Bristol death café takes talk online
People in the Bristol area have the chance to go online and discuss everything to do with death and dying in the area’s first-ever Virtual Death Café next month.
The event has been organised by Bristol Memorial Woodlands as a way to support conversations about grief, dying and end of life at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has brought mortality to the forefront of everyone’s mind.
Death Cafés, where people, often strangers, meet in cafés to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death, have taken place worldwide but the online event on Saturday May 16 from 10.45 am for 90 minutes is open exclusively to people in the Bristol area.
The Virtual Death Café , on May 16, will see a group directed discussion about death with no agenda led by Mireille Hayden of Gentle Dusk, with the aim of increasing awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their lives.
Mireille said: “Death Cafes were first held in the UK in 2011 by my colleasgue Jon Underwood and have since spread all over the world with over 10,000 now having been held in 63 different countries. Jon died in 2017 but his family have continued its development.
“At this time when people are faced with deaths every day because of Covid-19 it is more important than ever that we have proper discussions about all the issues that we have about death and dying. Even though people are in their own homes it is important to reach out and have these discussions and talk about our concerns.
“We have limited numbers that can join in the event so people need to pre-book, but we intend to have discussions as we do in any other Death Café.”
People who work in end of life care or jobs associated with death and dying are also welcome. The Virtual Death Café is being held to coincide with Good Grief, Bristol, a festival of events throughout the city on loss and Dying Matters week led by Hospice UK.
Bristol Memorial Woodlands, just north of Bristol is a regional funeral centre where funerals are held followed by burials and tree planting to create a natural woodland held in trust for future generations. Families can mourn their loved ones in a woodland setting and how people grieve and remember their loved ones will form part of the discussion.
Christopher Baker, who created Bristol Memorial Woodlands, said: “Death is inevitable for all of us and yet there is still a taboo around talking about it. We should all be discussing what we want to happen to our bodies after we die; what sort of funeral we would like to have and our hopes and fears around death.
“We are pleased in these turbulent times to be hosting this event where people can discuss aspects of dying.”
To book a place on the virtual Death Café contact Ella Abbott on 01454 414 999 or ella@memorialwoodlands.com
