Category: Uncategorized

A celebration of life: a positive alternative to the traditional funeral?

Death and taxes may be the two inevitable things in life, but increasingly the former is now celebrated rather than mourned. More and more loved ones are holding celebrations of life instead of traditional funerals. Why? While traditional funerals mark the passing of the deceased from the world of the living to the world of the dead, the celebration of life offers the bereaved a chance to rejoice in the past – in the happy memories of the departed’s successes, relationships, and the things that they loved, from music, film, sports, books and more. The tone of these events is ... Read more

Choosing not to have a funeral: a new trend?

While funerals are profoundly embedded within our traditions, they’re not a legal obligation. The UK government requires only two actions to be taken after someone dies: obtain a death certificate from the hospital doctor or a GP, and then register the death. A funeral is entirely optional. In recent times, several high-profile celebrities have gained attention through their choice not to have a funeral. Anita Brookner, prolific British novelist and winner of the Man Booker Prize for her work Hotel du Lac, made her wishes clear. Her death notice in the Times addressed her last rites with the simple statement: ... Read more

Unusual Funeral Services Create a Personalised Send off

For many mourners, long gone are the days of sombre dress and tear-filled handkerchiefs. Today many of the last requests of the dearly departed are becoming increasingly unusual as the traditional funeral rites are beginning to be seen as stuffy and not in line with how the deceased wishes to be remembered. In many cases, even the mourners themselves are getting dressed up – and not in formal attire, either. At one funeral, the deceased requested that all mourners dress as the Tracy family, characters from the old hit TV show Thunderbirds. Often the mourners don’t participate directly, but are ... Read more

How meditation affects the cells of breast cancer survivors

I have written about the benefits of meditation on several occasions, from how it slows ageing, can make us happier, helps us develop and maintain and calm state, and even how it impacts our genes. So I just couldn’t wait to tell you about an amazing new study that can give hope to people who have or have had breast cancer. Scientists at the University of Calgary, led by Dr Linda E. Carlson, clinical psychologist and professor of psychosocial oncology, measured telomeres (I’ll tell you a bit more about them in a mo) in breast cancer survivors who did a ... Read more

Alternative Funerals and Offbeat Send-offs

From the mildly eccentric to the downright peculiar, there are a number of unusual ways some have adopted to say goodbye to loved ones. Nowadays, being buried in a eco-friendly/cardboard coffin is fast becoming a fashionable way to be buried. Not only is cardboard cheaper than wood, but it is also good for the environment.  So good, in fact, that when Green Party member Mike Woodin passed away, he was buried in a cardboard coffin in order to reduce his carbon footprint.  Other notable celebrities associated with this bio-friendly approach include Barbara Cartland and actress Wendy Richard. Writer Hunter S ... Read more

All Saints Day

  Our association with Halloween is one of costumes and ghost stories, sweets and trick or treat. However, the religious roots of this now commercial enterprise can be found as far back as the fourth century church at Antioch, and more recently from Mexican Catholic tradition. Originally, All Saint’s Day was a celebration that took place on the first Sunday after Pentecost to honour martyrs of the Christian faith. The growing influence of the Western church saw All Saints Day moved to May 13th by Pope Boniface IV in the seventh century. By the ninth century the celebrations included all ... Read more

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