I ordered my own coffin in 2012. I hadn’t realised I was joining a global revolution. It turns out, on the other side of the globe, in 2011, a group of active retirees in New Zealand began to happily meet up at the Coffin Club. They make friends, have a laugh and handcraft their own coffins.

My coffin in the basement

I ordered my coffin for the launch of Final Fling in 2012. Post launch, my coffin lives in our tenement basement. My neighbours are used to it. They never bat an eyelid when I drag it out for a photo opportunity, exhibition or event.

The UK has followed suit and there’s now a UK Coffin Club, with gutsty patron, Mariam Margolyes leading the charge. Anyone can join a coffin making masterclass.

How to engage with end of life

If you think there are no ways to engage in death, think again. We designed Final Fling website to help you do just that. You post your wishes, save your essential documents, update bucket list plans and share them with others. When you sign up for a free Final Fling account, we’ll send you regular prompts for the first year. If you prefer to flick through a printed guide, check out our mini book Too Busy to Die.

YOU can do it. We can help.

There are lots of ways to engage with end of life. Over the years Final Fling has…

• provided tools, support and inspiration for others to grow their death skills. Our Final Fling origami fortune teller has been adapted by others. Or try our ice-breaker Fling-O-Bingo game.
• introduced Death Cafes in Scotland in 2012, and run them regularly for the public and for professionals – like NHS workers.
• held Death Meet-Ups to explore end of life planning and carry out research
• run a Design for Death Workshop for professionals in the early days of service designers Snook with Lauren Currie
• produced the first Day of the Dead Festival in 2013 with sound art, music, shrine-making and performances. 
• produced films about how to talk about death for individuals and professionals in the health sector. You’d be surprised how little training they get in this.
• engaged with hundreds of people at an exhibition at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art, The Thing About Funerals Is…

Coming up NOW in Scotland

Barbara Chalmers, Final Fling founder, co-founded the Humanist charity A Quiet Revolution. Its aim is to develop a network of like-minded celebrants to enact different approaches to creating and delivering funeral ceremonies. This February, our charity is delighted to be supporting Living Well Dying Well. This UK charity is bringing End of Life Planning workshops to Scotland for the first time. 

Why not book now and make 2020 the year you engage with your own mortality. Honestly, you’ll find you enjoy it.

Our support has provided FREE places for unwaged and keep costs low for those who pay. In the session you can learn about all sorts of practical stuff for end of life planning:

• Advance Directives
• Advance Statements
• Lasting Power of Attorney
• Do Not Attempt Resuscitation
• Who will speak for you when you can no longer speak for yourself
• Mental Capacity/Dementia
• Do Not Hospitalise
• Organ Donation
• Funeral Planning
• Online presence
• Starting your own end of life plan

Remember to use Final Fling’s free Life Planning Tools to store your information! Find out how to manage essential paperwork next of kin need.