Report of the 13th National Day of the Dead, April 16th '05
An International Flavour!
by Michael Jarvis
This year saw the 13th Annual Day of the Dead organised by the Natural Death Centre, and it saw the event held in the very heart of central London for the first time. The venue was Conway Hall, home of the South Place Ethical Society, a grand building quietly placed in Red Lion Square yet only a short step from the hustle and bustle of the West End and excellent transport links.
The venue itself was not the only new feature of this year's event. For the first time the Day of the Dead was held on a Saturday (leaving the Sunday free for attendance at other Day of the Dead celebrations and open days around the country) and with the added benefit for all concerned that we would not be competing for space on the roads with the London Marathon!
I arrived at Conway Hall just as our first exhibitor was unloading the van which he had driven from Germany with a highly innovative biodegradable plastic coffin. And what a coffin! - the Uono is a highly-polished ovoid; more of this later in the report. As many of you will know, the main hall at Conway Hall is large, and has a good ceiling height. A good 'canvas' for decorating, but quite a task. Fortunately, this was a task which we were spared as two wonderful art students from Swansea, Sabra Lawrence and Carla Conti, had offered to dress the room for us. A striking transformation was effected by distressed pennants of white linen spanning the gap between the galleries, whilst the walls were adorned with poster-sized prints of Sabby's photo montages from Mexico (with dashes of Basingstoke cemetery!) and Carla's Mexican-inspired drawings. The result was stunning. The scene was set with the arrival of our other exhibitors and their wares, and the doors opened to the public at noon.
One of Sabra Lawrence's Photo Images
Within half-an-hour the seats had filled, and it gave me great pleasure to introduce our guest speaker, Laura Wade, who was to make the formal opening speech. Many of those present had been to the Soho Theatre in February to see Laura's acclaimed play Colder Than Here. The play recounts the experiences of a woman and her immediate family after she has been diagnosed as terminally ill, and after she subsequently decides to plan her funeral arrangements with the aid and guidance of a copy of The Natural Death Handbook. In her opening speech Laura told the audience how she had come across a reference to natural burial grounds over two years ago and how this had inspired her to find out more about them and to use them as a setting for a play concerned with facing death and bereavement. Laura had, in fact, come to the 11th Day of the Dead in Notting Hill as part of her research, but had done so incognito! More research into the variety of natural burial provision, writing the play and seeing its critical acclaim, and two years later she was no longer incognito, but on stage herself at our event in front of an eager and appreciative audience.
Nick Temple then introduced the audience to the assembled exhibitors, each of whom gave a short talk of introduction to their products and services. Exhibiting on the day were Green Endings, the north London based funeral directors; Circles of Life, the Bristol based funeral and bereavement support group; Sabra & Carla, with more examples of the artwork; Uono, from Cologne, with the first public showing of their biodegradable plastic coffin; Fine Timber Products, the Worcestershire based wicker coffin manufacturers; students from the Slade School of Art who were creating memento mori art and artefacts on their stand; The SAWD Partnership of Sittingbourne with their bamboo and willow coffins as well as a prototype wooden coffin; and Arka, from Brighton, with their ever-eyecatching Eco-pod. Not least, of course, was the Natural Death Centre's own bookstall, with irresistible bargains!
The main feature on the afternoon's programme was the panel discussion on funeral rites and ceremonies. On the introduction of the panellists they each had the opportunity to say a few words about their experiences and the services which they provide. John Valentine represented the group Civil Ceremonies where he heads the training for aspiring officiants; Vanessa Dennis is a member of the Humanist Association who officiates at about 200 funerals a year; Kathryn Edwards is a well-known celebrant and officiant based in London, but whose work takes her around the country, and the Rev'd Stephen Callender is Senior Minister of the Society of the Divine Spirit, based in south London. There was general consensus among the panellists that the extent of choice which is available to the public is not as widely-known as it should be, and that where it is known and understood, the demographics tend to illustrate 'middle class, middle England'. Audience participation was lively. In general it would be fair to say that the audience were not representative of the public at large, in that their very presence was indicative of at least an interest in the subject. The majority feeling was that whilst the efforts of the NDC were to be applauded, for instance regarding provision of Advance Funeral Wishes Forms, more work is needed across the board by celebrants and officiants, the NDC and its friends and supporters to encourage the funeral trade to disseminate more information about the wide range of choice regarding rites and ceremonies that does exist. I believe that many in the audience were inspired by the debate to consider how each and every one of us can effectively spread the word about making the availability of choice better understood.
Suitably refreshed by a tea break, Nick Temple and I then read some poems with a theme of remembrance. Nick's choice ranged from Rupert Brooke (The Dead) through Siegfried Sassoon (Invocation) to Edna St Vincent Millay (Fatal Interview XLVII); and mine, Thomas Hardy (Afterwards) through Rudyard Kipling (The Widower) to Sidney Keyes (Elegy). A widely different selection with a couple of shocks, not least from The Widower to those only accustomed to Kipling in a more familiar mode.
Following those readings the more formal part of the afternoon came to a close, allowing visitors time to revisit the various stallholders, renew acquaintances and make new ones. The memorial board was available to those who wished to post messages and memorial notes, and so the day came to a close.
Circle of Fifths
The wider Day of the Dead festivities for the year were not over, however, for on the following Monday the Natural Death Centre was the beneficiary of a charity concert given at St Giles', Cripplegate, by our friends, the wind ensemble, the Circle of Fifths. St Giles' aged charm, tucked away by the Barbican lake was an ideal setting for an evening of talented musicianship. The audience were treated to a wonderful display of virtuosity with works by Haydn, Taffanel, Arnold and Hindemith, with a very rare performance of Respighi's Quintet. Why is this work not better-known? After the interval the stage was taken by the guest soloist, Emma Weatherill who gave a stunning performance of Britten's Suite for Harp. The idea of an evening concert such as this was a new venture for the NDC, and we were very pleased to see so many people enjoying the event. It would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship of The SAWD Partnership, nor indeed without our friends The Circle of Fifths, to whom we are indebted and who deserve much praise for a superb evening.
For exhibitors' full contact details, please see The Natural Death Handbook:
The Natural Death Centre, 12a Blackstock Mews, Blackstock Road, London N4 2BT (tel 0871 288 2098; email: contact@naturaldeath.org.uk; web: www.naturaldeath.org.uk).
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