What a glorious day in north Wales today, the whole coastline full of sunshine and the sea sparkled – unfortunately this visit was for business. Salty Dog was not invited.
That is the beauty of having a second base (in north Wales) as I can then cover virtually the whole country for business purposes and the first home base allows London, home counties, west country and the midland an easy commute – excellent.
Role on spring and summer! Mind you of course this spring it is Malta with the boat, which has now made it to Spain. I have left it there for now before the next bit of the journey to Gibraltar from where we sail to that other rocky island final destination.
The final crew selection has now been concluded – should be fun. Mrs Wilt has decided to let the plane take the strain.
Meanwhile Gloucestershire is in the news on two stories.
First, the county council want 30 more social workers as in this community care article here: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/social-work-blog/2010/02/gloucestershire-council-to-rec.html
We know of 10 social workers from Sandwell who might be looking for jobs, but more on that in a further posting.
However, the oddest story of the month must go to a Mr James Showers of that glorious county – he wants to beam cremations (yes cremations) via wecams over the internet. See the article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/8533834.stm
I mean, I can understand his point and indeed Wilt very much supports innovation and use of modern technology, but this is just simply off the wall. What next – pay per view artificial tears dripping from some device in the crematorium? And why cremations – why not burials too?
The fact is grief is a private matter shared in person, not via the internet. Apparently however it has caught on in Manchester and Cambridgeshire - when I get cremated I expect people to turn up, and if they don’t I will haunt them!
It’s an odd world.
Wilt
My dear Mr Wilt.
ReplyDeleteI was interested in your view of the idea of streaming funerals across the web. Odd, really that you would be concerned about folks staying at home to watch your funeral on their laptops? If they can't be bothered to come, then why would it bother you?
Re the privacy of grief (a cultural hangover from the call from the government and churches to 'cease this unseemly obsession with death' and to 'stop parading bereavement' in 1916, by the way): Funerals are rarely by invitation - the time and place is often announced in the papers - they are public gatherings, and anyone can come. Not that they do, although there are those who specialise in attending funerals of complete strangers.
A funeral on the web is password protected, and the person needs to ask the family for this before access.
Surely you would not deny an old or infirm or absent/ imprisoned/front line soldier friend the pleasure of watching your funeral if they could not be there in person?
I think you might be more stuffy than you let on, in your excellent blog!
James Showers. Funeral Director
Dear Wilt
ReplyDeletePlease take my word for it. Your funeral will be well attended. Mrs C will be there as will little boy James Plaskett. They will lead the funeral procession only to be followed by the nations regulators. Of course you will go to your eternal resting place in the knowlede that your death, is your first. Unlike Mrs C, Plaskett and the regulators, who in the words of a famous person from Warwickshire, will, as cowards, 'died many times befor their death'.
Altar Boy
By a very strange coincidence I was listening to radio 4 earlier tonight and who should be mentioned but Dr William Price who reintroduced cremation to the UK, by a rather circuitous route – by attempting to cremate his first born infant in the open air on a pile of coal on a south Wales hill.
ReplyDeleteThere is a name for these coincidences but it escapes me at the moment – too much cider!
Oh, I remember – “synchronicity. “ I like posh words like that, it makes me look/sound intelligent!
Anyway, back to Price – to say that he was eccentric would be a bit of an understatement. See this article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Price_%28doctor%29
There are a couple of others here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/historical_figures/william_price.shtml
And here: http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk/heritagetrail/Blue_Plaque/dwp.html
In another odd “synchronicity” (Wilt now really impressed his friends) I recall that a mate of mine came from Pontypridd (where Dr Price lived/worked) and so I called him and explained about these coincidences and he said, “oh yes Dr Price – I remember learning about him at school.” He went on “He was as mad as a March hare.”
But he confessed “Pontypridd aint got much to shout about except Dr Price, the first ever spanned bridge [as in without supports], the location on the Taff where the Welsh national anthem was written and where the chains and anchors of the Titanic were forged – so at least when I pass on I will have the comforting thought that I was born in a place with a mixture of historical heroes.
Apart from that, it’s a wet and cold place. Oh [he suddenly remembered] and of course we had Tom.”
Tom, I asked? “Tom Jones you nerd – he is a Ponty [Pontypridd] boy”
So, you see “synchronicity” is a weird thing. And the word sounds posh.
Nevertheless, anyone failing to attend my cremation will be haunted – just please make sure I am actually dead and not just dead drunk before throwing me on the flames. I have sensitive skin and (with the amount of alcohol in my blood) I could end up a beacon observable from the orbiting International Space Station.
Wilt