How many of our crems are fit for purpose?
It’s extraordinary how biddable bolshy Brits can be when they get to a crematorium — amazing what they put up with. Presumably it’s a matter of low-to-zero expectations. You expect it to be awful. It is. Whatever. Up in Jarrow, some people have had enough. Resident James Southern rates South Shields crematorium “wholly inadequate”. He said: […]
Whither Richard?
I don’t know about you, but I’m missing Richard Rawlinson, our genially provocative once and future (I hope) blogger on religious affairs, fashion, art, you name it. What brought my nostalgia home was reading about a cause close to his heart, the tug of war for the skeleton of Richard III (if it’s really him), […]
What if you’ve just had enough?
Silvan Luley, who is unofficially known as the deputy director of Dignitas, says he is concerned that under current Swiss law the association cannot offer assisted suicides to individuals who are “perfectly healthy”. Luley said: “The more restrictive you design a law, the more difficult you make it for people to access a dignified end […]
The depths they go to
In Palmerston, New Zealand, permission to inter ashes in a new natural burial ground has been put on hold. The council wants a period of consultation in order to arrive at a “a better understanding of what sort of natural burial ground people want” in the light of the assertion by a councillor that “cremation […]
Fit for a mariner’s ashes
A delightful email arrives from Annie Leigh, who is Eco Urns. With it come some delicious photos of a bespoke ashes urn Annie has just made for a client. The client wanted an urn that could be ‘launched’ at sea. She wanted her husband’s ketch — and she wanted his favourite colour, blue. So Annie […]
No need
Suzie Howie was a showbiz publicist in Australia. She died a few days ago aged 63. Here are some extracts from her last message: I have had a terrific life and am so grateful for the fun, the excitement and the wonderful people who have been part of it. Couldn’t have done it without the […]
Spectral sphere sheds factory terror
CCTV at SMP Large Format, Ashford, Kent, captured this terrifying spectral orb moseying around one of the offices. It has left the workforce shaking. “The boys in the factory feel there is something there or watching them. You know when you get the feeling you are not alone? “We have not seen the orb or […]
Introducing the solid wood cardboard coffin
Some fine copywriting here from CoffinWorld: This PRISCILLIAN Cardboard Casket is manufactured using ash wood. This casket’s excellent high shine design is available in brown. Apart from the double cover top that gives selections for witnessing, this casket is available in the colour of Brown. The handles are dipped in gold-like brass tint. An intensive […]
Modern death ‘reverberates like a handclap in an empty auditorium.’
There’s a good death piece over at the New York Times that you might like. It’s by Bess Lovejoy, author of the about-to-be-published Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses. Here are some taster extracts: Over the last century, as Europeans and North Americans began sequestering the dying and dead away from everyday life, […]
Thoughts of a funeral-goer
Peace, My Heart Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet. Let it not be a death but completeness. Let love melt into memory and pain into songs. Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest. Let the last touch of your hands be […]
