Coffin Club Catch-Up: Talking Death with Poppy’s Funerals

With Gemima from Poppy's Funerals at Coffin Club

We were absolutely delighted to welcome the lovely Gemima from Poppy’s Funerals to our most recent South West London Coffin Club meet-up. With her deep knowledge and years of experience working within the community, Gemima offered an honest and insightful look into the world of funerals from a Funeral Director’s perspective.

It was a fab session—full of brilliant questions, generous conversation and lots of “Oh! I didn’t know that!” moments.

What We Talked About

Our group of curious, thoughtful and open-minded folk came together to explore a range of topics around modern funerals, including:

- Eco funerals and sustainable choices

- Cremations and direct cremations

- Burials (including some shockers about plot prices!)

- The cost of coffins, cremation, and burial

- The surprising toxicity of cremated ashes

- And yes, mushroom coffins!

Wait… Ashes Are Toxic?

It came as a surprise to many that cremated ashes, while often seen as a natural material, can actually be harmful to the environment if buried in large quantities. Why? The pH level of ashes is extremely high, so much so that it prevents the natural release of nutrients and can damage surrounding plant life.

This sparked a really rich conversation about greener alternatives, including eco-burials where bodies are laid to rest near the surface in biodegradable coffins, using local flowers instead of imported and not using formal grave markers – amongst other things.

The Price of (After)Life

If you fancy spending your eternal rest alongside some famous faces in a North London cemetery, be prepared to shell out tens of thousands of pounds just for the plot. We also talked about more affordable options and what people really want when they start thinking beyond tradition and towards legacy, meaning, and simplicity.

Coffin Club Vibes

As always, the joy of Coffin Club is in the people—gathering to talk openly about death, dying and what comes next in a way that’s supportive, empowering and surprisingly uplifting.

We learned a lot, laughed a fair bit and left with a few new ideas about how we might want our own lives—and deaths—to be honoured.

Huge thanks to Gemima for sharing her wisdom with us.

We’re looking forward to welcoming some very special guests to Coffin Club in the future —including members of the legal profession who’ll help untangle the gloriously knotty world of wills, probate, and all those bits of paperwork we pretend we’ll get around to “one day.” (Spoiler: today is a very good day.)

We’ve also got a visit from an end-of-life doula—a what?—yes, you heard right. Like a birth doula, but for the other end of the journey. She’ll be joining us to share a bit about what she does, how she supports people and families, and why planning for death might just be one of the most life-affirming things you can.

Bring your questions and your curiosity.  No such a thing as a stupid question here at Coffin Club SWLDN.

Until next time …. Xx

Talking all things death!