02/06/2025
I’m celebrating a little website refresh and five years of celebrancy.
Not celibacy (as it’s often called) 🙊.
After taking redundancy from a London airline, and setting up in my native north east, it’s been quite the journey.
A journey filled with stories and memories and tears and laughter.
Every day I hear the stories of people’s lives. From the unshakeable mining communities of Northumberland, to those who fought their cause on the picket lines in County Durham. From those who have gone through life quietly, living peacefully to those who have lived colourful, vibrant lives, those causing mayhem by refusing to conform and saying exactly what they think (maybe I’ll be one of these people).
It’s never about the big milestones, although it’s always inspiring to hear ordinary folk achieving amazing things.
It’s about Nana’s chocolate cake served with Tip Top (for those old enough to remember).
It’s about the elderly lady who had no children of her own. Still, she’d make home-made chips wrapped in newspaper for the children playing in her street who were hungry. Touchingly, many, now grown and grandparents themselves came to her funeral.
It’s about Grandad’s ability to stop a telesales caller by saying, ‘You are the weakest link. Goodbye. ‘ before hanging up.
Every tiny little thing contributes to the unique individuals we are. Every experience, every hardship, every reward. There are not two of us in this whole world who are the same. No two people have walked the same path. Isn’t that amazing?
It is a real honour to shine a light on an individual. To say, at the close of life, ‘Let’s celebrate all they have been.’ ❤️
Special thanks to Northumberland Woodland Burials and Crematorium and Bess Nixon Photography for image use.
