Interesting Facts

According to figures compiled by local councils, London is the most expensive place to die in the UK. (It costs up to 60x more for a basic burial or cremation in London than some other parts of the UK. The borough of Lambeth is the most expensive place at a whopping £5,329. But if you want to be buried or cremated in Nottingham, it costs just £87.)

Today is the funeral of Margaret Thatcher. It will be the most expensive funeral ever held in the UK. (It will cost an estimated £10 million. but half of that, £5 million, will be on security.  Why do we need so much security? Lots of overtime there probably.)

According to Anchor, a not-for-profit housing and care provider, at least 100,000 pensioners who died penniless and alone have been buried in paupers’ graves in the past five years, a charity revealed yesterday. (In fact 40,000 people a year in Britain receive state-funded funerals as rising funeral prices and the breakdown of family units has led to about 21,000 pensioners dying every year without the money for funeral bills and with no relatives willing or able to pay. In the UK if you cannot afford to pay for a funeral the council is obliged to step in. It seems sad, but I don't suppose it bothers the deceased that much.) Source - Daily Mail

A funeral is the ceremony that is held after someone dies. (In the UK the dead person is usually buried in a coffin or cremated, and the ashes scattered. The reason I'm mentioning this word is that Elizabeth Taylor's funeral was held, and her coffin arrived 15 minutes late. She had requested this in her will, in order to fulfil the idiom "She'd be late for her own funeral". If someone says that someone would be late to their own funeral, they mean that they are always late for meeting or appointments.)

There has been an increase in damaging mercury emissions in the air from melted dental fillings. (This is thought to be due to the rise in popularity of crematorium funerals. Although the mortician will is remove a heart pacemaker, they draw the line at extracting teeth. Personally I blame the NHS for insisting on mercury fillings.)

2005 - Hunter S Thompson, died.  For his funeral he had come up with the idea of having his ashes mixed with explosives and fired from a 153-foot memorial tower. His wishes were carried out. WTG!