A brief history of undertakers
By Richard Rawlinson In medieval times, the word ‘undertaker’ was used vaguely for anyone undertaking a task, whether house building or funeral work. It doesn’t derive from taking the deceased six feet under but, by the 17th century, the term ‘funeral undertaker’ was being abbreviated to ‘undertaker’ and, as this association became widespread, folk in other […]
Kicking the bucket in Swaziland
The Times of Swaziland is in a lather about deceaseds, feckless young men and undertakers. Terrific stuff, this. They could care less how they lead their sorry lives. All they want is to get a great send-off when they ultimately kick the proverbial bucket. It’s so discouraging. Funeral undertakers are having the time of their lives, […]
Thoughts of a funeral-goer
I’m back. From the brink of death. And Lyme Regis. It sounds dramatic but I really did think I was a goner. And Charles tells me that so too did many readers of this blog. He had several emails asking him not to kill me off. I’d like to reassure those people that Charles doesn’t […]
