A new natural burial ground in the Surrey Hills
Our congratulations to Simon Ferrar, a good friend of the GFG, on the opening (at last!) of his natural burial ground at Clandon Wood. We don’t think it was the official, ceremonial opening, which is set for the new year. He’s invited us to come along. We’ll be buying a new hat for that. Wild […]
Baby ashes scandal hits Edinburgh
From 1967 until last year, when a new manager was appointed and instituted a cleanup, Mortonhall crematorium, Edinburgh, has been telling parents that children who die antenatally or neonatally do not yield ashes when they are cremated. For an untold period the crematorium has been burying their ashes secretly in cardboard boxes in an unmarked, […]
QSA wins the Guardian Charity Award
Quaker Social Action was today recognised for its work against funeral poverty. The charity, known as QSA, beat almost 1,000 other entries for the coveted Guardian Charity award, becoming one of five to win the annual prize. The honour is given for QSA’s work with bereaved families preventing them from paying over the odds for a […]
The price for assisting suicide
A study by the University of Zurich has shown that a quarter of people who accompany someone to commit order cialis from canada assisted suicide suffer serious psychological distress. The results are available in the October issue of the Journal European Psychiatry. More
We should be careful how we leave
“If we are fortunate enough to die consciously, then we should take full advantage of opportunities to create peace for all parties. Our last words and intentions matter so much to those left behind. We should be careful how we leave.”
Circling once more
India’s Zoroastrian community is breeding vultures so that it can once more dispose of its dead atop Towers of Silence. Once vulture rich, with a population of around 400 million, India has seen a steep decline caused by poisoning. The vultures have been consuming painkilling meds administered to cattle. Their decline to a few thousand […]
Cross your fingers for QSA’s Down to Earth project
Shortlisted for the Guardian Charity Award is Quaker Social Action, which works to improve the lives of people on low incomes. Its Down to Earth project has now been running in east London for two years. It has helped people to buy inexpensive funerals. At the same time, it has guided people in the creation […]
Hands on funeral for homeless man
Undertaker Rupert Callender in Totnes is appealing to his fellow townspeople to turn out to help carry the coffin of a homeless man, Michael Gething, through the streets to his funeral — and then on to the burying ground at Follaton, just outside the town. Rupert Callender said: “The act of carrying his coffin all […]
Hope for heroes
It’s been quiet for many undertakers and celebrants recently (though not in Scotland, our Caledonian agent tells us). Don’t despair! Hat-tip to Vale
No easy day for Special Force Black
To Hereford for the inaugural meeting of the newly-formed Guild Of Outstanding Funeral Staff, an invitation-only body of elite funeral service professionals dedicated to restoring rigour to funerals. The Guild stands in opposition to what it identifies as the ‘beeline to blandness’ being pursued by funeral directors and celebrants in response to consumer calls for […]
