Look what’s cooking.
There’s something afoot in funeral world. Letters have been pinging into the inbox of funeral directors around the country advising them of a shiny new entrant into the world of undertaking. “Over the next few days you may read about a new funeral company called Hospice Funerals LLP. It has been set up by St […]
Care of the Deceased Award 2017
Formerly the Embalmer of the Year award, this category now accommodates all aspects of caring for the dead. With a number of finalists, the judges were impressed with the calibre of care and dedication shown towards all those in their care, and some of the testimonials received demonstrate just how important this is to […]
Infant Loss Conference London 2017
The tireless and indefatigable Dr. Chantal Lockey has been in touch with us at GFG Towers about the upcoming National Conference in Pregnancy and Infant Loss that she is organising, which is taking place in London in early March. If you are a professional who works with bereaved parents in any capacity, or a parent […]
Most Promising New Funeral Director
Judith Dandy of Dandelion Farewells Judith is an outstanding example of a new wave of breath-of-fresh-air funeral business owners – what the Good Funeral Guide terms ‘artisan’ funeral directors. Some people call them alternative funeral directors. Typically, they reject what they regard as the arcane traditions and mystique of funeral service, presenting themselves as people […]
Green Funeral Director of the Year
Lorna and Jo Vassie of Higher Ground Family Funerals Jo Vassie is one of the leading figures in the world of natural burial; her site near Dorchester currently holds the Natural Death Centre’s People’s Award for the Best Natural Burial Ground in the UK. With a custom built facility and a determination to be able […]
The afterglow of the Good Funeral Awards
The verdict? It was a good day out! The partying vicars above certainly looked like they were enjoying themselves. There are likely to be a lot of local news stories appearing round the country as the winners of a Good Funeral Award 2016 celebrate their recognition by their peers, and Christopher Hooton from The Independent […]
Wise words
Ru’s opening words to the assembled guests struck a chord with many who were there, so we thought we’d put them on the blog for the whole world to read. Over to you Rupert. “Welcome everyone to the Good Funeral Awards 2016! It started off, as so many good things do, in a sweaty basement […]
Why do funeral workers creep people out?
Everyone in the death business knows what normal people think of them. They are reminded of it every time they’re asked what they do for a living. I often lie. Perhaps you do, too, sometimes. A freshly published academic study titled On The Nature Of Creepiness offers us, perhaps, some insights into this unflattering characteristic commonly ascribed to deathworkers […]
Historical perceptions of a disreputable trade
The following is extracted by a PhD thesis by Sarah E Bond. It describes the social status of funeral workers in earlier times, particularly in ancient Rome where, we discover, FSOs were often employed, also, as executioners. According to an inscription from Puteoli dated to the first century BCE: “The operae (workers) who shall be provided […]
Free, easy, devastating
Posted by Charles Funeral shoppers are nervous shoppers. They are in unknown territory, they’ve got nothing to go by. Of all shoppers, funeral shoppers are the most likely, if they catch a glint or a whiff of anything negative about a funeral director, to rear up, eyes rolling, and gallop away as fast as they […]
