Corinne Firth-Surkitt - Funeral Celebrant

24/07/2025

Handprints , footprints, fingerprints , even for pets you can have nose prints

This week I have been working with this special paper as part of a presentation wedding certificate as partvof my work as Weddings by Corinne Firth-Surkitt , (one of the witnesses was a toddler so instead of signing with a pen we used finger prints).

But I got the idea from the process of taking and preserving prints using this special inkless paper , you use a special wipe on your hand and then the paper reacts. Keeping prints allows them to be used for unique jewellery , tattoos or just a memory box. Due to experimenting with the paper I now have my sons handprint at the size it was when he left primary school to go into his leavers memory box.

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired, a photo of a handprint on a white piece of paper

17/07/2025

Can humour be a really important conversation starter for some of lifes really tricky conversations - yes, in fact its probably one of the best ways of getting people to open up

Is death funny - no
Is grief funny - no

Would I joke about something happening to someone at the time , would I joke about something deeply upsetting with someone going through it - no , would I use someone's personal grief for amusement- no

Will I always use humour where appropriate to get people discussing both their own and others deaths more naturally , I reckon so.

So here is one that tickled me , I would love to think in death I could still cause concern to some of my favourite industry colleagues who have to deal with my body by them thinking I might be capable of coming back as a super human zombie or horror creature

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired, a meme with wording as follows from a tweet -
When I die I want everyone to act super concerned about the depth of my grave and the strength of my coffin, just to freak out the funeral and burial people

The comments say -
Are you sure that's deep enough ?

So are you guys going to pour cement over it or just dirt ? We can pay extra if it costs more ?

Does this casket come in carbon fibre ?

16/07/2025

A while back some of you may recall a post about us as a family adopting a Commonwealth War Graves Commission grave via Friends of Darwen Cemetery

This weekend we finally finished the heavy work of getting the side and foot stones set back in place and we could do the pretty bit.
Given the number of deer we see in what is quite a remote part of the cemetery I'm not sure the plants will survive without a nibble but we can see. Our next task is finding out more about private Ernest Jones so we can do an information board about him. A friend linked to Darwen Heritage Centre is seeing what they can find to get us started

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired, 2 photos of a grave, it has a standard headstone issued by the commonwealth which remains the same in both but in the first the stones surrounding the grave have fallen over and in the second they are set back into place. A layer of hessian has been put down before ornamental stone and rockery type plants from Four Seasons Garden Centre Darwen have been planted , it is finished off with some artificial poppies in the grave pot

15/07/2025

Today is my third wedding anniversary, when I head out to visit families and friends to talk about their person I usually have , an a4 pad , pen, spare pen, spare spare pen, cards with my contact details on, 2 phones, car keys ....

And today I now have a bag with my initials on to put them all in because today is "leather" for 3 years.

So now all my future visits won't have me arriving with a motley collection of things , instead I will have my smart new bag

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired, a picture of a tan leather satchel , it has the initials CFS on it , and a key ring which was hand made by my husband who due to this present I will keep for another year

06/07/2025

I am officially even more of a crazy crow lady today

So lots of my funeral industry colleagues who I see at pleasington Blackburn with Darwen Cemeteries & Crematorium are aware that I have built a crazy relationship with 2 crows who now recognise me, my car (and the sound of its engine) and my voice. They arrive for biscuits within now seconds of me parking up. Today despite it being a Sunday I nipped up as I was nearby and for the first time ... I met their baby, they wouldn't let it come very close to my car but they did take some treats over and break them up for it and fed it where I could see - yup I really amthe crazy crow Celebrant 🤷‍♀️ and now there are 3 of them in my feathered friends family

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired, a cemetery with multiple headstones, one the photo are 3 grows at various distances from the car , streaky bob is just on his way over to collect another treat from me in the picture, he walks with real purpose !

27/06/2025

Important for anyone going up to pleasington today

Pleasington Cemetery – Important Update

The extension of Pleasington Cemetery is currently closed due to an ongoing Police investigation, which we are supporting.

We understand this may cause upset for residents wishing to pay their respects to their loved ones and for those arranging funerals.

We do not yet know when the extension will re-open, however, in the meantime, if a burial is required by any faiths, please know this can be accommodated at Darwen Cemetery.

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation at this time.

We’ll provide a further update as soon as we’re able to do so.

The Blackburn with Darwen Cemeteries & Crematorium page will also be kept updated.

20/06/2025

This week I haven't done my usual wanders round the crematorium grounds I've been at , it's been too melting hot , so I've been shade seeking in my car, it's the wrong season for lots of black clothing.
But I did make it to kick off my shoes next to the sea which was great. Stay safe in this heat folks , by next week it calms down a bit 🙂

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired, 3 photos, one of me looking rather pink in my car , one of a shady set of trees and the third is of my feet in thick black tights on the steps at Blackpool next to the sea

20/06/2025

So today is "take your dog to work day" , if you work somewhere cool then I reckon they will be loving it because ooosh it's hot for doggos today !

As for me , we'll I don't have a dog so here is a picture from when a very lovely boy stole my business card and wouldn't give it back !

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired, a photo of a dark German shepherd dog on the floor with Mt business card in his mouth , we was so proud of himself for stealing it !

15/06/2025

So I know a lot of people were interested in the progress of Private Ernest Jones and his grave site. We've been up this weekend and got most of his stonework put back upright , just one side that we need to shift inwards by about 5 inches to make the shape back to how it should be but its going to take a bit of extra muscle 💪 .

We left a note so that no one complains to the Friends of Darwen Cemetery about the muddy site 🙂

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired , a photo jf my pink work gloves , the grave before and after , one of the afters has blue arrows to indicate what we need yo do with one of the stones , the final one is of a sign I'm made that reads - don't worry , someone is taking care of my grave, it just has to look a bit messy before it looks beautiful, come back and visit soon to see the progress - Private Ernest Jones

15/06/2025

Those of you who follow my businesses know that inclusivity is so important to me, I don't have all the answers , I'm learning every day but every day I'm trying my best , so this year when I spotted these fathers day cards I bought them , to show there is a market so that manufacturers will keep making them.

Whether you are celebrating or remembering today I hope that today is just what it needs to be for you personally.

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired, photos of two cards , both have deep blue backgrounds and fathers day messages in white but the difference is one spells the message in BSL and one has it in braille

14/06/2025

Yesterday I spent my morning talking to 4 classes at Avondale Primary School about my job as a Celebrant, it was wonderful to talk about what I do as both Corinne Firth-Surkitt - Funeral Celebrant and Weddings by Corinne Firth-Surkitt to a whole new audience, you never know maybe one of them might now have a different career future idea 🥰

Humanist Ceremonies
Photo description for the visually impaired, 3 photos, the first is a selfie of me outside the school, the second is a painted slogan on the school wall that says wake up every morning with the thought that something wonderful is going to happen , the final one is a thank you card from the school