“But our machines have now been running 70 or 80 years, and we must expect that, worn as they are, here a pivot, there a wheel, now a pinion, next a spring, will be giving way; and however we may tinker them up for a while, all will at length surcease motion.”
Thomas Jefferson, 1814
Anyone who knows the funeral industry knows that large swathes of it regard evolution with fear and loathing. Last week’s blog about funeral directors who post their prices on their website will have affected a good many of their fellows with F & L. It is beneath the dignity of a funeral director to resort to open competition on price and service.
We know all about funeral directors’ amour propre here at the GFG where, despite our support for brilliant boutique undertakers, the trade body which represents the independents, SAIF, will not speak to us. Consumer scrutiny, even when favourable, would seem to be an affront to the dignity of this secular priesthood.
A common affliction of funeral directors is self-importance. When this self-importance is piqued the effects can be revealing, and not in a good way. For an especially revealing example, pop across to the Lovingly Managed blog here. Prepare to be horrified.
Regular blog reader Melissa Stewart has been getting into the spirit of Christmas by burning incense made by the Cistercian monks of Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire. “I like the waft when I’m singing carols,” she says.
She writes to suggest that incense would work well for some funerals. It all depends on the venue, of course — you couldn’t do it at the crem. But she’s absolutely right in suggesting that, as all good religions know, a good funeral should appeal to all the senses. Secularists, take notice.
You can order best-quality incense online from Prinknash (pronounced ‘Prinnash’) Abbey and pay for it through PayPal. It comes in a range of scents, some of which, as you might have supposed, are created from secret recipes.
Find the Prinknash Abbey website here.