Circle Funerals

03/11/2026

We’re collecting Christmas presents for the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust again this year.

CAFTcharity is hoping to make Christmas special for 3,700 children who are ill, disabled or experiencing social disadvantage.

We’re really pleased to be supporting their Christmas Toy Appeal and will be a drop-off point for anyone who would like to donate a gift.

CAFT is particularly looking for:

* Toiletry gift sets for teenagers and young adults
* Lego sets, particularly Creator and Technic for older children
* Musical toys
* Painting, drawing and craft sets
* Sensory toys, including modelling dough, kinetic sand and fidget boards
* Footballs
* Soft toys
* Educational toys

If you’d like to contribute, you can drop your gifts off with us at Circle Funerals, 23 Ashley Road, Altrincham.

We’re asking for donations by Friday 13 November, so we can get everything to CAFT ahead of their deadline.

Thank you to everyone who is able to support the appeal. We really appreciate it.

22/10/2026

We wanted to share something that we think could be really meaningful for some families.

The Swan Song Project is a charity that helps people who are living with a terminal illness, approaching the end of life, or experiencing bereavement to create an original song about their life, their memories, the people who matter to them or the things they want to say. For some, that can become something very personal to leave behind; for others, it can be a way of remembering someone who has died and putting into words what they meant to them.

You don’t need to be musical, you don’t need to have written a song before, and you don’t need to sing. A professional songwriter helps guide the process, using your memories, stories, thoughts and feelings to help create something that is completely your own.

For someone who is living with a terminal illness, that might mean creating a song about their life, the people who matter to them, the things they want to say, or the memories they want to leave behind. For someone who is bereaved, it might be a way of putting into words what that person meant to them, remembering particular moments, or creating something lasting in their memory.

We actually featured song lyrics written by families in our Art After Loss exhibition and we remember thinking then what a powerful way songwriting can be to express things that are sometimes difficult to put into ordinary conversation.

The charity supports people both before and after a bereavement, and the important thing is that you genuinely don’t have to think of yourself as musical. You can arrive with no idea what the song should be about at al, they help you find a starting point and work through it with you.

It might not be something everyone would want to do, but for the right person or family, we can imagine it becoming a very special thing to keep.

20/10/2026

We’ve been fortunate to receive a wonderful collection of Twiddlemuffs and lap blankets, handmade and donated by volunteers from the local community and further afield.

If you haven’t come across Twiddlemuffs before, they are knitted or crocheted handmuffs with different textures and items attached for people to fiddle or “twiddle” with. They can be particularly helpful for people with sensory needs, including some people living with dementia or experiencing restless hands, as they give the hands something comforting and purposeful to do.

The lap blankets can also provide warmth, comfort and something tactile to hold or touch, and can be especially helpful for people who spend a lot of time sitting or resting.

Over the years we’ve passed many of these handmade items on to individuals and organisations who have found them useful and we have more available....so if you know someone who might benefit from a Twiddlemuff or lap blanket, or you work with an organisation or service that could make use of several, please get in touch. We’re very happy to pass them on free of charge.

And a huge thank you to everyone who has spent their time making and donating them, we know how much care goes into creating every one

13/10/2026

Talking more openly about funerals helps people understand that there is often far more choice than they may realise.

At Circle Funerals, we try to share ordinary, real examples of the different decisions families make - from music, readings and flowers to where a funeral is held, who takes part and how the person who has died is cared for.

Not because every funeral needs to be unusual or highly personalised, but because people should know what is possible and feel able to choose what is right for them.

Sometimes that will be a traditional funeral. Sometimes it will include one or two very personal touches. Sometimes it will look completely different.

Here are a few lovely examples of the choices families have made.



Martin The Piper Bloom & Gorgeous Mortons Funeral Hire

01/10/2026

People are sometimes curious what a working week for Jeremy and I actually looks like.

The truth is that it can involve many different things, often within the same few days.

This week has included looking into how someone’s ashes could be interred in an existing family grave, speaking to an urn manufacturer about whether they could make a bespoke urn shallow enough to sit safely on a very slim mantelpiece, and meeting someone who is interested in becoming a death doula and wanted to understand a little more about the work we do.

There have also been conversations with crematoria, clergy and celebrants, checking service timings, arranging music and photographs, proofreading Orders of Service and working out the small details around who is arriving when, where people will sit and what will happen to flowers and personal items afterwards.

There is also the part of our work that happens much more quietly: bringing people who have died into our care and looking after them here at Circle. That can include washing and personal care which can involve dressing them in the clothes their family have chosen, taking care over hair, shaving or make-up if that is wanted, and preparing them for their family to come and spend time with them or for the funeral itself.

Some jobs involve a bit of detective work too. We’ve had to trace details of older family graves, check who holds the rights to them, whether there is space for ashes, and what paperwork might be needed before anything can go ahead.

Then there are the very personal practical details. Helping a family decorate a coffin themselves, arranging for particular things to be placed on or beside the coffin, or finding out whether something a family has imagined is actually possible.

This week that also meant carefully taking a Lego flower, built by two great-nephews, to a funeral service so it could be placed on their great-auntie’s coffin.

And then there are completely different parts of the week, like spending time at our Creative Bereavement Support Group, where people can come along, make something, chat if they want to, and simply be around other people who understand something of bereavement.

Alongside all of that are the ordinary things: phone calls, emails, printing, collecting ashes, checking paperwork, making tea, changing plans and checking timings one more time.

No two weeks are quite the same. Some of the things we’re asked to help with are very practical, some are incredibly personal, and we’re always very aware of the trust families place in us when they ask us to take care of those details.

24/09/2026

Did you know we can also come to you to meet and talk through funeral arrangements?

Lots of families we speak to choose to meet us here at Circle, where we can sit around the table, have a cup of tea and take the time we need to talk everything through.

But that doesn’t have to be where we meet. If it would be easier or more comfortable for you, we can come to your home and make the arrangements there instead.

There can be all sorts of reasons why that works better. Perhaps getting out is difficult, there are caring responsibilities or children at home or you would simply prefer to talk in your own surroundings.

We can go through everything in exactly the same way, and there’s no need to have made decisions or have everything worked out before we arrive.

It’s simply another option we offer, so you can choose where you would prefer us to meet.

22/09/2026

Explaining what a funeral is to a child

I sent one of Child Bereavement UK’s short animated films to a friend this morning and it reminded me how useful these can be.

As adults, we often use words like funeral, crematorium, burial, coffin or service as though everyone understands exactly what they mean. But a child may have no idea what actually happens at a funeral, and we can’t assume what they do or don’t already know.

Child Bereavement UK has created some really clear, gentle animations which explain what happens at a cremation and what happens at a burial. They can be useful to watch together before a funeral, giving a child a clearer idea of what they might see and what will happen. I particularly like that they explain things simply and directly, without making assumptions about what a child understands. There are other short films on the site too, including ones about grief, difficult feelings and ways of remembering someone who has died.

I just wanted to share, in case someone finds them helpful - as a way of starting a conversation and giving a child the chance to ask their own questions.

https://www.childbereavementuk.org/listing/category/short-animated-films

We help children, young people, parents, and families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies.

16/09/2026

Before and now

When we first took on our premises, this room needed a lot of work.

We wanted to create a space that felt calm, welcoming and comfortable, and somewhere people could sit and take their time.

It’s lovely to look back at where we started and see how much it has changed.

11/09/2026

Traditionally, the family have often been the first to leave at the end of a funeral service, with guests following behind. That may feel absolutely right for some families, but there is another option if it feels more appropriate for you.

That can mean the other guests leaving first, so the family and any close friends can have a little time with the person who has died at the end of the ceremony.

If that feels important, we can talk about it beforehand and, where possible, plan things so there is time for that at the end.

You might want to place a flower, a drawing or a note on the coffin, say something privately, play a piece of music, or simply sit or stand together for a little while. There doesn’t have to be anything formal planned at all.

For some families, having those few minutes after everyone else has gone can be a really important part of the funeral.

It’s simply another choice that people don’t always realise they have.



Flowers shown in the photo designed by Sarah of Bloom & Gorgeous

09/09/2026

Did you know there is an Ashes Register that allows you to record where someone’s ashes have been scattered, interred or kept?

We sometimes speak to families who want to scatter one person’s ashes in the same place as another family member, but nobody is quite sure exactly where the first person's ashes are. At the time everyone may know, but a few years later things can become less certain.

That is actually how the Ashes Register came about. Richard Martin, who founded and runs it, had this experience in his own family. His dad died in 1993 and, as a keen golfer, his ashes were scattered at his golf club, close to one of his favourite spots. The family also placed a memorial bench nearby.

A few years later they returned and found that the bench had been moved, which left them unsure about exactly where his dad’s ashes had originally been scattered. Richard realised that if it could happen in his own family, it was probably happening to lots of others too.

The Ashes Register gives families a way to create a permanent record of the location. You set up an account, add the ashes details, choose the level of privacy and the package you want, then publish the record.

There is a free option if you simply want to record the location privately, and paid plans if you want to do more with it, such as add a map location, create a memorial page, share it with family members or include things like photos, ceremony details and other memories.

That record could be really useful years later if somebody wants to visit the same place, scatter another family member’s ashes nearby, or simply know where the ashes are.

I think Richard’s story explains the idea very well, it preserves the location making it easier to find in later years and for later generations.