Blog Posts

It felt good to lay in bed this morning after such a big day yesterday… but it was with a twinge of guilt that we had decided to do the Wellness Expo yesterday in place of our monthly meeting and not in addition to it. So the first thank you goes to all of our supporters who were happy for us to have a day off! We had an incredible response yesterday. We were busy the whole day and there were people actually waiting to talk to us, to ask questions and have discussions and share with us their stories and experiences. Tasmania is full of incredible people, those willing to have a go, those who are inquisitive and open minded, those who want to learn, those who

Greetings! A year ago Edwin and I kicked off our idea of taking the conversation around death and dying into the public arena by procuring a stall at the annual Wellness Expo in Hobart. It has been quite a success and we have connected with so many people, keen to learn more about what is possible and support us in our goals. This year, we will be there again. 2018 Wellness Expo Saturday, 3 March 2018 – 10:00am to 4:00pm Location Princes Wharf 1, Castray Esplanade Hobart TAS 7000 Australia Come and see us, have a chat about all things death and dying and if your game, take a rest in our coffin. For more information about the Wellness Expo and who else will be there, take a look at – https://www.facebook.com/events/1302229393217359/

This is just a quick mid week shout out to you all, i’m sure by now you’d be well aware that we helped the West Moonah Coffin Club with it’s official launch on Sunday. It was a wonderful turn out, everyone there has a good time and found it all interesting and informative. The feedback was so positive and all of the speakers were well received. Simon gave a wonderful tour of the West Moonah Mens Shed where the Club will be based and the Club will be ongoing – weekly – we hope you will all get behind it and support this venture. Let us know if you’d like details of where to find more information. Here’s a few pictures from the weekend. Thank you to Simon

I have read a lot this week about what happens when a child dies, so this week I am sharing with you my musings. As a Funeral Director, I was called upon at times to hold lifeless children in my hands, not all babies.. some a few months, a few years.. some nearing adulthood. I sat with many parents who were faced with immeasurable loss. Some who sought to understand and wanted as much information as i could provide. Some who just wanted me to see their child, really see them, thereby confirming to the parents they really did have a child in the first place. Some parents wanted my help in dressing their children, some wanted it done for them. Some wanted foot prints and finger prints

A little while ago we shared a trailer to a kid’s movie, called ‘Coco’. Anything that deals with death in a positive way for children must be a good thing… right? Well, in this case it was very right. On New Years Days my family and I went to see ‘Coco’. Dedicated as we were, we arrived at the movie theatre in Hobart at 9.10am and we were the only ones there. I’m not sure about you, but going to see a movie in an empty theatre does not provide me with complete confidence that this movie is worth the money paid to watch it! By the time we left, I was feeling quite glad to have had our own private viewing. ‘Coco’ is the story of a

G’day all, -This is Joey, proud son of Rebecca, wishing you all a very happy new year~ To wrap up 2017, tonight we’ve shared on You n’ Taboo a little story written by Jonas Kyratzes called ‘The Moddey Dhoo’, in reference to the Manx folktale. I stumbled upon this article by complete accident only a couple of months ago. I was feeling awfully nostalgic at the time, so I decided to revisit some old flash games I enjoyed when I was in primary school. One in particular was called ‘The Fabulous Screech’, and I remember it as one of the first games that emotionally affected me. Upon revisiting it, however, I discovered that it was not a standalone title. Rather, it was a part of a collection of

“Christmas Grief” by Christy McMillan I know the lights upon your tree, won’t seem so bright this year And carols that the children sing, you may not want to hear The holidays bring back the pangs, of grief within your heart And once again you’ll question why, your loved one had to part We are gifted loved ones, but they leave us all too soon Then Christmas seems to reinforce, your world is out of tune Hold tight to friends and family, they’ll shelter you with love Through them you’ll sense your loved one’s heart, from their resting place above.   For some of you this will be your first Christmas without one of your loved ones. If you struggle with grief at Christmas time, this is for

This weeks blog post is bought to you by Edwin Quilliam. Captivating Eulogies. I’ve been to a few funerals in my day. I’ve been involved in the funeral industry for around ten years. I’ve lead around eighty funeral services in the past three or so years…  and a few before that as well. So I’ve heard and presented quite a number of eulogies over that time. Now I’m not proposing that a funeral service or the eulogy delivered as part of a funeral service is a performance but I do strongly believe that a eulogy should be prepared and delivered in such a way that it is engaging, somewhat entertaining whilst covering off on some basic components. By way of definition, does this help? “A eulogy is a

The very last Natural Burial Ground we visited was not the one we’d originally planned on. We’d had a wonderful afternoon the day before which included a long lunch with a lady by the name of Rosie who heads the Natural Death Centre Charity in the UK. It was on her suggestion that we got up the next morning and headed in exactly the opposite direction to which we had originally planned. It made for a long day of travel and a late arrival in London but it was exceptionally worth it. Higher Ground was the name of this Natural Burial Ground but it is also much more. The name really struck me because here they are doing exactly that, taking the higher ground. Here they provide people

Welcome to UK natural burial ground number three! The third natural burial ground that we visited while in the UK was in South-East Cornwall – right on the edge of the famous Bodmin Moor,  a place called Pentiddy Woods. In true natural style, there was nothing imposing about this place, it was tucked away on a quiet road – very unassuming. There was a small car park area set aside across the road and as we parked there was only one other car there beside our own. We had made a time to meet with the owner a little earlier in the morning, as they were expecting a family for a burial in an hour and a half hence. We arrived and approached the most beautifully secluded spot,