A chance to talk about death in Chesterfield '“ over tea and cake

As author John Green said: “There will come a time when all of us are dead. All of us.”

Chesterfield-based Ashgate Hospicecare is now organising a Death Cafe to give members of the public the chance to discuss the subject in an informal and comfortable manner – with a cup of tea and cake.

Rebecca Littlewood, of the Ashgate Road hospice, said: “We understand the importance of being open and honest about death and dying and actively encourage people to talk about it.

“The Death Cafe will provide a space for anyone to drop in, join conversations on varying subjects and help people explore questions, such as what they want from their own funerals, explore what is on their bucket list for life and more.

“Having this conversation and opening up the dialogue about death and dying can help people make the most of their own lives, support the people they care about and help to ensure that we all know what we want, right up to the end of our lives.”

The Death Cafe will take place at Chesterfield Library in meeting room two between 10am and 4pm on Thursday, May 12.

Developed by Jon Underwood and Sue Barsky Reid, the Death Cafe model is based on the ideas of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz’s cafes mortels.

The concept started in London in 2011 and now operates in more than 30 different countries.

According to its manifesto, the objective is to ‘increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives’.

To find out more about Ashgate Hospicecare’s Death Cafe, call Rebecca Littlewood on 01246 568801 or email [email protected]