Demystifying Death Week 2026
Demystifying Death Week is about shining a light on death, dying and bereavement in Scotland. We are encouraging people to get involved by holding in-person and online events that bring death, dying and bereavement into the limelight.
Demystifying Death Week takes place across Scotland from 4-10 May 2026. If you are organising an event that you’d like us to feature, please get in touch.
Below is a list of events happening across Scotland and online for Demystifying Death Week:
Demystifying Death Week at Borders Hospital
Organised by NHS Borders Bereavement Coordinator
4-10 May
These activities will take place in the Margaret Kerr Unit at Borders Hospital, and in Galashiels
These events are open to the public.
The Bereavement team at the Margaret Kerr Unit at Borders Hospital will be running a range of activities for staff and for the public as part of Demystifying Death Week.
For the public, there will be some arts and crafts sessions - pebble painting and tile making, with a focus on discussions around death, dying and bereavement. The team will also be running a music-based activity, traditional ceilidh style with poetry, stories and song. The team will also be running the Powers, Puzzles and Prescience escape room at a venue in Galashiels.
For staff, one of the unit’s medics will be doing a grand round talk to other hospital staff, and the Occupational Therapist is going to prepare a spotlight on her role in palliative care.
There will be an information stand in the hospital foyer staffed by a representative from Scottish Grief Cafes and Annabel Howell from Children’s Hospices Across Scotland.
Death Café - GRAVETALK café space to talk openly about ‘death & funerals'
Organised by St Columba’s By the Castle Scottish Episcopal Church
Sunday 10 May, 2-4pm
St Columba’s By the Castle Scottish Episcopal Church, 14 Johnston Terrace Edinburgh EH1 2PW
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
You are invited to Death Café - GRAVETALK, a welcoming safe space to chat openly about life, death, and all that accompanies the journey.
Join the group at a cozy café space where they will chat openly about all things death. No taboos, just honest conversations over coffee. It’s an in-person gathering where you can share thoughts, stories, and questions about this natural part of life. Come as you are and connect with others who want to explore the topic in a relaxed, friendly vibe.
Find out more and book your free place here.
Bookshop Chat
Organised by Cyndee Mitchell
Sunday 10 May, 15:00-16:30
Argonaut Books, Leith
This activity is open to the public.
What songs would you want played at your funeral?
What do you wish you’d said to someone before they died?
What do you need to start making a plan for your own death?
Join in to talk about your thoughts and feelings on this (or just listen) and more.
No booking required. Just turn up!
Demystifying Death Practicalities
Organised by Pushing Up the Daisies
9th May 2026, 2pm-4:30pm
Salisbury Centre, Edinburgh
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
This practical workshop will demystify the process our bodies go through after death. We will demonstrate ways to tend to someone’s body at home after their death. We will dispel myths, consider discomforts, and address uncertainties.
We aim for this to be a safe space. Participants are welcome to take breaks at any time but we cannot provide emotional support. With great tenderness, we ask that participants are conscious of what they can reasonably manage in this space, take care of their own emotional needs and lean on their own support systems.
The venue is wheelchair accessible. Let us know anything that would help you to participate in the workshop. We want everyone to have access to this information - if finance is a barrier to you attending, please contact kate@pushingupthedaisies.org.uk
Pushing Up the Daisies is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation SC046808
Find out more and get your ticket here.
What is Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED)?
Organised by Talk VSED
5 May, 10:00 to 11:00
7 May, 19:00 to 20:00
9 May, 10:00 to 12noon information session and personal stories
Online.
These sessions are open to the public. Please register in advance.
What is Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED)? VSED is when a person with mental capacity chooses to stop eating and drinking to hasten death. It’s a lawful but often misunderstood choice for end of life in the UK.
Talk VSED is an initiative set up to raise awareness of VSED, provide clear and balanced information, and create space for conversations about VSED.
Join an online session to learn more, hear experiences and ask questions. This is a Dying Matters Week online event, but is accessible to people in Scotland during Demystifying Death Week.
Email info@talkvsed.org.uk to book a place.
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