9 January 2013 – The Good Funeral Guide

Thank You For Being My Dad

9 January 2013

Charles

No comments

Categories: funeral music, music

Surprisingly, perhaps, this is not more popular at funerals. Simple and catchy.

A son rarely tells his Father
How he really feels,
A handshake or a pat on the back  is all that he reveals,
I’d like to right that wrong,
Here in this little song.

Thank you for shaping my life,
Thank you for teaching me all you can,
You are no ordinary man,
You make me everything I am.

Thank you for taking the time,
Thank you for showing me the way,
And thank you for being there  when I need you,
Thank you for every single day.

Now I’ve been blessed with a son of my own,
Got my own bedtime stories to tell,
If I can raise him half as well  as you raised me,
Guess I’ll be doing pretty well.

Thank you for your guiding hand,
Thank you for making my dreams come true,
You’re an extraordinary man,
And I hope you’re as proud of me
As I am proud of you.

Thank you for giving me life,
Thank you for showing me good from bad.
I guess I’m only really trying to say,
Thank you for being my Dad.

Even though the years drift away,  I
never took the time just to say,
‘I love you, and I always have,
And thank you for being my Dad.’

‘Thank you for being my Dad.’

Hat-tip to Peter

A Giving Tribute For Lasting Memories

9 January 2013

Charles

No comments

Categories: Funeral flowers, memorialisation

ED’S NOTE – Right back when A Giving Tribute was nobbut a concept, we loved the idea. Since those early days its creator, Liz Mowatt, has developed, trimmed and simplified her offer. She has persevered with the sort of grit and tenacity you’ve got to take your hat off to. We asked her for an update. Here it is.

We offer something completely unique in the funeral industry – Tribute Cards that can be displayed at the funeral in a similar way to funeral flowers and kept afterwards in a memory book.

Following our soft launch last year we asked for feedback from funeral directors who had used our service and those that hadn’t yet. The consensus of opinion was that it was a lovely idea but that the website was proving to be a barrier. At the same time we ran a focus group to get the views of the general public. Having listened to the feedback, we implemented some major changes to our website including the removal of the obituary and streamlining the process of adding a funeral. Because we appreciate that funeral directors are so busy, adding a funeral now takes just a few minutes with only basic information required (we’ll even do it for you if necessary); in fact it’s now so easy, the bereaved family may do it themselves if they wish! To offer our service, you need only add your company name and address on www.agivingtribute.com and we will send you a supply of free leaflets or call us on 01252 416516.

Our website now quite clearly shows what we are all about – capturing memories forever. More and more bereaved families and their friends, want to celebrate the life of the deceased and our service does exactly that. When a funeral is added to our system, it will show the funeral director’s details, the funeral locations and the name and URL of any nominated charity so that mourners may donate directly, removing some of the responsibility of handling donations.

What’s truly wonderful is the difference that having personal tributes makes to the family, who cherish them forever. The tributes are tangible, families can sit a child on their knee and share the memories. Families are telling their funeral director that they want to use our service and people are putting it in their final wishes documentation. People who see the tributes displayed at the funeral come away talking about how wonderful they were and what a beautiful funeral it was.

We are always happy to answer any questions that you might have and so too is ‘Live Chat Sam’, a real person who can give help and advice onscreen on our website.

If you haven’t yet taken a look, please do!

Thiel embalming, anyone?

9 January 2013

Charles

15 Comments

Categories: Embalming

Professor Walther Thiel, an Austrian, developed an embalming process for medical cadavers. His process requires much less formaldehyde than conventional embalming fluids and, also, produces a much more ‘lifelike’ body with none of the hardness and stiffness associated with conventional embalming. Medical people are very keen on it — those who know about it. It’s only been around since 1992 and, because the technique is described in German, it hasn’t made itself particularly well-known.

Soft embalming is a technique which relies on a mixture of salt compounds and very low amounts of volatile formaldehyde and formalin to effect fixation of tissue with a number of unique properties. Cadavers preserved with the Thiel Method have no detectable odor, a lifelike flexibility of body parts, excellent color preservation of muscle, viscera, and vasculature, and superior antimicrobial preservation properties. [Source]

They’re using it at the University of Dundee, the first place in the UK to opt for it. They’re doing so in anticipation of EU laws restricting the use of formalin, which is reckoned a carcinogen. They are delighted by the results.

We wonder how many embalmers are aware of Thiel embalming. In terms of presentation alone, it would seem to do a much better job than the conventional method.

Do have a look at the video on the Univ Dundee site, which shows a Thiel-embalmed cadaver, and see for yourself how much better it is.

If it’s safer, too, there would seem to be a strong argument for it.

But would it work as well if the embalming mixture is used in the far lower concentrations required by the funeral industry.

What do we know? If you know anything, do tell us.

(Apologies to born-again anti-embalmers.)

Approaching death

9 January 2013

Charles

2 Comments

Categories: Attitudes to death, dying

“You get nearer to the shore and you can actually, for the first time, not just make out this dim, insubstantial cliff, but you can see the little houses and cars moving.”

Jonathan Miller