Written by Head of Communications, Francesca Coles:
This Bank Holiday, the streets of Cardiff were alive with Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend! The weather was kind and the sun shone while colourful floats flooded the city centre and a dragon made up of balloons lead the carnival spirit. It was a wonderful sight to see so many people united in celebration of diversity – and united by a drive to eliminate discrimination, whether on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender, race, religion or ability.Our diversity is one of the things we love most about Cardiff, and it makes us proud to serve the community. It’s something we take very seriously when discussing funeral plans because our primary goal here at Coles is to ensure every funeral we arrange is the perfect reflection of the life of the deceased.
However, we all know that despite the legislative progress made in the past decade to protect the rights of the LGBT+ community, there is still much to be done to change attitudes and actions, as last year’s YouGov poll into attacks on members of the community revealed. And it’s not only in death that people face the discrimination described in the Independent’s article on the poll results…
We’re always saddened to hear news stories where people’s final wishes haven’t been respected and final dignity rites have been denied. Thankfully, these stories are becoming rarer – particularly as the trend for advance planned funerals, also known as pre-planned or pre-paid funerals, has grown in popularity.
Equally, adequate and appropriate end of life care and bereavement support for the LGBT+ community is becoming more readily available. And with charities like Pride Cymru working tirelessly to promote increased understanding and respect, this will continue to improve.
We’ll of course be continuing to play our part here at Coles Funeral Directors as we care for the deceased and their families and friends: our wide range of funeral options catering for Cardiff’s diverse community, ensuring equality in service delivery, and upholding the final dignity rites of all in our care.
As ever, if you’re planning your funeral and have any questions about the options available to you, or you have specific requirements that you need to discuss, our team is always on hand to help so please don’t hesitate to get in touch >