I see you when you don’t see me and you wonder who you are, who you have become. I see you. When you’re in the depths of despair, not understanding the world around you. I see you. When you’re the little boy, playing with his brother, respecting his mother, being…
The Wind Phone – A Place Of Solace and Connection for the Bereaved In a hilltop garden in the small Japanese town of Otsuchi there sits a white glass paned phone booth, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The booth holds a disconnected rotary telephone, its cables coiled neatly. It never rings…
What do you see, Dad, when you look at me? Do you see the little girl holding your hand? As we walk together across the sand. Tell me, Dad, what do you see? What do you see, Dad, when you look at me? Do you see us playing and frolicking…
Introduction A few weeks ago I wrote a post about Daddy and the Two Bears. It detailed an account of Gary Anderson’s brave step of writing a book about his experiences through losing his twin baby daughters. The reaction to the post was phenomenal with people wanting to know how…
I heard the couple outside before I saw them through the glass of the showroom door. Hesitating, not really wanting to come in. Ours is the door that no one wants to open because opening it means you have lost a loved one and need to arrange a memorial. Smiling,…
From The Inside Looking Out One of the first things I do as I arrive at my workplace is to make myself a cup of coffee before I start my day. The kitchen window looks out over part of the cemetery. When I first started there, I used to see…
A few years ago, at a business networking meeting, I met David Billington from Full Circle Funerals who’s founder, Sarah Jones was offering a refreshingly different, more holistic approach to Funeral Directing. I’ve been watching how Full Circle have developed in the interim years and the direction they have taken…
When I first met Sabine Horner, Proprietor of Asana Nutrition, last year at a networking meeting, her life had taken a totally different direction to that which she had planned, and it was all because of a personal tragedy. Sabine’s husband, Kevin, had passed away from acute myeloid leukaemia. During…
The following is a poem, written by The Compassionate Friends (TCF) founder Joe Lawley: The Gift I have a gift. I did not want this gift, it meant suffering and pain. The pain came because of love. A love which had manifested itself in a child. The child brought…
Happiness and Singing Happiness was at the top of the agenda whenever Ernest “Ernie” Pace was around. He was known for two things: making those around him laugh and singing. Not just any old song but one song in particular: Dean Martin’s version of “Volare”. Originally written all in Italian it was…