Vile and baseless rumours

Yesterday I reported that rumours are swirling in Funeralland concerning the response of the People’s Undertaker to the release of the IPSOS-Mori funeral price comparison commissioned by the independent funeral directors’ trade association, SAIF — a survey which revealed Co-op charges to be, on average, higher than those in the independent sector despite its enjoyment of significant economies of scale.

I thank all those of you who have contacted me, confidentially, to talk about these rumours.

I am pleased and relieved to be able to report that these rumours are indeed baseless. There have been no instances of heavy-handedness concerning industry suppliers Wilcox Limousines, Lyn Oakes the clothing people, or a leading and excellent firm of funeral directors.

Just as I thought!

No official comment yet from SAIF or the NAFD. But I watch my stats. I know who’s looking. I said to them, when I emailed them yesterday, that I am only doing what any conscientious consumer advocate would do. I’d far rather sing the praises of the best, that’s where my emphasis lies, but I have to maintain an overview.

Memorial of a concentration camp

From the Nameless Dead blog:

A 10-meter magnolia tree is planted in the center of Chile’s National Stadium where dictator Pinochet in 1973 imprisoned thousands of political prisoners who were tortured and killed. After planting the tree, the stadium doors are open to the public as a park; offering a space to stop, look again, and remember. An impossible, cathartic soccer match played before 20.000 people, closes the project after a week of activity.

See the amazing sequence of photos here.

Hat-tip to Tony Piper for this. Wonderful, isn’t it?

All Greek to them

If you are one of many who has incredulously endured a funeral conducted by a minister of religion for a dead person of known no faith, spare a thought for the people of Belgium, where the language feud (Dutch vs French) means that if you’re a French speaker in a Flemish suburb of Brussels, your dead person’s funeral will be incomprehensible.

This is from the Wall Street Journal:

French-speaking Sylvia Boigelot is still upset that in 2006, her father’s funeral, in the northern suburb of Vilvoorde, was in Dutch, in accordance with a local ordinance that all church services be in the language. “There were people who had known him all his life who couldn’t understand a word,” she says. “And it happened with my grandmother, too.”

Read the entire story here.

The Grim Stopper

England’s World Cup 1-1 draw against USA was brought about by the butterfingered England goalkeeper Robert Green.

By way of neat symmetry, it’s worth recalling that when the USA achieved a shock win over England at the 1950 World Cup, the star on the day was the USA goalkeeper, Frank Borghi.

And the point of especial interest for all members of the dismal trade who read this blog is that Frank Borghi was a hearse driver.

The Good Funeral Guide
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.