Monday 24 February 2014

Talking about life & death

Challenging day today, with two funeral ceremonies in Bath to start the week - so don't expect great words of wisdom. Its quite rare for me to do two ceremonies in one day and it always adds an extra level of stress. To be honest, my brain is now frazzled and I'm waiting only for the clock to tick round to a more socially acceptable time to pour a restorative shiraz! Today I have been reminded of some lovely music - "I vow to thee my country" was the entry music and perfect for a gentleman who had served his country all through his life. Reminded too how lovely Mozart's Clarinet concerto is for reflection music - it is a piece of music that both fills the space yet leaves room for thought and reflection. I closed the ceremony with Rudyard Kipling's, 'If'... one of my favourite poems to read aloud (as is "Funeral Blues" - the poem from the 'Four weddings & a funeral' film but no one has ever asked for that!). So an interesting day and two very different goodbyes.

On the subject of reminders, do click on the link to "Confessions of a funeral director" link. Caleb Wilde is such an honest writer and whilst there are differences in the US and UK approach to funerals, much of what he writes will ring true for us Brits. Look for "Ten reasons I'm a funeral director", which remains one of the best explanations for working in the funeral industry. Or the "Should we medicate grief?" post, for example. It really is worth exploring the site if you are interested in gaining a fresh & honest insight into funerals.

Today I have been mostly wondering whether signing up to a gym was such a good idea!

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