Unusual urns – “a handbag??”

We have some incredible innovation products at NFE this year, but I don’t think you will see this one. It’s the handbag urn available for about $1000 .

Edit: I posted this article only a few minutes before I heard that Baroness Thatcher had died and it is a strange coincidence as her handbag was probably one of the most famous ever. There’s [...]

April 8th, 2013 | Category: Innovations, news, NFE 2013, Unusual stories, urns | Comments are closed

The $1 million funeral

In 2011 a Chines businessman spent $1 million on his mother’s funeral including eight stretched limousines. A row of 16 gold-painted cannons fired the final salute.

April 8th, 2013 | Category: Unusual stories | Comments are closed

Standing the coffin up

 

If you are a fan of Jonathan Creek, you might have seen the Easter  Special yesterday. In a rather bizarre funeral scene, the wicker coffin was stood upright during the outside service. I’ve never seen this before and wonder whether its even possible in normal circumstances. Poetic licence perhaps?

April 2nd, 2013 | Category: news, Unusual stories | Comments are closed

Bury me standing up

In July of 1800, a man named Peter Labelliere, noted down some strange requests in his will.

That his landlady’s two youngest children were to dance on his coffin while at the funeral. The daughter just sat on the edge of the coffin, but her brother merrily danced the night away.

and…

To be [...]

March 20th, 2013 | Category: Unusual stories | Comments are closed

Funeral trivia 2

Shortly after 9 o’clock on the evening of 11th January 1928 Thomas Hardy, the novelist   died of a sharp heart attack. This was after a brief and ‘not too serious’ illness which had begun one month earlier on the 11th Dcember 1927 when he had become weak and unwell.

Thomas had left instruction that he [...]

March 11th, 2013 | Category: news, Unusual stories | Comments are closed

Bizarre Burials

I managed to catch the repeat of the Channel 5 programme last night, “Bizarre Burials”. Whilst the title was rather strange, there were some interesting cases. Our friends at Crazy Coffins were featured heavily, and the tattoos which included some ashes from the deceased showed a novel if  heart rendering way of  remembrance.  As for the lady who personally buried her own mother, [...]

January 14th, 2013 | Category: news, Unusual stories | Comments are closed

Did you know?

Solomon Burke, the American soul singer, was also a trained embalmer. He once offered Tom Jones a lift in a hearse

January 10th, 2013 | Category: Unusual stories | Comments are closed

Advertising at the doctors?

I saw a website promotion, encouraging funeral directors to advertise at their local surgery.

Now admittedly, percentage wise, you could be targeting those more likely to need the services of a funeral director that bit sooner, but I for one, go the doctor for an improvement in my health, not to contemplate the hereafter.

November 20th, 2012 | Category: Unusual stories | Comments are closed

More about the Victorian way of death

Some fascinating information about the etiquette of Victorian mourning can be found here. I wonder what they would have thought of the modern Celebration of Life?

November 20th, 2012 | Category: Unusual stories | Comments are closed

Did you know?

Apparently, cavemen used to eat part of the corpse as part of early funeral ceremonies, signifying a recognition of the importance of an individual. This eventually gave rise to special biscuits being prepared and the dough was left on the corpse as the yeast rose, to absorb some of the spirit of the deceased. In Victorian times, throughout Europe and America, funeral [...]

November 20th, 2012 | Category: Unusual stories | Comments are closed
 
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