Hannah Todd – owner of The Interesting Eating Company on Allerton Road – hosted a Death Café back in November after her own experience with the death of a loved one left her feeling frustrated. Now she plans to make it a regular feature on the calendar with the next event taking place on February 8th.
Death Café is an idea which originated in America with goal of uniting people who may find death and grief difficult discussion points in their daily lives. A group of people – often strangers – gather to eat cake, drink tea, and discuss death.
Speaking about November’s event, Hannah said:
“Half a dozen people braved Storm Ciarán on November 2nd for our first Death Café. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session and the objective is to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives. We ate cake, drank tea, and talked about Death. We discussed Covid, the strangeness of funerals and loss in that time, how it was all around us but not present either. We talked about The Mexican Day of the Dead, and Victorians and their obsession with death by today’s standards.”
Hannah went on to say that those who attended were happy to share resources which had helped them navigate death and grief.
“From the conversations we had a few recommendations to help those who are dealing with death, including the play ‘Good Grief’ from Ugly Bucket and books including ‘Grief is the Thing with the Feathers’ by Max Porter and ‘What Remains’ by Maxine Roel.”
Hannah plans to host more Death Café’s in her own venue, and has since been asked to facilitate them elsewhere too.
“Following on from the Death Café in November, I was asked to go to ACE in Belle Vale and host a Death Cafe there as a few members had either recently suffered losses or had elderly parents. It’s a topic people don’t want to discuss, never mind how necessary it is for the people they’re caring for. ACE offers person-centred community support for adults with additional needs and chatting with them humbled me beyond belief. Their grasp of what they were facing was much deeper than they and their carers perceived.”
Hannah is keen to make Death Café a regular event, supporting her customers and her local community.
“The conversations were honest and forthright. Compassionate and sometimes surprising, for the speaker. It was really insightful and I hope we get a few more faces next time, but it’s not about big numbers, it’s about the connection.”
The next Death Café will take place at The Interesting Eating Company on Allerton Road on February 8th – simply click HERE to register.
