GNÌOMHACHAS BAS/UNDERTAKERS

BBC ALBA PROVIDES A RARE INSIGHT INTO THE WORK OF THOSE IN THE FUNERAL INDUSTRY


Monday 19 April at 9pm on BBC ALBA

The death of a loved one affects all of us at some point but how much do we really know about the funeral industry and what goes on in the period immediately after a death?

A new documentary in the Trusadh series on BBC ALBA offers a rare glimpse beyond the solemn exterior of this most private of industries.

‘Gnìomhachas Bas/Undertakers’ follows professionals involved in the industry including funeral directors both male and female, stonemasons, a crematorium manager, a minister, a doctor, a council official in charge of cemeteries as well as a florist who prepares wreathes.

Donnie MacLeod has been a funeral director in Portree, Skye, for almost 40 years, continuing the business his father founded in 1969. “It can be very stressful at times,” Donnie admits, “Families do get very upset when they have to part with their loved ones, but we must give them an assurance at all times that we are bringing them back into our own care at a rest room.”

Like many in the industry Brian Reid and Son, coffin makers in Scone, is a family business with over 50 years experience. They have 19 employees making around 13,000 coffins a year.

The Reids say coffins are getting larger to fit the nation’s expanding girth and, despite offering a wide selection, the current trend is for ordering more cost effective coffins. The majority are made of recycled veneered chipboard, which is then stained and varnished.

Lindsay Reid, of Brian Reid and Son, believes it’s impossible to remain completely detached from the significance of their work. He says: “I don’t think you can ever see it purely as a job - it’s a service we provide. I have a daughter of my own and unfortunately we have to make children’s coffins. That’s the difficult part. We don’t want to be sombre about it but of course it affects you.”

In Inverness, Alastair Stewart Memorials was founded in 1992 by Alastair, a former monument sculptor. The family plans to extend the business to offer a full undertaking service and daughter Kyron is training with Evanton funeral director James Mackenzie.

It’s still seen as a somewhat unusual job for a woman, but Kyron is undeterred. She says: “People can accept it that there’s a female willing to do it. Quite often on the memorial side the men seem to open up and, seeing a woman, are more able to download their feelings at that time. I think it’s more acceptable nowadays. You get female plumbers, female builders - it’s just the way things are going.”

Stonemason Jon Hearach Macdonald of Inverness has been making and repairing memorial stones for 40 years in the Highlands and Islands. Sandblasting technology has removed some of the skill necessary for the work, which was formerly done with a hammer and chisel. Nonetheless Jon, whose great uncle was a stonemason and whose children work with him, still takes great pride in his craft. “The way I look at it is as if I’m writing history. What I do today will still be in the cemetery in another 100 years. I find the work very rewarding, if I do it correctly and people are happy with it.”

Produced by mactv for BBC ALBA, ‘Gnìomhachas Bas/Undertakers’ will be broadcast on Monday 19 April at 9pm.