Death Cafe write-ups
Death Cafe Glastonbury Write up
Posted by Marisa Picardo on April 6, 2016, 3:47 a.m.
Death cafe was held upstairs in Coffee Zero on the high Street In Glastonbury. This was well attended and 23 people contributed. We sat in clusters of 4 groups and swapped around at about half time, I used a similar format to Death cafe Bristol where we started and ended with a minute silence, one feed back was that the silence could have been a bit longer. On each of the tables there were suggested conversation questions which some people used and found helpful. The converstaion seemed to flow and was quite animated and people appreciated this event was taking place. The next cafe will be in 2 ...
Beim Linzer Death Cafe im März kamen wieder rund 18 Menschen zusammen, um gemeinsam über Tod und Sterben und alles, das damit zusammenhängt, zu reden. Manche waren neu dabei, andere schon zum wiederholten mal, und die ganze Bandbreite an Alter, Erfahrungen, Einstellungen war wieder spannend. Ein paar, die dabei waren, haben sich scheinbar schon sehr viele Gedanken aus unterschiedlichen Gründen über den Tod gemacht, doch da sie bisher kaum Möglichkeiten gefunden haben, darüber zu reden, haben sie beinahe ganze Gedankengebäude für sich allein entwickelt. Somit hat sich wieder gezeigt, wie wichtig der Austausch mit anderen ist.
Death Cafe Didsbury Write up
Posted by maxinespence on April 2, 2016, 10:11 p.m.
Twenty-one people attended our inaugural Death Café — a wonderful turnout, considering the size of our town and the fact that most participants had never heard of a Death Café before receiving their invitation. It is a testament to their open-mindedness and curiosity that they came even when they ‘weren’t sure what it would look like.’ We met on a beautiful spring afternoon at our local coffee house where balloons and candies welcomed participants to the tables reserved for our group. It was set up salon style so, after the introduction, people facilitated their own conversations at their individual tables. After a 40 minute discussion, we took a ...
Our free flowing discussion was about human consciousness and the awareness of self. We shared stories of how our consciousness has grown and described it as those times in our lives when we had a profound sense of unity and perfection. Definitions are mostly elusive; but self-awareness, mindfulness and conscious living are some ways that consciousness is expressed.
A stimulating discussion with new members and "regular" attendees. The Carmel Death Cafes have met once a month since 2014, but now we meet quarterly.
A delicious cake and beverages were served and enjoyed in the special fellowship of this group.
22nd Death Cafe Hampstead, London, UK Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on March 21, 2016, 8:57 a.m.
Sorry for the late posting!
We held our 22nd Death Café Hampstead in May 2015
by Josefine Speyer
This was our 22nd Death Café at Café Rouge in Hampstead and part of Dying Matters Awareness Week. Tom Schuller co-facilitated. One journalist attended who was writing an article on Death Café for Spirit & Destiny.
16 booked to attend (2 arrived without booking)
13 attended: 11 womenplus two facilitators
5 feedback forms were returned
Average age all women: 39.4 (aged 31– 54)
Overall, how would you rate this event?(10 = excellent, 1 = poor) 9.6/10
People's experiences of this Death Café:
The range of experiences, topics ...
20th Death Cafe Hampstead, London, UK Write up
Posted by Josefine Speyer on March 21, 2016, 8:43 a.m.
This Death Cafe Hampstead was held in March 2015! Now it is March 2016! Apologies for the late posting!
Write up for 20th Death Cafe Hampstead, March 2015
A surprisingly easy evening, 20 odd people arrived after worrying to accommodate 48 and accepting 33 bookings!
The conversation around our table flowed easily despite getting disrupted by late comers and student filmmaker Maya Rostowska getting up to film. A wide range of topics were discussed. A very enjoyable and moving experience with support from co-facilitators Philomena Corrigan, Heidi Twelvetrees and Caroline Dent.
Apologies for late posting of this. Stats will be supplied later.
People's experiences of this Death ...
Highcliffe Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Lis Horwich on March 18, 2016, 6:10 a.m.
Highcliffe Death Café had two meetings this week; our evening and afternoon get together. Nice group of people discussion the top five regrets of the dying, which led to some very interesting discussions and views from everyone.
In April the evening café has been cancelled due to travel, but we meet again Wednesday 20th of April 2-3.30pm. Happy Easter to everyone.
Today we had our first meeting on the other end of Ocala. Highway 200 is the entrance to many senior community. We're hoping more people will join us for our always interesting discussions.
We started out small today, with a group of five people, who touched on many different aspects of death and dying. Such as:
Reinventing yourself after your spouse dies; Recognizing a need to get prepared for the death of your spouse in a very practical way, such as learning about all the different tasks your spouse always does. Thinking about your end-of-life options, etc.
Definitely enough to want to explore some more the next ...
Low Country Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Jan Schreiber on March 15, 2016, 12:26 p.m.
Once again, our Death Cafe was held at the main branch of the Charleston Public Lbrary. I sense the beautiful spring weather kept a few more people away this time (hard to be inside)!
We had 7 attendees, with 2 new people joining the discussion. As a result, the conversation was more personal then most. Everyone responded positively, requesting the introduction of more topics, ie, 5 Wishes, End of life care, green burial...
Derby Death Cafe Write up
Posted by timdowdell on March 15, 2016, 11:15 a.m.
6 people present so a lovely intimate group for discussions. More or less at the outset two books were mentioned ‘Dying’ by John Hinton and another more recent publication, ‘Coffin Road’ by Peter May. Both very interesting and there do seem to be an increasing number of books out there dealing with various aspects of death, dying and bereavement.
Clare talked of cardboard coffins, caskets and memory boxes and the limited number of manufactured designs available for those wanting to customise or personalise one for their loved one.
Natural burial sites discussed in outline. Belper Cemetery was mentioned as one of the most beautiful sites in the area ...
There were 20 people at the March 8th Death Café. As usual after the introduction to the Café we broke into tables of four and part way through the evening switched tables. We decided that next time we need to spread the tables a little farther apart so it’s easier to hear your own group. During the final circle many people noted how easy it was and how relaxed, at home, and comfortable they felt. Someone noted that they were happy to see that people could have such different opinions and yet were very respectful. "There wasn’t any arguing or persuading." Other comments included: “empowering ...
Beim Linzer Death Cafe im Februar kamen rund 15 Menschen zusammen, die sehr bewegende und berührende Geschichten erzählt haben. Ein wichtiges Thema war Tod und Kinder – in allen Variationen, von Erfahrungen als Kinder bis zu Erfahrungen mit Kindern. Mehrere Teilnehmer_innen haben auch erzählt, wie bedruckend sie das “schweigen müssen” erlebt haben. Alle waren sich einig, das es befreiend und inspirierend war, in dieser Atmosphäre so ungezwungen und offen über ihre Erfahrungen reden zu können.
Das Death Cafe war wie immer bis 17 Uhr angesetzt, aber manche Gespräche haben sich noch länger danach fortgesetzt. U.a. stand eine kleine Gruppe über ...
Death Cafe Hoddesdon Write up
Posted by deathcafehoddesdon on March 7, 2016, 4:22 p.m.
Enjoyable, interesting and refreshing were just some of the words used to describe Hoddesdon’s first Death Cafe experience. A total of fourteen people gathered in the Costa Coffee Bar to talk about one of today’s biggest taboo subjects
We started in small groups for the first part of the evening. Once people had introduced themselves to each other and said why they had come, the conversations just flowed in lots of different directions. Then after a break, we came together to share some of the things we’d talked about in the individual groups.
The feedback was very positive and encouraging, with most saying they would ...
Mothers Day is not a prominent feature of my calendar, so when I set the date for 6th March, it didn't occur to me that many potential participants would be otherwise engaged.
Nothwithstanding that, our select little group of six enjoyed cake and coffee in the light and comfortable surroundings of the Warwick Road URC cafe in central Coventry.
We stayed in a single group and mulled over a wide range of subjects from preparing for death to how we would like to be remembered. Food for body and soul.
Montpelier Death Cafe Write up
Posted by MontpelierDeathCafe on March 4, 2016, 2:46 p.m.
February 2016 Death Cafe
Post Meeting Musings
"The stories we tell in death cafe can have tremendous power in our outside lives"
The relationship between grief and death is obvious, but the relationship between grief and life is much more complex. After all, not matter what the source, grief is the burden of the living. Grief, then, becomes a question of identity. The challenge is how we move through grief, accepting the changes that precipitated it, and finding a new way to come into relationship with ourselves.
Our small group this meeting was one quite familiar with grief and everyone had something to share. "Grief is what happens ...