Recently I wrote about my Ukrainian guest who had lived in my flat since fleeing the war in 2022. He had given my mother a beautiful present of a painted box and I asked him who made it. I wanted
Care time suspends the future…
I am a member of a book club run by Marian Krawczyk of the University of Glasgow End of Life Studies Group. For our last session Marian’s colleague, Naomi Richards, chose the book Intervals by Marianne Brooker. Dr Richards, like
Flotsam & Jetsam
Obviously as a gay, oat milk-drinking Scottish eco-celebrant I’m not qualified to speak on matters of state. I leave such things to the alpha male leaders who so skilfully guide our world. People like “Bibi”, the saintly ayatollahs… and of
When a tree falls…
On 16 March, my friend Paul called to say that a close friend had died. He’d known her for many years and, through him, I’d met her many times. Deborah Ballard. She was in truth something of a force of
Seven years!
Today, 1 March 2026 (and St David’s Day), marks my seven-year anniversary of becoming a funeral celebrant! It’s been a most fascinating and rewarding period of my life. I’ve done a lot of different things in work down the years
Слава Україні!
Today marks the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It’s a strange co-incidence but it’s also the day that my Ukrainian guest, a refugee from the war, moves out of my flat and into more permanent accommodation
Praising the mutilated world
We are living in dark times. As a man of 66, I can say that much of my life has seen “dark times”. I remember as a little boy, looking at a photo of an elephant mutilated by poachers. I
BLIPS at the Edinburgh Fringe
BLIPS – Brief Limited Intermittent Psychotic Symptoms. If these episodes are a part of your own life, how might you explain them to other people? Well, you could download an article from a medical journal. You could just describe your
Michael Hannah MSc (Glasgow)
Back in 2020 I enrolled on a masters degree at the University of Glasgow. I’d wanted to return to study when I turned 60, and I discovered that Glasgow was offering a new qualification in End of Life Studies that
Always carry a towel in the car…..
On Tuesday 2nd of January 2024 I set off to conduct a family visit. This is the meeting that a celebrant has with a bereaved family to plan the funeral and it’s usually a central part of the process of
Silent Teachers – Anatomy in Edinburgh
Back in 2019 I wrote about anatomy and body donations at the University of Dundee. How the people who donate their bodies are known as “silent teachers“. It’s a subject of great personal interest because my father donated his body
2022
As for so many people, last year was a strange one for me. There were some significant achievements. For instance, I started my masters course in End of Life Studies at Glasgow University and it has gone very well. It’s