I’ll catch your smile on someone’s face  Your whisper in the wind’s embrace  Through diamond stars and songs and dreams  I find your love in everything  The sun, the sky, the rolling sea  All conspire to comfort me  From sorrow’s edge life’s beauty seems  To find your love in

  Philip Gould, one of the architects of New Labour, is dying of cancer. In a way, he says, it’s a privilege to be in his position – to have a deadline, to be given a chance to sort everything. “I do really feel I know where I am now.”

  Posted by Charles   There is a tendency among some visitors to this blog vastly to overrate the significance of death. How salutary it is, therefore, to remind ourselves that our legislators keep mortality both in perspective and in its place. Maternity leave As an employee you have the right

Posted by Jonathan     A celebrant said today:   “Even when funerals are designed to be a celebration of life, I nearly always begin by acknowledging people’s grief and sadness.”   Jose (see his thought provoking blog post of 19th September), ever enquiring and studiously leaving no stone unturned, wants

  Posted by Sweetpea   In the light of our recent discussions about the merits of secular, civil and religious funerals, one interesting thread started to appear.  Namely, what should a funeral not fail to include?  Can a funeral ever really be meaningful to anyone?  Does any funeral do the

  First posted by Charles on 9 Feb 2010 I’m putting this back up as a contribution to recent debates started by Jose and Richard. Following my post about the ineptitude and ineffectiveness of words, I stumbled on this piece in the Sydney Morning Herald. It’s actually about citizenship ceremonies,

If you can’t read this, try clicking the picture. You can find Archa’s website here.

  Posted by Vale   Euphemisms are all about not facing up to reality. We like to think we use them for good reasons, but they have a darker side too. This poem, written by Harold Pinter in 1997, uses one of the words we often shy from, yet it

  Posted by T Roll   ok right so who are you realy mr charles cowling you claim to be some witer than wite hollier than thou consumer advocate well weres your conflic of intrest uh ill tell you and all youre readers YOU ARE A SECCRET UNDERTAKER YOU ARE

  Posted by Jose Antonio Estevez Garcia   When my best friend died at the age of 38 it was a drama – not only his unexpected loss but also his funeral which, far from helping us to face that moment, only added more pain to those grievous days. The reason