No frills: the coffin company that wants to bury you in cardboard

Summer reissue: You might be trying to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life, but what about in death? Alex Casey talks to Becs Bartells, founder of Outside the Box about creating the perfect cardboard casket.  First published February 27 2020 Becs Bartells often forgets she has an empty coffin sitting in the back of … Read more

The Bulletin: Plenty of surprises in new Ardernistration

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Who’s up and who’s down in Ardern’s new cabinet, new Covid-19 community case in Christchurch, and Ngāi Tahu taking Crown to court over freshwater. Throw out all those articles you read predicting who would get what ministerial jobs – they were pretty much all wrong … Read more

A send-off in the age of physical distancing

How do you hold a funeral service with the country in lockdown? Where there’s a will – and a tech-savvy uncle – there’s a way, Erin Kavanagh-Hall discovered. I was floating somewhere in the Cook Strait when I heard my grandfather’s funeral had been cancelled. I should elaborate. It was a Monday, and my mum, … Read more

The Bulletin: Nurse tests positive amid wider workforce fears

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Queenstown nurse tests positive for Covid-19, more detail emerges on case clusters, and NZers in Australia score moderate victory. A Queenstown nurse has tested positive for Covid-19, bringing to light wider fears of health workers. The Otago Daily Times reports the nurse worked at the Lakes District Hospital, where … Read more

No frills: the coffin company that wants to bury you in cardboard

You might be trying to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life, but what about in death? Alex Casey talks to Becs Bartells, founder of Outside the Box about creating the perfect cardboard casket.  Becs Bartells often forgets she has an empty coffin sitting in the back of her station wagon, which can make for … Read more

‘We carry grief for people’: Francis Tipene on Life as a Casketeer

Yep, there’s a book of the TV show and yep, it’s just as wonderful. In this extract, funeral director Francis Tipene explains why you don’t need to splurge on send-offs, how he keeps his act together – and why he cringes when people talk about ‘closure’.  Funerals don’t need to be expensive. People can choose … Read more

The Casketeers on TV fame, eco burials and asparagus rolls

The first two seasons of TVNZ’s The Casketeers made international stars out of Auckland funeral directors Kaiora and Francis Tipene. With season three starting tonight, Alice Webb-Liddall caught up with the couple to talk their TV journey so far.   Alice: It’s been just over a year since the premiere of season one, how has … Read more

The Bulletin: Plenty more work to do on gun law changes

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Bi-partisan changes to gun laws announced, immigration minister urged to step in on visas of attack victim families, and stats lay bare Islamophobia in media. The first major law change since the Christchurch terrorist attacks has been announced. The PM has announced that all of the weapons … Read more

The Bulletin: How did a white supremacist terrorist slip through?

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Questions raised about how white supremacist was missed, Christchurch businesses pitch in to repair mosque, and funerals for victims begin. In the wake of the terrorist attack in Christchurch, questions are being raised about how closely security services were watching white supremacists. The accused was not on … Read more