Wag goodbye to his lordship
Lord Avebury, the Liberal Democrat peer who died on Valentine’s day was noted for the eccentricity of some of his views. He was a conventional supporter of assisted suicide but his expressed preferences for his disposal raised eyebrows. He was the only person to have his body rejected by Battersea Dogs Home. A keen environmentalist, […]
Let’s hear it for our local heroes
Friday’s Times had an article about Matthew Bannister of BBC R4’s obits programme Last Word (Fridays at 4.00 pm). You listen to it? Of course you do. Who doesn’t? Here’s what the article said: When Bannister, who had been a high-profile radio presenter and media executive for many years, was asked by Mark Damazer, controller […]
Some of the stories you missed
Here are some the news stories you may have inadvertently missed in the last week. In India, a man killed his girlfriend three days before his wedding (to someone else). Such was the stench of her decomposing body, he used 70 cans of perfume to disguise the smell. He was arrested on his honeymoon – […]
Funeralcare mouldy corridor scandal
Update from the National Association of Funeral Directors: You may be aware of the media coverage this morning relating to Midcounties Cooperative. In line with our commitment to uphold standards within the profession we have been working closely with Midcounties Cooperative today and sent a team of Standards and Quality Managers over […]
Top people’s trends
TOP PEOPLE READ THE TIMES If you’re of a certain age (ie, shortly to make the acquaintance of Reaper G) you’ll remember that advertising slogan. It made you worry whether you qualified to buy The Times – whether the newsvendor would cock an eye and snarl, “You ‘avin a larf?” Society isn’t so stratified these […]
Poem
THE NEW BRIDE by Catherine Smith Dying, darling, is the easy bit. Fifty paracetamol, bride-white and sticking in the throat, ten shots of Johnny Walker, and the deed is done. A twilight day of drowsing, then the breathing slows to a whisper, like a sinner in Confession. Death is dead easy. No, what happens next […]
Cut-price Co-op offers better funerals cheaper
So. Co-operative Funeralcare is cutting the price of its ‘simple’ funeral by 7 per cent to £1995 excluding third-party payments (once known, quaintly, as disbursements). That’s £140. If you’re a Co-operative Group member you get to save £380. Reminder: the Group is just one of many co-operative societies. There are other independent societies which aren’t in on […]
Diddling the doddery
Doorstep scammers, con artists, cold callers, internet swindlers, rogue traders – these are just some of the predators that old people must learn to defend themselves against today. Besieged on all sides, they are. Who can they trust? Charities, surely? Not Age UK for starters, love. Oh no, not them. Them least of all. Yep, it’s all […]
Counting the cost
Because of the stubborn refusal of all but a small number of undertakers to post their prices online, there’s a commercial opportunity for an entrepreneur who can offer a useful price+value comparison service for bereaved people. First out of the blocks was FuneralChoice which offers its service free to undertakers and consumers and depends on mystery shopping to source prices, a […]
Travellers funerals
Posted by David Hall Travellers make up a proportion of the Vintage Lorry Funerals business as David Hall has developed a reputation within their community for creating memorable Floral Tribute layouts and a simple no nonsense communicative style that Travellers like. Traveller funerals were there at the very start of the business in 2002 accounting for […]
