The GFG Blog
2024Mar
Where trust is not enough
Fran Hall
Mar
14
No Comments
The recent news about the police investigations at a funeral directors in Hull should rightly concern all of us. The care of those who have died is a sacred task, one that is usually entrusted to funeral staff when we employ a funeral director to help with organising a funeral. We assume
2024Feb
Our Direct it Yourself Green Funeral
Fran Hall
Feb
22
No Comments
From time to time, we publish guest blogs, and today we are delighted to share this beautiful account by Kirsty O’Leary-Leeson who writes movingly about her personal experience organising a funeral for her mum. “I am writing this because we shouldn’t be scared of organising funerals; we all go away
2023Nov
The GFG goes international (part 2)
Fran Hall
Nov
30
No Comments
Whilst my fellow directors were attending and leading workshops at the Good Death Festival in the Czech Republic I was off on an adventure of my own – a spur of the moment life’s too short trip to Vietnam but of course I couldn’t quite resist having a little look
The GFG goes international (part 1)
Fran Hall
Nov
28
No Comments
It’s almost three weeks now since Isabel and I set off to be part of the K smrti dobrý festival – ‘A Festival about death and its presence in our lives’, which took place in Ostrava, in the far eastern part of The Czech Republic. We were invited after our fabulous patron, Zenith Virago,
2023Aug
The Climate Emergency. Could your funeral plan be part of the problem?
Fran Hall
Aug
01
3 comments
As the UK government congratulates itself on its decision to expand UK fossil fuel exploration, something that is perceived internationally as disastrous, it seems timely to publish this latest piece from our green correspondent: “We’re starting a journey. We want to understand how funeral plans are potentially fuelling climate breakdown.
2023Jul
‘Mooving Funerals’
Fran Hall
Jul
25
7 comments
We recently had our attention drawn to a new campaign that has been launched by the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF), in conjunction with Westerleigh, the cremation company. The campaign (described as a toolkit) is intended to aid small funeral businesses faced with the aggressive marketing tactics of
1,000 days
Fran Hall
Jul
15
3 comments
Today it is 1,000 days since Steve died. It feels right to acknowledge this somehow, at least by writing something. I don’t feel inclined to go and spend time by his grave, unlike at the more ancient markers of time, when the seasons turn at the solstices; I’m always drawn
Cremating Poppy: Oh, if only I had..!
Fran Hall
Jul
06
2 comments
Guest post by former GFG Director John Porter On 20th May 2023, our beloved Poppy was put to sleep. We knew this act of love, mercy and kindness was the right decision and it was handled with great sensitivity and compassion by our vet. Poppy was with us 13½ years
2023May
Lonely Funerals: Compassionate Verses
Fran Hall
May
30
No Comments
It’s been a while since we posted on the GFG Blog, but this weekend, we heard about a project in Scotland that is too important not to share with our readers. Michael Hannah is an independent funeral celebrant based in Dundee. He has generously written this guest post for us.
2022Nov
The infamous Richard Sage
Fran Hall
Nov
12
1 comment
Currently going by the name Mark Kerbey, this is Richard Sage, serial fraudster notorious to readers of this blog. For more than three decades, this gentleman has been defrauding individuals and organisations, resulting in more than 40 counts of fraud and a number of stretches in prison. He’s shown here