Dying Matters
An event to help people talk about death and grief is came to Attleborough. The theme for this year’s Dying Matters campaign was ‘Are We Ready?’ and looked at the practical and emotional steps we all need to take to be ready for the end of our lives. Opinion polls show that only about a third of people have written a will or thought about their funeral, and even fewer have thought about their end of life care or made a decision about organ donation. On the 16th May at Attleborough Town Hall Rosedale took part in the ‘Dying Matters’ event where all were invited to come along and join in the conversation. Throughout the day there were topical talks from Spire Solicitors about Wills, Probate and Powers of Attorney, Brooklyn House Care Home spoke about end of life care and Rosedale Funeral Home shared information on Funeral Plans. There was also information from ‘Leaving Gracefully’ – a booklet that supports you in recording and organising your end of life wishes – including all the details. A representative from Colney Woods Ceremonial Park was also there and Norfolk Community Foundation talking about what they offer along with Contact Care too. As part of this week there was also a Film Night at The Town Hall in Attleborough which showed ‘Finding Your Feet’ and all profits went to Nelson’s Journey – A local charity supporting bereaved children. “We know that lots of people have questions or concerns about wills/funerals and we answered as many of those as possible. There will was time to talk and laugh, because thinking about and making plans for the end of our life, leaves us free to get on with living it” said Beverley Bulmer who organised the event in collaboration with Rosedale Funeral Home. Dying Matters is run by national hospice and palliative care charity Hospice UK and brings together a broad coalition of organisations related to dying and bereavement, such as hospices, solicitors, funeral directors and grief support services. Tracey Bleakley, the CEO of Hospice UK said: “It’s always amazing to see the creativity and imagination that people bring to their Dying Matters events. I hope many people will take advantage of this chance to talk about a difficult topic in a friendly and supportive way. It isn’t easy to talk about death, but it’s important that we all do.”