Annabelle Holford - Celebrant

18/09/2025

Those we love remain with us
for love itself lives on,
and cherished memories never fade
because a loved one’s gone.
Those we love can never
be more than a thought apart,
for as long as there is memory,
they’ll live on in the heart.

Author unknown

11/09/2025

I recently conducted a service for a gentleman who loved military history and Winston Churchill. I was asked to find something suitable to read at his graveside.... This seemed very appropriate

Let us be contented with what has happened and be thankful for all that we have been spared.
Let us accept the natural order of things in which we move.
Let us reconcile ourselves to the mysterious rhythm of our destinies, such as they must be in this world of space and time.
Let us treasure our joys but not bewail our sorrows.
The glory of light cannot exist without its shadows.
Life is a whole, and good and ill must be accepted together.
The journey has been enjoyable and well worth making… once.

It has Churchill’s unmistakable voice, yet it is gentle, reflective, and perfectly suited to a graveside setting. It acknowledges both the light and shadow of life, but in a way that leaves people with gratitude and peace rather than grief alone.

11/09/2025

It’s been a busy season for me, after a quieter year last year.

It is nearly 8 years since I conducted my first funeral, and I find it moving that my feelings haven’t changed.

I still believe that every service should be as unique as the person we are honouring. I still believe that a funeral is the final gift we give to—and receive from—a loved one.

That’s why I continue to give my all, to listen carefully, and to tell each story with love and respect. In truth, I am simply the conduit through which families can express their love.

11/09/2025

The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not 'get over' the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same, nor would you want to." – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

17/08/2024

Remembering the few -Capel le Ferne

02/05/2024

Good grief...an hour wait in the bank ....surely if there are that many people waiting that long then it's time to get more staff.

Poor customer service NAT West.🙄🙄🙄

20/10/2023

14/06/2023

And, there
In the mists of my memory
I see you.
And, there
In the mists of my memory
You shall always be.

A little poem written by Athey Thompson

11/06/2023

YOU DON’T JUST LOSE SOMEONE ONCE
You lose them over and over,
sometimes in the same day.
When the loss, momentarily forgotten,
creeps up,
and attacks you from behind.
Fresh waves of grief as the realisation hits home,
they are gone.
Again.
You don’t just lose someone once,
you lose them every time you open your eyes to a new dawn,
and as you awaken,
so does your memory,
so does the jolting bolt of lightning that rips into your heart,
they are gone.
Again.
Losing someone is a journey,
not a one-off.
There is no end to the loss,
there is only a learned skill on how to stay afloat,
when it washes over.
Be kind to those who are sailing this stormy sea,
they have a journey ahead of them,
and a daily shock to the system each time they realise,
they are gone,
Again.
You don’t just lose someone once,
you lose them every day,
for a lifetime.
Credit Donna Ashworth.