Reports reach us that Britain’s first-ever charitable funeral director, Norfolk Funerals, has failed to display vital signs for some time; the premises have a Marie Celeste air; the phone goes straight to answer machine. We looked at Norfolk Funerals in May of this year. Does anyone know what’s happened?
Cool heads, warm hearts
Anticipation is building in advance of ITV’s upcoming exposé of the funeral industry. We don’t have to tell you that the industry’s pulse is beating fast in anticipation of ITV’s upcoming shocker. Pre-emptive fury and sulphurous denunciation have already broken out in the comments columns of our blog, threatening to subvert the civility and coolness […]
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 […]
A literary undertaking
“From that moment my mind was made up – I wanted to be an undertaker. That was that and all there was about it.” “A LIFE IN DEATH – Memoirs Of A Cotswold Funeral Director” by James Baker “A Life In Death” takes the reader into the largely hidden world of death and funerals, as set […]
Problem solved
When Co-operative Funeralcare reported itself to the NAFD in the aftermath of Channel 4’s Undercover Undertaker, it is doubtful whether the industry’s major trade body greeted the ploy with glee. A problem shared is a problem doubled. Was it really necessary for Funeralcare to hand themselves in? Inasmuch as the film revealed practices which fell far short […]
Thoughts of a funeral-goer
Posted by Lyra Mollington Daisy is one of those people who pretends she hasn’t a care in the world when really she is a quivering heap of insecurity and doubt. Ask her how old she is and she will cheerily reply, ‘21 and holding!’ (She’s 71 and slowly slipping like the rest of us.) She’s been […]
As others see us
It’s always interesting to discover how others see us. Here’s a US take on the Good Funeral Awards: The British have something of a reputation for a degree of ‘quirkiness’, and this seems no different in their approach to the death care industry. The UK has recently held an event to celebrate the innovation emerging […]
Where only the best will do
A recent comment in the Guardian reminds us of the setbacks to the cause of better funerals that can be wrought by indifferent celebrants. Well, that’s my interpretation of this: I was unfortunate enough to attend a “humanist funeral” a couple of years ago. It struck me as utterly fatuous and silly, without the […]
A very damp day, some part Foggy, not very Cold
A guest post by Mike Rendell We are very grateful to Mike Rendell for so generously sharing with us this fascinating account of an eighteenth century funeral. Mike Rendell is a published author who specializes in 18th Century history. He blogs on all aspects of life in the Georgian era here. Mike is an especially fortunate family historian. […]
The best funeral potatoes in Utah
Congratulations, Laurie Willberg, from the hurriedly assembled team here at the GFG-Batesville Shard. Well done! Laurie, dear reader, is the winner of Utah’s Own Funeral Potato at the Utah State Fair. Her funeral potatoes were the best in show. Funeral potatoes are unknown in the UK but de rigueur at US funerals where the need for comfort/consolation […]
