Independent Funeral Director Archives | Page 3 of 3

First Pictures of Kingfisher Funerals Huntingdon Office

The last few weeks have been extremely hectic, to say the least.

We opened our second office, in Huntingdon, on Tuesday 6th May 2014. What we hadn’t quite planned for, was that May became our busiest month to date at our St Neots office, so all the decorating that we intended to do at Huntingdon didn’t quite happen as fast as we’d hoped.

However, with the exception of a delivery of 2 chairs to match the sofa, the reception area is now complete, and provides a light and airy welcome to our visitors and clients. Roxie seems to feel at home here already.

The arranging lounge, which can also be used for funeral ceremonies with up to 25 people present, is undergoing its final stages of preparation. The window sills have been painted today – just one radiator to go!

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral directors in Huntingdon and St Neots. We are recommended locally on The Best of St Neots and nationally by The Natural Death Centre. Visit our Huntingdon website or our St Neots website, telephone us on (Huntingdon) 01480 412938 or (St Neots) 01480 471001, or call in and see us at 10-10A Princes Street, Huntingdon PE29 3PA (opposite the registrar) or at Gate Lodge, Cemetery Road, St Neots PE19 2BX.

Kingfisher to open new funeral director’s premises in Huntingdon

It gives us great pride to announce that we have completed the legalities on the lease of our second premises, 10-10A Princes Street, Huntingdon.

The former stable block forms one side of the Lawrence Court development which houses the registrar, coroner’s office and library. It is a listed building with loads of character, and being old it requires a little attention before we move in. This should take roughly three weeks, and we expect to open after the first bank holiday in May 2014.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services has grown as a local business since its conception in October 2010. The company employs three full-time, qualified funeral directors and prides itself on the often-copied but never-bettered level of service it provides to the Huntingdonshire community.

Andrew Hickson, who lives in St Neots and owns the company, said “Kingfisher Funerals are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral directors in St Neots. We have found over the last year or so that clients from Huntingdon are using our services more and more, and the next logical step was to open an office in Huntingdon to better serve their needs. Princes Street is a great location for our expanding business, which can now claim to be the only independent funeral director in Huntingdon as well.”

Nicola Jarmaine, who has been with Kingfisher Funerals for just over one year, will become the face of the Huntingdon branch of the business, while Scott Hardiman, who joined the company in May 2013, will be the person most people will meet at the St Neots office. We will, however, continue to be a very close-knit team, covering for each other as and when necessary, and providing the out-of-hours call-out service which is vital to our business.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral directors in St Neots and Huntingdon. We are recommended locally on The Best of St Neots, and nationally by The Natural Death Centre. Visit our Huntingdon website or our St Neots website, call us on (01480) 471001, or drop in and see us at Gate Lodge, Cemetery Road, St Neots PE19 2BX or at 10-10A Princes Street as soon as we are open! A warm and friendly welcome is assured at any time.

Hayley’s Coronation Street Funeral – Humanist Funerals and Coffin Choices

Yesterday evening’s screening of Hayley’s funeral on Coronation Street will have made viewers think about funeral choices, and in particular humanist funerals and cardboard or eco-friendly coffins.

We very much hope that bringing a funeral such as this into the wide public domain will inform people that they do have choices, and will inspire people to ask for what they want, rather than what they think they have to have.

We encourage each and every one of our clients to tell us how they want a funeral to be. We have no set ideas or ideals. We pride ourselves on tailoring funerals individually and providing as much help as a client wants to ensure that a funeral is a very personal event.

The term humanist funeral is often assumed to mean anything other than a religious or church funeral. In fact a true humanist funeral will make no reference to God or the afterlife, instead concentrating on being a celebration of a life. Humanists denounce the exitence of a higher being, and look to science rather than religion to discover and understand the world.

A critic could say that this imposes values as much as a church funeral imposes religion.

A further option is known as a civil funeral. Civil funeral celebrants design funeral ceremonies unique to each person, and will not “impose their values on others”.

We tend to find that once we have explained all these options to our clients, they opt for a civil celebrant, simply because of the flexibility it offers, allowing hymns and prayers if desired.

We are extremely proud of one of our local suppliers, Will at Greenfield Creations, who designed and made the coffin that was used for Hayley’s funeral. Will’s coffins are spectacular and original, and his business has been one of our key suppliers since we established Kingfisher Funerals in St Neots.

We don’t tell you what you need, we listen to what you want.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral directors in St Neots or Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. We are locally recommended on The Best of St Neots, and nationally recommended by The Natural Death Centre. For more information please call us on (01480) 471001, e-mail us info@kingfisherfunerals.co.uk or call in at Gate Lodge, Cemetery Road, St Neots PE19 2BX.

Who Lets The Dogs In?

A recent survey by Hearing Dogs for Deaf People revealed that over 80% of deaf people with hearing dogs have been refused access to shops, offices and other businesses at some point, because of their canine companions.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services have signed a pledge to welcome hearing dogs and other assistance dogs onto their premises as part of a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the problem.

We have our own dog, Roxie the Bereavement Dog, who is at Gate Lodge at least three days a week, and all our staff are dog lovers. We welcome anyone with an assistance dog to call in and see us, and to meet Roxie.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Directors are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. We are the only funeral directors in St Neots to be recommended on The Best of St Neots and nationally by The Natural Death Centre.

For more information, please call us on (01480) 471001, drop in to Gate Lodge, or e-mail us info@kingfisherfunerals.co.uk

The Only NDC Recommended Funeral Director in St Neots and Huntingdon

We are very proud to once again have been chosen as Recommended Funeral Directors by the Natural Death Centre.

We sign a comprehensive pledge to provide an outstanding service to each and every one of our clients in order to retain our recommendation. We are also bound to give full and accurate information concerning every aspect of our service at all times.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are privileged to be the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. As well as this national accolade, we are also locally recommended on The Best of St Neots. Your guarantee of our completely unique personal service.

How Much Of Your Donation Actually Goes To Charity?

It’s always a huge compliment when other companies copy your ideas. Several months ago, Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services launched the ability to make donations to charity online.

The service has been popular, and, most importantly, is completely free to use. We have never, and will never make a charge for using this service.

But be aware! Other companies do not necessarily provide this service completely free of charge.

Always ask questions about online donations. There can be, and are, hidden charges. Check the small print. Ask your funeral director. Are there administration charges? Charges for using debit and credit cards? Charges for using the charging system (really!)?

When companies claim that they add Gift Aid to your donation, beware! They can only legally do this if you are a UK tax payer. And just check, when they charge you an administration fee, should this really be a percentage of the donation including the Gift Aid amount?

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to give every penny we collect for charity, directly to charity. We make no administration charges whatsoever.

We are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. The company is becoming increasingly well-known in St Neots and the surrounding areas, and thriving on the open and honest service we provide. We hide absolutely nothing.

We are recommended locally on The Best of St Neots and nationally by The Good Funeral Guide and The Natural Death Centre.

Kingfisher in Top 5 Best Loved Funeral Directors in the UK

The 14 days of love are now over, and we are very pleased to announce that Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services have been named the fourth best loved funeral directors in the UK.

Thank you to everyone who has made this possible. Our reputation is built by the experiences of those who use our services, and testimonials to this effect are the best way for others to find out about us. Genuine comments from satisfied clients continue to promote the unique, personal service which we guarantee to everyone. The non-commercial approach to our business, which can only come from a truly independent funeral director, is increasingly becoming known in St Neots.

You can read testimonials which we have received here and on the Best of St Neots website.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. We are recommended in The Good Funeral Guide 2012 and by The Natural Death Centre, and we are the only funeral directors to feature on The Best of St Neots.

Business Vision is reason for LBA Award

There’s a large article about Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services winning the Local Business Accelerators Award in The Hunts Post today.

The feature highlights the reasons for being chosen as the winner, particularly focussing on Andrew’s desire for the business to stay small enough for him to be able to oversee every funeral from start to finish. The judges were also impressed with the innovative plans that the company has as it grows in the future.

It also mentions, of course, Roxie, our lovely labrador, who is shortly to start her training to become a bereavement dog within the business.

Gail Anderson, reporting for the paper said “Setting up a new funeral services business is a brave step. Companies rely on reputation so it can take years to establish a name for oneself. Though judging from the plethora of thank you cards on display in Andrew’s office, clearly he is working fast.”

Kingfisher Indepedent Funeral Services are keen to point out one factual inaccuracy in the article. The company is the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral service in St Neots, but not in Huntingdonshire. There are other independent funeral directors in Huntingdonshire.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. We are recommended in The Good Funeral Guide 2011 and by The Natural Death Centre, and we are the only funeral directors to feature on The Best of St Neots. For more information or if you require any help, please telephone us on (01480) 471001

Kingfisher Funerals wins Regional LBA Award

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services has been announced as the regional winner of the Local Business Accelerators award.

The national competition, which is open to all businesses between one and three years old, is backed by Prime Minister David Cameron and Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meeden.

The prize of three months free advertising in The Hunts Post is designed to promote the winning business in the local area. Business mentoring by local experts is also included.

The overall national winner, to be announced in the future, will benefit from personal mentoring from Deborah Meeden.

Andrew Hickson, who owns and manages Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services said “It’s absolutely wonderful to win a prize like this. I’m very, very proud that my young business has been judged worthy winner of the competition.”

“My business focusses entirely on providing a customer-orientated, personal service. I approach my profession from a non-commercial perspective because I can. As the only locally-owned, fully independent funeral director in St Neots, I am under no pressure from distant shareholders. This is becoming known in the St Neots area, and it is my privilege to be here for people when they require my services.”