Together in electric dreams
We have seen the future and it’s electric. Back in 2013 we told you about the Brahms electric hearse, the highlight for us of that year’s National Funeral Exhibition. https://goodfuneralguide.co.uk/2013/06/peaceful-ev-feeling/ Three years on, we dropped in on Steve Cousins yesterday to see how business was going. He’s a man who doesn’t give up, even when […]
August Equity out, Montagu Private Equity in. Your local funeral directors.
Thanks to Robert De Baahr from the London Society of Death for bringing this to our attention – from Insider Media Ltd. ‘European private equity firm Montagu has acquired a majority stake in a Berkshire-headquartered funeral services provider which has more than 130 branches throughout the country. Founded in 2007 by chief executive Phillip Greenfield, […]
The modern funeral is a grief-bypass procedure?
Stewart Dakers is a 76 year-old voluntary community worker with a weekly column in the Guardian. He wrote a piece in last week’s Spectator about funerals. Here’s a taster: Funerals ain’t what they used to be. Today’s emphasis is more on celebrating a life past than honouring the future of a soul. While I am not […]
Keeping an eye on the costs
Hats off to independent funeral booking website Funeralbooker for publishing their findings on the costs of funeral disbursements. Funeral poverty shows no sign of abating as new data reveals the most expensive crematoria and cemeteries in the UK Key points: THE COST OF DYING CONTINUES TO RISE. NEW DATA REVEALS THE SOUTH OF […]
Introducing the Pebblewood Urn
Davina Kemble’s pebblewood coffin was unveiled at the Ideal Death Show 2013. Reviews were mixed. Some undertakers thought it would be impossible to persuade a dead person to conform to its rounded shape; others reckoned there was no problem. Since then, Davina’s partnership with her manufacturer reached a conclusion, but she’s carried on working away at […]
How to stay alive after you’re dead
Posted by Thomas Staley “All living things seek to perpetuate themselves into the future, but humans seek to perpetuate themselves forever. This seeking – this will to ‘immortality’ – is the foundation of human achievement; it is the wellspring of religion, the muse of philosophy, the architect of our cities and the impulse behind the […]
Nice work if you can get it
Here’s an attractive sounding job spec for someone considering a career as a funeral director: It’s providing the service that leaves a lasting impression. It’s being encouraged to gain new skills. And it’s delivering extraordinary service… Joining our talented team, you’ll provide a … service to an exceptional standard, both front-of-house and behind-the-scenes. You’ll prepare for […]
The soft bigotry of low expectations
Posted by May Andrews “If we can just get through this, then we can get on with our lives.” I’ve heard it so many times, in so many different ways, but it all boils down to this: many families perceive a funeral to be something they must endure, an unpleasant trial, which they must […]
Don’t miss this!
Brighton looks like the place to be for anyone with half an interest in funeralworld this May – GFG favourite Liz Rothschild is performing her one-woman show Outside The Box at the Brighton Fringe Festival from May 14th – 17th. Billed as ‘A live show about death’, Outside The Box is a spoken word performance of […]
If we can sparkle he may land tonight
What is the role of ritual in a secular funeral service? What does a contemporary ritual look like? These and related questions have been debated many times on this blog. So we were intrigued to learn of a brand new ritual created by the Church of England to celebrate Godparents’ Day. Quoting from today’s Times: […]
