So, we had to arrange a funeral. Heart sinking, off we went to the hospital to pick up the necessary forms. It was a fairly bland and blunt experience. What we remember most is the phrase, "whatever you do don't lose this, don't look at it, and don't lose it." I am sure some people feel they are losing their minds experiencing grief, let alone worrying about a bit of paper.
“When we came to Poppy's, calm and normality was restored."
Then we registered the death, where we were told things like "move to green chairs", and "got no appointment for you, oh well, we will see you anyway." This happened after the appointment had been meticulously booked in advance. We went to an uninspiring room with a photocopier and a very photocopied-looking man. A script monologue followed and the possibility of making a mistake hung so heavy that we were triple-checking our loved one’s birth date. Simple questions seemed so difficult.
When we came to Poppy's, calm and normality was restored. Sarah, who we spoke to first, was so friendly, calm, helpful and professional. She followed up with an email within half an hour with suggested dates and times. Nothing felt like trouble or was difficult and we started to feel reassured.
At our meeting, Victoria was helpful, supportive, friendly, perceptive, and so not selling anything (Poppy's costs are so reasonable and there’s no encouraging you to buy stuff that you don't need). She was also business-like and kind.
The beautiful building made all the difference, with lovely rooms that were so calm and tasteful. We felt we really got what we wanted and what we were trying to achieve. Victoria demystified and reassured us about how Dave was going to be wrapped in calico. We thought this was lovely as calico sounded just right.
The music was arranged, sent and confirmed by Victoria. On the day, the lovely Poppy's van containing our dear muso friend felt warm and nice. It was so reassuring that Victoria was sitting at the back during the service. Chairs were arranged in part informally as we had requested. "It's your space, your time, you use it how you would like to," Victoria told us.
We were pleased with what we did in the space to honour Dave. No pomp, no fuss, nothing annoying, just kindness. Poppy's were exemplary, we will be back.