Wring out your dead
Posted by Charles Yesterday (15 September) Hilary Benn asked this question in the House: May we have a statement on reports that the Government propose to ask bereaved relatives, including those on low incomes, for payment when they go to register the death of a loved one? The charge, estimates of which vary from £100 […]
Rites and riots: the search for meaning
Posted by our religious correspondent, Richard Rawlinson “Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals.” Sir William Gladstone Following the recent spate of […]
Death and the Riots
Posted by Cadaverous This week, like much of the country, I have been watching the riots that ripped apart our communities. I don’t only mean watching the incessant news updates and reading the reams of angry and insightful comment. I was immersed in events themselves with riot police at both ends of my street, and […]
Horoscopes for the Dead by Billy Collins
Posted by Sweetpea On holiday, I bought myself a new book of poetry by one of my favourite poets, Billy Collins, published by Picador Poetry. What a treat: Every morning since you disappeared for good, I read about you in the daily paper along with the box scores, the weather, and all the bad news. […]
I left my shoes and socks there….
Posted By Charles The Good Funeral Guide Blog is off on its travels again and, although I can now connect to the Internet while I journey, expect only intermittent and – even by this blog ‘s standards – erratic postings. But you are all on holiday too! In fact there are, apparently, 14 million of […]
Monday brain gym
Posted by Charles Cowling Coming soon, A Giving Tribute — ‘the caring alternative to funeral flowers’ — a project I wholeheartedly endorse. Over in Canada, “Cartoonist Adrian Raeside once placed an obituary in the Times Colonist in which he asked mourners to send singlemalt scotch and Cuban cigars in lieu of flowers.” [Source] What’s your alternative […]
The right way to carry a coffin
Family and friends carry the coffin of Rex ‘The Moose’ Mossop, rugby league legend, at his funeral. In his eulogy, his son said this of him: “He was an insufferable pain in the arse sometimes but I loved him to death.” Respected voices don’t much like this arm’s length carrying, but I do. We don’t disagree, […]
Last goodbye
Briefly, homeless man Kevin McClain falls ill with lung cancer and is taken to hospital, thence to a hospice. His dog, Yurt, is taken to a shelter and rehomed. Close to death, Mr McClain asks to see his dog one last time. Yurt is brought to him. Two days later Mr McClain died. There’s a damp-eyed start […]
Who wants to be history?
Thomas Friese, an old friend of this blog who has often made us sit up and think hard about memorialisation (commemoration if your prefer the perfectly good old school word) breezed into my inbox yesterday and again today with some characteristically thought provoking ideas. His ideas derived from a tomb in Mount Olivet, Nashville and […]
Glum?
If you’re feeling a bit glum today, or even if you aren’t, have a look at this new blog.
