Death Cafe to tackle topic at Sheringham Little Theatre

The cafe aims to encourage discussions about death.

This relaxed forum seeks to dismiss the perceived taboo of discussing death and dying.

The inaugural session will be held on May 1 from 2pm-3pm at the theatre's hub coffee bar.

Teresa Verney has been wanting to bring a 'Death Cafe' to her home town for quite some time (Image: Submitted)

Leading the session will be Teresa Verney, a known community singing teacher with a multifaceted background, including roles such as a social worker, psychotherapist and professional classical oboe player.

She stressed that the event is not a grief counselling session but one for open conversations about the practicality of making plans concerning death and other related issues.

She said: “I’ve always had an interest in life, and death, and for many years have loosely followed a Buddhist way, which regards death as not an end but part of the life process.

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"When my mother died three years ago she went peacefully, regarding death as her ‘next great adventure’.

Ms Verney became aware of the Death Cafe movement around 10 years ago soon after it was set up in Edinburgh in 2011.

According to Verney, there are now more than 17,000 Death Cafes that have taken place in 89 different countries.

She said: “Having conversations about death is a really healthy thing to do.

“Come with an open mind, and a light heart. I promise that it won’t be doom and gloom.”

The cafe will offer people a chance to discuss death over a cuppa (Image: Submitted)

She believes these discussion forums to be a healthy way to deal with the inevitability of death.

“Let’s break the taboo surrounding conversations about death and dying, and make it a life-affirming experience.

“We can share our thoughts.

"We can talk about the practicalities of making plans for our own or our loved one’s death and a myriad of other things that come to mind as soon as we begin.”