PostScript Eulogies

I'm sure that, at funerals across the UK and around the world, a familiar pattern often unfolds. Someone steps to the lectern, takes a deep breath, unfolds a carefully prepared sheet of paper, and begins to speak about a life well lived. The stories are warm. The memories are affectionate. The flaws, if mentioned at all, are usually reframed as charming quirks rather than serious shortcomings. "He could be a bit stubborn". "She always said exactly what she thought". "He wasn't much of a...

I’ll never forget the call from a lady in Cheltenham earlier this year. Her mother, a former librarian named Joan, had passed away peacefully at ninety-two. “The problem is”, the daughter whispered, as if sharing a state secret, “Mum would loathe a traditional funeral. She hated being the centre of attention. She’d go bright red if you even sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her”. This is a dilemma I encounter more often than you might think. As a professional eulogy writer, I spend my working life...

Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm a MASSIVE music fan. I love it. I have music playing in some capacity from waking up to going to sleep. I love all genres (well, almost all - death metal, not so much), but you'll find all styles, new and old, from hip-hop to folk and everything in between in my library. I think I got that from my late Dad. When I was younger, I used to sneak downstairs and ''borrow' many of my late father's LPs (long before CDs or streaming). I didn't know many of the...