Blog Posts

“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,

We avoid death with language, we think it softens the blow. Passed away, flying with the angels, gone to a better place, gone, lost, departed, promoted to glory, born into eternal life, passed on, kicked the bucket, pushing up daisies, resting in eternal peace, entered their peaceful slumber, graduated to heaven, called home, gone to the happy hunting ground in the sky, breathed his last, bid farewell to the world, didn’t make it, lost the battle, gave up the ghost……… I have always been fascinated by the language of death. The words we choose to associate with the state of being or becoming dead. The language of death avoidance is perhaps never more evident than it is in most daily papers. The standardized formatting of most death and funeral

On the 26th July 2017 we visited a brand new Natural Burial Ground. It was in Wales, called Hay Meadows. And that is exactly what it was. Only recently, had the owners cut a whole crop off hay off the field. This was our first encounter with the idea that not only could the land be used for more than one purpose, but it actually didn’t have to be woodland or bush at all. Any paddock could be a natural burial ground and the potential existed for not only hay, but sheep grazing, flower meadows or complete land regeneration into bush land. Hay Meadows only opened its gates in January 2017 and in those few months there had been 2 burials. The owners completely privately own the land

Dalton Wood, Cumbria. This was the very first natural burial ground that we visited in the UK. A 30 acre portion of a much much larger Estate that has been in the same family ownership for over 700 years. When we arrived here the gate was locked (we found out later that it was only to guard against people dumping unwanted goods, all families still have access all the time). I was a little dismayed, wanting to explore, but not to be deterred Edwin, Joey and I climbed the style and into the grounds. There was a little stand with pamphlets within, we picked up one and started to go for a bit of a wander. Edwin called the number on the back of the pamphlet and 15

Good evening! We have had a big day! Today we held our November event, Death on Screen. It may have been the cold that kept some of you away but all in all we have to say the day was a success. About 20 people in total braved the cold to join together to watch ‘A Will for the Woods’ and ‘Zen & The Art of Dying’ with a few more turning up for the second screening. There was an incredible flood of emotion in response to the journeys in the film, the first one in particular.. and all through there were shared laughs and knowing nods of agreement from the audience. But, one of the things I enjoyed the most was the conversations that went around during the

Happy Sunday Afternoon! We have had an exhausting week but it has been made incredibly worthwhile by all of you – the people we have met have gone a long way to prove to us once again what an incredibly important job we are doing. Everyone has a story, and overwhelmingly it is a story of something not quite right. Death not done well. A journey from grief to bereavement that was unhealthy and unhelpful. Thank you all for sharing your stories and experiences, through talking about these things we can all learn so much. To the little boy who told me about his dad who died a few weeks ago, to the parents who shared their story about their daughter loosing her fight with cancer, to the