Black Plumes and Clattering Cobbles
Shannon says:
"At about 12:30 today along college approach I saw a very fancy horse drawn carriage go by with two very fine black horses prancing quickly; each had a huge black feather/plume on its head and silver bridles; two men driving the carriage also very nicely dressed; the small carriage was black and had a coffin it it and then a small box at the back of the carriage; the carriage itself was all enclosed with glass so you could see inside; 3 or so black herses follwed it......all going quite fast...... any ideas what this was about?"
The Phantom replies:
Sounds like a good old fashioned Sarf-East London funeral to me. There are a couple of undertakers who still keep all that clobber for people who like that kind of thing. I tend to think 'gangsters' when I see them, though I'm sure that ordinary folk do it too. It's not so long ago that saving up for a grand funeral was a major deal, and there are still people who set a lot of store by it. There will no doubt be a serious knees-up later in a traditional English pub with all the whelks and jellied eels you can eat, guv. Not my bag - but each to his own. We all have our own way of dealing with death.
"At about 12:30 today along college approach I saw a very fancy horse drawn carriage go by with two very fine black horses prancing quickly; each had a huge black feather/plume on its head and silver bridles; two men driving the carriage also very nicely dressed; the small carriage was black and had a coffin it it and then a small box at the back of the carriage; the carriage itself was all enclosed with glass so you could see inside; 3 or so black herses follwed it......all going quite fast...... any ideas what this was about?"
The Phantom replies:
Sounds like a good old fashioned Sarf-East London funeral to me. There are a couple of undertakers who still keep all that clobber for people who like that kind of thing. I tend to think 'gangsters' when I see them, though I'm sure that ordinary folk do it too. It's not so long ago that saving up for a grand funeral was a major deal, and there are still people who set a lot of store by it. There will no doubt be a serious knees-up later in a traditional English pub with all the whelks and jellied eels you can eat, guv. Not my bag - but each to his own. We all have our own way of dealing with death.
Labels: Ask The Phantom
posted by The Greenwich Phantom at
13:56
4 Comments:
Probably came from the undertakers on Deptford High St, they seem to do those type of funerals quite regularly.
I heard it started off in Azof Street (where presumably the stiff was collected).
The horses struggled to turn around in the road - but managed to eventually.
'God' bless.
Sounds like a good send-off for someone, probably doing it their way for a last time.
A friend surprised us at his funeral by arranging to have the Match of the Day theme played over the Crem. sound system as we left. It made us all smile and think of his great sense of humour (not a characteristic usually associated with Man Utd fans). There were no horses but he did have his running shoes placed on top of the coffin. R.I.P C.
Nunhead and Norwood graveyards are well worth a visit for those interested in history and Victoriana.
This post has been removed by the author.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home