Tea, Cake And Sympathy: Campaign For Death Cafe

A funding campaign will launch this week to create the world's first permanent 'death cafe' in London.

Over tea and cake, it will host group discussions of death "with no agenda, objectives, or themes".

The cafe's founder said its aim is "to increase an awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives".

Already, pop-up death cafes of this kind have been held in over 30 different countries worldwide.

Jon Underwood, who founded the concept, said a permanent cafe would run as a non-profit organisation, funded by a community share offer.

He said there is increased demand for the groups because attitudes to death are changing.

"In the last five years there has been a sudden surge of interest in death and dying and this conflicts with past decades when death has been pushed to the sidelines.

"It was the domain of professionals, like medical professionals and funeral directors, but now people are realising that approach to death is not doing us any favours."

Mr Underwood opened the first pop-up death cafe in 2011 in his house with his mother.

Since then, more than 2,000 have been held across Europe, the US, Canada, and Asia.

Lucy Phillips regularly attends the Malvern cafe in Worcestershire because the subject matter "fascinates" her.

"I always get something out of it so you could say I come for selfish reasons because I always leave having learnt something new," she said.

Ray Bishop has been going to the same one for over two years since his wife died.

"Almost within a week or so I saw an article in one of the local newspapers about the death cafe," he said.

"It was a fairly traumatic time and I wondered what it had to offer, and it has offered a lot support ... to be with people who are prepared to listen."

Sue Friston, who runs the Malvern pop-up death cafe, said it is often not morbid and allows people to develop their own insight.

"I think the more you become less afraid of death and are willing to talk about it it transforms your life," she added.

"You live more consciously and you are more likely to die wise."

Helen Putt, one of the country's only female undertakers, believes the increasing openness about death has been spurred by social media.

"Every part of everyone's life is online now. You can't hide now so when a death does happen you see it all the time," she said.

"People post memorials, tributes and pages to fundraise."

The crowdfunding campaign to open 'Death Cafe London' starts this week and shares go on sale on 19 October.