I have led humanist and non-religious funerals and memorials since 2001, and I have trained and mentored many others as they became celebrants too.
Every single ceremony has been as unique as the person whose life is being remembered, whether that is a ninety-eight-year-old grandmother, a well-known actor, or a three-month-old boy.
My job is to write and then lead the funeral so that you can grieve in the way you need and want. In a crematorium, in a burial ground, at a theatre or guildhall, at The Frontline Club or in a pub.
If Led Zepplin is right, great. If Mozart is appropriate, terrific. Taylor Swift...wonderful. Recordings of the shipping forecast, a favourite football moment, the person's own voice. It's all part of the richness of a life.
If you want poetry chosen and read, yes, of course. And if poetry wasn't the person's kind of thing, that's equally fine.
I won't include a sermon on humanism. Instead, I focus on the person's life story, their experiences and the relationships they had in their lives.
Those life stories can be warming and wonderful, but sometimes a story is heartbreaking. Whatever the story, I will write and deliver it with honesty and heartfelt authenticity.
And as for me, I am a London Scot who loves the natural world, the seaside and a good glass of red wine with family and friends.
