Events

The AGFD Good Funeral Awards will be held in the Aspinall Suite at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve in Hythe, Kent CT21 4PD, 6pm-11.30pm. Join us in the picturesque Kent countryside to celebrate excellence within the funeral profession. Welcome glass of bubbly and a 3 course meal. Table entertainment during the evening

For details and to book go to www.bifd.org.uk

FFMA Annual General Meeting takes place at 2pm followed by the 80th Anniversary Dinner at 7pm at the Alveston Manor Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon. More details shortly at www.ffma.co.uk

Dying for change: evolution and revolution in palliative care Hospice UK flagship event at ACC Liverpool bring together everyone involved in leading hospice, palliative and end of life care for all ages. Book at compleatconference.co.uk/events/hospiceuk-2019

International funeral trade exhibition, open 9.30am-7pm daily

While physical death occurs to the embodied individual, those who die and those who knew the deceased are embedded within a wider network of relationships. As such, a developing body of sociological literature recognises the value of looking beyond the individual in the context of death and dying.

Applying relational perspectives to the end of life can develop our understanding of both the living and the deceased, as well as the connection between the two. Yet it is important to acknowledge that relationships extend beyond human interaction and can include bonds with a variety of non-human ‘others’ such as pets, projects, places and material objects. These connections play a significant role in everyday life, be it positive or negative, but their salience in death, and dying in particular, requires further sociological exploration.

The day will open with a short screening and plenary session led-by The Good Grief Project discussing relationships in their film about grief A Love that Never Dies.