The Whitby Celebrant

01/08/2024

Happy Yorkshire Day!

17/07/2024

An excellent resource.

Do you work with bereaved people? Or with families who are preparing for an approaching death of a relative? Or are you thinking about what you will need to do when someone close to you dies?

We have created a set of free downloads which might be useful, all of which which can be printed out, shared or distributed; three tri-folds, ('Organising a funeral?', 'Choosing a funeral director' and 'Cremated Remains, what you need to know') and two additional documents, 'Questions to ask a funeral director' and 'My funeral wishes'.

Visit our new downloads section on our website and help yourself!

https://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/downloads/

04/07/2024

Grief isn't reserved for human death.

Information written by funeral celebrant Ellie Farrell about grieving after the death of a pet. Advice on coping with pet death.

01/07/2024

Grief

23/06/2024

This is beautiful

19/06/2024

The ‘Letters to Heaven’ post box was thought of by Matilda Handy who was only 9 at the time. She wanted to send letters to her Grandparents who had died and post boxes can now be found in many cemeteries.
‘Letters to Loved Ones’ would be a more inclusive title perhaps. A lovely idea.

11/06/2024

Words to live by.

06/06/2024

This is a representation of grief.

Grief rips a hole in you which will eventually close, but never truly heal.
Grief leaves you feeling empty and looking within as you can’t see what is outside.
Grief takes away your memory, leaving behind sorrow and anxiety.
Grief hasn’t a timeframe and it isn’t reserved for immediately after the end of a life or a situation.
Grief is the start of the end of a life, a relationship, a situation or a time in your life.
Grief doesn’t require an explanation.
Grief isn’t reserved for the end of human life only.
Grief is the strongest of human emotions.
Grief shouldn’t be hidden nor ignored.
Grief is an individual experience.
Grief happens to us all.
Grief should be addressed and acknowledged.
Grief is part of human life.
Grief changes your life.

Over time, grief will gradually loosen its tight grip.
Headaches, tears, anxiety, guilt and sleepless nights will fade.

Memories, appetite, smiles and strength will return as grief retreats to the sidelines, always there, but no longer wrapping you in its embrace.

Love sits next to grief, waiting patiently to take over. Grief will always be there but love will try to fill the hole grief created, starting to help you heal.
Ellie Farrell

‘Grief is a journey, not a destination’.

03/06/2024

‘How can we grieve if we can’t say goodbye?’
A question recently asked in relation to a direct cremation funeral choice.

What are your thoughts on direct cremation?
Would you/are you considering this choice?
While it might be a cheaper option, what is the price for your loved ones who won’t be able to attend?
Have you talked about your decision with your family/person?

A funeral is part of the grieving process.

03/06/2024

See the comments for information on Direct Cremations.
Funerals and celebrations of life are part of the grieving process.

29/05/2024

On today's blog, information about what to expect when cremated remains are returned to you.

Do please share - we know recent shocking news stories about funeral directors have created concerns, and we want to get facts and photos out into general circulation.

https://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/2024/05/but-what-about-the-ashes/

25/05/2024

This is very sad and concerning.

With the cost of funerals higher than ever, exclusive data obtained by Sky News reveals a rise of up to 387% in so-called pauper’s funerals in parts of the country.

20/05/2024

A long standing memorial tradition.

🌹 The mystery of who sends Anne Boleyn flowers, is finally solved 🌹

🌹 A curious and beautiful tradition persists every 19th May, when a bunch of red roses arrives by taxi at the Tower of London.

Mystery has always surrounded the arrival of the flowers - which have been sent anonymously to the Tower every May 19th, since at least 1850.

🌹 The bouquet solemnly arrives, is collected by a Yeoman Warder, and placed on the memorial slab for Anne Boleyn.

No member of the public is normally allowed into this part of the chapel royal outside of services - unless as part of the popular tours of the Yeoman Warders, when the altar area is respectfully roped off.

🌹 The high degree of anonymity of the sender of these flowers, has always been a mystery.

Historians, Tower staff and thousands of visitors have been intrigued by the tradition, but until now, nobody has been able to discover who was sending the annual bouquet to the chapel where Anne is buried.

🌹 The bunch that is sent every year, comes from an “undisclosed firm of trustees”and always is accompanied by a card which reads quite simply,

“Queen Anne Boleyn 1536"

The memorial roses are only removed after they have wilted, however, other flowers are also left by private individuals.

🌹 A former Director-General of the Tower of London, was intrigued by the story.

After years of painstaking research, Maj. Gen. Chris Tyler, traced the origin of the flowers back to Kent, where relatives of the Boleyn Family still live.

The family are now called Bullen rather than Boleyn, who reluctantly admitted, that the flowers came from them.

🌹 Gen. Tyler eventually won the trust of the intensely private Bullens, and a group of family members accepted his invitation to visit the Tower.

There, they got to see where Anne was imprisoned, where she died, and the place she was buried.

🌹 So the mystery of who sends Anne flowers has finally been solved.
It's sad in a way, as the mystery of the roses added to the allure of the woman who has kept us all enthralled for centuries.

The allure that enthralled a king, the allure that was Anne Boleyn.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/537859523834021
🌹 Source - washingtontimes/m.tong.
☕ https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders


🌹 The memorial slab for Anne Boleyn in the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula~Tower of London.
🫶 Sharing is caring 🫶

16/05/2024

Grief happens when somebody dies or a relationship end.

The triggers of grief can happen anywhere, anytime 🧡

09/05/2024

Knowing what to say to those grieving can be difficult for some people.

08/05/2024

The new penny hedge has been put in place here in Whitby this morning.
What is it?
Have a read on google for interesting history behind it.

07/05/2024

Dying Matters Awareness Week 2024 starts today. This year’s theme is ‘The Way We Talk About Dying Matters’.
Many celebrants and other funeral industry professionals have organised and are taking part in events encouraging people to talk about death.
As Jon Underwood, founder of Death Cafe said:

06/05/2024

Thankyou for all your orders for our orange
umbrella badges this week.

Wearing these little pins, can help those grieving to know they are not alone.

It is lovely to see our brollies worn in memory of someone who has died.

Help to open conversations around grief and loss and signpost the bereaved to help and Hope in one place. 🧡☂️

Order yours here: thank you 🧡

https://www.thegoodgrieftrust.org/good-grief-shop/

23/04/2024

Why settle on a hearse when you can go on your final journey in a dumper truck?

Watch the unbelievable moment an ex-miner who was always the 'life and soul of any party' gets carried to his funeral in a dumper truck.

09/04/2024

High waters due to a lot of rain here in Whitby.

Full to bustin'
www.deltacharliedrones.co.uk

09/04/2024

Family led funerals are on the increase. New on my blog today.

What is a family led funeral? Information on family led funerals by alternative funeral celebrant Ellie Farrell

04/04/2024

Dying Matters Awareness Week is approaching. What is this event? Find out here.

For Dying Matters Awareness Week (6 - 12 May 2024), communities across the UK will come together to talk about the language that we use around death, dying and grief.

01/04/2024

The date for Easter was decided here in Whitby.

In 7th-century England there was no agreement among Christian groups on when to celebrate Easter. Discover how a landmark meeting at Whitby Abbey settled on the formula that we still use today to determine the dates of Easter.

28/03/2024

The group behind the event, Friends of Wrexham Cemetery, said it was a "wonderful idea to get young people interested in local genealogy".

22/03/2024

Dartmoor is the home of Yuli Somme and her company, Bellacouche

A wonderful alternative to a coffin is for the person who has died to be wrapped in the gentle folds of a thick wool-felt cocoon or shroud. This is made from English wool, ecologically biodegradable for burial or cremation.

The simplicity and directness of being wrapped in a soft woolly shroud or cocoon brings us gently back to our connection with nature. The materials are sourced from these isles and certified either organic (the cream felt) or regenerative (the natural brown felt).

The wool felt is thick, so the body is enfolded in and well-covered with a smooth outline. The basic version costs less than a willow coffin, and as we don’t mark up the price of coffins and shrouds, less than the cost of many ordinary veneer coffins sold by funeral directors. You can have a beautiful and individual cover made for an additional charge.

The shroud can come with an integrated bier (frame) and handles for easy carrying.

If you want to see one there is one in our shop window on Totnes High Street and we are proud to be a promoter of this wonderful product.

You can also visit Yuli's website here: https://www.bellacouche.com/

22/03/2024

As in life…

19/03/2024

We are pleased to introduce our new cycle hearse for people of Cambridge and beyond. A last journey accompanied with fellow cyclists through the streets of Cambridge. More details and photos to follow What do you think to it ?

05/03/2024

Many scatter ashes in Whitby, but not all float away in the sea breeze. This video from a Whitby photographer, Glenn Fitzpatrick is a warning to look before scattering ashes.

27/02/2024

I so often hear ‘I want a Viking funeral’, but can you have one?

Many of us are familiar with the funeral image of a blazing Viking longship out at sea. Films and tv programmes about Vikings have given us this image of how

20/02/2024

Dogs are our family members.

Dogs at funerals. Dogs are part of our families, their dogs are their world. When somebody dies dogs do not understand why their human isn’t returning home.