Excuse me, are you dead?

A few years ago, I applied for credit and was refused. I contacted  my bank, Santander who told me I was dead. Ahem... I hadn't noticed! Very remiss of me? No, they checked I really was alive, apologised and made amends (£200), but for two weeks I was dead according to the financial world. Not dead for 'tax purposes' as the dodgy Arthur Daly once recommended.

Check out the old 1932 cartoons! 

As someone who sends out those letters and emails asking for money for a good cause (not worked for a bad one yet), I am very sensitive to the hurt that can be caused to loved ones by sending letters out to people who are deceased. We take every precaution! If we are notified by a relative, or by returned post, we update the record and they are not mailed again. We even use external agencies to check for notification of death using precise matching of name and address. We really don't want to send a letter to a dead person, firstly so as not to upset the remaining family, and secondly because it is a waste of charity resources.

We recently sent out a mailing and did a 'screen' to remove those who are no longer living. The printer sent us back the records to remove as a result of the screening. Interestingly enough, five of them still had live direct debits with us. And then, one updated their address. Hmm... methinks that's pretty hard to do if you are dead!

I asked the question on a fundraising chat board and, anonymity promised, I discovered that we were not the only ones being told that our living donors were dead:

"I once had to remove the phone from one of my team who was busily letting a donor know they were dead and therefore she couldn't help them"

"We've just had a supporter restart a Direct Debit who was marked deceased by BACS last year"

"Have had a “deceased” donor on the phone asking why they didn’t get a thank you letter for a donation"

Now the first comment might make you smile, but at the heart of this is the people who have lost someone, who we don't want to mail or contact because of sensitivity to the family. Sometimes a direct debit may continue even with a deceased notification because it's a joint account, and the remaining individual wants to continue supporting the charity. But it goes to show, you can be as careful as you like, but it can be a very hard one to negotiate and make totally pain free. 

In closing, I would just like to apologise to every family who has received mail to a dearly departed, charities really do try their best!

Useful links (possibly!)

• The Bereavement Register (public can ask to stop mailings to deceased)
• Mortascreen (a business service that checks death records and other sources for deceased notifications)
• Experian Mortality (description from Data8)
• Death Notification Service (does what it says)
• General Register Office (UK Govt. 'hatch, match and dispatch')
• Arthur Daly - Minder (British TV comedy)

Liked this? Try...

• Trust in charities
• Fundraising strategies
• Mentoring

Picture source: not sure, but it's from an old Silly Symphonies animation.

Iceland part two

In November 2024 the volcano south of the airport decided to flex its magma and attempt to wipe out a town, destroy a few roads and seriously threaten the Blue Lagoon and the nearest power plant. It was spectacular! Not world-impacting like the 2010 eruption of E17 (which is on the glacier we later visited) - but still impressive. Would we see lava? Well, not 'in the flesh' as it were. The volcano was rumbly, but not performing for visitors when we were in Iceland.

Human made lava

Day two: doing the cultural bit. We had our breakfast and headed into Reykjavik, having decided that the Lava show and Northern Lights exhibition were the two places we wanted to head to. Deciding on the Norther Lights first (we hadn't seen them yet, as it was so cloudy), we rocked up to find it shut! And a sign on the door saying they'd moved - phew! We headed to the new venue but arrived at the Lava show venue first, with just 10 minutes before the 12 o'clock show. Lava first! 

When a couple watched the lava flow past their house, they were awestruck. They wanted us all to share in the wonder, but without the evacuations, ruined roads and danger to life. So they built this show with a massive burner that melts the black laval sands and turns them back into hot lava. It was mesmerising! The presenter, Joanna, gave a really interesting talk on the geology of Iceland, how the lava is released, types of lava flow (using two cute but forgotten Hawaiian terms), and then demonstrated how it would buckle, turn into glass, and retain heat even when the surface was cold. She made lava strands (witches hair) and - as the lava had already been melted once and was 'gas free' - the result was like black glass. 

Northern lights watching

After a very enjoyable 'demonstration' we went next door to the Northern Lights exhibition. You might wonder how they can showcase a natural phenomenon, but they did a great job. There were really clear explanations of what causes them, where they happen, the different colours (different heights in the atmosphere) and an amazing photography display in an almost cinema-sized room where you could sit, or even lie down and watch the Northern lights in all their glory. If we didn't see them in real life, this would be the next best thing! The tour finished with steel swivel pod chairs and a VR headset that worked amazingly. We got our Northern Lights fix!

Driving out of Reykjavik we headed to the Harper Hall (an amazing building) but as we could not park anywhere, we headed out by following the coast road. It didn't take long to reach a lighthouse and a nature reserve. We could have walked to the lighthouse along a little causeway, but the tide was coming in and we didn't fancy an afternoon being buffeted on the lighthouse island, waiting for the tide to go out again. Instead we started to walk along the sea wall (looking down on black sand) and we saw our first proper wildlife: King Eider ducks, purple sandpiper (a first for me) and a speeding hawk that must have ben a gyr falcon, although it was too speedy for a confirmed ID. We had a lovely walk through the nature reserve up to a large pond with Whooper swans, pink footed geese and a host of other ducks. The wind was whistling round us, and it was overcast, but the fresh cold air was exhilarating. 

On our way back we stopped for a late lunch at a small restaurant and we had raw beef and cooked cheese. I say 'we', but I ate most of it.

Liked this? Try...

• Iceland part 1
• Too fat for a Pole
• Above the salt

Useful links:

• The Lava Show
• The Northern Lights Centre

All photos (C) Carolyn Sheppard

Iceland part 1

Oh, I've been a lax blogger! But Sheena and I have been busy, for sure. Our latest adventure was a trip to Iceland in February. 

Day one: we had stayed overnight near the airport as the flight was at silly o'clock. All went smoothly and we landed in Iceland at just after 9am local time (which was the same as UK time). It was cold, but not snowy as I had imagined. There was old snow on the ground, muddied and slushed, but the vista was of rocky, snow-highlighted terrain rather than the white-out I had anticipated. Warmer than usual for the time of year perhaps? But it was chilly, and the wind was biting!

Stripy Icelandic Mountains

We eventually found our hotel after asking directions (sent to the wrong place, with same road name), and using an insufficiently detailed map until at last our sat nav started to work. On the way up the main road from Keflavik to Reykjavik we passed the biggest fish processing plant I've ever seen - it must have been about a kilometre long! But then fishing is a mainstay of their economy, so not surprising.

As soon as I walked in I realised it was the same hotel that I had stayed in during my previous visit 8 or so years previously, even though I hadn't made the booking this time. Picture hunting lodge (entrance) crossed with motel style parking and rooms, and a sports bar with video screen (showing flickering firelight most of the time). The ground was icy - and there were dirty piles of snow in the corners of the parking area. Across the road we had a lovely view of the KFC (no, we didn't eat there once). Our room upstairs looked out across the town (Mosfellsbaer) to mountains that were striped with snow that snuggled away from the wind in the channels made from years of meltwater scoured paths. It was picturesque, but somewhat bleak without the mantle of complete snow cover. It was a nice room, a very comfy bed, and pleasant staff. The breakfast was a help-yourself buffet which enabled us to fill up heartily for the day ahead.

We spent our first day relaxing and went to the local supermarket to stock up on some sandwich

Our hats kept us warm and made others smile!

components. We visited the bar in the evening and chatted with some other residents in the lounge, plus an Icelandic storyteller. Now, he probably didn't picture himself as a storyteller, but we all recognised him as such. He started off as a fisherman, working out of Dubai. He had an apartment in Dubai. He was the son of the family who owned the massive fish processing factory. His father was dead, his mother was an alcoholic. He inherited the family business and was a fisherman. I have never seen a fisherman with such soft, small hands! But who knows, maybe he was the sonar operator or something. He had an apartment in Iceland, no, an apartment and a house, or was it now two houses? He was upset that girls he met wouldn't wait for him for three months every time he went to sea. He loved being at sea, even though as a millionaire he didn't need to work. He also loved to talk, but seemed to be following in his mother's footsteps. Our host came in and spoke something rapid and harsh in Icelandic. He sloped back to the main bar, like a contrite child.  

It was good to exchange pleasantries with the other guests, and share what we had done or what we were going to do. Our first day was relaxing and we slept well after our very early start. No Northern lights out the window, but rain! 

In part two - LAVA!

Useful links:

• Iceland entry in Britannica
• Iceland's Fishing Industry
• Mosfellsbaer
• Hotel Laxnes

Liked this? Try...

• The village of barking dogs
• We didn't catch covid

All Photos (C) Carolyn Tyrrell-Sheppard