Hastings & St Leonards Death Cafe

14/06/2026

The following poem, by Mary Lee Hall, was made famous, as it was read at Princess Diana's funeral.

If I should die and leave you here a while,
be not like others sore undone, who keep
long vigils by the silent dust, and weep.
For my sake – turn again to life and smile,
nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do
something to comfort weaker hearts than thine.
Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine
and I, perchance may therein comfort you.

Image courtesy of Artist Alice Masons, from original painting.

05/06/2026

From Kelly Thompson
Hey lovely Hastings peeps

I'm going to be hosting the below "Writing to Remember" workshop tomorrow as an extended part of the Good Grief festival that's been taking place in Hastings over the past few weeks - honouring loss in all its forms, celebrating love and helping to open up more conversations about the rollercoaster that is grief🙏

If you're navigating grief or loss and feel that this gentle, expressive writing session might support you in some small way on your own unique journey with grief, then please drop Jacy at Hastings Voluntary Action an email before midday on the day of the workshop: [email protected].

We're keeping the group intentionally small and there are currently a few spaces left.

No writing experience is needed — just a willingness to explore memories, thoughts and feelings in a safe, supportive and welcoming space.

25/05/2026

TONIGHT 25th May.

Bank Holiday Monday Evening.

Gather at stade open space at 7.

Bright Hollow’ is a tender, luminous meditation on grief as a journey – an ode to resilience, collective spirit, and the healing found in coming together.

Join us for a unique outdoor arts experience by the sea, bringing together film poetry, spoken word, live music and a fire-sculpture in a shared, gentle journey, featuring artists such as Rebecca E Marshall (Dear Future Films), Clare Whistler (Collaborative artist/performer), Leigh Dyer (metal sculptor), and Joanna Lawrence (composer).

This special promenade event invites audiences of all ages to become part of a ‘pebble orchestra’ as we take a slow walk along Winch Road, passing lines of poetry, and will conclude with live music and a fire sculpture by the shore.

📸 Gabriella Aluna

18 Hours Events Death Cafe

19/05/2026

19/05/2026

This exhibition is part of the excellent Good Grief festival running in Hastings for the whole of the Bank Holiday weekend and ending with a fire ceremony at 7pm on The Stade on Monday. Please come to our exhibition which opens at 5.30pm on Friday, and is open 12-5pm on Sat, Sun and Monday. Check out the whole programme of events on the 18hours.org.uk website. Say Yes to Good Grief! Written by Erica Smith

19/05/2026

22/04/2026

UPDATE 2 - Thank you again! Your kindness is truly inspiring. Although this fundraiser has closed - you can support us with ongoing costs via our patreon

https://www.patreon.com/deathcafe

We know cost of living is high so we are truly grateful for every penny donated!

UPDATE - We’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by your response to this request. As we quickly hit the fundraising target, and we don’t want to accept more donations than are needed at this time, the page has been paused.

Thank you so much for your generosity! We are truly grateful!

Can you help Death Cafe?

Hello, I’m Frank — Jon Underwood’s son.

I’m sharing this alongside a photo of me and my dad, who founded Death Cafe in 2011. He passed away in 2017, but what he started has continued to grow, thanks to my aunty Jools, a dedicated global community, and all of you.

Today, I help look after the Death Cafe website and support the work in his memory.

Some of you may remember that, together, we previously raised funds to protect the Death Cafe trademark. I’m incredibly grateful for that support — it’s helped preserve the spirit and integrity of what Death Cafe stands for.

I’m reaching out again because we’ve hit an unexpected step in that process. We currently need to raise £400 to cover additional legal fees related to the U.S. trademark application.

This involves responding to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, with support from both UK and U.S. trademark attorneys — an essential step to keep things moving forward.

Death Cafe exists to create safe, open, agenda-free spaces where people can come together to talk about death and dying — something often avoided, but so important if we’re to make the most of our finite lives.

Protecting the name helps ensure it continues to be used in that same spirit.

We’ve come a long way already, but this stage has brought costs we couldn’t have predicted when the last fundraiser was set up. £400 will cover what’s needed right now.

If Death Cafe has meant something to you — or if you believe in the importance of open, honest conversations about death — we’d really appreciate your support.

Every donation, no matter how small, truly helps.

https://gofund.me/b4e26c82d

Thank you for reading, for sharing, and for being part of this community ❤️

With gratitude,
Frank
(on behalf of Death Cafe)