What is a funeral celebrant?

What is a Funeral Celebrant? Some of us like nothing more than getting up on a stage and showing off. Reading an eulogy at a funeral, however, can leave even the most confident person feeling nervous. Getting a funeral service right often involves a big emotional effort: from putting together the order of service to […]

Lessons from funeral history

Lessons from Disastrous Funerals They say that those who can’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So, we’ve put together some of the worst mistakes in funeral history in the hopes that we can prevent botched embalmings and unruly funeral guests. Or, at the very least, put a stop to a few bursting […]

A Modern History of Cremation

Cremation is nothing new. Civilisations have been cremating their dead out in the open for centuries. The Romans would burn their bodies because it was cleaner and saved space. The Vikings – any excuse for a grandiose send-off will do. But what if we wanted to do it today? What is cremation? A cremation is […]

Embalming Exposed

The earliest forms of embalmment date back to 5000-6000 BC. It has huge cross-cultural significance and in some cases, the law requires you to embalm a body. It’s considered both a science and an art. But is it really necessary? What is embalming? Embalming is the process of preventing deterioration of the body. It removes any […]

Swedish death-cleaning

Herring, happy-go-lucky-synth-pop and now Döstädning. Or, “Death Cleaning”. The zen-inducing practice of freeing yourself from all of your possessions before you pass away. The idea that our belongings don’t pass over with us may seem like a frightening concept to some. A bleak reminder of the emptiness of existence. To others, the feeling that you won’t […]

Dying abroad: a guide

Dealing with a death abroad can pose all kinds of difficulties. Being away from home in an unfamiliar place with different languages and systems can make an awful event even worse. Death has no local beat and with The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office putting the number of British passport holders living abroad at 13 […]