A Lot To Be Said For Cremation

[retrocop]

https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/13/husbands-coffin-dropped-funeral-exposing-body-hundreds-mourners-10911775/?ico=pushly-notifcation-small&utm_source=pushly.

A tragic accident and upsetting for the children.
All the grief and anguish and getting a life back together though. It's not about the money is It?

//Debbie said: ‘It means after all we’ve been through me and my children have ended up with just over £5,000 each. It’s an absolute insult. ‘All I’ve wanted is justice for my husband. It has not, and never will be, about the money. But my family has been through hell the past four years and Clark Pearson needed to realise what they have done to us.//

[mushroom25]

didn't something similar happen to the Ayatollah Khomeini? resulting in 2 funerals, at the 2nd of which he was buried in an aircraft shipping container?

[hc4361]

This family should not have had to resort to the law to get the apology they wanted. They racked £77,000 in legal costs and it has taken 4 years to resolve and the family has still not received the formal apology they wanted.
They have been treated shockingly

[agchristie]

Mushy, it was a shahrade :-(

[teacake44]

Don't understand why Clark & Pearson were not responsible for the legal fee, on top of the settlement sum. But if the family agreed settlement sum to include fees, then they must have known what the legal fee would be. Oh well money is the root of all evil as they say. :0(

[Bobbisox1]

What’s even worse is Newcastle City Council not getting in touch with the said Undertakers but just sending all undertakers in the city ,a letter reminding them of their care and conduct, he should be ‘struck off’ if undertakers can be struck off but no doubt this bad publicity will harm them now ( hopefully)

[hc4361]

It never got to court, teacake. Maybe the family were frightened that the bill would have got higher and there is never a guarantee that the court would award all or any costs.

[retrocop]

/It has not, and never will be, about the money.//

[youngmafbog]

Could happne anytime, cremation or burial. Obviously more change of it happening on a burial thought.

An accident it may be but really not good for the familly involeved though.

[teacake44]

Looks like the legal team hung it out for as long as possible. Made a killing for want of a better word. Dirty money in my view if they did.

[hereIam]

That's horrendous. I feel really sorry for the family.

[jourdain2]

Just to clear things up a bit. At our church we often have funeral services for people who will be cremated. This is attended by all who knew the person and care enough to attend. The coffin is carried into and out of the church and then transported to the local crem., where a smaller, private (usually just family) service takes place and the coffin slides through the curtains, as has been said.

A bit later, if asked by the family, we bury the ashes in the churchyard with a very short, private service and the place is marked with an inscribed memorial stone, which is laid flat on the ground as opposed to standing at the head of a grave. I was pleased to discover why some stones are flat. Hope this helps.

Anyway, a coffin can always be dropped accidentally, but this must have been dreadful for the family at the time.

[jno]

they should bring back internment for them

or even interment, agchristie, see how *they* like it.

All the same, I would have thought a decently made casket wouldn't fall to bits when dropped, since bumps are always a risk. I was only ever a pallbearer once but I was startled at how heavy it was and terrified that I might slip.

[retrocop]

//All the same, I would have thought a decently made casket wouldn't fall to bits when dropped, //

Some of the undertakers I have met are real shysters.Do people honestly believe their beloved are going to be BBQ'd inside good English Oak. Likewise planted in expensive wood. Chipboard with a good veneer gulls many. Plastic coffin attachments instead of expensive Brass. Probably why the strops broke free from a broken plastic coffin cleat.
Recycling is very profitable and I know of collusion between crem workers and undertakers. Those boxes don't really go up in smoke in the chimney folks. :-)

[pixie374]

They generally do. Except, as you say, there are no doubt some criminals around too.

[douglas9401]

Quite a lot to unpack there retrocop.

I wouldn't have thought you of all people would have stood for such shenanigans going unchallenged or reported.

[choux]

This widow had paid for an oak coffin with solid gold handles.

[retrocop]

//Quite a lot to unpack there retrocop.

I wouldn't have thought you of all people would have stood for such shenanigans going unchallenged or reported.//

Why should I care. I see mugs on this site everyday.Of course,being a Scot, you may have cause for concern in parting with your English taxpayers grants to not get top English pound for your investment.
I doubt if Pvt Fraser would divulge the truth but I know better how cheap coffins are made.

[pixie374]

This is a plus for cremation..
:-/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/woman-buried-alive-spent-11-12036767

[Spicerack]

Solid gold handles?? If true, sounds stupid to me.

[retrocop]

I always have a giggle when the local undertaker to our police Traffic Garage told us of the fate of the dead buried in the nearby Mortlake Cemetry. Being Traffic cops we saw a lot of death.
Mortlake cemetery lies alongside the River Thames.The water of the Thames actually seeps under the land and forms a lake. Hence the name Mort (death) Lake. The poor old grave diggers have to dig the plot pretty sharpish as the grave will soon fill up with Thames water in the subsoil.Once dearly beloved is planted and covered ,up his mortal remains will have most probably ended up in the Thames Estuary floating out to sea. :-)