Willie the Wizard, Indian Willie, One Match Willie, Oor Willie – whatever you called him, there is no doubt that Willie Taylor was an unforgettable character. At first glance, he was a bit like a tiny, Edinburgh version of Lemmy from Motorhead, so it seems a appropriate that his main interests in life were music and motorcycles. I … Continue Reading
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To Celebrate A Life
Death, by Sean Hughes
Unlike quite a few of my friends, I never had the pleasure of meeting Sean Hughes, the gifted writer and comedian who died yesterday. I was aware of his comic genius, but I’d never read this poem, which was reproduced today in The Guardian. I hope someone is asked to read it at his funeral! … Continue Reading
Regrets: I’ve had a few…
If you follow my blog, you’ll know I was delighted to be nominated, and then shortlisted for the Vows Awards a couple of weeks ago: that was entirely thanks to the many couples who voted for me to show their appreciation for the ceremonies that I conducted for them. I have been a celebrant for twelve … Continue Reading
Are we mourning or celebrating?
I’ve been a celebrant for a dozen years now, and over that time, the character of funerals has undoubtedly changed. Two years ago, the BBC ran this story based on an ICM survey, in which it found that 54% of people wanted a ceremony that was ‘a celebration of life’. Almost as many wanted to … Continue Reading
A celebration of the life of Dr. Gilbert Forsyth
One of the joys of my work is the relationship that comes from working with families over time. Our meetings may well take place in different places, but whether it’s the naming of a child, a marriage, or a funeral, we are always talking about the same subject: the importance of love in our lives. … Continue Reading
Grieving: it’s time for Option B
I was very moved by this interview with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in The Observer, where she talks about how she coped with going to sleep beside her 47 year old husband, and waking up to discover that he was dead.Journalist Decca Aitkenhead is one of our best writers, and while she wasn’t entirely won … Continue Reading
Hatches, Matches and Dispatches
I’m a big fan of Get It On, the nightly request show on BBC Radio Scotland, presented by Bryan Burnett and a rolling team of producer co-hosts. They do some great themes, and tonight’s was a belter: A few days ago, they were talking about doing a theme on music for funerals, so I sent him a … Continue Reading
In Memory of Bill Purves
What do we mean when we say someone’s a character? It’s a word with many nuances, but I can think of no-one about whom it is more appropriate than my neighbour of twenty years, Bill Purves. I live in a mews and when I first moved here twenty years ago, there were still two working … Continue Reading
Kay and her Amazing Animatronic Cat
I conducted the funeral of a friend’s mother last week. Kay was what we Scots call a ‘douce’ lady. She was retiring by nature, very sweet and kind, although she had a bit of a wild side too: she loved dancing to blues music and the Rolling Stones! She spent her last couple of years … Continue Reading
A Funeral for a Humanist
I know it sounds odd, but it’s not often I’m asked to conduct a funeral for a humanist. Lots of people want a humanist ceremony, but what they really want is, “something that’s not religious where we can talk about the person that we love”. We did that for Leslie too: his son Ian delivered a … Continue Reading