STROUD FUNERAL NEWS AND ADVICE
Rings on her Fingers
I can clearly see the shapes and shades of the back of my father's hands, the bruised copper bracelet he wore on his wrist to help with his arthritis: and he died in 1977. I vividly remember my mother's lovely rings. They were part of her. Amongst the 90 decisions...
Death and Dying … the Latest Media Darlings.
A friend in Stroud sent me a link to an article in The Telegraph about 'Britain's Craziest Funerals'. Big colour picture of a brassy gold Batesville 'Promethean' casket ($24K) was followed by a bling-filled piece (possibly written by the London Funeral Director) about...
Life in the Grave
Before the actual funeral we always check the grave for correct placement (and sizing!); often we would line it with hay, or leaves, or lavender – even soft branches – anything to soften the rather austere looking clay/shale floor. Checking the grave at Gloucester...
Shoulder High, with Friends
In the USA coffins are trundled on wheeled trolleys. Not so in the grand old United Kingdom: or at least in our Stroud funerals! Here friends and family hoist their beloved shoulder high and can swagger and stagger together with him one last time down the aisle. Here,...
Farewell to the revolving door funeral in Stroud
Stroud funerals are becoming more intimate and more personal as friends and family take their time to say farewell. Farewell the quick 20 minutes at the crem. Here at Matara, a coffin rests in a quiet room while people can pay their last respects. Surely this is part...
Beautiful Stroud funeral venue
The Quaker 'Friends' Meeting House' on Chestnut Hill in Nailsworth near Stroud most graciously allowed a family to hold their funeral there last week. There are not many places for a Stroud funeral as peaceful, as beautiful, nor as sweetly hosted as this ancient...
How to say Farewell well
There are many ways - here is one, at the beautiful Matara Centre, Kingscote Park, near Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. The coffin was brought into a side room, where friends and family could sit with their beloved father/friend/colleague, and write a message on a ribbon...
BBC Radio 4 for Stroud Funerals!
James Showers was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live on his 68th birthday Dec 6 - as a Stroud Funeral Director who has had an interesting career.
The right flowers for a funeral.
Should I send flowers to a funeral? Any friend or member of the family can donate flowers as part of their personal farewell. Flowers can be sent to the funeral home in Stroud, or brought to the funeral service, and will usually be placed at the front of the chapel....
How much to spend on funeral flowers?
Deciding how much to spend on flowers for a funeral can be difficult but with a little understanding and planning, funeral flowers can be cheaper than you might expect. It is traditional for flowers to form some part of the funeral: to go on top of the coffin, given...
The source of the ‘death taboo’
How did Britain change so drastically from a nation obsessed with death and funeral etiquette to one – until recently - so averse to any mention of the topic? Firstly, Queen Victoria died, in 1901. Then came the War; thousands of young men swept in great waves...
Victorian Values
It has been said that a culture is either obsessed with sex or with death. For the Victorians, it was death. Death in Victorian British culture was ever-present; elaborate death rituals sustained the living, and set the tone for a whole way of life....