Follow-up letter to George Tinning, Managing Director, Co-operative Funeralcare
Dear Mr Tinning, It’s almost a fortnight since I wrote to you on 27 June. You haven’t replied. I’m disappointed, of course. I’m not wholly surprised, though. You’ve had a lot on your plate in the aftermath of Undercover Undertaker — and now you’ve got an Early Day Motion in Parliament to contend with. The […]
Grievers hoodwinked, run amok and bamboozled by their undertakers
In the Bahamas some people are worried about their unregulated funeral industry, just as some British people are worried about their own unregulated funeral industry: “Have the Bahamian people been hoodwinked, run amok, bamboozled, by persons purporting to be funeral service practitioners who are (actually) charlatans? Charlatans are impostors. Have we been hoodwinked, run amok, […]
Oh yes we would
Denouncing plans for a new crematorium in Surrey which, if it is built, will be no more than 205m from the nearest house, East Grinstead resident David says: “You wouldn’t want to sit in your garden and overlook a funeral.” Oh no? How very different you are, David, from the readership of the GFG. Footnotes: […]
Wake-lite
This tickled us: Dr. Ed James is occasionally asked why he named his radio show “Funerals and Fried Chicken.” He replies, “Not long ago, I was surrounded by friends and relatives in the basement of a church, following a funeral, and the food served was fried chicken, mac n’ cheese and assorted cakes, pies and other […]
Funeralworld’s Hallelujah Chorus
The Joy of Death Festival 2012 will pilot the first Good Funeral Guide Awards Ceremony to recognise outstanding service to the bereaved. The awards will be made in the following categories: Most Promising New Funeral Director Embalmer of the Year The Eternal Slumber Award for Coffin Supplier of the Year Most Significant Contribution to the Understanding of Death in […]
Parliament to debate Co-op Funeralcare
Click on the image to bring it up to full size. The GFG has sent the MPs named a message of support because we believe in the ideals of co-operation. You can send them a message, too. Here are their email addresses: godsiffr@parliament.uk ronnie.campbell.mp@parliament.uk sharmav@parliament.uk
Press Release: Bournemouth to host the first trade awards for the funeral industry
Bournemouth will host the first ever trade awards ceremony for the funeral industry on Friday 7 September. The competition is an initiative run by the Good Funeral Guide and the Bournemouth Joy of Death Festival. The Good Funeral Guide is an independent, not-for-profit consumer advice and advocacy service for people who need to arrange a funeral […]
Making an impression
From Wikipedia: Franz Reichelt, also known as Frantz Reichelt or François Reichelt (1879 – February 4, 1912), was an Austrian-born French tailor, inventor and parachuting pioneer, now sometimes referred to as the Flying Tailor, who is remembered for his accidental death by jumping from the Eiffel Tower while testing a wearable parachute of his own design. Reichelt had become fixated on developing a suit for aviators that […]
RIP Waldo
A special funeral was held at Joint Base Charleston. It wasn’t for an airman but instead for a member of the base’s security team. There wasn’t a 21-gun salute but instead just three guns fired three times. Heart-felt salutes were offered by members of the base andTaps was played. Even the howl of a fellow comrade […]
These rituals are for us all to re-imagine
Extracts from the speech delivered by Ru Callender at the launch of the 5th edition of the Natural Death Handbook at the Horse Hospital, London, 4 July. In the west, the idea of celebrating our ancestors has weakened along with our religious beliefs. We are less sure of our place in the natural order, less sure […]
