Westerleigh Group launches podcast series on death and funerals

Westerleigh Group has launched a podcast series exploring death, grief and memorialisation in an effort to encourage more open conversations about subjects often avoided.

The series, Before You Go, is hosted by Matthew Brook, head of partnerships and propositions at Westerleigh. Each 30-minute episode features interviews with guests from the funeral and memorial sector as well as those with lived experience.

The first episodes of Before You Go debuted earlier this week on major platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. New episodes will follow fortnightly on Fridays.

The first three episodes include discussions with Duncan Reynolds, managing director of memorial masonry business Odlings in Hull; grief counsellor Bill Webster; and former BBC broadcaster and celebrant Emma Britton, who was diagnosed with a rare, incurable lung cancer earlier this year.

Brook said: “No one particularly wants to talk about death but ultimately, it is part of life. We will all lose loved ones and, of course, we will all pass away ourselves. Talking about funerals early can make things a lot easier when the time comes.”

He added that more people are moving away from traditional services and instead choosing “a celebration of life approach”. He said the podcasts would explore personalisation of funerals and different ways families can memorialise loved ones.

Founded in 1991 and based near Bristol, Westerleigh is one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, with 42 sites across England, Scotland and Wales.