Not such a grave affair

Handmade willow and bamboo coffins are available and you can even have your mortal remains laid to rest in a painted coffin or one with a favourite photograph adorning it.

The British taboo about not mentioning death is on the retreat and people are coming up with imaginative ideas on how they want to meet their maker.

If you saw black horses with black plumes parading sedately down Victoria Road in Ferndown on Wednesday, August 17 you might have thought it was a funeral but it wasn't.

Nicholas Douch - fourth generation of family business A E Jolliffe and Son - was holding an open day to encourage people to plan for the future.

"It was fantastic - far more people than we expected and good feedback from the people who came," he said.

"There were elderly people, middle-aged people, and some in their 30s.

"There was no negativity. It gave them the chance to ask questions.

"What we wanted to show was not the everyday but to open people's eyes.

"People expect the horses with black plumes only in London but you can have that here.

"We had Somerset willow coffins, a bamboo coffin and painted coffins - one had a photograph blown up and printed on it, a picture of a steam train with carriages going through the countryside."

Nicholas said some of the more expensive options such as the "life gems" - when the ashes are encrusted into a diamond ring or earrings - were not on show but they were all available, including the motor cycle hearse and vintage vehicles.

"It's all since the death of Princess Diana, when that was shown on television," he said.

"Now people are starting to talk about death and their funerals."

The pre-arrangement plans offered by funeral directors can save a lot of heartache, he added.

"If they are frightened of speaking to their family we take down all the details and if they want they can pay for a funeral in advance."

First published: August 19, 2005