I'd also hope that at least one person at the service dresses appropriately, either as a pirate, or with a sieve or collander on their head. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyin...tti Monster (FSM,schools in the United States.
I deal with dead people quite a bit work. It's always one of the most interesting bits. Worked on a big Anglo-Saxon cemetery a few years back (wrote a book on it) and we did all the usual skeletal analysis so we knew their stature, identified pathologies, had a good idea what their lifestyle was like, the kinds of work they might have been involved with. We could identify genetic traits that showed family relationships between the individuals.They had plenty of grave goods, so we could work out their positions in society, their possible occupations, interests, status. We also did stable isotope analysis so we could work out what their diets were like, where they had lived, and even identified that some of them had been through periods of famine. I got to know a lot about these people, even if I didn't know their names or their characters. I know some people won't like the idea but I find it kind of comforting that after more than 1000 years since their death, these people were having an effect on me, that I knew something about them. They were still having an effect on the world, still are if anyone reads the book, so they're still here in some way.
Fascinating stuff and one of my biggest interests, in a different life I'd have been an archeologist or similar. No doubt things were tough in Anglo-Saxon times but a lot simpler and straightforward. We've made things so complicated now and it'll continue that way until we all lose whatever plot it was we're supposed to have.
I’m a funeral director so deal with death on a daily basis. More and more people taking out funeral plans these days to ensure their wishes are documented and to take away any financial pressure from their families. Unfortunately we still deal with families whose loved one has passed away suddenly and they are left to pick up the pieces. If anyone is thinking about a direct cremation I would strongly advise going with a local funeral director rather than one of these national companies you see advertised on TV. Heard some horrible stories about them
My interests lie a few hundred years more recent than yours Norton mate. I do genealogy and would love to meet some of my relatives from days gone by, some right characters among them I am also into folk music and do a bit of digging into the history and origins of some of the traditional songs.