0:00:00 > 0:00:00- Subtitles
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:00:03 > 0:00:05- The world is changing.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07- Life is changing.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09- Even death is changing.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13- Black isn't the only colour - any more.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16- The work of the undertaker - is changing.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19- The next three programmes...
0:00:19 > 0:00:25- ..allow us to raise the curtain - on the undertaker's private world.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55- Gareth Jenkins - is an undertaker in Port Talbot.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59- Occasionally, he arranges - Hollywood-style funerals...
0:00:59 > 0:01:05- ..in the home town of Michael Sheen, - Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09- But most of his clients - belong to a very different world.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14- Many of them live and die - on the Sandfields estate...
0:01:15 > 0:01:18- ..one of Wales' - most deprived neighbourhoods.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22- I still get lost here at night, - even after all these years.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25- Lots of streets look the same.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30- Unemployment is rife in Port Talbot.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33- Most families here - have no work to go to.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37- Lots of them have no income at all.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42- But money isn't a problem - for everybody.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46- Port Talbot's gypsies spend - a fortune burying loved ones...
0:01:47 > 0:01:50- ..especially on flowers.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53- I think the most I've ever seen...
0:01:54 > 0:01:57- ..is two articulated lorries - full of flowers.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02- The cost of the flowers alone - came to 60,000.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11- Gareth has spent 25 years - growing his business...
0:02:11 > 0:02:16- ..and is now one of Port Talbot's - principal undertakers.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20- He and his wife now share their home - with the deceased.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- The staff call it - the garage of rest.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28- It used to be a garage at one time, - but it's been converted.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32- This is where the drivers - make their coffees.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35- There's a microwave - for all the pies they eat!
0:02:36 > 0:02:39- Next door is the mortuary.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42- It's like a fridge in here.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47- And here we are, entering - the other world behind the curtain.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50- Beyond the public display - of condolence...
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- ..is a secret room - and secret rituals.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56- The final pampering rituals.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02- This is where we do the hair - and make-up, and shave the men.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05- Up here is the Botox.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09- We store a wide range of colours - for the women.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14- From styling their hair and make-up - to dressing them...
0:03:14 > 0:03:18- ..Gareth handles bodies - of every description.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21- The heaviest - I've tended to was 40 stone.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24- We had to buy this afterwards.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28- It saves you - having to carry the coffin.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31- My back has suffered - over the years...
0:03:32 > 0:03:36- ..but there are things like this - to help me these days.
0:03:37 > 0:03:44- "There are new challenges every day - - things ordinary people never see."
0:03:45 > 0:03:50- In Lampeter, one company of funeral - directors spans three generations.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54- Gwilym Price, his son, Cerdin, - and his grandson, Rhys.
0:03:54 > 0:04:00- Despite assisting - in all aspects of the business...
0:04:00 > 0:04:02- ..Rhys is still at school.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06- It was a natural step to take.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09- Dad followed Tad-cu - into the business.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12- I've always enjoyed the work.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14- There are new challenges every day.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19- Things ordinary people never see - in their everyday lives.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- After finishing his A Levels...
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- ..he has a future - in the family business.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28- But whose business is it?
0:04:30 > 0:04:34- I'm not sure who's the boss, - but it's either Dad or Tad-cu.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36- Who's the boss? I'm the boss.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38- Who's the boss? I'm the boss.- - I'm the worker.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41- Gwilym Price - began his career as a carpenter.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45- But over the years, - the undertaking business grew.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51- He became a source of comfort - for loved ones left behind.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55- These are some of the letters - of thanks we receive.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59- This was the cost - of a funeral in 1967.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- The total came to 58.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05- I was eleven years old - when I saw my first body.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09- I remember I was wearing a jumper.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13- I pulled it over my hands - because I didn't have gloves.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- I was afraid - of touching something so cold.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20- That's the first memory I have.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26- From the outset, Cerdin has had - to learn his trade on the job.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32- That was difficult when dealing - with road traffic accidents.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36- In the early days, there were - no tools to free casualties.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38- I cut them loose myself.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43- When police call us, all they say - is that there's been an accident.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45- Only when you get to the scene...
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- ..do you realize - it may be someone you know.
0:05:50 > 0:05:56- "I see more bodies in five hours - than most people see in a lifetime."
0:05:57 > 0:06:01- Dorian Harries, the embalmer, - is an invisible figure.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- He's a man - who the undertakers rely on...
0:06:05 > 0:06:08- ..to ensure the deceased - can be seen by the living.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11- The unsung hero, as they say.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14- Nobody knows me. Nobody sees me.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17- I'm called in - to take care of the body...
0:06:17 > 0:06:22- ..but the funeral directors - get all the praise...
0:06:22 > 0:06:24- ..though they do nothing!
0:06:24 > 0:06:25- Don't put that in!
0:06:26 > 0:06:29- It's half past six now.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- In four hours' time, - I'll have seen four or five bodies.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36- I see more in five hours - than most people see in a lifetime.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41- That's the career I've chosen, - so don't moan about it, as they say.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- "Coffins come in all shapes - and colours."
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- "Tardis, Grand Slam - or a pack of cigarettes."
0:06:55 > 0:07:00- Like all modern things, Gareth and - staff must assemble the coffin...
0:07:01 > 0:07:03- ..before dressing it.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06- We use newspapers - to stuff the pillow.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11- It must be biodegradable, - which is why we use newspaper.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20- Choice is essential to us - in life and even in death.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- We buried one man - who was a Dr Who fanatic...
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- ..so we made the coffin - like the Tardis.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- We created Old Trafford - for a Man United fan.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- We've also made a Grand Slam coffin.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40- One woman, who was 91, - smoked Benson & Hedges cigarettes...
0:07:40 > 0:07:44- ..so the family wanted the coffin - to resemble the pack.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- They said it as a joke - but I said we could do it.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53- Instead of throwing flowers into the - coffin, they threw Benson & Hedges!
0:07:53 > 0:07:57- The coffin - was full of cigarettes in the end!
0:07:57 > 0:08:01- "These days, people - want to keep the body at home...
0:08:01 > 0:08:04- "..for a week, a fortnight - or even a month."
0:08:06 > 0:08:10- Embalming is the craft - of preserving a body...
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- ..so that it can be seen - for the very last time.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23- I'm looking for a vein in the body - into which I can insert the needle.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27- I inject the embalming solution, - which courses around the body.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- It's pushing through the needle - like a body's heartbeat.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39- Notice that the small veins - are visible here...
0:08:39 > 0:08:44- ..because the fluid - is coursing through the entire body.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- By doing that, - a body can be kept for a week...
0:08:48 > 0:08:52- ..a fortnight, up to a month, - if needs be, at a person's home.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- Years ago, funerals were arranged - in four or five days.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- Now they're arranged - in a week or two.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- We're living in a different age.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11- Due care and respect - is shown at all times...
0:09:12 > 0:09:14- ..but sometimes things go wrong.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18- I once dressed the body - in the funeral director's suit.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20- Mistakes happen.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24- What happened was, - the funeral director said...
0:09:24 > 0:09:26- .."The suit is behind the door."
0:09:27 > 0:09:30- I went upstairs - and the suit was hanging up.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32- It didn't fit at the back.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37- He took a scissors to it and cut - the back of the suit for it to fit.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41- He came back and I said, - "Dorian, that's my suit."
0:09:42 > 0:09:44- He'd cut the wrong suit.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49- That's why we label - the deceased's clothes nowadays.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51- So that I know.
0:09:51 > 0:09:52- For his benefit.
0:09:53 > 0:10:00- "You're required to be quiet - at all times."
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- It's not just behind the scenes - that things sometimes go wrong.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- The hearse is parked - and the keys are hidden.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15- At least the hearse - will be here when we come out.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17- Cerdin wants to rejoin the service.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20- Cerdin wants to rejoin the service.- - Do you want to go inside?
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- Without drawing attention - to himself.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26- This is bound to make a noise.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29- BOLT CLANKS
0:10:31 > 0:10:33- We'll leave it a minute.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35- Poor thing.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38- But there's worse to come.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- Keep an eye - on the door in the background.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54- Disaster!
0:10:56 > 0:10:56- .
0:11:01 > 0:11:01- Subtitles
0:11:01 > 0:11:03- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:11:08 > 0:11:12- Gareth Jenkins is arranging the - funeral of a lady in Port Talbot.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15- The first task - is to find her grave.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- We begin with As, Bs, Cs...
0:11:18 > 0:11:20- ..H, we're looking for Rs.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- N, O, P, Q, R, - so this is probably N.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- Here we are - - we're in the R section.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39- Here it is. - It's shaped like two hearts.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43- Some take years - to organize a wedding...
0:11:44 > 0:11:48- ..but funeral directors only have - days to get every detail right.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51- There's no place to turn around.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56- I have to work out - where we're going to park the car...
0:11:56 > 0:12:00- ..and how we're going to walk - to the graveside.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03- I don't want to tread - on other graves.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08- What I have to do now is get - the stonemason to move that...
0:12:08 > 0:12:13- ..before they can start - preparing the grave.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16- The wife's name - will be engraved this side.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- It's a former - Neath Borough Council tip...
0:12:26 > 0:12:31- ..so I suppose you could call it - a form of recycling!
0:12:31 > 0:12:35- Since he spends - so much of his time in cemeteries...
0:12:35 > 0:12:39- ..has Gareth given - his own funeral much thought?
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- I'm not being buried, - I'm being cremated.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46- Where will your ashes be scattered?
0:12:47 > 0:12:49- They'll go in a rocket.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51- You can get rockets made these days.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56- I want friends to throw a party - and launch the rocket.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00- Go out with a blaze of glory. - "There he goes!"
0:13:00 > 0:13:02- I want colours and all sorts.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07- I want them to toast me - with champagne, then I'll be happy.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20- "One family chose to turn the ashes - into a diamond."
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- People now depart this world - in ever more diverse ways...
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- ..as Iolo Owen from Penygroes - can testify.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37- Many ask for their cremated ashes - to be thrown...
0:13:38 > 0:13:41- ..into the Snowdonia - steam train's furnaces.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44- People ask to go up in an aeroplane.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49- The ashes can be incorporated - into acrylic paint...
0:13:49 > 0:13:53- ..so that a painting - can be made of the departed.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- That gives a new meaning - to self-portrait!
0:13:57 > 0:14:00- There was one lovely family...
0:14:00 > 0:14:06- ..who chose to turn the ashes - of their loved one into a diamond.
0:14:06 > 0:14:12- It's a relatively new process - that has been around for ten years.
0:14:12 > 0:14:18- Winnie Piercy's family chose - to turn her ashes into a diamond.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21- The process of extracting - the carbon from her ashes...
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- ..and turning it into a precious - stone will take four months.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28- Nain was a second mother to me.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32- After her death in March, - we all decided...
0:14:32 > 0:14:37- ..that her ashes - would be turned into a diamond.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- It will be set in a ring...
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- ..and passed down - first to my mother and then me.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48- That way she will always be with us.
0:14:52 > 0:15:02- "Losing a mother cuts like a knife."
0:15:05 > 0:15:11- While Gwilym, Cerdin and Rhys Price - arrive at the chapel in Lampeter...
0:15:11 > 0:15:15- ..the grave - is being prepared in the cemetery.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- In the past two or three years...
0:15:19 > 0:15:23- ..we've noticed an increase - in larger bodies.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27- Forget what we used to dig - five years ago.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32- We now have to dig a hole - seven foot deep by a yard wide.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- It's a young man's job.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39- It can take anything from half a day - to a full day's work.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- We tend to hire mini diggers - and equipment like that.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48- When it's busy, we don't - have much choice in the matter.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51- I'm fortunate - to have great lads working with me.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- It's not up to me to say that.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56- As long as the family is happy.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59- It's all about teamwork.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04- If we can see it through with - relative ease, we've done our job.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09- The funeral might be over, - but the working day continues.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12- The Prices - will chaperone the body...
0:16:13 > 0:16:16- ..of a loving mother - back to the care of her family.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21- The plate on the front of the coffin - is being engraved...
0:16:21 > 0:16:24- ..so that the family - can see her name and age.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- We're here - to assist the family in their grief.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37- Everybody dies. - None of us can escape death.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41- You have to play - the cards you've been dealt.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45- There's no point thinking what - could happen until it does happen.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48- You'll only work yourself up.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00- Returning the departed's body - to the home...
0:17:00 > 0:17:03- ..is a less common occurrence - these days.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- Yes, it would happen years ago.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10- They would carry the coffin - to the funeral.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- Sometimes, they would walk - three quarters of a mile.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- Yes, it was commonplace.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32- She'll stay there for two - or three days until the funeral.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36- It's important that - the family's wish has been granted.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- She was a mother, after all.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43- Losing a mother cuts like a knife, - as I always say.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47- We started work - at seven this morning...
0:17:47 > 0:17:50- ..and it's almost seven o'clock now.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53- I'm going home for something to eat.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57- Goodness knows - what might happen during the night.
0:17:58 > 0:18:06- "It's always hard for the family - to see the body for the first time."
0:18:20 > 0:18:24- This lady's children - have asked Gareth to dress her...
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- ..as she was in this photograph - of a happy occasion.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- The family is coming to see Carmen.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35- They've flown all the way - from Canada to see her.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39- It will be difficult for them - when they walk in here.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43- They've asked me - to put mementos in her coffin.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48- Photographs and a little angel.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02- I'll see to the roses.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05- I give them out to you then...
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- ..at the graveside.
0:19:18 > 0:19:19- She's going to be cold, OK?
0:19:20 > 0:19:21- There we are.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24- I'll just leave you alone now, OK?
0:19:33 > 0:19:35- In North Wales...
0:19:35 > 0:19:39- ..Nain is on her way home, - not as a body but as a stone.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- A stone that will last forever more.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46- And here it is.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48- It's pretty.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51- There you go, there's my mum.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58- I'm very happy.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01- She's back with us the way she was.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06- She's sparkling - and she's lovely, so I am happy.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17- "I've done this thousands of times - but I feel nervous every time."
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- It's the day of Carmen's funeral.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25- A funeral is a spectacle of respect - and the attire must be perfect...
0:20:25 > 0:20:27- ..with the aid of a few props.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30- This is my crystal ball.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33- It tells me if it's going to rain. - Perhaps it'll rain.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36- That's why I have the umbrella.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43- Hopefully - there's going to be police there.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- Then we're going through town.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49- I think there's police - going to be up on the...
0:20:50 > 0:20:53- Yes, losing a mother - cuts like a knife.
0:20:53 > 0:20:59- Mistakes must be prevented - at such a distressing time.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07- I've done this thousands of times.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12- But I can't help it, - I still feel nervous every time.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31- BELL TOLLS
0:21:33 > 0:21:37- Two steps back and place the coffin - onto the trolley.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52- Good afternoon and a warm welcome - to you all to St Illtyd's Church.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- Death is the final scene - in life's drama.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03- A scene which commands - the sympathy of the audience...
0:22:03 > 0:22:08- ..and the protagonists, no matter - how familiar they are with the play.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17- We'll remove the flowers first - before calling the family down.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24- No falling over - with your heels in the grass.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29- We did have a bearer yesterday - whose trousers fell down in church.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32- Carmen would really enjoy that - as well.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- You can shed tears she is gone - or you can smile...
0:22:37 > 0:22:41- The family's happy that it went OK. - The rain has kept away.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45- They told me they were ready - to go back to the house...
0:22:45 > 0:22:47- ..and have a large G&T.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50- They deserve one.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01- In the next episode...
0:23:01 > 0:23:05- ..we venture further behind - the scenes into the back room...
0:23:05 > 0:23:10- ..to witness the strain and relief - of those who work there.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15- Yes, it's tight.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34- S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35- .