There are two untraditional ways to take your leave of this world in Britain. The bleaker is the ‘direct cremation’ method whereby, with no prayers and no mourners, a funeral director will take your remains from mortuary to crematorium to be burnt without troubling your friends and relations. The other is the ‘celebration’.
According to Co-op Funeralcare in its new report, called ‘Go Your Own Way’, no fewer than 68 per cent of people it polled regard funerals as a celebration of life, up from 58 per cent five years ago. Out go prayers, black funeral dress and solemnity; in come Doctor Who themes, glittery coffins and guests dressed in football shirts. Or as the report puts it: ‘Personalisation is key.’
The venues are quirky too. Fifty-seven per cent of funeral directors have been asked for non-church services and nearly half have been asked for non-traditional settings, from a betting shop to a cricket pavilion to Hampton Court Palace. I attended drinks after a cricket-themed funeral recently; lots of the attendees were in their club kit.
It’s a bit like weddings. As soon as you let people out of churches and register offices, you end up with nuptials in hot air balloons and on beaches. Funerals have gone the same way: they’re increasingly upbeat (and expensive) events to reflect your personality.
To mark the new trend, Co-op Funeralcare joined with Channel 4 for a three-part digital mini-series called Celebrity Send-off to give ‘a well-known famous face…the chance to watch their own funeral. From UFO-themed funeral flowers to outdoor services, each week one half of the celebrity pairing will be tasked with arranging a funeral fit for their loved one.’
The point is the difference between the wishes of the organiser and those of the person whose funeral is being planned: one thinks he or she has the perfect obsequies only for the other to point out that actually, he/she wants to be buried in Nigeria/have a church funeral/absolutely no doves.
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