He came up the concept of the Death Café - and it has taken off around the world.

It is not a permanent Cafe but a virtual Cafe - a meeting place where people can discuss and question all aspects of death.

At last count, 2106 death cafes have been staged across Europe and America, plus 111 here in Australia.

The concept is driven by a ‘how too’ website on a not-for-profit basis. It’s easy to hold one – simply look up the how-to-guide on the Death Cafe site and there are resources to draw on.

The Death Cafe site states it has no agenda, objectives or themes and emphasises it is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session.