Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Warming to Wicker Coffins

SHEFFIELD, England (Reuters) - Demand for hand-woven wicker coffins has tripled since British pop star Adam Faith was buried in one in March, a funeral director said Tuesday.
Requests for the caskets soared after newspapers published photographs of Faith's wicker coffin covered in flowers, said John Mallatratt of Peace Funerals in Sheffield, northern England, where wickerwork coffins cost $670, about twice the price of the solid pine option.

"Every time there's a funeral with a wicker coffin more people see them and fall in love with them," Mallatratt said at his funeral parlor, which also offers woodland burials and ceremonies on vintage steam trains.

The wicker coffins take two days of skilled work to craft, and with only 40 weavers left in Britain, supply is limited.

But demand is growing -- a sign of Britons' changing attitude to death.

"It's changing, but slowly. There's still the notion of 'we ought to do the proper thing' and 'what will the neighbors think?'," said Mallatratt, whose parlor now supplies the funeral trade with the coffins.

-------------

I can hear the pine casket company's advert rebuttal. "Be sure with pine. Remember, there's no rest for the wickered."

And the angel said to the new arrival: "Have you read Marx?" Rueful response, "Must be the coffin."

"The bereaved walked slowly behind the appalled bearers."

And the new arrival explained to those who had gone before. "It all started with my wife's being hard of hearing. I can assure you I did not say I wanted to be buried in a basket."







TEd
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Now the world can go to heaven OR hell in a hand basket.


Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
It's a common enough plai(n)t. And I DO wish I'd thought of that one!!!



TEd
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
we'll have to take the cane to you for missing it...



formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Wattle they think of next?


Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
You're a bunch of raving loomatics.


Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
**cough**

[somebody stop that coffin!]


#103853 05/27/03 01:35 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
One that my late former father-in-law used to say was, "You're never satisfied. Whaddya want - portholes in your coffin, and brass handles?"


#103854 05/27/03 10:54 PM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
No just an escape hatch just in case, or a hatchet, or at least a cel phone . Like Terry Pratchett's Zombie who posted information pamphlets on "rights for the vitally challenged" on the inside of coffins.


#103855 05/31/03 03:38 PM
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 66
T
journeyman
Offline
journeyman
T
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 66
A wicker coffin??? How can this be true? I just read the book, "Stiff" and now am very familiar with what happens to a body after death. It basically melts away... Why would anyone want to be buried in something that they would end up leaking out of???


Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 442 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5