A DALES based funeral celebrant is setting up a Coffin Club in the hope it will make people more comfortable to talk about death and dying.

Sue Havenhand, who lives in Grassington, plans to hold regular Coffin Club meetings from the spring which she hopes will encourage people to open up conversations with their loved ones around death and dying and get their plans in place.

She said: “The mission of Coffin Club UK is to change the face of funerals, get people talking about what they really want, or don’t want, and to inform about the many choices there are when it comes to your final hurrah.

“It’s completely possible to hold a funeral in a barn, or a garden with the coffin present but people don’t realise this and settle for a short service at the crematorium chapel as they believe this is the only option they have. Also, with the rise in direct cremations, it’s a great thing to hold a celebration of life service in an alternative location, giving the person’s nearest and dearest their chance to say a meaningful goodbye”.

Find out more at: www.celebrantsuzi.co.uk