It's a subject that not everyone wants to embrace or give due consideration to in life, but most people would agree that dying is a natural part of life, and is something that all of us, perhaps, should consider and plan for appropriately. An initiative that recognises the importance of celebrating life and making decisions about death is Final Fling, a website recently launched by Barbara Chalmers of Plan B Collective.
Final Fling is a website that encourages people to talk openly about death and dying and to plan well for the inevitable. It provides a platform to capture and share life and death decisions - to put the 'rich back in the ritual' as they say themselves. It offers information on practical issues such as how to create a will and wishes, find a funeral director or celebrant, and organise flowers and transport, to advice on what to do after a death, end of life, and counselling and coaching. It also features video interviews, produced by IRISS, with parents and professionals - GP, counsellor - on how they talk about death and dying.
Thought has gone into the design of Final Fling; it's no morbid affair, but a bright and personal one-stop-shop for life and death planning. The site provides a secure way to sort one's own affairs - capture wishes, write a will, draw up an advance decision, take out a funeral plan, and store documents in an online safe deposit box. You can set-up an account for free but there are some costs for specific services. A public forum is also available for those who want to ask a question, share useful information or just get something off their chest. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but it's definitely worth a look.
Visit the Final Fling website.
