IT'S Dying Matters Week this week and to mark it there's a 'bucket list' wall put up in the garden in front of the Unitarian Chapel in East Street, Bridport.

The wall, titled “Before I die, I want to….”, is a chalkboard for people to write a personal response to this question.

The initiative, supported by the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC), and sponsored in Dorset by Diealog and the Conscious Ageing Trust, is designed to encourage people to think and talk more openly about death and dying, and to improve their preparedness for death.

This includes being able to discuss their wishes towards the end of their lives with friends, family and loved ones, including how they would like to be cared for, where they want to die and their funeral plans,.

Dying Matters is a national coalition led by the National Council for Palliative Care which aims to change knowledge, attitudes and behaviour towards dying, death and bereavement, and through this to make ‘living and dying well’ the norm.

These aims are supported in Dorset by Diealog and the Conscious Ageing Trust and there is more information on the consciousageing.org website.

Dr Max Mackay-James, the founder of the trust said:“It is hoped that this will lead to an improvement of the circumstances in which people die, enabling as many as possible to be in the place of their choosing with good care and support, and to live as well as possible at all stages of their life, right to the end.

“We hope to bring people together in the community and gradually create a wider Caring Network”.

Bridport initiative supporter Johnny Payne said: "Basically the whole initiative for Dying Matters is to encourage people to think about death and dying more openly - what they call the Big Conversation.

"Because it something we don't have out in the open it is not handled very well both individually and socially and no doubt you are aware of stories of hundreds of people who don't have good deaths who end up in hospital wards.

"The initiative is related to that and is part of the Dorset charity Diealog and the Conscious Ageing Trust which started work in Bridport with groups held in the chapel cannily talking about what is missing.

"Its mission statement is ultimately to improve the caring network within the community which can support people at home with ageing and dying It is a very ambitions social change."