Monday 17 June 2019

Death And Sausage Rolls


©Lady Priscilla Etienne


It is the morning of the funeral that I'm attending instead of covering. I always think of having a cup of tea first, getting dressed, then have breakfast. Trouble is, I never seem to be able to manage the breakfast. My stomach churns and I feel nervous and anxious. It seems most of us do, so we tend not to eat.
         When we suffer the shock and grief of a bereavement, everything we swallow after that has no taste and has a distinct texture of cardboard. So we have the long time leading up to the funeral barely eating, then virtually nothing on the day. Food deprivation plays a big part in feeling unwell and physically unstable after a bereavement. Meanwhile for those of us that drink alcohol the odd drink or three can help a little.

Gradually over the years, I have seen this change. I have attended a funeral where it was so beautiful and lavish (exactly like a wedding), the food of course was amazing and a lot of effort went into the presentation of the food. I remember thinking how wonderful it was to see that all of the mourners were considered. It can be a long process, from funeral service to the wake, and it's usually at this point that appetites can begin to return.

There is a Starbucks bar at a funeral home in South Carolina. The funeral staff are all starbucks trained, a really useful way of mixing sustenance with death. I'm all for practicality and ease during grieving. I was in a cab recently going to a hospital appointment, and just around the corner, we passed a funeral directors albeit out of sight from the front entrance, the driver said that she found it distasteful and said that many of clients found it upsetting.
I do not. I find it enterprising to have it so nearby. A refreshing crossover.


See you at the next posting.