Down to Earth: Recruiting Volunteer Mentors
Any Londoners interested in this excellent initiative? Down to Earth, Quaker Social Action’s exciting new funeral support project, is now recruiting volunteers to be trained as mentors for the east London area. Mentors will gently support bereaved people on a low income as they deal with the funeral planning process. They will enable and empower […]
What do you say?
I was at Bristol Temple Meads and a five-hour train journey lay ahead. A party of young people boarded and a girl headed straight for my dog collar. “Can I talk to you, Reverend?” It had all the hallmarks of a “chat up the vicar” joke and I was tired. But no. Three hours earlier […]
‘Untimely’ Death
‘Untimely’ Death Death knocked on my door – it was a policeman come looking for the home of a child found unharmed amid the wreckage of a highway crash. I heard him say ‘grandparents’ and my mind saw Grandma long since ready for her death and Granddad who would never cope alone. That one word […]
Glum?
If you’re feeling a bit glum today, or even if you aren’t, have a look at this new blog.
Firebrand, crazy people and a hero
Three items of interest today. First, if you have followed the life and times of Jack Kevorkian, aka Dr Death, and the effect he has had on the assisted suicide debate, you will be interested to read the latest post on the Death With Digity blog, which concludes: Firebrand, hero, crazy man, renegade, zealot. No […]
All hands to the pulp
I wonder what you will think of this new coffin from Denmark. It is pressed from recycled paper pulp. Here are the key features, helpfully translated by Mr Google. 1. The coffin is made of molded pulp 2. The coffin weight is approx. 6kg against wooden coffins from approx. 20kg and over 3. The coffin […]
Bill’s bones and other stories
You may have missed the comment below by Cynthia Beal on Bill Jordan’s piece about how he wants to be buried on the surface (when he dies) where he can be of most use. Read it here. Cynthia is formidably bright and enterprising, not to mention generous and kind. She lives in Oregon. At a […]
We’re going where the sun shines brightly
I finally got to the bottom of it. The Isle of Portland is an area of severe signal deprivation. The Vodafone man confessed this shamefacedly when I demanded to know why his sainted dongle denied me the gift of utterance. “You’re in a 2G area,” he mumbled, “you need 3G at least for the internet.” […]
Tweetfest
It’s been a while since I posted a roundup of news stories. Here’s a bunch. I can’t claim to have got them all; it’s a laborious business collecting them. They were all first posted on Twitter. I feel guilty about that. Twitter is a social networking site and I just use it as a filing […]
Is he?
No, I’m pleased to tell you. Reports are exaggerated. I remain sentient, mostly. Thank you, all those of you who have emailed to express concern. You’ve added to my guilt, but I am very touched. I’ve been busy – busy with stuff and busy thinking. It’s the thinking that’s kept me away from the blog. […]
