Pennod 1 Traed Lan

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-Death is the final act for us all.

-But for some,

-death is a way of life.

-A means of upholding a tradition,

-supporting a family...

-..and forging a business.

-Dealing with

-and handling uncomfortable issues...

-..with sympathy and a smile.

-Helping us

-depart this world with dignity.

-Let us escort you

-to the world beyond the curtain...

-..and the closed door.

-The world of the living

-among the dead.

-The world of Traed Lan.

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-In Amlwch on Anglesey,

-Arwel Hughes and his brother Ieuan...

-..run a business that was founded

-by their grandfather, John Hughes.

-Here we are in the garage.

-It was renovated from an old yard.

-We needed a more suitable area

-to keep the hearse.

-The bodies are brought to this room.

-We bring them in here

-to wash and dress them.

-This is where

-we prepare the coffins.

-We have

-a range of different coffins.

-This is a veneer coffin -

-the grain continues symmetrically.

-With a solid wood coffin like this,

-notice the thickness of the oak.

-This is how my grandfather

-and father would have made them.

-Until the age of 16 or 17...

-..this is how I made them too.

-I still have the skills but the task

-is too time consuming nowadays.

-This device is the most useful tool

-in the business.

-My father gave me a challenge.

-He wanted me to invent a way

-of bringing the coffins down below.

-He said, "Build a lift,"

-and I said, "I will."

-One person can handle

-the work upstairs...

-..and transfer the coffin downstairs

-to continue the work.

-In addition to the peace

-of the chapel of rest...

-..Arwel has another business

-to occupy his busy life.

-The noisy and vibrant MAD.

-I've been interested in music

-since the age of nine.

-I asked my parents

-for a set of disco lights.

-It was the age of the old 45s,

-when you had to lift the stylus.

-I really got into it.

-This is one of the rooms

-where the equipment is kept.

-Tommy's busy cleaning the desks.

-I built up the business.

-I started

-with football awards evenings...

-..and school discos.

-I had the final lesson off

-to go home and fetch the gear.

-The school paid me

-to run the disco. Fantastic!

-For those of you who remember the

-1980s, the mirror ball was the best!

-I invested the money in lighting

-and sound equipment and built it up.

-Whatever the size and scale

-of the event, the power is all here.

-These boxes are full.

-I employ four or five boys,

-who are close friends.

-They get on with it while I

-just dip in and out of the office.

-In an hour, I'll have to get changed

-and conduct another funeral.

-MAD may take Arwel to

-wide ranging areas of expertise...

-..but in spite of this,

-he remains true to his roots.

-The fact I'm from Anglesey

-means the world to me.

-The island's residents know us.

-We're the fifth generation

-of undertakers.

-The sound business

-is over ten years old.

-I can't see me ever leaving here.

-In Port Talbot, South Wales...

-..Gareth Jenkins is one

-of the area's leading undertakers.

-"Time to dye my hair -

-maybe orange to go with the drive!"

-It's the start of a new term.

-That's how I look at it.

-The summer's approaching.

-We're painting the front.

-We're laying a new drive.

-Lots of cars come and go

-and we've taken up the old drive.

-I have to keep it looking nice.

-We've been so busy

-since Christmas...

-..I had to hire more staff

-to work night shifts.

-We interviewed people...

-..and we found a man

-who'll be starting next month.

-As I said,

-it feels like a fresh start.

-The sun's beginning to shine.

-It's time to dye my hair.

-I haven't decided on a colour yet.

-I think I'll go for orange

-to match the drive.

-But the drive isn't the only part

-of Gareth's business...

-..that has to keep up

-with fashion trends.

-At the beginning of the year...

-..we supplied

-ten different coffins in one week.

-Wicker, banana leaf and cardboard.

-We've had several colourful coffins.

-I've noticed a great change

-this year.

-The man we're burying today...

-..was a big fan of F1,

-especially Ferrari.

-We wrote his name on the Ferrari

-and it looks as if he's driving it.

-The family's pleased about that.

-Ron's on the grid now

-to start his final journey.

-It looks excellent.

-I'm pleased with that.

-In Pontyberem

-in the Gwendraeth Valley...

-..the former coal-mining area

-of West Wales...

-..is OG Harries's

-family-run business.

-Owner Hefin Williams...

-..has risen

-earlier than usual today...

-..because the body for burial

-is slightly larger than average.

-The family phoned yesterday.

-They wanted to view the body

-at lunchtime today...

-..so I've had to order

-an unusually large coffin.

-I have to go to Treorchy

-this morning to pick up the coffin.

-I'd never allow a family to see

-the deceased without a coffin.

-I think it's disrespectful.

-Bodies are getting bigger nowadays.

-We have to be prepared

-to take every size.

-The Rhondda Valley

-was once a coal-mining valley.

-Nowadays, eight out of ten coffins

-in the south come from Treorchy.

-All our coffins are handmade.

-We're currently producing

-about 75-80 coffins a week.

-And we're too cheap!

-Good morning.

-Thanks for doing it so quick.

-There's a difference in size.

-There's no time for a chat.

-Hefin has to hurry back

-to prepare for the family's visit.

-But this isn't the only remarkable

-coffin carried today.

-"Billy has been

-to more funerals than me."

-Behind the hard exterior

-of the steel industry...

-..lie close-knit communities and

-colourful characters in Port Talbot.

-One of them

-is about to bid his final farewell.

-He's called Billy Cynan.

-Everyone knows him. He's one

-of the village's characters.

-Billy goes to every funeral

-I arrange. He knows everyone.

-He has thousands

-of hymn sheets at home.

-He's been to more funerals than me.

-I'm a professional mourner.

-I like going to show my respect.

-I've just heard that he's not well.

-He's in hospital.

-I think he was

-the first JCB driver in the area.

-That's what he did all his life.

-He wants a JCB instead of a hearse.

-My father would be landed with that

-because that is my father.

-He drove one for 40 years...

-..so why can't he go out in style

-and have a JCB as his hearse?

-He's not very well.

-He's in hospital.

-Before Billy has departed...

-..Gareth's ensuring

-that his final wish will be granted.

-I want a JCB going from his house

-down to the crematorium...

-..with the coffin in the bucket.

-No, no, it's not a wind-up.

-Yes.

-People may think we're crazy, mind.

-I'll be in a bucket of a JCB.

-Goodbye.

-And so long.

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-"My father taught me that timing

-is crucial to an undertaker."

-Sunshine breaks through

-winter storms on Anglesey.

-One must cross the Menai Strait

-to the crematorium.

-Due to heavy traffic,

-Arwel just about makes it in time.

-The adrenalin is still pumping...

-..as he ensures

-the journey's final stages...

-..are carried out

-with dignity and punctuality.

-While the service is taking place,

-they're in the chapel...

-..and we get to relax

-and take five minutes in here.

-If there are drivers

-or crematorium staff...

-..we can tell them

-what's happening next.

-It's hard when the doors are closed

-and we can't hear the service.

-All we have

-is a small hole in the wall.

-We have to peep through it to see

-how the service is progressing.

-My father taught me...

-..that timing is vital

-to all undertakers.

-Funerals should run like clockwork.

-The crematorium

-is neutral ground, as it were.

-Anyone can lead a secular service...

-..but I like

-to have a clergyman present.

-We work in tandem,

-making sure it all runs smoothly.

-Today's clergyman

-is quite a colourful character.

-He used to act

-in Amlwch's pantomimes.

-That's how I got to know him.

-I did the sound and lighting

-and he was the pantomime dame!

-A new storm is brewing on Anglesey.

-Another funeral

-is about to take place...

-..and Ieuan, Arwel's brother,

-is concerned about the bridges.

-Have you crossed the bridge yet?

-Yeah, I've just crossed the bridge.

-Britannia Bridge

-remains open at the moment.

-Arwel's second funeral...

-..takes him

-to a cold and wet cemetery.

-I can't believe

-the weather's like this again.

-We wanted sunshine today.

-It's a difficult day anyway

-but bad weather never helps.

-They're all going

-for a warm cup of tea now.

-It was a hasty cuppa

-as the wind picked up again...

-..forcing everyone

-to rush back to the mainland.

-They only just make it.

-We're used to working

-in wind, rain, snow and ice.

-I've never had a week where the

-weather has affected my job as much.

-I couldn't believe it today.

-They closed the bridges.

-I received a text saying

-the family had arrived back home.

-I'm happy about that -

-the only happy thing about today.

-"This is the final favour

-I can do for Billy."

-Before his days as a JCB driver

-and professional mourner...

-..Billy Cynan was a soldier.

-He has since fought

-his final battle.

-Hello there.

-Don't trip over.

-I'm so sorry to hear about your dad.

-Everybody OK?

-Removing the dead body

-is never easy.

-It's even more difficult seeing

-a loved one leave their home...

-..for the very last time.

-It's worse now the body's been

-removed and he's no longer there.

-That's when it'll hit her, I'm sure.

-I'm not looking forward to being

-in a funeral without Billy.

-It's going to be very strange.

-As well as the JCB...

-..it was Billy's wish to be dressed

-in the British Legion uniform.

-Gareth prepares his old friend...

-..for the family's

-last goodbye this afternoon.

-Lots of people say,

-"Is there anything I can do?"...

-..but often

-there's nothing they can do.

-For me, this is the final favour

-I can do for him.

-I'm happy to do it for Billy.

-We go back years.

-He used to say he was like

-Jake the Peg without this.

-I also have to put

-a packet of smokes in his pocket.

-There you are, Billy.

-You look smart now.

-Gareth's attention to detail...

-..is of comfort to the family

-in their grief...

-..although there is one minor detail

-bothering daughter Trudy.

-Are you giving him his quiff?

-Bring it more forward.

-Like that.

-Quiff it up like that, is it?

-Dad, you've never had

-so much attention.

-"No service. No minister. Nothing.

-Just us and the coffin."

-Here in Pontyberem, Hefin is

-the fifth generation in the business.

-A business where the deceased,

-not the family, is the customer.

-This person didn't want a funeral.

-As you can see,

-the coffin is made of cardboard.

-He didn't want any fuss.

-He had friends but no-one's coming.

-That was the person's wish.

-There'll be no service, no minister.

-no vicar, nothing.

-Just the four of us and the coffin.

-We arrange more and more funerals

-nowadays with no-one in attendance.

-The day of the funeral

-is difficult for the family.

-Some people don't want their family

-to go through that pain.

-On Anglesey, attention to detail

-is vital to undertaker Arwel Hughes.

-There's no margin for error

-at the cemetery.

-That's fine. The coffin's quite tall

-and the lads have dug it as I asked.

-They'll come here, tidy it up

-and lay the green mats down...

-..and we're ready

-to hold the funeral service.

-I'm sure

-every undertaker is paranoid...

-..and wants to make sure

-everything's in order.

-There is only one chance.

-With everything

-in order at the cemetery...

-..the undertaker

-arranges a very different event.

-"This is what I'll do until I die."

-Today, Arwel the undertaker is

-Arwel the sound and lighting man...

-..as he helps turn the Anglesey Show

-shed into the Can i Gymru studio.

-They need a way backstage.

-At 9 o'clock on Monday morning,

-this room was completely bare.

-It was only four walls

-and the floor.

-They've asked me to do pyrotechnics.

-I've never done it

-live on television...

-..so when you see it going off...

-..think of me sweating backstage!

-I'm sure I'll be bald

-by the end of the week.

-MOBILE RINGS

-In the middle of it all...

-..a phone call turns the sound and

-lighting man back to an undertaker.

-Let me go through it.

-The funeral is tomorrow

-and the family is worried.

-We've had a hard week with them.

-They don't understand

-what our work entails.

-She was worried that I hadn't booked

-an organist and printed the sheets.

-I'm ready. All the paperwork is in.

-Whether it's a burial or cremation

-or sound and lighting...

-..organizing is what I do

-on a daily basis.

-# My heart is calling for you #

-The business is important to me...

-..but it's my own

-so I can switch it off on a whim.

-The undertaking business

-is family-run.

-Reputation is important to me.

-There's no doubt that's what

-I want to do until I die.

-Billy Cynan was a JCB driver.

-His dying wish was to be

-escorted to the crematorium...

-..in a JCB bucket.

-Much depends on what Gareth, the

-undertaker, discovers this morning.

-If that's what the family wants...

-..I'm more than happy to do it.

-It's something different. We don't

-do something like this every day.

-It'll be interesting

-to see how it turns out.

-But we won't do it unless we're sure

-it can all go like clockwork.

-If you could just open it up.

-What I don't want

-is the coffin falling out.

-We'll have to secure it in place.

-A coffin

-won't look right inside the bucket.

-We need some sort of platform...

-..within the bucket.

-The strapping of it...

-..would it be OK to strap

-over the top and around again?

-Yeah, you'd be fine.

-The bucket is the right colour,

-unlike the machine.

-That's what Billy drove

-all his life.

-He drove one of these every day.

-I think it's a fitting end.

-"It's a matter of pride.

-This person has had his wish."

-In Pontyberem,

-Hefin Williams and his team...

-..prepare for a funeral...

-..that would have been

-particularly unusual years ago.

-It's a frequent occurrence nowadays.

-A funeral

-befitting the deceased's wishes...

-..that isn't a funeral.

-No hearse.

-We're transporting the coffin

-in this car.

-We show the same respect

-as if it were a regular funeral.

-Everybody deserves

-the same level of respect.

-A very simple farewell.

-It's sad in one respect...

-..but I'm proud that the person

-has had his wish granted...

-..like every other funeral.

-The deceased has been given

-a quiet, dignified farewell.

-In the next episode...

-..how does Gareth fulfil

-the wish of his old friend Billy?

-It's a shame Billy can't see this.

-Would you pay 100,000

-for a car with a sole purpose?

-You can't go shopping in a hearse!

-What is the best treatment for a body

-that has handled too many corpses?

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

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