Composer Jon Hopkins wants this played at his.   Nobody knows how long Rustling leaves unrhyme Lullaby breeze unsung Babel of dreams unwinds in memory As bad as bad becomes It’s not a part of you And love is only sleeping Wrapped in neglect Time it’s time to live, Time

  As of tomorrow, Tuesday, the good ship GFG is going to acquire a Marie Celeste ambience. Its bloggertariat, the opinionated and infuriating Charles, and his fellow scribbler, the judicious and even-handed Vale, are escaping for a few days. There will be a deathly hush in the blog — maybe

Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote a poem about them. Novelist Amy Tan’s mother was serenaded by them as she lay in state. Muckraker Jessica Mitford’s memorial procession was led by them. And more than 300 Chinese families a year hire the Green Street Mortuary Band to give their loved ones a proper

    Just over three-quarters of public health funerals conducted in 2010/11 were for men.      Stat generated by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. More here.   

  Spare a thought this morning for Lynda Hannah, owner of Living Legacies, a green funeral company in New Zealand with an alternative, less than rigidly formal approach to funerals. Ms Hannah likes to empower families to play their part, do what they can, take ownership. There are funeral directors of her