Funeral advice, guides & articles

World Fair Trade Day was created by the World Fair Trade Organisation back in 2004, and since then has taken place on the second Saturday of May every year. It is a worldwide festival of events celebrating Fair Trade, used to highlight the objectives and achievements of the Fair Trade movement. Fair Trade is all about working together to fight against inequality and climate change, ensuring the positive wellbeing of both the planet and those who live on it. The aim is to create an economic and agricultural model that respects planetary boundaries, to encourage the fair sharing of resources, and to spread the belief that everyone in the world deserves decent wages and working conditions, regardless of where they live. After the effect that the pandemic has had on the world, and as we look to recover from it, the theme this year is to Build Back Fairer. It is not enough to go back to the old normal - we can use this as an opportunity to create a fairer and more sustainable tomorrow.

Today (Monday 3rd May 2021) marks May Day, a yearly bank holiday in the United Kingdom. Most of us associate it with a long weekend and a trip to the pub, but most of us have no idea what May Day actually is and why it’s celebrated (including me until I wrote this blog.) So then, what is May Day? And why is it celebrated on the first Monday of May each year? In today’s blog I’m going to answer those questions.

Did you know that 1 in 6 people in the UK are deaf or hard of hearing? That’s 11 million people living with some form of hearing loss in the UK alone, 50,000 of those being children. Deaf Awareness Week aims to raise awareness of the needs of those people, with national and local events taking place all over the UK. It is coordinated by the UK Council on Deafness, the national umbrella organisation for charities working in the field of deafness. Deaf Awareness Week is used to promote the positive aspects of living with deafness, as well as raising awareness of the isolation that can be caused by deafness, and to promote social inclusion. It is also used to raise awareness of the many local organisations that support deaf people and their family and friends. Deaf Awareness Week also promotes the use of British Sign Language (BSL), which is used by at least 24,000 people in the UK as their main language. The theme of this year’s Deaf Awareness Week is ‘Coming Through it Together’ - “working with our members to continue to raise awareness more so now than ever and to ensure that we continue to campaign together whilst focusing on positivity going forward.” For more information visit their site deafcouncil.org.uk/deaf-awareness-week

Flowers have been used for funerals and funeral-like rituals for thousands of years, though the role they play has changed in that time. Before embalming was developed, flowers were used primarily to cover the odors emanating from the decaying body, with the amount of flowers used being dependent on other factors such as the environment, the state of the body and the time of burial. These days, flowers are used as a way for us to express our feelings and respect for the person who has passed away, and to offer condolence and comfort to the bereaved. At a time when it can be difficult to find the words, flowers can speak for us. Just the presence of beautiful displays of flowers at a funeral can evoke feelings of solace in mourners.

Every year on 23rd April, the people of England celebrate St George’s Day, often adorned with white and red clothing, and usually with a pint in hand. But who is St George, and why does he get his own day? Keep on reading and we’ll explore these questions and more together.

We recently posted about environmentally friendly funerals (What is the most environmentally friendly funeral?) and now I’m going to expand on green burial sites here in the UK.

As close as we are now to the lifting of lockdown restrictions in the UK, it seems there are different reports published every hour suggesting things will never return to ‘normal’ across the world. It can be overwhelming trying to digest ever changing visions of how our future will look. In today’s blog, I am going to look at varying information available online and try to understand what the future may look like in a post pandemic age.

It was on March 23rd last year the United Kingdom entered into its first Coronavirus lockdown, and since that day all of our lives have been turned upside down. It’s undoubtedly been a very difficult year for each and every one of us, but finally the finish line is in sight. So then, assuming restrictions are fully removed in June as they are scheduled to, where on earth can we possibly start making up for all this lost time? In today’s blog, I’m going to look at some of the things we can look forward to in summer 2021, after the pandemic is (fingers crossed) in the rear-view mirror once and for all.

The Duke of Edinburgh, His Royal Highness Prince Philip passed away aged 99 on the morning of 9th April 2021. He was the husband of our reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, and is the longest serving royal consort in British History. To pay your respects or leave messages of support, you can visit Prince Philip’s tribute page here: https://funeral-notices.co.uk/national/death-notices/notice/dukeofedinburgh/4937526 For more on the death of Prince Philip, you can read The Mirror’s article here: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-prince-philip-dead-duke-13843506

Spring is the season of new beginnings, and what better way to start afresh than with a clean house and clear mind? Spring cleaning harkens back to the times before modern conveniences such as electricity and central heating were available, when fires were used to heat houses, lamps were lit with oils and everything was essentially much messier than it is these days. People would wait until spring and warmer weather in order to deep clean their houses, since windows could be left open to air them out. There’s also the explanation that we simply cannot be bothered to clean in winter. We’re a lot colder and there are fewer daylight hours so it can be difficult to find the motivation to do loads of housework. When spring comes around, you tend to feel more refreshed and hopeful, ready to tackle the house you may have neglected over the winter months.