Advice, guides & articles

Earlier this month we highlighted a few ‘Awareness Campaigns Happening in March’, but one we failed to mention was the ‘Butterfly Bake’ hosted by Claire House Children’s Hospice. This event asks people to roll up their sleeves and get baking throughout the month of March, and then sell the tasty treats to friends, family and colleagues in order to raise money for the hospice.

Gardening can decrease stress levels during any difficult period in your life and is particularly effective in helping during bereavement. Planting something in memory of a lost loved one can help you gently move forwards, as you plant seeds and watch them grow. As Audrey Hepburn said “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” and this is all part of the healing process. Choosing what to plant can be very personal, but here are a few traditionally commemorative plants and flowers to consider.

It can be difficult to know what to do for a loved one who is grieving. Giving a gift offers you the chance to pay your respects to the grieving family, celebrate the life of the one who passed away by giving the gift of a memento, and even offer practical support to the family at a difficult time. Here are 10 gift ideas for a grieving friend or family member: Food Hamper Sometimes when grieving, it can be difficult to muster the energy to look after ourselves properly, so a food hamper is a great gift for a grieving person. You can add fresh fruit, snacks, drinks, and maybe a treat for the bereaved. If you know them well enough, you can tailor it to them by including all of their favourite things.

Here on the funeral-notices.co.uk blog we like to highlight awareness days and charity campaigns as much as we can, but there are just so many of them that it would be impossible to write about every single one. When it came to the month of March, I scrolled through trying to choose one and there were just so many that sounded interesting or that were completely unknown to me, that I thought it would be fun to highlight a few of them for you here!

For most people, speaking with a funeral director is something that only happens when you need them. Understanding what the funeral profession is about, and recognising that funeral directors are human too, can have a really positive impact on how you feel when you do need to engage one. This is why we invited funeral directors to feature in our blog; helping to break the taboo surrounding death, dying and the role of a funeral director. We invited experienced funeral director Richard Parson to answer a few questions about his experiences. He is uniquely placed to talk about the profession, having been born in a funeral home!

When Paul Andrew Whittaker sadly passed away, his family chose to raise money for the Macular Society in his memory through his notice page right here on funeral-notices.co.uk. In doing so they raised over £3,000 for the charity, which I know will be very gratefully received. But just who is the Macular Society, and what do they do? Let’s learn a little bit more about this fantastic charity.

Helplines Partnership is a membership body for charities and organisations that offer help and support via telephone, email, text or webchat. They currently have around 350 member organisations in the UK, who offer services across a wide array of topics, ranging from adoption to Alzheimer’s, from bereavement support to mental health emergencies, and many more beyond.

My day starts at 4am when the phone rings. I wake automatically, look at the phone 'Unknown Number'. I go into work mode, lamp goes on, my pen and pad ready to go. Not knowing who is on the other end of the line, I take a deep breathe, calm my voice, and answer: “Funeral Services, my name is Inez, how can I be of assistance to you?” Fifteen minutes later I am getting ready to go on a call out. I send a message to my colleague to say I need their assistance and we meet at the Funeral Directors to collect the vehicle. Two hours later I am home, deciding not to go back to bed before work, I pour myself a large coffee and make some toast. Whilst I sit there, I contemplate... How fragile life is. Here I am drinking my first coffee of the day, about to get sorted to head into work, and the family I have just left are having the worst day of theirs. I came into their lives only an hour or so ago and yet they trust me to care for not only their loved one but them too. I’ve been trusted to care for someone so loved and valued. Many people have never had to organise/plan a funeral before, so they look to the funeral director to help them when they feel so low and vulnerable. I reassure them, I talk to them about the next steps. I become their guidance; I am now a part of their journey.

I remember going to a funeral for one of my grandparents when I was a child. I was sitting in a pew at the church with my brother and sister, and I remember trying desperately to hold my laughter in. I don’t remember what I was laughing at; probably something one of my siblings had done. I just remember feeling like I couldn’t let anyone know I was laughing because I was at a funeral and it was wrong to laugh at funerals. Fast forward 20 years to 2021, when I went to the funeral of one of my friends who had sadly passed away. They played a light-hearted video montage of him, his loved ones read humorous eulogies and I found myself laughing through my tears. I’d been dreading the funeral, but it really was more of a celebration of his life, and when I look back on it I remember these moments more than the overall sadness of the day. This leads on to our blog topic today; do funerals have to be sad occasions? The traditional funeral is generally thought of to be a serious occasion. Black is commonly worn in mourning for the person who has passed away, and people feel that smiling, laughing, or appearing happy in any way can seem disrespectful to both the deceased and their grieving family. However, a lot of modern funerals are focusing more on celebrating the life of the deceased, rather than mourning their loss. Family and friends are encouraged to share happy memories of their loved one and reflect on the way they lived, rather than dwelling on the fact that they’re gone.

Yoga, with its combination of movement, breathing, meditation and mindfulness, has long been thought to help improve mental health when practised regularly.