At the meeting please have with you anyone who you think might make a significant contribution in helping me understand the life of your loved one and what made them special. This would normally, but not exclusively, be close family members and/or close friends. If there are peopIe who you would like to be at the meeting, but they cannot make it then please either write their stories down in advance of meeting me, or ask them to email me their memories directly. It helps if people have thought about stories before they meet with me. I recognise that you are going through a very tough time and will deal with you and your families and friends in a professional and sympathetic manner. If anyone is emailing me then please let me know so that, if I need to, I can check with you that the email has arrived. I may ask your permission to record the meeting as an aide memoire for my preparations. Any such recordings are deleted as soon as the eulogy has been confirmed.
At the meeting I aim to get a clear idea about who your loved one was – their passions and interests. The key points of their life. The jobs they held and their favourite holiday destinations. The football team they supported or the music they loved. I will weave all of the information together to tell the tale of your loved one. Within a couple of days I will send you a draft of the eulogy by email and invite you to make comment on it. It is important to check your junk mail folder just in case the message ends up there. After any changes have been made a final draft will be sent for approval and the service will then be confirmed.
At the meeting we will also talk about some of the practicalities of the service – we will discuss any songs, hymns and music. We will come to decisions about any poetry or prose. We will also decide whether anyone in the family or friendship group will be participating directly in the service. On the day of the service, I will arrive in good time to greet you at the venue and will conduct the service in a professional and dignified manner.
If you have chosen a cremation service, then it might be that at some point in the future you wish to scatter your loved ones ashes at a special place or inter them an a family plot. Should you wish a short ceremony for this, then please get in touch with me directly and we can arrange to do this. This is in addition to any previous service I have offered and is at a price of £40. My fees are inclusive of all travel (within 30 miles of Fife), preparation time and the actual service itself. Although I am based in Fife, I am willing to travel further afield if circumstances and time allow.