Five hours they let me out for these funerals – I gotta spend it being maudlin? It’s a beautiful day. The Sopranos s5e7: In Camelot, Uncle Junior to Tony, HBO 2004
This fucking shit. What’s the point? I can’t take it any more. ibid. Uncle Junior weeps at funeral
Are you one of those already planning your funeral? We meet relatives with serious concerns about how some funeral plans are being sold. And bereaved families left to deal with added distress. Tonight: Pay Now Die Later: Funerals Uncovered, ITV 2018
1.3 million people have a funeral plan. It’s a fast growing business. ibid.
We found evidence of worrying problems … Some sales staff aren’t always as clear as they could be … Fees aren’t the only potential pitfall. ibid.
The cost of British funerals: have we been paying too much? Is it the end for traditional funerals? Does the industry need better regulation? And do we need a more open discussion about dying? Tonight: Funerals: The True Cost? ITV 2020
Whether this billion-pound business is good value for money. ibid.
Funeral costs: what is the price of dying? Can we afford to give loved-ones the send-off they deserve? And how we can save money and avoid getting ripped off … The cost of funerals is on the rise again. Tonight: Funeral Costs: The Price of Dying, ITV 2024
Margaret Thatcher shouldn’t have a state funeral … It wasn’t officially a state funeral. That would have been fucking great, wouldn’t it? On the side of the coffin: sponsored by Gas. Mark Thomas, interview Richard Herring, Leicester Square Theatre, Youtube 1.29.01
The River Thames, January 1806: All of London has turned out to witness the most elaborate funeral procession in living memory. A broken body is being escorted home with the pomp and ceremony usually reserved for royalty. The man who three months ago gave his life in his hour of triumph at the Battle of Trafalgar is laid to rest with a state funeral at St Paul’s cathedral. And in this moment, Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson becomes a cult figure, representing for many victory and glory. Nelson: Britain’s Great Naval Hero, Channel 5 2020
On the day of Prince Philip’s funeral there were blue skies with Windsor Castle bathed in sunshine. In a stripped-back service, the small number allowed to attend were forced to sit apart. 2021: The Queen’s Terrible Year, news, BBC 2021
Whatever the barrow held
Once, has been taken away:
A hollow of nettles and dock
Lies at the centre, filled
With rain from a sky so grey
It reflects nothing at all.
I poke in the crumbled rock
For something they left behind
But after that funeral
There is nothing at all to find. Anthony Thwaite, The Owl in the Tree
April 1987: for three days police and Republicans clashed on the streets of Belfast over an IRA funeral. But the battle lines weren’t as clear as they seemed. Not everyone working for the security forces was in uniform. The Troubles: A Secret History IV, BBC 2019
‘When I called I was told that the funeral plans didn’t exist, that Barry Stevenson had defrauded them.’ The Big Swindle s1e2: The Fake Funeral Fraud
Two weeks after their meeting, Barry Stevenson presents Beatrice Russell with details of her funeral plan. ibid. caption
A court date is set for January 2022 but Barry absconds and the police issues a warrant for his arrest. ibid.
Barry Stevenson pleads guilty to defrauding customers of just over £130,000 in a scam running between 2013 and 2019. ibid.
So the idea is I’m sort of immersed into this world, this funeral directors, right, in Nottingham. Stacey Dooley: Inside the Undertakers, BBC 2023
I just want to live for ever which I appreciate is not on the cards. ibid.
A W Lymn: At the heart of the community for five generations. The family-run business has 21 branches and undertakes 3,500 funerals every year. ibid.
I’ve got an irrational fear of the inevitable. ibid.
Strange funeral rituals. Elaborate chambers filled with mysterious objects. And burial mounds all over the world. Were the tombs of our ancient ancestors gateways to the afterlife? Or were they designed to connect modern man with our alien ancestors? Ancient Aliens s5e6: Secrets of the Tombs
Spectacular burial sites that date back thousands of years are found around the world. ibid.
Saqqara, Egypt: One of the largest and oldest burial grounds in all of Egypt. ibid.
The Serapeum contains enormous sarcophagi carved in granite thought to have been transported from the city of Aswan, 600 miles away. ibid.
A mysterious burial mound in Ireland, one with star-maps that give clues not just to where the ancient visitors came from but where the dead may have chosen to return. ibid.
The ancient burial structures of Japan … Mozu-Furuichi-Kofun: More than twice the length of the Great Pyramid of Giza, it’s one of the largest tombs in the world. ibid.
The tomb of China’s first emperor … Futher excavation revealed thousands of these soldiers, the Terracotta Warriors. ibid.
[Darlynn Branton-Stoa]: When you are first grieving a loss, it’s really difficult. This is a time of saying goodbye to your loved ones. Because you love them and they loved you. My dad and I were very close … He died in September of 1986. He was taken to the Pasadena Cemetery that the Lambs owned. I trusted that the people would take care of him. The Mortician I, HBO 2026
David Sconce – he’s just a monster. He’s evil. ibid.
We embalm, we prepare, we dress, we casket, we cosmetize. We do everything we possibly can so that the client family can see their loved one looking as if there was no pain or trauma. ibid. Jolena, mortician
After 10 years in prison, the latest in a series of incarcerations, David Sconce was granted parole in 2023. ibid. caption
Even as a kid, being around death was no big deal. ibid. David
There a great deal of ambivalence around the emergence of these new figures, the funeral director, the mortician, the undertaker. These entrepreneurs who wanted to be understood by the public as professionals … Funeral service became a multi-million dollar business. ibid. comment
It was 1982 when David Sconce started to offer their creation service to other funeral homes. ibid.
I saw some thing that weren’t right but that wasn’t really my business. ibid. ex-employee
Barbara & David’s wedding: ‘Are you sure you want to marry this man?’ … His father, Jerry, says to me, ‘You know you can back out.’ ibid. ex-wife
David made everything seem quite normal. Everything. He’d put like two or three bodies in each oven. At a time. It progressed into fifteen at a time. Each side. ibid. ex-employee
This is just disposing of rotten meat. ibid.
Whatever it took to make money, let’s do it. ibid.
I found him on the floor of the garage cracking teeth with a hammer … This is not normal. ibid. ex-wife
In 1984, 4,350 cremations overseen by David Sconce. ibid.
There was a lot of money in our house. ibid.