A Funeral

Yesterday, I took the day off work to attend Uncle Colin's funeral. The fact that the 240 seat room was standing room only by the time we got there was testament to what a great guy he really was.


The thing that astounds me about funerals is that nowadays, people seldom wear black to them. As far as I'm concerned, wearing black to a funeral is symbolic and respectful. It's a way of showing that you're in mourning, and that you respect the person who has passed away enough to physically show that their death has had an effect on you.

Yet only a handful of the 250 plus mourners were wearing black!

On seeing that, I made KJ promise that should I die before him, he wouldn't let anyone into my funeral if they weren't dressed in black. I'm considering writing into my will that everyone must wear black to my funeral, and maybe put in a clause demanding that a bouncer be hired to throw anyone dressed colourfully out on their arse.


Colin's wake was held at the local lawn bowls club. I love bowls clubs, and while it probably wasn't an appropriate sentiment for a wake, I couldn't help but enjoy the super cheap beer and the fantastic old-fashioned food that was made by the wives of the club members.

I guess, as these things go, it was quite nice. The service was a relatively upbeat celebration of his life, and the wake was a friendly and enjoyable gathering of good people over good food. It was a very nice way to say goodbye to a great man.