This has been a pretty eventful year for me. In January I attended a writers’ retreat at Myres Castle. It was the perfect way to start the year. A chance to review things and think about my plans to become
The Silent Teachers
In 2018 the University of Dundee celebrated the 130-year anniversary of the Cox Chair of Anatomy. I recently attended the launch of a book written to commemorate this significant milestone. Entitled “To Bodies Gone”, the book by Edward Small (creative
Last of the Urquharts
Recently I wrote about my experience of dealing with the funeral of my father’s cousin down south. Betty lived for many years in Farnborough, latterly in a care home. Her funeral took place in Aldershot Crematorium. But she was a
HMS Unicorn
Another historic venue with very personal significance to me Almost exactly two years ago, I conducted a memorial service for my father. This was before I started working professionally as a celebrant – before I even trained. But dad had
Meeting Neil Dorward, Pioneer Civil Celebrant
It’s about a year since I trained as a celebrant. So I thought it would be good to catch up with Neil and Annie who ran the course. I’ve been working professionally as a celebrant for eight months. Meanwhile, Neil
One year on….
It was exactly a year ago that I started Neil Dorward’s Training in Funeral Celebrancy course. It’s been quite an amazing year for me. First of all I found the course incredibly stimulating and valuable. It helped persuade me that
The other side of the coin
I’ve now been practising as an independent funeral celebrant for over seven months. I’ve gained a huge amount of experience in that short time and conducted a wide range of services. I’ve also gained a lot of insight into grief
Pathfinders Dublin
I’m just home after a couple of days in Dublin. I went over for the opening of a photographic exhibition by one of my oldest and dearest friends, Paul Connell. The exhibition is called Pathfinders and it’s a series of
An occasional blog
This is just a place where I can write down my thoughts of becoming a funeral celebrant, independent celebrant, civil celebrant…. whatever. It’s been quite a process since I left the Clinical Trials Unit at Dundee University back in February