Do I look good in this? I watched part one of a thought provoking documentary on ITV last night (7th May) called Billy Connolly’s Big Send Off. In my opinion the Big Yin is always good value and his investigations into the business of bereavement were fascinating.
Billy is looking a little frail and at 71 is dealing with prostate cancer and early onset Parkinson’s disease. It is a shame to appreciate that he is contemplating his own demise but that knowledge adds poignancy to his observations. He maintained his trademark good humour throughout and the documentary was not morbid or depressing because of it.
During the filming Billy met up with Eric Idle and the latter sang the song that forms the title of the post. Eric is the same age and, unsurprisingly, is looking a little long in the tooth himself; they made a good pair wryly musing about the inevitable.
The American (where much of the doc was shot) funeral scene is as bizarre as you might expect and much money is spent/made in the business of dying. Some things addressed like drive thru funerals and bespoke blankets with images of the deceased were surreal; others like cemetery real estate trading were frankly distasteful. You’d have to be American to be prepared disinter and then burn your relatives to sell on their plot!
The balance to the lunacy came from a Muslim cleric whose mosque sensitively and prudently handled funerals (and for anyone from any denomination). The cleric’s view on the outrageous sums of money being spent by wealthy yanks in shows of post-mortem one-upmanship was; “Just think how much good that money could do for those still living or the deceased’s community.” Bang on I thought!
Some advice given to watchers was plan your funeral while you still can and discuss it with your relatives; this I have to say resonates for me and I have already planned my send-off music:
Aside from the tunes, cremation is good and a cardboard box will be just fine for the journey to the furnace.
To be frank getting old is a bit shit; I am going grey (where the barnet isn’t receding), am getting heavier and my eye sight is gradually deteriorating; it’s worse for my parents who are a quarter of a century older than me. Contemplating death is not fun but maybe planning and talking about it makes it easier to cope when the inevitable happens. A plan gives one structure and purpose and that has to help, especially when one knows one is doing what one’s loved one wanted.
Like Stephen Sutton, maybe writing a bucket list is worthwhile – surely the earlier you plan one, the more likely you are to do the things on it. One of mine is to get my motorcycle licence and buy a motorbike (and hopefully that doesn’t kill me off before the inevitable cancer). What would be on your list?
On the subject of plans, Mrs Baldwin and I must sort out our wills; it would be damn inconsiderate for everyone if I/we were to die without one.
If you missed it, the show is repeated tonight on ITV at 10:35pm, you can obviously catch up online too. Episode two is due for airing next Wednesday night (14th May) at 9pm.
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Billy is looking a little frail and at 71 is dealing with prostate cancer and early onset Parkinson’s disease. It is a shame to appreciate that he is contemplating his own demise but that knowledge adds poignancy to his observations. He maintained his trademark good humour throughout and the documentary was not morbid or depressing because of it.
During the filming Billy met up with Eric Idle and the latter sang the song that forms the title of the post. Eric is the same age and, unsurprisingly, is looking a little long in the tooth himself; they made a good pair wryly musing about the inevitable.
The American (where much of the doc was shot) funeral scene is as bizarre as you might expect and much money is spent/made in the business of dying. Some things addressed like drive thru funerals and bespoke blankets with images of the deceased were surreal; others like cemetery real estate trading were frankly distasteful. You’d have to be American to be prepared disinter and then burn your relatives to sell on their plot!
The balance to the lunacy came from a Muslim cleric whose mosque sensitively and prudently handled funerals (and for anyone from any denomination). The cleric’s view on the outrageous sums of money being spent by wealthy yanks in shows of post-mortem one-upmanship was; “Just think how much good that money could do for those still living or the deceased’s community.” Bang on I thought!
Some advice given to watchers was plan your funeral while you still can and discuss it with your relatives; this I have to say resonates for me and I have already planned my send-off music:
- Ace of Spades, Motorhead
- Days, Kirsty McColl
- England 77, Horrorcomic
Aside from the tunes, cremation is good and a cardboard box will be just fine for the journey to the furnace.
To be frank getting old is a bit shit; I am going grey (where the barnet isn’t receding), am getting heavier and my eye sight is gradually deteriorating; it’s worse for my parents who are a quarter of a century older than me. Contemplating death is not fun but maybe planning and talking about it makes it easier to cope when the inevitable happens. A plan gives one structure and purpose and that has to help, especially when one knows one is doing what one’s loved one wanted.
Like Stephen Sutton, maybe writing a bucket list is worthwhile – surely the earlier you plan one, the more likely you are to do the things on it. One of mine is to get my motorcycle licence and buy a motorbike (and hopefully that doesn’t kill me off before the inevitable cancer). What would be on your list?
On the subject of plans, Mrs Baldwin and I must sort out our wills; it would be damn inconsiderate for everyone if I/we were to die without one.
If you missed it, the show is repeated tonight on ITV at 10:35pm, you can obviously catch up online too. Episode two is due for airing next Wednesday night (14th May) at 9pm.
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