From God we come and to Him we return
A thought for the day from Richard Rawlinson The trend for funerals conducted as celebrations of life must surely stem from society’s weakened belief in life after death. Even Christians now opt for the panegyric of the dead through tributes to the deceased instead of a ceremony combining natural grief for the loss and hope […]
Presswatch
The weekend yielded three newspaper articles about funerals. The Indy’s is a way-to-go survey. It begins by reflecting the current morbid fascination with the demise of enormous people and the consequent indignities of going out big, making play of wardrobe-size coffins and cranes used to lower them. Health is the new morality, of course, so […]
Have your say
Happy Monday, everyone. If you come to this blog wondering what’s kicking off, chances are you’ve got something to say yourself. If so, we’d like you to. The GFG’s a talking shop. We don’t have an editorial line, we don’t have a manifesto. Come one, come all; we’re Funeralworld’s Speakers’ Corner. If you’d like to […]
Undertakers — what are they really like?
“In numberless instances the interment of the dead is in the hands of miscreants, whom it is almost flattery to compare to the vulture, or the foulest carrion bird.” Writer in Leisure Hour, 1862
Hurrah for Dignity!
Announcement by the Press Association: The UK’s largest provider of funeral-related services has reported higher profits after its strongest year for the number of families planning ahead for a death. Dignity, which has 600 funeral locations including 35 crematoria, said the number of pre-arranged funeral plans on its books and yet to take place increased […]
Blazing indignation
The infantile superficiality of the media’s treatment of issues around death and funerals is something we’ve deplored frequently on this blog — and today’s news is that things haven’t got any better. Instead of giving serious consideration to what a crematorium might do with the heat it is compelled to capture from its waste gases, […]
Thoughts of a funeral-goer
Posted by Lyra Mollington We were both in sombre mood as we travelled back along the M4 in Myra’s bright yellow Honda Jazz. We’d had a slight tiff as we viewed the flowers after Trevor’s funeral. Whilst I was keen to go back to the house for light refreshments, Myra was going on about the […]
Thy fibres net the dreamless head
Old Yew, which graspest at the stones That name the under-lying dead, Thy fibres net the dreamless head, Thy roots are wrapt about the bones. The seasons bring the flower again, And bring the firstling to the flock; &; in the dusk of thee, the clock Beats out the little lives of men. O, not […]
Victorian deathmyths
Here’s a collection of Victorian superstitions around death and funerals. Of course, everyone didn’t believe all of them but, even so, it’s remarkable (perhaps) how few have survived. If the deceased has lived a good life, flowers would bloom on his grave; but if he has been evil, only weeds would grow. If several deaths […]
Bad teeth
We like this account of the dangers posed by mercury emissions from crematoria: Mercury is an odd element. It is a metal, yet liquid at ambient temperature and it is very volatile, easily becoming a gas. Keep in mind mercury is an element, therefore cannot be destroyed. When mercury is emitted from the stack of […]
