Quote of the day
“I do think people need ritual, and probably particularly funerals. Because no one wants to be told, “Okay, you have a dead relative. Go bury him someplace.” They want to know that something will kick in now. It will be taken out of my hands, and everyone will know what to do.” Christopher Hitchens
Perfection Wasted
And another regrettable thing about death is the ceasing of your own brand of magic, which took a whole life to develop and market— the quips, the witticisms, the slant adjusted to a few, those loved ones nearest the lip of the stage, their soft faces blanched in the footlight glow, their laughter close to […]
Hail and farewell to the Mystery Mourner
Inspired by the format of Come Dine With Me, Guardian commenter BaddHamster is “currently developing a variation on the theme called, Come Pine With Me, where four recently bereaved people take turns visiting each others’ funerals and rating each other on the booze, grub, style of coffin, service, general mourning etc…” It’s a nice idea, and […]
Quote of the day
“I was just thinking about my funeral and stuff a couple days ago and thinking who would be at the funeral. People who I want to be in the funeral? I wanna have world leaders that were, like, affected, that said, you know, ‘Kanye gave me my shot here.’” Kanye West
When suffering becomes pointless
In a very good article which addresses society’s need to address the consequences of technological advances in medicine, Dr Alex Lickerman says this: The notion that dying is a right seems nonsensical to argue: death is given to all of us equally without the need of anyone’s sanction. The right to die well, on the other […]
Dilemma of the Day
From the Chicago Sun-Times: Dear Abby: “Saddened in New Jersey” (Oct. 2) complained that her sister’s 4-year-old daughter put stickers on the hands and face of her deceased grandmother during her wake. Find out what Abby said next here.
What Adele teaches us about grief
I first heard Adele’s song at the funeral of a young boy who died by suicide earlier this year. Songs are like that. They can become woven around memories of events that made a strong emotional impact on us. The depth of grief I witnessed among his friends was heartbreaking. One of them who spoke […]
Quote of the day
“But our machines have now been running 70 or 80 years, and we must expect that, worn as they are, here a pivot, there a wheel, now a pinion, next a spring, will be giving way; and however we may tinker them up for a while, all will at length surcease motion.” Thomas Jefferson, 1814
League of gentlemen
Anyone who knows the funeral industry knows that large swathes of it regard evolution with fear and loathing. Last week’s blog about funeral directors who post their prices on their website will have affected a good many of their fellows with F & L. It is beneath the dignity of a funeral director to resort […]
Creating ambience
Regular blog reader Melissa Stewart has been getting into the spirit of Christmas by burning incense made by the Cistercian monks of Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire. “I like the waft when I’m singing carols,” she says. She writes to suggest that incense would work well for some funerals. It all depends on the venue, of […]
