Lives Celebrated - Mansfield funeral and wedding celebrant Wayne Swiffin

25/09/2025

As well as being a celebrant mistaken for a vicar, or a celebrant who makes people “snot down their faces” (see previous post), I may have to also become a Rock N Roll Celebrant.

A service just recently had a lot of talk about rock music, including some of my favourite rock bands, like AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest.

Couldn’t help but tap my fingers when I played (Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult.

(Reminds me, once played an Elvis track at a funeral service held in a community centre. I had the microphone in my hand - took me all my effort to not do an Elvis impression).

Anyway.

I love rock music. Anything from Queen to Metallica, and from Alice Cooper to Eric Clapton.

It was good to see many people in the chapel were wearing rock band T-shirts.

(I really ought to have worn my Alice Cooper tour T-shirt instead of, or under, my blue and white striped shirt).

So, if you want a Rock N Roll celebrant, get in touch.

Don’t ask me to sing though, I’m as tuneful as a tin of beans.

Here’s a song I play quite a lot at funerals. Not a heavy rock track, but it is from the best band ever in the world ever.

Taken from Innuendo, 1991 and Forever, 2014.Click here to buy the DVD with this video at the Official Queen Store:http://www.queenonlinestore.comTaken from t...

24/09/2025

As a funeral celebrant, I make every service I lead as personal as possible.

Every story, every word, every memory - all about the person who has died.

Every service reflects who the person was. A service might have a lot of humour, or it might be quite solemn.

And every service is for those left behind.

If you want to give a loved one the send off they deserve, then get in touch.

📞 07854 689914

📧 wayne@livescelebrated.co.uk

23/09/2025

Congratulations to Tithe Green Natural Burial, a tranquil place where people can rest in peace.

23/09/2025

Erm, wow.

As services can be bespoke, so can coffins.

Look at this one from local company Steve Soult Limited.

Amazing .

🚢⚓️ All aboard the final voyage!

When we say bespoke, we really mean it… our latest creation sets sail as a Queen Mary–themed coffin, complete with funnels and rope handles. A true one-off that proves there’s no limit to what the Coffin Boffins can create ❤️

22/09/2025

This may be useful to you or someone you know.

I guess it’s that theme of not counting days, but making days count.

Music can evoke powerful memories and offers a sense of normality for people dealing with illness or death.

21/09/2025

We went on a walk yesterday, around Attenborough Nature Reserve, near Long Eaton.

Lovely place. Never been before, but I have read about it.

My kind of place - walks though the woods and near water and wildlife.

But yesterday’s walk was organised to raise money for YoungMinds in memory of Matthew Langton (20), a talented young footballer who had been in the academy at Derby County and on the books of Mansfield Town Football Club.

We didn’t know Matthew, but we do know his lovely family.

And so we went along and walked (and went slightly wrong at one point so had to double back - but not quite as wrong as some who are probably still walking as I type this).

So who is Young Minds?

Young Minds provides “young people with the tools to look after their mental health. We empower adults to be the best support they can be to the young people in their lives. And we give young people the space and confidence to get their voices heard and change the world we live in”.

It seems like a good cause to me, and one that is needed.

At a funeral service I led last week, I said that we all need to talk more and listen too. And perhaps be a little bit kinder.

(I also said that even though I may look like an alpha male and SAS type, we should all talk more. Think people laughed a tad too much when I said I was an SAS type. Never mind).

Anyway, if you are able to donate anything, please visit https://matthewlangton.muchloved.com/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAM8paVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHgDbLlQRkbN6A0un03PxcCBxV8LRVQNXfGfpGWa9lsbKxg6p-5cHzhftIfYM_aem_6pJcJtVIvWPOJw75IlmmsA

Dedicated to the memory of Matthew Langton

18/09/2025

A useful read.

From telling the insurers to accepting you may need to get the experts in, tips on dealing with the deceased’s property

17/09/2025

What a lovely thing to do The Nottingham Panthers.

14/09/2025

Sad news. A boxing great from Hyde, a town that means a lot to my family.

As such, always followed his career through the highs and the lows.

Bloody good boxer in his day.

BREAKING NEWS

Hyde boxing star Ricky Hatton has been found dead at his home in Gee Cross.

Greater Manchester Police has confirmed that a body has been found and said that the death is not being treated as suspicious.

13/09/2025

A tour of Mansfield Cemetery today. Fascinating places, full of life stories.