Feature Article Breaking the Insomnia Cycle with Sabine Horner
May 8, 2020 Monumental Muse

WHY GRIEF TURNS US INTO INSOMNIACS AND HOW WE CAN BREAK THIS CYCLE  A good night’s sleep is crucial for our health. But somehow, sleep doesn’t come easy when we are bereaved. Despite a severe lack of energy, many of us turn into night owls – staying up late and dragging ourselves out of bed the next morning. And if we do manage to go to bed early, many find it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep long enough to start the next day rested and refreshed. Needless to say, disrupted sleep doesn’t help when trying to cope with…

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Feature Article Desperately Seeking Baby Russell – Now Found!
May 3, 2020 Monumental Muse

***NOW FOUND***THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED*** I don’t normally publish posts like this on our blog but this story has rather pulled at my heartstrings and if I can I’d like to help. At only 19 years old Rosemarie Dooks was faced with an impossible, heartbreaking choice. A holiday romance had resulted in Rosemarie falling pregnant.  Having lost her beloved father at only 12 years of age Rosemarie turned to her mother for help. Her mother, a stalwart of the Church and worried what her neighbours would think told Rosemarie she would have to have an abortion and…

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Feature Article “Let Me Take Your Hand…” We Present To You Kerry Aldridge
April 30, 2020 Monumental Muse 2Comment

There’s a “new kid on the block” on the funeral scene around York and she brings with her a slightly different approach.  I had heard about her from another funeral director when I was looking for an end of life Doula to interview for the blog.  Her name is Kerry Aldridge and she offers what is possibly the most comprehensive funeral service I’ve come across. Appropriately named “Hand in Hand Funerals”, what Kerry has created is in effect a hand holding service right through from end of life care to, if needed, bereavement support for those left behind.  I was…

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Feature Article “From Schoolgirl to Top Hat and Cane” – Introducing Hayley Spencer
April 25, 2020 Monumental Muse

Who would have thought that a simple two-week work placement with a local funeral director would have such a far-reaching effect for a young Hayley Richmond, from Huntington School? It left Hayley knowing exactly what she wanted to do. True to her ambition, at only 17 she secured her first admin role with Co-op Funeral Services. Within 6 months Hayley was asked if she would like to become a trainee funeral director and mortuary assistant.  She has never looked back since. Darley Funerals – A Family Affair Having successfully built her career and getting’ married along the way Hayley -…

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Guest Writer Bereavement During Coronavirus
April 23, 2020 Monumental Muse

Today we have a post kindly written for us by guest writer Geraldine Mace.  You can learn more about the services offered by Geraldine here. When someone dies it is devastating, sometimes it has been expected, sometimes it is sudden and shocking, and it hurts.  Everyone feels their grief at one hundred per cent so this blog is not about comparing whether losses experienced during the Coronavirus lockdown are worse than before, rather it is about the way Coronavirus can complicate the grieving process. Not long after lockdown started, someone I know called me worried that their relation wasn’t doing too…

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Feature Article The Secret Hidden Behind The Big, Black, Wrought Iron Gates
April 20, 2020 Monumental Muse 2Comment

Venture through the, rather austere looking, huge black Victorian wrought iron gates on Cemetery Road in York, and you may be in for a surprise. You could be forgiven for thinking you had walked straight into the pages of “The Secret Garden” by Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett. Such is the hidden beauty that lies within, as the road name gives its secret away, York Cemetery. Whilst the Cemetery is administered by York Cemetery Trust with the support of the Friends of York Cemetery when it comes to Cemetery business there is one name that crops up time and again. That…

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Feature Article Funeral Services – Who Cares for Those Who Care for The Dead?
April 19, 2020 Monumental Muse 26Comment

When we hear the term “key workers” most of us automatically think of those workers from the NHS, Emergency Services, Carers, Shop Keepers, Refuse Collectors, Farmers and Supermarket workers. Seldom do we hear any talk of those involved in funeral services – the people who care for the dead – given a mention. To the contrary, we hear phrases like “The Funeral Directors must be wringing their hands with glee.” Or “At least it must be good business for the Church/Cemetery – they’re never going to be out of work, are they?” Maybe it is because we as a nation…

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Guest Writer A Quick Tour Around York Tutors with Judith Morris
April 18, 2020 Monumental Muse

This is the second post from guest writer Judith Morris, Proprietor of York Tutors.  York Tutors provide top quality language courses to students for whom English is a second language.  Their groups range in size from 10 to 110 and stay in homes in and around York. From The Pen of Judith: Despite having travelled extensively, York, at least to me, is still one of the most beautiful places in the world. We have everything here – a long, deep history which explains our plethora of amazing museums, fabulous and quirky shops, gorgeous walks and green areas plus some of…

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Feature Article Are You Overwhelmed With A Sense Of Loss?
April 14, 2020 Monumental Muse 2Comment

Are you overwhelmed with a sense of loss?  We can help!  We are delighted that Geraldine Mace – a leading Grief and Relationship Coach based in York – has kindly agreed to guest write for us.  Here is a little introduction to Geraldine and what she does. Please share with our readers a little about yourself and your business. When I left school at 18, my first job was working at a GP surgery where I regularly encountered grieving people.  Those who had lost a loved one and were trying to make sense out of life and those who had…

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Feature Article The Door No One Wants To Open
April 9, 2020 Monumental Muse

“The hardest thing for anyone to do is open that door and walk through it.  I see people walk past the window time and time again, but they don’t want to come through the door.  Sometimes they walk past 4 or 5 times before they enter.”  It’s an incredibly perceptive observation and unsurprisingly it comes from Paul Kelwick.  Paul is the Manager of G R Pinder Memorials in Scarborough. It’s more than a job to Paul – it’s a way of life and he uses his knowledge and years of experience to bring an especially personal touch to his clientele….

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