The GFG Blog

2021Apr

Love writ large

Fran Hall
Apr 10
1 comment
    Love writ large. That’s something I heard a passer-by say quietly as they walked along Albert Embankment this week. They were walking along the National Covid Memorial Wall, with tears running down their cheeks. Thousands and thousands of others have walked the 500m length of the wall of
Categories:  Absolute Beginner - A Personal Story of Grief, Covid-19

2021Mar

Finding words

Fran Hall
Mar 24
1 comment
  I think I understand now why the sea is so often used as a metaphor when talking or writing about emotions. When I’m trying to understand how I’m feeling, the descriptive words in my mind are almost always found in analogies to do with the oceans – the waves,
Categories:  Absolute Beginner - A Personal Story of Grief, Grief

We all know how this ends.

Fran Hall
Mar 19
No Comments
We have been asked to write about a new book,  ‘We all know how this ends’ by end of life doula Anna Lyons and progressive funeral director Louise Winter. It was published yesterday by Bloomsbury and celebrated with virtual tea and cake in a moving, inspiring Zoom session last night.
Categories:  Books, death and funerals, funeral reformers, Progressive funeral directors, The future of funerals

A word from our patrons

Fran Hall
Mar 16
2 comments
Following the blog post about the online direct cremation providers published on the blog on February 1st, we have had some responses from two of our patrons, Carolyn Harris MP, and Ken West MBE, both challenging some of the points made. This is warmly welcomed – the Good Funeral Guide
Categories:  cremation, direct cremation, funeral

The Environmental Stewardship Group

Fran Hall
Mar 04
2 comments
  It was a pleasant surprise to be invited to the launch of a new initiative in funeralworld this week – the Environmental Stewardship Group ( ESG) was launched on Monday, with a virtual online event attended by many well-known names and organisations. The recording of the launch event and
Categories:  Environment, Environmental Stewardship Group, funeral

2021Feb

Waiting

Fran Hall
Feb 28
No Comments
Years ago, in 2008, I was crew on the Spirit of Fairbridge for the Tall Ships race. Spirit was a beautiful 92’ schooner dedicated to giving disadvantaged young people new opportunities in life and being part of her crew was a huge privilege – and an unforgettable experience. I was
Categories:  Absolute Beginner - A Personal Story of Grief

Disruptors. Not always a good thing.

Fran Hall
Feb 01
1 comment
  A new kind of ‘disruptor’ has arrived in the world of funerals. The Good Funeral Guide has long championed those who could be described as ‘disruptors’ – small, ethical, progressive companies who are trying to change the rigid funeral sector for the better. Many of these have started up
Categories:  direct cremation, Online funeral providers, Regulation of the funeral industry, Transparency

2021Jan

100 Days

Fran Hall
Jan 26
3 comments
26th January 2021 Today it is 100 days since Steve died. And four months exactly since our wedding day. At the weekend, it was the tenth anniversary of my mother’s death. It was a rapid dying, from glioblastoma multiforme. In January 2011, I spent my 50th birthday sitting by her
Categories:  Absolute Beginner - A Personal Story of Grief, Covid-19, Grief

Priorities?

Fran Hall
Jan 20
1 comment
  There is much discussion in funeral world about whether funeral directors should be prioritised for vaccination as ‘frontline workers’. Indeed, we have heard that some celebrants are also enquiring as to whether they too should be considered a priority to be vaccinated against the virus which has ravaged our
Categories:  Covid-19, funeral directors

Children and grieving

Fran Hall
Jan 09
5 comments
  We couldn’t have children at Steve’s funeral ceremony. Covid restrictions on numbers meant that we had to be ruthless in paring down the people allowed to be present, and there were so many whose connections with Steve went back years, we made the judgement call that they had to
Categories:  Absolute Beginner - A Personal Story of Grief
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