The new Bond film features a military repatriation Wootton Bassett-style. Seems there’s been a boob.
According to the Telegraph:
Roger Smith, a funeral director brought in to take part in the scenes, tells Mandrake that he was shocked by the film makers’ ignorance.
“The annoying thing was that the directors didn’t seem aware of the protocol for English funerals,” he says. “They wanted to do a Wootton Bassett-type scene, but had no master of ceremonies in front of the cortege to give the right speed. It was a real shame, a missed opportunity.”
Absolutely. Here at the GFG we’re a bit shocked, too. We delight in the secret semaphore with topper and cane whereby dapper chaps send speed messages to hearse drivers. What other messages do they send, we wonder? HAVE YOU GOT MY SANDWICHES?
Afterthought: At ‘that funeral’ Kim Jong-un seemed perfectly able to perform this function by adjusting the wing mirror. Will that do, we wonder?
Telegraph story here.
“The annoying thing was that the directors didn’t seem aware of the protocol for English funerals,” I get the FD’s point, but I’d have thought that was the point of consulting him, after all, the cinematic directors aren’t experts at funerals -they’re good at making films.
The right speed? It depends if you are late and need to get a move on, or early and have time to spare for a more leisurely stroll.
Spoken like a true undertaker James. “Dignity Leonard, always dignity.”
Spot on James – I often say ‘funeral speed’ to my hearse driver. This is of course, exactly as you describe!
It’s not uncommon for families to delay leaving for a funeral, with the cortège outside the house, ready to go at the appointed time. These days, we experience all kinds of reasons for the delay. One last fag, (or tinkle) a dispute about who sits where, or even who gets to ride in the limousine at all. One group of sisters recently failed to agree on even this simple thing – I had to ‘advise’ on the best course of action. Once we had left, arriving just in time at our local crem, they then spent another 5 minutes deciding who sat where in the chapel. We almost started without them!