Movie night at the cemetery
Guest post by Celebrant Wendy Coulton of Dragonfly Funerals Tinseltown is not immune to the universal challenges cemeteries face generating a sustainable income to maintain the grounds and run its services. It was reassuring to learn as a former director of a charitable trust which manages Ford Park Cemetery in Plymouth that the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los […]
Writing Articles after a Funeral
Posted by David Hall Unlike other Carriage Masters, Vintage Lorry Funerals David Hall’s involvement with a Family doesn’t end at the Crematorium, as he is often involved in writing articles about the Deceased and submitting them to Editors of Trade Magazines. David is known to a number of Editors and he can write articles in a […]
Wonderful to listen to
It all began in South Africa. I bet you didn’t know that. Top Gear tweeted during it. So did Diane Abbot and British Gas. In Asda, Bournemouth, they played Sweet Soul Music during it. In Ayrshire they once shockingly forgot to do it at all. It was transplanted to the UK following a proclamation by […]
Why do kids go free?
“We lost our son at 22 weeks … My husband and I were not religious so we had a small cremation. The funeral company did not charge us for the service. A humanist also held a short service for us and yet again there was no charge. I know money isn’t everything but it was […]
Getting the best you can afford
When the GFG started blogging all of 6 years ago, an appalled and furious undertaker rang his solicitor and instructed him to take out an injunction requiring us to cease and desist. The solicitor told him it didn’t quite work like that; had the GFG libelled him? No we hadn’t. But we were doing […]
This year’s Good Funeral Award finalists
The Good Funeral Awards judges have sifted through hundreds of nominations for this year’s great event and have issued the following longlist. Every category is strong. Winners will be announced at the glittering, gala Good Funeral Awards dinner at Bournville, Birmingham, on 6 September 2014. Who are the judges? We couldn’t possibly say. As with the Oscars and the […]
Lawrence’s story
The following story is not new and it has been published elsewhere. I’d not seen it, and perhaps you hadn’t, either. It was sent to me by Lawrence’s mother, Virginia Prifti. “Lawrence’s death and cremation was incredibly powerful for us as a family. We decided to take control, organise our own goodbyes and keep Lawrence […]
At last, another celebrant trainer
A flurry of forwarded emails flies into our inbox. “What do you think of this?!?” they all demand. This? The NFFD’s freshly launched celebrant training venture. The consensus is that it stinks. What do we think? Well, let’s have a look. The NFFD’s given reason for entering the celebrant training market is “growing demand”. Some […]
Window shopping in Lubeck
Yeah yeah, it’s a rubbish photo, I know, I’m not blind. It’s the best I could do. It’s an undertaker’s window. In Germany. Me and the missus have been holidaying there. This undertaker is in the ancient city of Lubeck. As you can see (through a glass, darkly) the display is a series of objects […]
Portrait of a deaf man
Posted by Vale I was listening to a programme about the recordings John Betjeman made with Jim Parker, setting his verse to some glorious music. Until they played this, though, I’d forgotten how dark Betjeman could be. On A Portrait Of A Deaf Man The kind old face, the egg-shaped head, The tie, discretely loud, […]
