Gill Simkiss Celebrant

04/11/2024

Yeah, Baby! We love Funeral Celebrants so much we thought it was time they had their own day!!
But why, we hear you ask...?
Well, allow us to enlighten you:

❣️Funeral Celebrants are often not recognised as fully autonomous self-employed businesses. (That's right, folks, we provide an independent service, we are not sub-contacted by Funeral Directors)

❣️The general public may be unaware that they can book a funeral celebrant directly (they don't need to go through a funeral director)

❣️Funeral celebrants are consistently undervalued both in the importance of the work they do and financially.

We see funeral celebrants day as a platform to raise awareness of our profession, giving us an opportunity to explain what we do and to encourage people to learn about the breadth of service we can offer, the range of knowledge and expertise that we have and the fact that they can come to us directly for support.

If you're funeral celebrants, why not join us in using this day to promote yourself and what you do, within your community?

Even better, join forces with other funeral celebrants in your area and run an educational event!

With enormous thanks to for starting the ball rolling on this whole initiative.

Link in biog for more resources

20/05/2024

🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 World Bee Day 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Let’s celebrate the bees today, have you ever heard the expression “go tell the bees” and wonder where it came from?

From Ancient times bees have been important in society, from the pollination of plants to the production of honey and there was ritual around them and their hives.
The Ancient Greeks thought them immortal and
Celtic mythology saw the bees as the link to the spirit world, if you wanted to speak to someone who had already died the bees could pass on the message.
Bees were told of all major events in the beekeepers life, birth, marriage and especially death. According to tradition it was considered important to inform the bees of a death so that they were placed in mourning and could help the dead transition into the afterlife- bees who were not properly notified, it was thought, could stop producing honey, take flight from the hive or even undergo collective death.

We see bees more scientifically now but we still recognise them as crucial to human life. They are incredible pollinators and are absolutely essential for plant reproduction and growth. Whilst not all bees produce honey, the raw honey that is produced has been found to contain antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties and is also used for a variety of other ailments. Add in the uses we have found for beeswax, pollen, bee venom and royal jelly in both health and beauty and they become even more amazing creatures.

Take today to really appreciate everything that the bees do for us and consider some of the things that we can do for the bees, perhaps increase the number of native plants in your garden or create wild areas, leave water out on dry days so that bees can drink and support local bee-keepers by buying locally produced raw honey -apart from anything else it is truly delicious! 🐝

29/04/2024

Weddings are changing! For the better....
Relaxed venues, adventurous photographers and the couple calling the shots - Melanie Reid in the Times today highlights just how weddings are changing and that the increase in humanist celebrants is a huge part of that.

The stuffy conventions of my generation’s wedding ceremonies have been replaced by informality, warmth and Instagrammable delights

22/02/2024

Grief is the natural emotional response to the loss of someone close, such as a family member or friend. Grief can also occur after a serious illness, a divorce or other significant losses.
Each loss is unique and our responses vary and change but it can help to read the stories of others. The Guardian has some interesting suggestions as to where to begin.

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/22/five-of-the-best-books-about-grief?fbclid=IwAR2qozY50meuFgmp0pzVALRF2P-rwwFi1SayZmnOtczoe6OPHpn4qdo92E4_aem_AUE7bgosJL6675tmKe7jaLXL9hFTvCrZbR0x0AEsVtZiVdRidNF_tcs7viEmeCrAXgw

Moving memoirs and a magic-realist novella are among these stories that can help provide comfort and perspective

30/01/2024

It’s a beautiful day in the Eden Valley! After a very long, very wet spell it is lovely to see the sunshine and the early signs of Spring although there is still a lot of mud for the dogs to find….
This afternoon is for writing - and drawing dinosaurs 🦕 to celebrate National Draw a Dinosaur Day 🦖

28/01/2024

An interesting article in today’s Observer relating to living funerals. As celebrants we are perfectly placed to help create a memorable event however you want to celebrate or remember your life.
If a living funeral is not for you but you like the idea of having some input into your funeral we can help with that too by meeting up and chatting about who and what is important to you, what you would like to say or include - you can even record your own eulogy or words of wisdom/warning if you wish. Together we can then write a funeral which can be lodged safely and withdrawn when the time comes.
Definitely food for thought ……

Wouldn’t it be nice to hear all the lovely things friends and family might say about us at our funeral? Isabelle Aron meets five people – some with a terminal diagnosis – who have done just that

25/01/2024

Sláinte Mhath (slanj-uh va)
Wishing you Good Health this Burns Night, Burns wrote,
"The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth. Wherever I wander, wherever I rove, the hills of the Highlands for ever I love"
Whilst we have swapped the Highlands for the Cumbrian Fells, Scotland holds a special place in our hearts too as we were married on a beach in North West Scotland on Burns night. Windy - yes, cold - most definitely but so beautiful and fabulously atmospheric.
A Humanist wedding really can be anywhere!

15/01/2024

Had a fabulous day yesterday at the Lancaster House Hotel Wedding Fayre. Met some wonderful couples planning weddings for this year and next and caught up with friends and colleagues in the wedding world.

15/01/2024

It was an early start this morning, out and about with ceremonies and meetings, its glorious day in Cumbria, cold and crisp. Stopped for lunch with the Alpacas at Basecamp North Lakes.

12/01/2024

Busy day today, getting ready for the Wedding Open Day at Lancaster House Hotel on Sunday.
Come and join us between 11.00am and 2.00pm for a chat, we have unique and inspiring ideas to personalise your wedding ceremony.
Put your love story at the centre of your day and make it truly a day to remember

Find us at Lancaster House Hotel, Green Lane, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4GJ between 11.00am and 2.00pm on Sunday 14th January.

26/10/2023

Q. What Do Astronauts and Funerals Have In Common?
A. Music

According to NASA ,waking astronauts with music is something that they have done since the Apollo programme in the 1970's.
Who chooses the music? The decision as to what to play on the space shuttle falls to the CAPCOM, the capsule communicator, who is a ground based astronaut in Houston.
What do they play? Not surprisingly space themes feature highly in the music chosen, 'Walking on the Moon' by The Police, David Bowie's 'Starman', 'Rocket Man' by Elton John, 'Walk of Life' by Dire Straits and ELO's 'Mr Blue Sky' are all well documented. But Frank Sinatra's 'Come Fly With Me' on blast off and Dean Martin's 'Going Back to Houston' on the final day in space take some beating.
Funerals generally include music too and choices can be wide and eclectic, favourite pieces include 'Over The Rainbow' Eva Cassidy, 'Flying Without Wings' Westlife, 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' Monty Python (with or without the swearing), 'Ni**od' Elgar, 'Bring Me Sunshine' Morecambe and Wise and again Frank Sinatra this time with 'My Way'.
Generally there are three pieces of music included in a funeral, the first as the coffin enters, the second during a period of reflection and the third as the mourners leave.
Who chooses the music? If you are thinking ahead you can choose your own and leave instructions with your next of kin but if no plans have been made the choice lies with the next of kin.
Choosing three pieces of music sounds fairly easy but when put on the spot to identify just three pieces to represent a life well lived it can be surprisingly difficult.
So perhaps give it some thought now and have a chat with your nearest and dearest and see what they would like played at their funeral, you may be surprised at their choices and find out things hitherto unknown.
As for me, my current thoughts are, for entry, 'Nothing Else Matters' Metallica, 'I Think Of You' Rodriguez, for the period of reflection and Kirsty MacColl's 'In These Shoes?' as everyone leaves. However the list is flexible and I reserve the right to change it at will - as it should be.

21/10/2023