Funeral Celebrant in Brighton and Hove

My name is David and I live on the edge of the map in Brighton, just 326 steps from the rockpools and waves.

With a background in poetry, spoken-word and performing, regular writing commissions for the BBC have been requested in recent times.

I am also a "Poet-Chef" for a wonderful enterprise called The Poetry Takeaway, where I meet members of the public, chat for a few minutes to get ingredients, then cook them up a poem based on what we have talked about.

Invariably, what follows is wide-eyed surprise, hugs, tears (sometimes!) and happy shock at how their little facts have been turned into something special to keep.

As a freelance writer, I create bespoke spoken-word pieces and poetry for the public and send them out, gift-boxed, to commemorate special birthdays, events or to celebrate lives.

This has led me to write several pieces for people I have links to when they have lost somebody special in their lives. Although not intended for the purpose, two have been used in eulogies, and their impact has been widely felt, celebrated and shared.

Unbeknown to me, one was printed in the order of service, and I subsequently heard back from the person I had written for to say that everyone at the funeral had found comfort in the words and the story of the life that was told. It contained humour, key memories and personal thoughts that were shared with me at the point I offered to write a piece, to help deal with what had happened.

This is something that I am comfortable, skilled and experienced at doing, so the start of a celebrant career is a logical and exciting one for me.

I use the word "exciting" deliberately, as I do not believe that funerals and ceremonies should be conducted by people that give an impression of just reading words about a person.

I am passionate about people's lives and will celebrate them well.

With a base in Saltdean, Brighton, I am ideally placed for work across both East and West Sussex, so am happy to travel to Eastbourne one way and out to Littlehampton the other way, taking in areas north of the coast too, up to Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill.

If you are in the Sussex area though and would like to discuss your requirements, please do contact me, as I aim to be as flexible as possible.

Creating a special ceremony for cremation, natural burials and all forms of funeral is my skill, and you will find that I have a careful and detailed, compassionate ear when we meet.

When we lose somebody there are many things to organise and, amid the natural feelings of upset and grief, the ability to produce a fitting tribute, or the pressure you can feel sometimes to find the right words to say can be very hard.

What I will do for you, always, is meet at a time and place that is best for you and we will simply chat. In that chat we will, naturally, discuss the details that are needed but, more importantly, the details that build the person that we will be remembering and celebrating together on the day of the ceremony.

Personality, habits, achievements, talents, legacies and loves, traits, travel and battles fought cannot ever be conveyed just by ticking boxes on a form, so you can rest assured that what you want to remember and celebrate will be conveyed in a way that, if at all possible, will let you actually enjoy hearing the ceremony on the day.

I have always loved meeting new people and am fascinated by the stories which swirl around us all every day, without us ever knowing them.

Your ceremony then, will always be a personal and very special tribute, a true nod and a celebration of a life, skilfully written and shared with genuine care.