2018 – What a year for Coles Funeral Directors!
31 December 2018
Written by Director, Gareth Coles: What a year for the Coles Team! It has been pretty non-stop as we launched our new Direct Cremation service in January, opened our new premises in Heath, and expanded our fleet with a striking Silver Hearse and Limousines. These landmark changes mean Coles Funeral Directors has been able to […]
Caring for Cardiff’s community – in life and in death
26 October 2018
Written by Director, Gareth Coles: Earlier this week we were at Cardiff City Stadium meeting with Care & Nursing professionals from all over Cardiff and the surrounding areas who gathered together for their annual ‘Care Roadshow’. The seminars this year focussed on the significant changes in the sector including funding, recruitment and government policy.Margaret Rooney […]
Is there a Funeral Price War raging – and if so, who started it?
7 September 2018
 Written by Director, Gareth Coles: Over the summer you may have been made aware of the considerable turmoil in the funeral industry at the moment… Well, behind the scenes here at Coles we’ve been pulling out all the stops to campaign on your behalf for fairer funeral prices for all – and wanted to share […]
What will your favourite flower say about you?
22 June 2018
Written by Services Manager, Claire Robertson: This month we’ve been talking about how it’s important to have choice when it comes to end of life care and funeral plans. There is always a lot to think about when somebody dies and making funeral arrangements can be stressful. All too often, people feel hurried into making […]
Our step-by-step guide to personalising a funeral
14 June 2018
Written by Director, Gareth Coles: Last week, there were lots of news headlines about the lack of transparency and ‘confusion’ in the funeral industry, particularly around pricing. We couldn’t agree more with Senior Director of Markets at Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Daniel Gordon, when he said to BBC News: “People can understandably be very […]
Funeral Industry under Scrutiny in the News… and its about time!
4 June 2018
Written by Director, Gareth Coles: If you’ve listened to the news over the weekend you may well have picked up a story that is also making newspaper headlines – about the price of funerals, the choice available to people, and the conduct of companies selling pre-paid funeral plans. In the last couple of days, Ministers […]
Dying Matters – And here’s why…
14 May 2018
Written by Director Gareth Coles: Today marks the start of Dying Matters Awareness Week – a week dedicated to encouraging and helping people to talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement, and to make plans for the end of life. As you might expect, this is a mission that is very close to my […]
Spirituality in Life and Death
18 April 2018
Written by Director, Gareth Coles: In my last blog, I talked about religious traditions in death, using my own belief system – Roman Catholicism – as an example. Today, I’d like to talk about a growing trend in funerals: Spirituality.At Coles, we’ve been arranging Humanist Funerals (non-religious) for a number of years now, but at […]
Pre-plan your funeral before 31st March to save £350
25 March 2018
Written by Director, Gareth Coles: The clocks have gone forward, the sun is out here in Cardiff – and traditionally, this is the time of year we think about spring-cleaning our homes, tidying up the garden and getting our affairs in order. Earlier this month I wrote about how, if you’re looking for a new beginning […]
New Beginnings…
12 March 2018
Written by Director, Gareth Coles: I started planning my blogs about ‘New Beginnings’, our theme this month, the day Cardiff experienced a foot of snow on St David’s Day! Just a few days later, our beautiful new baby daughter, Sophia, finally joined us in time for us to have an extra special Mother’s Day this […]
Are you facing the death of a loved one?
8 February 2018
Written by Director, Gareth Coles: It’s been a really busy few months for Coles Funeral Directors, and we’re always deeply conscious that this means widespread sadness and grief for the many families we work with here in Cardiff. For some, death hits the family without any warning, whilst for others it comes as a release […]
Have you resolved to get organised this year?
15 January 2018
Written by Director, Gareth Coles: Following on from my blog on resolutions, I understand from some of the feedback that ‘getting organised’ is high on the agenda for lots of people this January! (It’s certainly high on our agenda as my wife and I get ready for the arrival of the newest addition to our […]