Funeral Flower Etiquette by Religion: Should you send flowers?

25 April 2018

Written by Office Manager, Claire Robertson: Over the last couple of weeks, Gareth has been talking about religious and faith funerals. During my time with Coles, we have commissioned personalised funeral tributes on behalf of religious families in the shape of: Crosses, Angels, Gates of Heaven, Open Books, Jesus Fish, Five Pointed Stars, Aum, Khanda, […]

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 […]

Spring, Easter, and Religious Funerals…

8 April 2018

Written by Director, Gareth Coles: For many of you reading this blog, the Bank Holiday last weekend will have been filled with egg hunts, too much chocolate – and perhaps an Easter Vigil. This time of year is, of course, important for many congregations in Cardiff as a period of celebration, reflection and prayer.Whether you celebrated […]

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 […]

March funeral flower of the month: the beginning of spring

19 March 2018

Written by Office Manager, Claire Robertson: The daffodil (narcissus) is without doubt, the most iconic flower in Wales – and it can be seen growing everywhere in swathes of brilliant yellow at this time of the year. Symbolising rebirth and new beginnings, which is why it’s sometimes known as the ‘Lent Lily’, narcissi are a […]

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 […]

Your Final Act of Love: Caring for the Dead

28 February 2018

Written by Director, Gareth Coles: When I started in the death care industry many moons ago – I made a decision. A commitment if you will, to the dying, the dead and the grieving, that I would do my very best to take care of them and ensure the funerals I planned would perfectly reflect […]

February Funeral Flower of the Month: It had to be the rose!

17 February 2018

Written by Office Manager, Claire Robertson: It would be remiss of me not to talk about the rose this month – it is, after all, synonymous with love, Valentine’s Day, and the month of February. Perhaps you were lucky to receive a red rose last Wednesday? The rose was the clear choice for our Petal […]

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 […]

Things Left Unsaid to your Loved One?

4 February 2018

Written by Director, Gareth Coles: Working closely with bereaved families throughout Cardiff, we’re very aware that in grief, many people feel regret that they didn’t get the chance, or didn’t have the courage, to share important things with their loved one before they died.So we’d like to give you the opportunity to acknowledge these thoughts […]

3 Resolutions for the Grieving

30 January 2018

Written by Director, Gareth Coles: We say goodbye to more people in winter than we do during any other season of the year, so it’s not all that surprising that the New Year can be bittersweet for a lot of people.It’s important to remember that when we love deeply, we grieve in the same way. […]

January floral tributes to usher in the New Year

22 January 2018

Written by Office Manager, Claire Robertson: Over the past couple of weeks, Gareth has been talking about resolutions, so today I’ve set myself the challenge to share a few ideas for flowers that are: in season during January; make beautiful funeral blooms; and tie in to this month’s theme! White Heather – whilst it might […]