DC Brixton 24th August 2015





Our first public meeting of Brixton Death Café got off to a challenging start when wearrived to find that the space we had booked upstairs had been flooded by heavy rain. Not to be put off, however,we rapidly set up in a downstairs bar instead. By the time the attenders arrived each table had a plate of cakes and biscuits and an explanatory flyer. The flyer was an aide memoir, reiterating the purpose and rules of Death Café. It also invited each person to introduce themselves and say why they had come to the event: That topics would evolve organically from this.

 

There were sixteen of us in total. Most were attending a Death Café for the first time.  After a brief introduction from Verity people started conversing. The conversations ranged over several topics and differed at each table. Subjects included: Fear of death; not having seen someone die, so not knowing what to expect; making a plan for end-of-life care; funerals; what we think happens after death; the reluctance to talk about death in our society; trauma arising from mishandling how we involve children in death and grieving and how facing the fact that we must die can make our lives more precious to us.

 

We had suggested at the beginning that after the half-time break people might want to move to other tables so that they could talk with others. There was some mingling, but many stayed with their original group.

 

 The general feel of the Death Café was comfortable and conversations flowed.People seemed reluctant to leave at the end.  We asked everyone to fill in a feedback form to help us gauge how the event had gone and see how we might shape things going forwards.We learnt much from this evaluation including that some people would have preferred a more structured plan for how this mingling should occur and so will be trying out different ways of facilitating this.  

 

Overall, guests rated their experience highly and said how much they had gained from and enjoyed the experience. They evaluated the event as “open, interesting, tolerant, thought provoking, honest and enlightening”. We are looking forward to hosting another meeting of Brixton Death Café soon and hope to see you there.

 

 


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