Funeral Directors from Norway and the UK gathered at the Norwegian ambassador’s residence in London in the Autumn of 2006, for a reception where Eulogica Ltd and the Eulogica funeral software was presented. Invitations had been sent to various contacts and clients of Eulogica. Some 40 people signed up for the arrangement, including Funeral Directors and their partners, officials from the embassy, and other interested parties.

The reception started with drinks, and Mr Arne Blixrud, leader of Innovation Norway in London, spoke about the history of the house and the role of Innovation Norway. This is a governmental body whose task is to help promote Norwegian businesses all over the world. It has been an important partner for Eulogica Ltd during the years that the company has been established in London.

There was then a presentation of Eulogica Ltd and the Eulogica funeral software concept. Client Support Manager David Wright showed an example of a client configuration, in order to illustrate how the software is always tailored specifically to every Funeral Director’s needs and traditions.

Mr Barry Albin-Dyer presented F.A. Albins and Sons, the South London Funeral Directors, and told a number of entertaining stories about their experiences with Eulogica Ltd and their daily use of Eulogica.

Next on stage was the charismatic Mr Barry Albin, the Funeral Director who is also known for his series on ITV, several books and as former president of FIAT-IFTA. He presented F.A. Albins and Sons, the South London Funeral Directors, and told a number of entertaining stories about their experiences with Eulogica Ltd and their daily use of Eulogica funeral software.

“We want to take this opportunity to give special thanks to all the members of our User Involvement Group”, says Geir Bakke. “We have learned so much from them during our product development process and they have been the focus of all our efforts. Dozens of people from all over England have contributed in one way or another, but especially we need to mention Michael Kenyon, Peter Kenyon, Michael Roscoe and the other staff at Arnold Funeral Service in Buckinghamshire; Barry, Simon and Jonathan Albin-Dyer, Jonathan Fletcher and others at F.A. Albins & Sons Ltd in South London; Peter Demetriou at Demetriou & English Funeral Directors Ltd in North London and of course Derek Gunningham, Austin Williams, Philip Alderwick and the other staff at Alderwicks and Thomas Davis in Bristol.

”It has been a great opportunity for us to share our views in the development of Eulogica’s bespoke funerals package”, says Derek Gunningham. The Bristol Funeral Directors have been involved with the project from the earliest stages and they were the first company in the UK to have the new system installed.

Ambassador Bjarne Lindstrom unfortunately was unwell this day and could not attend, but his wife was in attendance and was given flowers as an expression of thanks for allowing the arrangement to take place at the residence. Mr Barry Albin was also given flowers, along with Mr Derek Gunningham of Thomas Davis Funeral Directors in Bristol, in appreciation of their help in the development of the new software.

Mr Derek Gunningham of Thomas Davis Funeral Directors in Bristol was given flowers in appreciation of their help in the development of the new software.

The end of the official arrangement included canapés and champagne. Some of the participants then found the way to a nearby pub in order to continue the discussion. It was especially appreciated that Funeral Directors came from as far away as Trondheim to attend the evening.

The arrangement represented the end of a phase of development for Eulogica. The last few years had been used to create and fine-tune the software for British Funeral Directors, while 2007 and the years ahead would be a time for spreading the funeral software and the concept to a larger number of users across the UK.