Dying Matters Awareness Week kicks off next Monday. Over at DeadSocial, James Norris is getting his awareness-raising in early. He’s holding another of his pop-up shops — venue: 69 Camden High Street, London.
On Tuesday, there was an art exhibition.
Yesterday, the Natural Death Centre did its thing — lots of good stuff about thinking ahead (before you’re brown bread), cutting costs and achieving a more personal funeral. All the big guns blazed. I bet it was good.
Today it’s all about palliative care and carers.
Tomorrow it’s the turn of the Reclaiming Funerals Collective, whose “work is all about helping people to reclaim the funeral as a community event, as an authentic grieving ritual that calls upon natural imagination, authentic emotions and collective resources. Affordability and practicality is at the core of what they do, supporting those with minimal resources to help create beautiful funerals for their loved ones.” We’ll be there for that.
On Friday, Leverton’s are hosting an Ask The Undertaker session followed, in the evening, by Save The Male, a “comedy, poetry and music showcase, raising awareness of the male suicide prevention charity CALM. Compered by stand-up poet Jack Rooke and curated by Cecilia Knapp, the showcase aims to encourage and inspire people of all ages to engage in creative expression. CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) are a charity working endlessly to tackle the statistic that suicide is the biggest killer of young men in the UK.”
On Friday, from 8pm til late, there will be “live music, drinks and industry networking aplenty” at the DeadSocial Party.
This is an amazing achievement by James Norris, who we’re looking forward to getting to know better. To us he looks very like the future.
Full details of all events here.
People out shopping took a double take as they walked along the high street. In the window of the Pop Up Shop is a banner of Hayley from Coronation Street saying ‘come in and see the coffin I chose’ and next to her is a wonderful floral coffin from Greenfield Creations. The public have been enchanted by the coffin and today it also doubled up as the coffee table amid the Carers Cafe. I wanted to chuckle as people kept leaning over to touch it.
The last couple of days have been so inspiring. Great talks by Simon Ferrar, Clandon Wood Natural Burial Ground and a Death Cafe by Josefine Speyer, NDC cofounder. Being in London we couldn’t resist doing a session on ‘Plan Ahead before you’re Brown Bread (Dead). Then today lots of tea, cake and chat at a Carers Pop Up Cafe.
The starring event has been meeting lots of people in the pop up shop and chatting on Camden High Street about their experiences and what they hope for.
There’s even more fab events for the remainder of the week as well as the Death Art Exhibition and an inspiring infographic running for the week.
I take my hat of to James Norris from Dead Social for pioneering and organising such a brilliant event.
Susan Morris, Trustee
The Natural Death Centre Charity, Association of Natural Burial Grounds
Registered Charity No: 1091396 http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk @NDCcharity @MoreToDeath
The Natural Death Centre is an educational charity which sees death as a natural part of life. Founded in 1991, it is committed to supporting cultural change and is working towards a situation where all people are empowered in the process of dying, and organising a funeral. Last year alone the NDC received over 40,000 phone calls /emails to its helpline; over 140,000 new web visitors.
Sounds fantastic!!!
Government policy advocates more people having the choice to die at home and as we live longer but with more complex health and social care needs, more lay public will witness dying and death which in the past took place in hospitals and care homes. there’s is a real urgency in having open honest dialogue about death and preparing for it. I think there should be a national campaign to encourage people to discuss and plan for their death. There is great work being done in isolation but not as a co ordinated national approach.