WOULD you sit with a group of strangers and discuss rigor mortis over tea and cake?

That's what happened in Bournemouth recently when a 'Death Cafe' was held in Southbourne.

"It's seen as the last, great taboo but death has now become a subject we're finally willing to talk about," says funeral celebrant Michelle McCann, who proved her point by holding Southbourne's first 'Death Cafe' where people get together to talk about death and dying.

"It is not a self help or bereavement group, it is aimed at the curious, the realistic and the slightly worried," she said.

The Death Cafe movement was started in the UK by Jon Underwood and they are now held worldwide.

Michelle said the Southbourne Death Cafe was attended by a mix of people, from those who work within the funeral sphere, to those involved in care and support of the community as well as 'the curious' who came along to see what it was all about.

"We gave a short intro about ourselves and then sat in tables of six or so, and went from there," said Michelle.

"At half time we stopped for a drink; some had coffee, some went to the bar, and of course there was cake! Then we moved our groups around a bit so we sat with different people."

Among the subjects discussed were memorial keepsakes, burial plots, quality of life, and personal experiences of grief and grieving and rigor mortis, said Michelle.

"The evening was as it was, a group of like-minded or not like minded people meeting at the pub," she said. "The venue helped as it wasn’t a church hall or community hall but somewhere where we all felt comfortable. It was a genuinely interesting evening, and we all came away have learnt something different about life and death."

Following the success of her first Death Cafe, Michelle is planning another. For more details contact Michelle on 07825369176. michellemccann.co.uk