Shark eats shark as LM Funerals are gobbled up for £37.5 million
Posted by Charles Marvellous news from last Wednesday’s Telegraph: The Duke Street consortium, which includes Babson Capital Europe and Metric Capital Partners, has acquired LM Funerals from Sovereign Capital, a buy-out firm focused on investing in small companies. LM Funerals is the third largest funeral company in Britain, with more than 60 branches – mainly in […]
Modern grief 2 — To shirk suffering is also to shirk those who suffer
Posted by Charles Over at the Heart of Mopsus blog, here, the Rector of Swanvale Halt took part in an Easter Friday Walk of Witness and reflected as follows: Christians insist on publicly remembering a single, immensely violent event on a sunny Bank Holiday when everyone else is enjoying themselves; certainly most of my friends, […]
Modern grief 1 — Why teddy bears?
Posted by Charles In a decorous piece of invective in last Friday’s Daily Telegraph, Damian Thompson analyses the way people express grief today, and why: A few weeks after the murders of the schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, I stood in Soham parish church with the vicar, the Rev Tim Alban Jones. […]
Lairs – time for re-evaluation?
Posted by Vale Have you ever thought about the rateable value of cemeteries and burial grounds? The Scottish Assessors Association have. They offer information about how sites and locations should be valued and have some fascinating guidance for cemeteries, churchyards, graveyards and necropolises. A guidance note advises that: The recommended rate is £110 per […]
Grammatical quote of the day
I am about to — or I am going to — die: either expression is correct. ~~ Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian, d. 1702
The house is not the same since you left
Posted by celebrant Evelyn Temple THE HOUSE IS NOT THE SAME SINCE YOU LEFT BY HENRY NORMAL The house is not the same since you left The cooker is angry – it blames me The TV tries desperately to stay busy But occasionally I catch it staring out of the window The washing-up’s […]
Quote of the day
“Am I dying or is this my birthday?” Lady Nancy Astor, d. 1964 When she woke briefly during her last illness and found all her family around her bedside.
Thoughts of a funeral-goer
Posted by Lyra Mollington I had been determined to talk to my family about my funeral, but as Easter Sunday progressed it was becoming increasingly clear that there wasn’t going to be a suitable lull in the conversation. Our family, especially the grandchildren, are talkers. They certainly don’t take after Grandpa. Mr Mollington has to […]
The ride of death
Posted by Vale As the government launches its health and safety ‘myth squad’ we look back to the days when public health documents didn’t mince their words. Prepare for the Ride of Death: This manual for bike riders identified the risk these innocent youngsters faced as they rode their bicycles with ghoulish relish: You can […]
Dying without witnesses
Posted by Vale It happens so often: you sit with someone for hours or, sometimes, days yet the person you have accompanied with so much love and care chooses to die the moment you leave the room. This is Dianne Fahey’s poem about the experience. (i) We, your children, were there In other rooms And […]
