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Recommended Funeral Directors

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Green Fuse Contemporary Funerals

Address: 7 High Street, Totnes TQ9 5NN

Phone: 01803 840779 Email: info@greenfuse.co.uk Web: www.greenfuse.co.uk

Funeral Director/s: Simon Smith and Jane Morrell - two people who campaign tirelessly for better funerals. In addition to being funeral directors, they are also trainers of celebrants and funeral professionals, and writers of We Need To Talk About the Funeral, a beautifully illustrated book which opens your eyes to everything you can do to make a funeral memorable and meaningful. Says Simon, "This is the last thing I could ever have imagined doing!" - and that's more common in the world of funerals than you might think. For both of them, it was personal experience of bereavement that brought them to it. Jane started the business to do ceremonies, but both of them soon realised they needed to do the whole thing in order to give families the experience they wanted to give them. "And now it’s a way of life! We’ve never done anything so constantly challenging and rewarding." Out of death interests: Jane is into growing things, planting gardens and visiting them. Also loves moors and sea shores, dogs and beautiful things. Reads lots, loves poetry, particularly Dylan Thomas and Neruda. Loves travel, particularly South America. Speaks fluent Spanish and some Italian. Simon loves the sea and Devon landscapes, being out with the dogs, music, especially singer songwriters (very much stuck in the 60s / 70s.) Plays rudimentary guitar. Loves poetry and learns it by heart, and good literature (degree in English and American lit). In addition to their formal attainments, Jane has trained in ritual with Malidoma Some and Simon has trained in stand-up comedy.

Specific Gravity: In no way are Simon and Jane funeral traditionalists - neither do they belong to some boho, New Age fringe. But if it's a Victorian funeral you want you may be better served elsewhere. They will encourage your creative input and your participation because they are huge believers in the healing powers of ritual and ceremony. They are empathic and they are also intelligent (a quality in short supply in the world of funerals). They will work with you collaboratively to create a richly unique ceremony. What do they wear? "We have everything from black suits style to smart but more colourful and ask the families what they want us to wear. We haven’t done the frock coats, stripes and top hats, but if asked, well, nobody minds a bit of dressing up." They hire any sort of hearse you like: "we’ve used range of hearses including a lovely classic Mercedes, horse and flatbed cart, a trike, a variety of MPVs, the organic vegetable van, the family’s own vehicle, procession on foot. We’ll get whatever vehicle the family want, as long as the crem will accept it."

What’s important? They offer an integrated service that puts the ceremony at the centre of all discussions. They differ from most other funeral directors in this important respect: they are the celebrants at 80% of the funerals they undertake. They'll never do more than one funeral in a day. They'll offer you all the choices there are out there. They'll encourage your participation in the care of the body, the preparation of the funeral and the ceremony itself. They have an interesting and beautiful funeral centre on the High Street where they have discussion evenings about funerals. They'll lend you their book and a great compendium of words and poetry. Above all, they'll give you as much time as you need. They are trained psychospiritual psychotherapists. "We offer information, approachability and clear information on pricing and ownership."

What’s different? It's Simon and Jane's belief that the funeral industry is overly self-regarding, too little focussed on what consumers need, too content to bash out the same old same old. This is why they are passionate about improving training in the industry, and offer a range of courses. They also train people working in end of life care through their charity, the New Bereavement & Funeral Trust.

Services: Your call will be answered by Jane, Simon or Jonathan Taylor. You will be looked after by the same person throughout. Yes to a home visit - that's what they normally do. Very happy indeed to work with home funeralists. Yes to same sex person to lay out and dress your dead person. Anti embalming unless completely necessary. Good variety of celebrants on their books. Little experience of ethnic groups in this predominantly white part of the UK but that's not the point: they will get it right because "this is where the interest and the pleasure of the work lies." Superb, informative website.

Remarks: Says Simon: "I would like to think we’re in that smallish bunch of people around the country who are leading the change of the funeral industry kicking and screaming towards the concept of real customer service and choice. I think the changes are going to be huge." They're probably right. Simon and Jane do not have their own mortuary. They avail themselves of the facilities of other local independent funeral directors, together with their chapels of rest.

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