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Episode details

Radio 4,23 Feb 2015,28 mins

Pushing Up the Daisies

Available for over a year

As she approaches her 80th year, Penelope Simpson decides to paint her own coffin. She keeps it in her garden shed, which acts as her studio. As the year passes, she paints the lid with flowers from every season, picked from her garden. Then she invites friends and relatives to paint whatever they like on the coffin too. She says, 'It's a nice way for your friends to say goodbye to you, and you to say goodbye to your friends'. Then her grand-daughter Olivia comes to stay, and when she's invited to paint her grandmother's coffin, a profound connection between them is revealed. Producer: Sara Conkey.

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