Best Burial Ground in the UK 2017
This category could so easily be about the best kept lawn cemetery, or the most attractive natural burial ground, but this year the judges were unanimously persuaded by the passion of the manager who entered for the award in choosing the winner. Ultimately, it is the care and dedication of the people involved with a […]
Cemetery of the Year
Mohamed Omer from Gardens of Peace Muslim Cemetery Against all the odds the Trustees of the Gardens of Peace have transformed wasteland into a beautiful and sustainable burial ground. The story of the creation of the Gardens of Peace is one of gentle heroism. The shortage of burial space in and around London is of […]
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 […]
Adopt a grave
Your average grave is visited for an average of around 15 years. After that, neglect can leave it looking unloved and anonymous, creating exactly the opposite effect to the one intended. There are those who see a cemetery as a monument to the vanity of human wishes. I’m one of them. Remembrance all too quickly […]
Movie night at the cemetery
Guest post by Celebrant Wendy Coulton of Dragonfly Funerals Tinseltown is not immune to the universal challenges cemeteries face generating a sustainable income to maintain the grounds and run its services. It was reassuring to learn as a former director of a charitable trust which manages Ford Park Cemetery in Plymouth that the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los […]
Portrait of a deaf man
Posted by Vale I was listening to a programme about the recordings John Betjeman made with Jim Parker, setting his verse to some glorious music. Until they played this, though, I’d forgotten how dark Betjeman could be. On A Portrait Of A Deaf Man The kind old face, the egg-shaped head, The tie, discretely loud, […]
All blood runs red
“By all means have memorials. Make them out of Government stone if you like. Make them uniform. But you have no right to employ, in making these memorials, the bodies of other people’s relatives. It is not decent, it is not reasonable, it is not right.” “When the widows and mothers of our dead go […]
The last word in bucket lists
It was nice to have Ann Treneman write for us last week about the vital importance of specifying where you want your dust or ash to repose. But I’m afraid I’ve got a big problem with her book, Finding the Plot: 100 Graves to Visit Before You Die. Dang it, you pick it up for a gentle browse and […]
Kemnal Park
We were unable to attend the opening of the new cemetery at Kemnal Park, and were sad about that. We’ve heard good things. Anyone been there? This is from their press release: London’s largest and most important burial development in the last 100 years officially opened its gates last week. Having successfully completed a pilot […]
Grim (Reaper) up north
Posted by Richard Rawlinson Manchester’s Southern Cemetery is the inspiration for Cemetery Gates by cheery northern pop combo The Smiths. It’s also the resting place of Man U manager Sir Matt Busby, Salford artist LS Lowry and Tony Wilson, founder of the Hacienda nightclub and Factory Records, which represented 1980s bands such as Joy Division. The […]
