Adrian Baldwin
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Observations
  • Reviews
  • Blog
  • The Blog Library
  • My 70s Things
  • Contact Me
  • Links

Always look on the bright side of life; Billy Connolly and mortality

5/8/2014

0 Comments

 
PictureDo 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:

  • 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.

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home



0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Adrian Baldwin

    Blogging for more than a decade

    Archives

    December 2022
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    May 2021
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.