The importance of a good funeral

In ITV’s otherwise terrible drama Finding Alice, one line struck me with particular force. A funeral director is addressing our heroine, who finds herself unexpectedly having to organise last rites for her partner. Wicker coffins are particularly popular now with relatives, says the undertaker, and I found myself nodding in strong agreement. A light woven coffin, made of pleasingly biodegradable material and topped with a simple but stylish cross of early spring flowers, was exactly what we selected for my father, to be buried in one of the last remaining — and therefore highly sought-after — spots in the churchyard. ‘This might sound a very odd thing to say,’ said Dad’s favourite vicar to me over a large glass of wine after the service, ‘but that was the loveliest coffin I have ever seen.’

As I write this, it is six years to the day since my father died (a man with an impish sense of humour as well as a longstanding annual subscription to The Spectator, it would tickle him to know that he is featuring posthumously in his favourite magazine).