The GFG Blog
2014Aug
Getting the best you can afford
Charles
Aug
19
18 comments
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
This year’s Good Funeral Award finalists
Charles
Aug
15
16 comments
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
Lawrence’s story
Charles
Aug
13
6 comments
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
At last, another celebrant trainer
Charles
Aug
08
50 comments
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
Window shopping in Lubeck
Charles
Aug
07
8 comments
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
Portrait of a deaf man
Charles
Aug
05
3 comments
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
Avoiding a Parking Fine before a Coventry Funeral
Charles
Aug
04
3 comments
When David Hall, of Vintage Lorry Funerals, was booked for a funeral in the centre of Coventry he undertook research using Google Street-view. It was evident that building the inner city ring road had dissected streets, splitting them into two distinct parts, similarly to the impact imposed by the creation
2014Jul
Eulogies are never the last word
Charles
Jul
29
2 comments
“There is the official notice and ceremony, and then the long and agonizing process that follows … Eulogies are never the last word.” That’s a quote from an article sent to me by a friend (thanks, Kathryn). In full, it’s even better: “I had nearly forgotten how death plays out
Gone splashing
Charles
Jul
18
3 comments
The GFG is on holiday. Posts will be intermittent for the next fortnight.
