Grave Expectations

24/04/2026

Big news from Grave Expectations today 😀

We are more than delighted to announce our new partnership with the fabulous Mindful Memorials. After first meeting last year we quickly realised we had shared values and similar ways of working, putting families and individuality at the heart of everything we both do.

Working with Mindful Memorials enables us to expand our offering to stonemasonry, whilst providing families with completely bespoke and unique headstones, all designed in house by us and their brilliant design team.

This is something we are genuinely so excited about and we’re really looking forward to seeing what we’ll create together🍃

Watch this space for more exciting developments coming soon and for more details on Mindful Memorials, follow the link below:

https://mindfulmemorials.co.uk/

And …. check out their beautiful work in these pictures!! 🧡🪦

21/04/2026

A lovely review we’ve recently received 😊

Words like these mean so much, and it is always an honour to support and guide families through their hardest times 🧡

20/04/2026

9 years ago today my best friend Andi died 💔 9 years and it feels like an eternity and 5 minutes ago in equal measure!

I miss him all the time but Andi’s death was the catalyst for me going into Funeralcare and doing this work the way we do …. making sure everyone knows what options are available for them and having goodbyes that feel right for them, however that may be!

Today I opened my curtains and there was a beautiful Robin sat on my windowsill and my playlist has obviously been randomly choosing all my favourite Andi songs - music was one of our ‘things’ - so I’ve had a little cry and am enjoying all the signs that are being sent my way! 🧡

Andi Rob … I love you loads and miss you more 🎶🎨🖌️

19/04/2026

Been out for a great walk in the forest today on beautiful Farley Moor and managed to find the Bronze Age standing stone 🌿

There’s something about being out amongst the trees that just makes everything feel a bit lighter.

Feeling very lucky to live and work in a place like this 💚

If you’d like to find out more about it, have a watch here :

https://youtu.be/RtCM4b3k4ak?si=4MTYhEgWh2YuwatG

Time Team

17/04/2026

So looking forward to welcoming these guys to Grave Expectations for their workshop next week 🧡

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/graveexpectations/2135345

16/04/2026

Exciting news from Grave Expectations today 🧡

We’ve been nominated for **Most Promising Newcomer to the Trade** at the 2026 Good Funeral Awards.

We’re so, so proud of this.

Starting Grave Expectations and growing it into what it is now hasn’t happened overnight and there are so many brilliant people who’ve supported us along the way, so thank you all.

And to the families who’ve trusted us with someone they love, it’s a real honour every single time.

Now to see if we can make it through to the finals 🤞

If you did want to nominate us, that would mean a lot. It’s just a simple form to fill in. Follow the link below or message us and we’ll send it over 😊

https://www.agfdgoodfuneralawards.co.uk/2026-nomination-forms

14/04/2026

🔥 We’re doing a FIREWALK 🔥

Yes… actual fire. Actual bare feet. Questionable life choices.

Me, Evie & 3 lovely (equally mad) friends are walking across hot coals to raise money for Ashgate Hospice , a place that does truly incredible work supporting people and families when it matters most 💛

If you’d like to cheer us on (from a safe, non-flammable distance 😅), we’d love your support:

👉 Link in bio / https://www.justgiving.com/team/graveexpectations

Every donation really does make a difference… and might just stop us turning around at the last minute 🔥

13/04/2026

We’re doing this? Is anyone coming to join us?? 🔥🧡

Last chance to sign up for the firewalk! 🔥

Step out of your comfort zone on Tuesday 5 May and take on this unforgettable challenge - all while supporting Ashgate Hospice. 💜

Entries close tomorrow, Tuesday 14 April, so if you’ve been thinking about it, now is a great time to get involved.

Places cost £50 per person, with a £100 sponsorship target.

For more information and to register your interest, visit our website: www.ashgatehospice.org.uk/firewalk

Pictured: A photo of someone walking across coals.

10/04/2026

A bit of our lovely building’s past found its way back home today.

We were visited by one of the previous owners, whose family built and cared for this place for generations. She arrived with a small collection of original documents — brochures, almanacks, handwritten receipts, photographs, and even the sales details from when it last changed hands.

They’re now on display in our main room. Quiet pieces of history, sitting exactly where they belong.

And tucked in amongst them… the asking price at the time: £35,000.
A different world entirely.

It feels like a privilege to be the next chapter in a much longer story.

09/04/2026

We are VERY excited about this one 🧡

We’ve been wanting to work with DEAD GOOD SISTERS 💀 Katy & Lindsey Vigurs for ages — and now it’s finally happening.

And it’s a good one.

We’re hosting a zine-making workshop at Grave Expectations.

Think:
✂️ cutting
🖊️ scribbling
🗺️ mapping out the places, people and moments that matter

…and turning it into something you can actually hold in your hands.

A creative way to think about the people, places and moments that shape a life.

No experience needed.
No pressure to be “creative”.

Just come and have a go.

It’s a bit different.
It might get you thinking.
You’ll definitely make something.

📅 Saturday 25 April
🕐 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
📍 Grave Expectations

Midlands folks — come and join us.

And if you know someone who’d love this, send them our way 🧡

🎟️ https://www.tickettailor.com/events/graveexpectations/2135345

06/04/2026

📚💛 We’re building a little book nook…

A cosy corner for swapping stories about life, loss, and everything in between.

And we need your recommendations 👇

What’s a book that stayed with you?
Made you think differently about death or grief?
Or just brought a bit of comfort when you needed it most?

Fact or fiction, funny or heartfelt, poetry, picture books… all welcome here.

Basically — if you’d pass it to a friend and say ‘this helped me’, we want to know about it 💫

Pop your suggestions below or bring a book along next time you visit 📖

Let’s fill this little space with stories that matter ✨

03/04/2026

This is going to be a really good one 🧡

We’ve been wanting to work with Dead Good Legacies for ages, and now it’s finally happening — and honestly, it’s right up our street.

We’re hosting a zine-making workshop at Grave Expectations. Expect cutting, sticking, scribbling, and mapping out the places that matter to you (or someone else), and the stories that go with them — then turning it into your own little zine you can actually hold in your hands.

No experience needed. No pressure to be “creative”. Just come and have a go.

It’s a bit different. It might get you thinking. You’ll definitely make something.

Midlands folks — come and join us. And if you know someone who’d love this, send them our way.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/graveexpectations/2135345?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAb21jcAQ8Sg9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAacrCDvE1cJOW-6L62kOvc-oUTqpRaEm3zUueRv2bdFM7PENieZh2L2CkQMQiw_aem_avCrh8yGb7aOhHC2n8XbvA

We are running an in-person afternoon event at Grave Expectations in Matlock (Derbyshire) on Saturday 25th April.

We'll be creating DIY zines (small creative booklets - pronounced zeeeeeens) about meaningful places in your life.

It's also a chance to create a personal 'memory map' or 'treasure hunt' for others to follow.

The session offers a creative, imaginative way to explore legacy and personal story whether as something to share now, gift to loved ones, or leave behind.

We're really looking forward to hearing your stories and helping you turn them into something tangible. Personal zines are an act of story keeping.

Make one about your life. Or make one about someone else's.

Come and spend the afternoon with us, Midlands friends!

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/graveexpectations/2135345?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAb21jcAQ8Sg9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAacrCDvE1cJOW-6L62kOvc-oUTqpRaEm3zUueRv2bdFM7PENieZh2L2CkQMQiw_aem_avCrh8yGb7aOhHC2n8XbvA