When I told family and friends that I was to train as a humanist funeral celebrant, the first question they asked was usually ‘why?’. I still haven’t managed to give a brief answer to that. Turns out I have been a humanist since my early teens, although I never gave it a name until 40 years later when I joined Humanists UK. I have been to many funerals in those years and have struggled to listen to how someone’s loved one was now in a better place. As a Humanist, I believe that here and now is the best and only place we are going to experience and it is for us to make the most of that in whatever ways we see fit.

I have worked in managerial roles in industry for many years which has had many ups, and quite a few downs. When that phase of my life finished, I felt I wanted to move onto something that could make a consistently positive contribution. Humanists UK run an excellent training course for funeral celebrants and it just felt right for me to train as a funeral celebrant with the hope of being able to ease a little the journey along the path of grief. Which path is different for everyone.

One of the most important aspects of a funeral ceremony is the time spent between the family and the celebrant, building a picture of the loved one that properly reflects the life they lead. Over a long career I’ve sat down with all sorts of people in all sorts of difficult situations and I’ve always tried to bring compassion and understanding in to the room. I’m bringing the rest of me too – a long suffering football fan (Bury FC, if you know you’ll have sympathy), an enthusiastic photographer, a smiler and more than anything else, a family man. Hopefully between us we can capture the essence of the life lived by your loved one and the experience can be a positive one – I know that when my own father died that was exactly what it was.