Our services

We provide a comprehensive range of services, through our network of branches, and our friendly and experienced staff.

All our branches are able to deal with every aspect of the comprehensive service provided by F A Albin & Sons including all funeral arrangements, Wills and the Pre-Arranged Funeral Trust. The links on this page will direct you to details of just some of the services we are able to offer you.

F A Albin & Sons prides itself in providing a bespoke funeral service. If you can’t find what you are looking for within these pages, please do not hesitate to contact any of our funeral arrangers for assistance.

Training

F A Albin has extensive experience in the provision of bereavement training. Our staff have provided training on a regular basis to nursing home staff, clergy, Ministry of Defence personnel, healthcare and other professionals who face bereavement issues as part of their daily duties.

Video and Photography

You may wish to use video and/or photographs of the funeral service to create a lasting memory for friends and family who attended the service or for those who may not have been able to be present on the day.

We can create a film using video footage, still photography and music to capture the essence of the day.

Please contact your arranger for further information.

Masonry

A memorial at a cemetery or at home provides a lasting memory and can give comfort by providing a place for you to visit and remember your loved one.

Albins can provide a wide selection of stonemasonry, from the simplest of plaques to the most ornate and elaborate memorial. We can also organise additional inscription, renovation, polishing and cleaning of existing memorials.

Your choice of memorial does not need to be made when you arrange the funeral. Our arrangers are always available to assist you with your choice at the appropriate time.

Doves

The white dove has symbolised peace and love since biblical times.

According to custom, one, two, or a number of doves are released to represent the recently departed. Tradition says that these doves will rise high into the sky to make their journey home.

For funerals and memorial services, the sight of these pure white birds soaring into the sky is spiritually breathtaking.

Please let your arranger know if you would like to release pure white doves as part of your funeral or memorial service.

Service Sheets

A wide range of service sheets and memorial cards is available, please call your arranger for more information.

Be assured, we always endeavour to produce something special that captures the essence of the beloved deceased. We provide the full range of funeral stationery. Whether it’s a memorial bookmark, mourning card
or thank you card, your families can choose from the designs in this brochure or we can provide a
bespoke design especially for them.

View the Albins Stationary Range

Flowers

Floral tributes can make a funeral more personal. The sending of flowers can be part of the healing process for those who have lost a loved one.

Albins can organise your flowers for you, either directly or through our network of personal florists. Our personal florists will even travel to your home to discuss your specific requirements.

Albins are pleased to recommend ‘Flowers By Tanya’ a local florist based next to our Deptford Branch. For examples of the varied floral tributes that are available please click on the following link:

Flowers by Tanya McKenna Website

Funeral Catering

It is usual for family and friends to gather after a funeral, either at the family home or at another suitable venue (pub, club, hotel etc). As well as being able to help you with the venue, Albins can provide catering services to suit your specific requirements.

Here are a few samples of menus available, please ask your arranger for a full menu and price list.

Selection of sandwiches, selection of cakes, tea and coffee.

Quiche, marinated chicken thighs, sausage rolls, cocktail sausages, pork pies, mini snack eggs, vol-au-vents, selection of sandwiches, selection of cakes, tea and coffee.

Roast gammon, Roast topside of beef, Marinated chicken thighs, Gala pie, Quiche , Poached salmon, Mixed salad, Tomato red onion and herb lettuce with balsamic dressing, Greek salad, New potato green beans and pancetta in honey and mustard dressing, coleslaw, French bread and butter, Gateaux or cheeseboard, Sausage rolls, Mini Yorkshire puddings with beef and horseradish mayonnaise, Mango sausages, Butterfly prawns with sweet chilli dip, Indian platter of samosa, spring rolls, bhajis with mango dip, Chicken satay on skewers with peanut dip, Selection of sandwiches, tea and coffee.

Music

The choice of music for a funeral is one of the most important aspects of the ceremony. The music, whether modern or classical, should ideally be in keeping with the taste of the person who has died, whilst also providing comfort to the bereaved. We can offer help, advice and suggestions for music of all kinds.

Some families like to use a recording, but many prefer to hear the music performed live. If you engage some musicians for the ceremony, they will not only be able to perform the music you have chosen, but will also be able to lead the singing. Even a very small choir – of just four voices – will make any funeral service more memorable. At Albins we are able to arrange first-class choirs, with singers taken from a pool of professional musicians from London’s top cathedrals and churches, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, and accompanied by organists of a similar calibre. All are sensitive and discreet, providing immaculate music-making in a gentle and understated manner.

We can also supply harpists, trumpeters, Irish and Scottish pipers, other solo instrumentalists (such as flautists, violinists etc), brass, wind and string ensembles (such as funeral trumpets and muffled drums, string quartets etc) and even marching jazz bands.

Below are some examples of the music that can be used:

Hymns

  • Abide with me
  • Dear Lord and Father of mankind
  • Make me a channel of your peace
  • Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
  • The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want
  • Praise, my soul, the King of heaven
  • Thine be the glory, risen conquering son

Religious

  • Nunc dimittis (Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart) – T Tallis
  • Soave sia il vento (The Farewell Trio), from Cosi fan tutte – WA Mozart
  • Thou knowest, Lord from Funeral music for Queen Mary (1695) – H Purcell
  • Ave Maria – R Parsons or F Schubert
  • Panis angelicus – C Franck

Modern

  • You raise me up – Josh Groban
  • The wind beneath my wings – Bette Midler
  • We’ll meet again – Vera Lynn
  • Over the rainbow – Eva Cassidy
  • Candle in the wind – Elton John
  • Con te partiro (Time to say goodbye) – Andrea Bocelli
  • Nella fantasia (Gabriel’s Oboe) – Ennio Morricone
  • No matter what – Boyzone

Classical

  • Going home (Theme from New World Symphony) – A Dvorak
  • Nessun dorma, from Turandot – G Puccini
  • O mio babbino caro, from Gianni Schicchi – G Puccini
  • Va pensiero (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves), from Nabucco – G Verdi
  • Danny boy – traditional Irish
  • When I am laid in earth – H Purcell

Yuri Sabatini – Tenor (https://www.yurisabatini.com/)

There are many ways to describe Yuri Sabatini, but unique, talented, and charismatic just seem to scratch the surface. However, there is one word that ties them all together and is true to his character : Yuri Sabatini is Real.

Few tenors have the warmth of tone, the technical prowess and the incredible facility he possess in the higher register, but even fewer sing so honestly from their heart and soul. He does so in just the right way, combining art, technique and feelings in perfect harmony.

Chapels of Rest

Our chapels of rest are presented to the highest standard to provide a comfortable environment for you to spend time with your loved one.

We have chapels of rest in all of our branches. Our chapels are designed to serve all religious denominations.