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My mum has used the same potato peeler for 57 years. Okay my dad has replaced the wooden handle but the blade is the blade of a peeler bought in preparation for their wedding and life together. I know, flashy. My parents are practical people. Other potato peelers have appeared,…

On 9th and 10th June 2022, several members of the Care in Funerals research team had the pleasure of attending the annual conference of the University of Bath’s Centre for Death and Society (CDAS), hosted online. The theme this year was ‘Institutions and Death’.

In addition to an interactive session…

The Care in Funerals project is investigating what can be learned from disruptions to UK funeral provision during the COVID-19 pandemic, and from how people adapted to those disruptions. In this blog post, Jennie Riley and Vikki Entwistle focus on practices involving the dead body.

Dead human bodies have multiple…

Providing healthcare for people in remote and rural areas is a priority for The Scottish Government. The COVID-19 pandemic meant lots of changes were made in the way healthcare appointments were provided. We want to explore the public’s perspectives on accessing and receiving healthcare in rural areas across Grampian during…

Jennie Riley compares the seemingly incongruous rites of passage of marriage and death, and considers similarities between the two which the pandemic has brought into sharper relief. 

Weddings and funerals hold very different places in our cultural imaginations. Their juxtaposition is part of what makes the 1994 film title so…

Arnar Árnason reflects on what it can mean – and why it can matter – to be present at funerals

One of the many highlights of the DDD15 conference, the one that has left me thinking the most, was a panel on ‘Grievability and bare life’ that took place on…

Some highlights from team members attending the DDD15 conference 

The 15th international conference on the Social Context of Death, Dying and Disposal (DDD15) was held online from 1st – 4th September 2021, hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University for the Association for the Study of Death and Society. This year’s theme…

Five members of our team attended the 15^th international conference on the Social Context of Death, Dying and Disposal (DDD15), which was held online from 1^st – 4^th September 2021. In this blog, we share the updates on work in progress that we presented at the conference.

We presented together…

Jennie Riley explores a range of experiences of – and opinions towards – funeral livestreaming, and considers some of the questions this burgeoning phenomenon might require us to ask.

At the start of June 2021, it was my pleasure to attend my good friend Katharine’s wedding to husband Sam…

Abi Pattenden reflects on the advantages of discussing funeral plans with loved ones in advance – and suggests all is not lost even when they cannot be fulfilled to the letter.

The extent to which people plan their own funeral in advance varies widely. Some people leave very detailed…