My good friend, Paul Connell, is a photographer based in Dublin. During lockdown he found that the nearest open place he could walk in and get a bit of fresh air – without having to dodge joggers and cyclists –
Mike and Florence Crook
When I lived in London, one of my good friends was a man called Mike Crook. We’d got to know each other through work and, after we both turned freelance in about 2000, we started to meet regularly. One of
Masters at Glasgow
I just heard today that I’ve been accepted on the University of Glasgow’s MSc in End of Life Studies. This is a totally online part-time course so I’ll be able to continue my celebrancy work around it. It will be
“Hope in the Dark” – music by Carole Nelson
Just taking a break from all the news at the moment. My friend Carole Nelson from Ireland has recorded a series of short YouTube videos called Live from the Living Room and the first piece in the series is called,
A dear friend goes forward…
Bryan Bale, 8th January 1944 – St David’s Day 2020 On Sunday, St David’s Day, my good friend Bryan Bale died in Cardiff. I’ve known Bryan since the mid-90s when we both lived in Hackney. We first met after Bryan
The writing group
On Sunday I went through to my writing group in Glasgow. I haven’t been for a long time so it was great to see everyone and we did a lot of catching up. Larry Butler, one of the group facilitators
Goodbye 2019
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