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Funeral directing has come a long way since it first began to emerge as a profession more than two centuries ago. For a long time, funerals were arranged by people who just did it part time alongside their day job, who often did it just because they were friendly with the family who had lost someone. They arranged for someone to prepare the body (often referred to as ‘the layer out’) and organized the coffin maker and grave digger. Finally, the funeral service would be conducted in a churchyard by a minister.
There was a strong sense of community and those preparing the bodies were very often the same people who acted as midwives. Over the years, the role of the undertaker has evolved from this community base and the majority of those involved in every aspect of a funeral work for companies. Rather than being your typical impersonal companies though, they are typically small family ones with a long established history.
Coffins used to be made at the home of the undertaker and each coffin was made by hand from solid oak, elm or mahogany, and then sealed with wax or bitumen. A generous supply of wood shavings was then spread over the inside of it to form a mattress and pillow and it was then lined with a bed sheet.
Once the coffin was made, it was then taken to the house of the deceased. If the doorway was too narrow, as it often was in those days, the undertaker’s carpenter had to remove windows for the coffin to be taken inside. This was done because it was felt that it was essential that the body remain at the home of the deceased prior to the funeral.
The family of the deceased chose the front room or parlor as the last resting place for their loved one, who would be wearing their best clothes and left with the family until the day of the funeral. This was the norm for many decades. The Chapels of Rest that we are familiar with in funeral establishments these days did not appear until the late 1950s.
With the coffin placed on trestles in the front room, candles would be arranged either side and a small altar set up at the foot of it. As embalming was too expensive for most families, the undertaker would need to make regular visits to the house to ensure that the body remained in a bearable condition. It was common to place fragrant flowers around the room to hide the unpleasant odors which naturally arose.
On the day of the funeral, which usually took place three or four days after death, the friends and family would line up outside of their homes. With curtains drawn, out of respect, they would stand silently as the cortege passed. The body was nearly always buried in the nearest churchyard, as a fee had to be paid to move the body outside of a town’s boundaries.
Today, what used to be need to be arranged by families is now done by a highly trained funeral director, which means that the family of the deceased can spend their time grieving for their loved one without any distractions.
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With origins dating back to 1853, E.F. Box are one of the oldest funeral directors within the UK. They offer a range of funeral director services across a variety of faiths, beliefs and ways of celebrating life.
Tags: culture, death, Family, funerals, society
Posted in Dying · February 27th, 2010 · Comments (0)
We all know the drill, the weekend has arrived, you have a bit of time off in your new car leasing car and you find that you have to go out and take the kids somewhere. So what happens if they start messing about behind you?
Journey
One thing that does seem to matter is the distance that you are travelling. If you are going on a very small journey then the best thing to do is wait until you get there, that way you do not waste time. If they are throwing things at you or something like that then you will have no choice but to pull over and sort them out.
On the other hand if it is a long journey you are planning, pull in on the first sign of trouble. Another thing you really do not want to happen is you will not want it to happen all of the time as it could put your family in danger.
People In The Car
If your partner is with you then get them to sort out all of the kids. Turning around to tell off the kids will put people in danger and you need to explain this to your partner. Always get the passenger to try and sort out any situation before pulling over to sort it out yourself. Unless you can help it you really do not want to be pulling over every five minutes.
What If Things Get Out Of Hand?
Sometimes things can get a bit too much, for instance if you are in the car alone with one of your children and they start to throw up all over the place what are you to do? Well the best thing to do is still to drive until you can pull over, never turn back to help them because that split second could turn into a terrible accident, yes the company car leasing will have puke in it but that?s that.
Of course you could always look into gap insurance.
Tags: cars, Family, Kids
Posted in Cars and Trucks · February 8th, 2010 · Comments (0)