16 December 2010 – The Good Funeral Guide

A job with QSA?

If you live in London you may be interested in this job. If you don’t, you’ll still be interested in what Quaker Social Action is doing. In its own words:

Quaker Social Action exists to resource, enable and equip people living on a low income in east London.

We work to tackle social exclusion, seeing poverty as not just material but also social.

We put people at the centre of what we do, striving to find practical and creative solutions to the problems which affect people living on a low income.

QSA recently started a new project, Down to Earth:

Very few people leave clear instructions or financial provision for their own funeral. Down to Earth is developing support for people during this difficult time. We want to help order tadalafil online bereaved people to plan a funeral that honours and celebrates the life of the person who has died, but which will not have a negative effect on their own financial future.

We also agree with the Natural Death Centre, that “a preparation for dying is a preparation for living”. We therefore want to find creative ways of helping people think about and discuss death before they have to.

We are now recruiting for a Down to Earth development worker.

The post will be a full-time, permanent position, based at Quaker Social Action at 17 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green.

The post will be advertised in the Guardian on the 15th December 2010 and an application form is downloadable from our website:

http://www.quakersocialaction.com/index.php?p=15

Sleigh to go

If ever I am surprised by genius and give birth to a great idea I always offer it up for adoption at the mewling and puking stage. This is because I am a 99 per cent inspiration 1 per cent perspiration person. The last great idea I brought into the world was Viking funerals for cremated remains. Its delighted adoptive parent is bringing it up in a secret shed somewhere in Sheffield. It will come to market and make his fortune. No regrets. The world needs starters and the world needs finishers.

I’ve got a new one to give away.

As global warming kicks in nicely it is clear that we are in for a run of arctic winters. Last year’s snows showed up the propensity of conventional funeral vehicles to lose their heads, slither and sashay on icy roads, sideswipe milk floats, glide sideways at roundabouts – in short, fall from grace.

We need a seasonal alternative, one which does not suffer from wheelspin. Like all good funeral futurists I looked back to the past and it didn’t take long to find what I was looking for.

A sleigh hearse and sleigh limousine. Drawn by huskies, stocky ponies, reindeer – even mourners. You can’t have jingle bells on a hearse, of course, and I puzzled over how you can get them to toll. You can’t, can you?

No matter. I don’t do development. It’s all yours.