Funerals
Here to help you
Need help now?
If someone close to you has died and you are planning the funeral, you may not know where to begin. Just call. I’ll lead you through it.
Someone recently did just that and opened with: “I don’t even know how to have this conversation”. That’s completely normal. Don’t worry. I’ll talk to you about your options and offer a steady hand.
Phone Barbara: 07789 564 775
Top tip
When some dies, you don’t need to do anything urgently. Take your time. Lots of people think the funeral has to be done and dusted in a day or two. It doesn’t. Take a deep breath and just STOP. Spend a bit of quiet time with the person who has died, if you’d like. Say your goodbyes in your own way. Then pick up the phone and talk to me and I’ll help you work out the next steps.
Celebrate a life
A funeral is a chance for you to celebrate a life and say goodbye.
There are very few rules and lots of choice.
Hold a ceremony in a crematorium or at the graveside.
Have the ceremony in a favourite venue (local hall, cafe, bar, hotel, theatre) instead of the crematorium.
Hold the ceremony outdoors in a favourite spot - by the sea, in the woods, up a hill. Not only does this give you a dramatic setting, there’s no venue cost.
Hold a private cremation for only a few of you. You can always have a celebration of life separately.
Have a Zoom funeral, gathering with unlimited numbers on-line, anywhere in the world.
You don’t have to have a funeral at all.
When Covid restrictions ease, you can have send-off at home.
There are so many ways you can personalise the ceremony to make it memorable and meaningful. You can decorate the coffin. Men, women, young people and children can all play a role. You can contribute to the ceremony in any way you’d like. I can support you to organise any bits of the funeral yourself if you want to do more. Feel free to ask questions.
What will it cost?
The celebrant is responsible for the ceremony itself. My costs are for planning the funeral with you, crafting a script and delivering the service on the day. You pay what you can afford on this scale:
FREE - our charity will pay for a celebrant for anyone in need.
£220 - charitable rate
£320 - subsidised rate
£420 - full rate
There may be travel expenses for ceremonies outside Glasgow.
To help you plan, the funeral director’s costs might be:
unattended cremation - around £1,000
funeral at a crematorium - around £2,000
Those costs cover collection and care of the person who died, legal paperwork, coffin, transport and crematorium costs.
The funeral director can help if you want to order a special coffin, hearse, family cars, flowers, order of service and catering.
Remember it’s fine to shop around, ask funeral directors for quotes and pick and choose the services you want.
Burial or cremation?
It’s worth knowing… this is the first question you’ll be asked after next of kin die.
It’s not a decision I’d want to make for someone else if I didn’t know the answer. Bearing that in mind, it’s a gift to your own nearest and dearest to let them know what you’d prefer. (Even if the answer is “I don’t care”.) We never know the day…
Memorials
Death causes a whirlwind of emotions and decisions are often made up against the clock. Once a bit of time has passed, you might want to have a memorial - maybe tied in with an ash scattering. I can help you create a lovely ceremony.
I founded the Humanist charity
A Quiet Revolution to tackle funeral poverty.
“Thank you for being so kind and patient with us over the past few weeks. The service has been very much praised and we were certainly very pleased with how it turned out. Because of Bill’s ill health and dementia it was sometimes very difficult with him in the last couple of years. Your funeral address was a really lovely way of reminding me of how he really was when he was at his best.”
— Mark
“Thank you for making such a great job of conducting the funeral. You shaped the material that was directed your way by various people, at varying times with such care and thought, coped calmly and delivered it with great presence and feeling on the day. Many people have commented on this. Thank you so much - it meant a lot to us all.”
— Sue
“Mum’s funeral was really lovely. One of her oldest friends said it was the best funeral she’s been at. I’m sure she would have been pleased if she’d been there!”
— Rose
“Planning has been very useful to me and set me on the right path towards getting my house in order, with an emphasis on incorporating a personal touch.”
— Anita
"Barbara was great. She was able to knit together various stories the family recalled and delivered them in a caring, understanding and even an amusing way. At the same time she did not shy away from the circumstances surrounding my sister’s untimely death. She is a true professional.”
— John
“Thanks for everything. I found your advice and information invaluable in helping my Mother during her end of life and ensuring her send off was in accordance with her wishes. I’m busy sorting my own plans out now. Thank you.”
— Don
“You conducted our friend’s funeral in a loving, respectful, most positive way. I’d like to book you for mine!”
— Hugh