Quiz No.1 Answers
1. When someone who is expected to die at home, then dies, how quickly do you need to call the funeral director?
The answer is:
d) When you are ready to call them
Whilst you do need to wait for a medically qualified person to verify the death, in reality there is no major rush to call the funeral director to collect the person who has died. It is helpful for them to know that someone will need collecting, so it’s good to ring them at that point. But if you would like to keep the person at home a bit longer, or even just until morning they can then give you the best advice at that point about how to care for the person and also start to make arrangements with you about when they should come.
This really is the time when you will start to come to terms with what has happened – not rushing this stage may be really important for you.
2. What don’t you do when someone dies at home?
The answer is:
b) Open all the windows
Again the undertaker will be able to give you the best advice about caring for the person until they arrive but making sure the windows are closed can be really important especially in hot weather. Keeping the person’s body cool is important, but preventing flies from getting in the room is even more important.
- What determines where you have to register a death (ie in which council area?
The answer is:
b) Where the person has died
The registration will take place in the district where the person died.
It is possible to request a change of location if you live in another part of the country but be prepared that this will add time to the period before the funeral can take place.
- What is embalming?
The answer is:
d) A process that replaces the body’s natural fluids with a preservative liquid
Embalming is a fairly invasive procedure where the body’s fluids are replaced by preservative. It is carried out to slow down decomposition and is useful for circumstances such as repatriation to another country. There are other instances where embalming may be chosen or required, but on the whole it is not necessary for your average UK based funeral and is not required in order for family or friends to sit with the person who has died.
Leaving the body in its natural state can be more beneficial for a number of reasons and your undertaker should be able to discuss this with you in detail in order to help you make the right decision.
- What is the best temperature to keep a person’s body at while waiting for the funeral to take place? (assuming the funeral is happening within a normal timeframe)
The answer is:
b) 3-5 degrees C
The ideal temperature to care for a person who has died is between 3-5 degrees C. This also negates the need generally for embalming.
Many people think that funeral directors have freezers but freezing is only carried out under certain circumstances.
- When someone is being cremated – what can’t you put in the coffin?
The answer is:
b) Items with batteries eg, pacemakers or watches
Batteries can cause explosions in cremators so we have to be really careful to make sure these items are not included in the coffin.
Other items which shouldn’t go in are shoes or other items high in rubber content (for the fumes), glass or stone items or anything that might be combustible like bottles of alcohol or gas lighters.
- Does a funeral venue have to be licensed like a wedding to hold a funeral ceremony?
The answer is:
a) No – you can hold a funeral ceremony anywhere where the owner of the property has agreed to do so.
Whilst you can only bury or cremate a person in certain places, the actual funeral itself could take place anywhere. Some venues do not like the idea of a coffin being present but we’re finding venues are becoming more open minded about the possibilities.
We have held funerals in local football clubs, pub car parks and people’s gardens as well as stately home type venues or art galleries. The important thing is to think about where feels right and appropriate to celebrate the life of the person you are saying goodbye to.
- What is not true about natural burial?
The answer is:
d) At a natural burial ground all graves are unmarked
As with any burial ground you can choose whether to leave a grave unmarked. Every natural burial ground has its own system – some graves can be marked individually, some graves are marked as groups of graves and usually all graves can be gps located. What you won’t be able to do is purchase a traditional kind of grave stone for the grave. This is to ensure that the area remains as natural as possible.
For more natural burial myths – take a look at Sunrising’s Myth Busting information page
You may also be surprised to know that even living in a city you should be able to find a natural burial ground somewhere nearby.
- When it comes to the hearse …
The answer is:
b) There are many options, from other colours, electric vehicles, campervans etc
There really is no limit or ‘right or wrong’ when it comes to choosing the hearse for the person who has died. As a company we have chosen white company vehicles with the majority being electrically propelled out of concern for our city neighbourhood, but we can hire in all other manner of hearses from other suppliers as you wish – take a look at our Funeral Vehicle page for some examples.
And of course – the hearse may be driving slowly out of respect at certain points but you may be interested to know that often the cortege is driving slowly simply because we can’t arrive at the crematorium too early!
- How much weight typically can most cardboard coffins hold?
The answer is:
c) Up to 25 stone (163kg)
It’s true – a cardboard coffin really is strong enough to support the majority of people, and with the ability to decorate it yourself or pre-print vinyl wraps; the opportunity to personalise the coffin is huge.
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Payment Terms
Payment can be made by credit or debit card, cheque, cash or online bank transfer.
Due to the level of disbursements (payments to crematoria or cemeteries) that have to be paid quickly, we always request payment in advance, before the cremation or burial has taken place.
We always ask for a deposit at the initial arrangement meeting. The deposit is all of the third party costs that we know of at the time of arrangement plus 50% of the remaining known fees.
The remaining amount due will be payable by the day of the funeral.
For direct cremations we ask for the entire fee at the arrangement meeting.
