I was going to write a tongue-in-cheek blog about ‘competitive grave visiting’ within a family that someone once told me about. And I will do that. But today is the anniversary of my dad’s death, so instead I’m going to… Read More »Letting grief take the reins
What happens after a death in the family when the remaining family members are conflicted ?
Try with all your might – you can’t predict or control grief. You can only allow space for it to do what it needs to do
‘Today, I’m going to make someone cry’ When Cathy and I were friends at university in the late 80s, she was studying Law, I was doing English. Now, 35 odd years later – we are both working, in different ways,… Read More »Interview with a palliative care OT
Meet the remarkable Felix Hewison-Carter. She’s funny, multi-talented, smart, wry and gloriously dark.
Sarah Playforth talks about the grief of loss – of people she loved, of her hearing at a young age – and becoming the matriarch of the family
I recently had an amusing encounter featuring a misunderstanding about my name (a bit of nominative determinism – they thought I WAS a Chaplain, when Chaplin is my surname. I can’t imagine why wearing a Vicar of Dibley dog collar… Read More »What is an independent celebrant?
In the months before she died, my sister, swore. A lot. Much to the horror of her youngest child. “I’ve been raising children for 25 years,” she said. “There are a lot of ‘fucks’ to come out.” I appreciate it’s… Read More »Sometimes it IS big and clever
I thought it might be helpful to introduce myself and explain a bit about why I trained as a funeral celebrant. Sadly, I lost a very beloved sister in 2019. She was far too young and it was an awful… Read More »A beautiful farewell
Remembering people we loved, and honouring both their memory and importance in your life and that of your community is very important. But death is rarely neat, and often leaves unresolved issues for those left behind. Some deaths can feel… Read More »Undigested grief(s)