic service. What caught my attention was the theory expressed in this blog that […]
Responsibility for your own conduct
By celebrant Wendy Coulton of Dragonfly FuneralsThe Plymouth Herald ran a story recently about a family complaint that the funeral service for their relative was disrupted by the loud and distracting sound of laughter and conversation outside by a large number of people waiting to attend the next funeral. They included senior leading council figures because the […]
About time too?
Lord Bonomy’s exasperation with the NHS, cremation authorities and funeral directors, whose ill-informed advice and guidance led so many thousands of parents of babies who had died to suppose that there would be no ashes after cremation, caused him to recommend the establishment of an inspectorate of crematoria: Scottish Ministers should appoint an independent Inspector to monitor working practices […]
And the winner is…
Does it get any better? The First Women Awards is the UK’s premium awards programme focused on senior-level business women and professionals. The Awards are founded by Real Business and the CBI, and are held in association with Lloyds Banking Group. And this year’s winner, announced last night: Poppy Mardall. Here at the GFG-Batesville Shard the inmates are breaking out the bunting and […]
That was then
“When the place was packed full the undertaker he slid around in his black gloves with his softy soothering ways, putting on the last touches, and getting people and things all ship-shape and comfortable, and making no more sound than a cat. He never spoke; he moved people around, he squeezed in late ones, he […]
Why undertakers don’t post their prices
The following is by Charles Manby Smith writing in London Life magazine in 1853. Messrs. Moan and Groan know well enough, that when the heart is burdened with sorrow, considerations of economy are likely to be banished from the mind as out of place, and disrespectful to the memory of the departed; and, therefore, they […]
Less is more
ED’s WARNING: Very long, boring post today. Dig down into the history of any profession and you quickly hit dirt. Medicine, for example. Go back a couple of hundred years and your spade clunks up against a deplorable assortment of scoundrelly self-taught barber-surgeons, apothecaries, midwives and drug peddlers wreaking all manner of unscientific havoc on their patients. Or take dentists — tooth-drawers. […]
A new choice of funeral venue for bereaved of Plymouth
Devonport’s historic Guildhall is to be offered as a venue for funerals. Built in 1822, the Grade 1 listed building has, over the years, served as a town hall, magistrates court, library and even a mortuary. It is now a community hub which hosts exhibitions, community group activities, events, weddings and conferences. The initiative has been […]
The NFFD clarifies its position
NOTE: Views or opinions presented in this blog post are those of the NFFD and should not be construed as being the views or opinions of the GFG. What follows is a response to comments made on this blog post. We would like to extend our gratitude to all commentators for showing such a keen interest in […]
