Cumbrians are being invited to a series of ‘conversation cafes' aimed at supporting local people to have open and positive discussions about life, death, grief and bereavement.

The pop-up events are being hosted by Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw during Dying Matters Week, an annual national initiative led by Hospice UK to encourage all communities to get talking.

This year, the awareness week takes place between Monday, May 8, and Sunday, May 14, and the hospice will be running events across north Cumbria on May 9 at Eden Valley Hospice from 10:30am to 12pm, May 10 at St Andrew’s Reading Rooms in Penrith from 10:30am to 12pm, May 11 at Tullie House in Carlisle from 1:30pm to 3pm, and May 12 at Wigton Market Hall from 10:30am to 12pm.

Eden Valley Hospice said members of the hospice’s patient and family support team will be on hand at the cafes to help facilitate and encourage discussions about death, dying and future planning and how the hospice can support people.

Anyone in the local community is welcome to attend, not just those who’ve been supported by the hospice previously or those who have a life-limiting illness.

Wendy Ashton, family support team lead at the hospice, said: “The conversation cafes, we hope, will help people to have meaningful conversations about what will happen at the end of life and help people be more prepared to speak about this with their family, friends and wider support network.”