The first f***
Posted by Vale A favourite – even hackneyed – funeral song. The words really work though – and it’s the only possible accompaniment to this short video of some of the tributes at Graham Chapman’s memorial service. Was this – as John Cleese claims – really the first f*** at a memorial service? Some things […]
What caused Mozart’s death?
Mozart’s health has fascinated observers for over two hundred years. The documents have examined to reveal every available medical detail. Any mention of a cough or an ache has been minutely analysed for evidence about the diseases he suffered and the mystery illness that killed him at the tender age of 35. But is this […]
All things bright and beautiful?
Posted by Belinda Forbes The sun is shining again here in leafy Berkshire. The mourners no longer need to huddle for warmth in the crematorium waiting room. The cruel winter wind that has been whipping across the chapel entrance is now a gentle breeze. Unfortunately, I’m allergic to tree pollen so it’s not all good news. Although I […]
Chalk and cheese…
Posted by Richard Rawlinson …Venus and Mars and all that: relations between those with and those without faith can get prickly, something which inevitably affects discussion of funeral ritual and belief in the afterlife. Two small pleasures of posting here are occasional positive feedback, and amicable sparring when there’s polite disagreement. A more shameful pleasure […]
Mischief or Masterpiece?
For centuries, artists of all kinds – from Michelangelo to Martin Scorsese, Salvador Dali to Damien Hirst and Andrew Lloyd Webber to Monty Python – have attempted to convey the meaning of the crucifixion through their work. For many it has been a deeply
Thoughts of a funeral-goer
It’s one step forward and two steps back as far as planning my own funeral is concerned. I keep getting distracted. However, I have (almost definitely) decided that I want to be cremated. So, it’s cremation; no embalming; and no viewings. And a thorough medical examination to ensure that I am completely dead and not […]
Dead wrong
It was the nineteenth-century Liberal politician and prime minister Willim Ewart Gladstone who famously said “Show me the manner in which a nation or community cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender sympathies of its peoples, their respect for the laws of the land and their loyalty to high ideals.” […]
ADRTs — who does and who doesn’t
From a letter in the New York Times: Older adults who do not formally convey their treatment preferences to loved ones create a distressing situation in which children and spouses must make emotionally draining (and costly) decisions about whether to continue or stop life-extending treatment. As Ms. Jacoby points out, one obstacle to planning is […]
Grave dressing at Easter
Posted by Vale On my way to the crematorium today I passed a family tidying a grave, clearing it after the winter and bringing fresh flowers for Easter. It reminded me of this description from the diary of Francis Kilvert. At the time of writing he was a curate at Clyro on the Welsh border […]
Kiwis can
No pic. We can’t post a photo of the same old bloody bonfire every time we run a story about open-air cremation. Southland, New Zealand. When Chris Ramage’s brother John died in hospital of natural causes just before Christmas 2011, his nephew (John’s son) wanted to witness his father’s cremation. In Chris’s words, “He wanted to […]
