Memorials move out of the graveyard and into the home – the rebirth of family heirlooms?
Posted by Kate Semple We are all, of course, unique and completely different from one and other. So as a sculptor working in stone who is passionate about creating original, bespoke art, I recently asked myself why after death the favoured physical reminder of a loved one had to be an inscribed stone slab – destined […]
Making A List
By MC After extensive research I have the definitive answer to list-making for funerals. Maybe not, but I have cast my mind back over the several hundreds of funerals at which I have officiated and celebranted. I have concluded that the making of detailed lists is rare. Usually a person’s funeral wishes consist of one […]
Would you ever marry them?
We are pleased to publish the email below, which raises a potentially interesting point of discussion. The name of the sender has, with our agreement, been redacted. Dear Charles I read with interest yesterday’s blog about the Funeral Director who has diversified into organising other ‘life events’. I can’t for the life of me decide […]
Man for all seasons
“No fuss? You’re absolutely sure about that? You’ve taken into account the emotional needs and expectations of your family and friends? … Yes, we have our simple package. Yes, if you’re sure it’s right for you we can do that for one nine nine five all inclusive.” I am sipping tea in the office of […]
Not in front of the children
The information revolution has done huge damage to the funeral industry. Recent TV exposés of goings on behind the scenes in a Co-operative Funeralcare and a Funeral Services Partnership mortuary went viral when they aired and endure in the public memory. That the NAFD did not, in the aftermath, suspend or expel FSP called into […]
Empower the bereaved and they’re a joy to work with
Once in a while we get to hear what a difference the GFG has made to people – especially since we upped the amount of info we offer on our website. We’ve recently added heaps of helpful, informative documents that people can download. It’s proving very popular. When a family organising a funeral decide exactly […]
Snowy Conditions on the way home from Stockport
Another adventure from the Vintage Lorry Hearse Last February, during the wintery conditions that gripped the U.K., Vintage Lorry Funerals was booked for a funeral in Stockport. The advice from the Police was that you should not venture out on the roads where problems with snow and ice existed throughout Britain. However, David Hall, who […]
Nice work
We’re all of us connoisseurs of fine embalming here at the GFG-Batesville Shard. In the last two days we have talked about little except these two above. First, you see Bill Standley, buried on his motoring bicycle. The second miracle of the restorative arts is Christopher Rivera, shot to death but, at his wake, still […]
And the coffin was made by… Greenfield
You saw it here first. Yeah, well okay, you first saw it here. Hayley’s coffin was, we can now reveal, made by Will Hunneybel and his team at Greenfield Creations. As I write, (9.08) you could boil an egg on Will’s servers and the GFG coffins page is going bananas. A good day for the […]
Then as now
A minimalist funeral reported in the Leinster Express, 1914: The funeral of the Rev. T. Pym Williamson, for 45 years vicar of Thelwell, near Warrington, was conducted in accordance with his desire that it should be marked by the utmost simplicity. He wished for nothing more than what would be accorded to any of his […]
