Pennod 3 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.

-Dorian Harries is an embalmer.

-He works in the undertakers'

-back room.

-"By the middle of next month,

-I'll have cared for 27,000 bodies."

-Dorian is up

-before the break of dawn.

-Nine bodies

-are waiting for him today.

-I'll just place this gown on her.

-Dor Bach!

-The first one's done

-and it's 7.45am.

-I'm off to Pont Abraham

-before heading on to Kilgetty.

-It's the fourth of February and I've

-dealt with 191 bodies this year.

-It's been extremely busy.

-Can I have a large latte coffee,

-please?

-Good man. Thank you very much.

-Leaving Carmarthenshire,

-he heads for South Pembrokeshire.

-Come on, Dorian.

-Barring complications, embalming

-a body should take 45 minutes.

-All done.

-Preserving the body

-is becoming more customary...

-..with more time

-between the death and the funeral.

-The funeral will be held in a week.

-The death occurred a week ago.

-The documents hadn't been processed.

-There's a fortnight

-between the death and the funeral.

-That's a long time.

-By March, I'll have cared

-for 27,000 bodies during my career.

-A lot of bodies,

-and I've seen a lot too.

-I've seen a lot.

-I've seen horrific things.

-A gun to the head or a car accident.

-It does affect you.

-It does.

-You think things over

-again and again.

-There we go, there we go.

-This is Matthew Jones to you or I,

-but Matthew Marw to his friends.

-He owns a fleet of hearses.

-Matthew's just forked out

-on three new vehicles.

-He's spending again today...

-..on the services of the tyres man

-around the corner, Delme Jones.

-Since the car has been stretched...

-..you have more wear

-on the back wheels.

-It's a different suspension.

-Unfortunately for Matthew,

-but fortunately for me...

-..I can sell him more tyres!

-When I come in here, only that much

-of the tyre is worn...

-..but it still has to be replaced.

-Hey, they call me Honest Del!

-Del Boy!

-The tyres must be perfect.

-The other boys drive the vehicles

-so safety is paramount.

-You need to change

-the back two tyres.

-You're spending today again.

-Can you leave it with me

-for an hour or two?

-Courtesy car?

-Courtesy car?

-

-Do you want a van?

-I'll walk!

-"The vehicle insurance

-costs around 3,000 a year."

-Since one of the new hearses

-has some damage on it...

-..Matthew thinks the drivers must

-get used to their length and width.

-The boys haven't driven these cars.

-They're longer

-than the hearses we have.

-Who knows what we'll confront.

-Roads leading to cemeteries

-can be narrow.

-We're having a team building event

-for the boys using these cones.

-Anyone who fails is out!

-We've asked them

-to reverse back into the bay...

-..without touching the cones.

-More importantly,

-the cones at the back.

-The first driver is Ernest Jones...

-..the man who sold Matthew

-the business five years ago.

-Ten out of ten there.

-He's kept his job so far.

-The first round posed no problems.

-Right, Ernest.

-The old pro is still an old pro.

-Fair play, a faultless display.

-These vehicles cost 90,000 each.

-The insurance costs a lot. The total

-for all the vehicles is 3,000.

-The premium rises

-if we have a knock.

-Another one still in a job!

-They look after the vehicles

-as if they were their own.

-We have the odd scratch

-from umbrellas...

-..or women and their handbags.

-They're a nuisance.

-Soon, all the drivers

-have passed their tests...

-..and they share a joke or two.

-Dear me!

-But there's one more driver to test.

-I'll have a shot

-to show them how to do it.

-Payback time for Ernest

-and the happy, respectable drivers.

-He'll never do it.

-What am I supposed to

-park in here - a Mini?

-There he goes!

-Ernest - passed.

-Brian - passed.

-Byron... hmmm.

-Your jobs are safe.

-I might even make you a cup of tea!

-In Lampeter,

-Gwilym, Cerdin and Rhys Price...

-..are three generations

-of undertakers.

-After visiting

-the National Funeral Exhibition...

-..the digital post-mortem technology

-impressed Cerdin.

-He's on his way to Sheffield

-to learn more about it.

-With a conventional post-mortem...

-..there's a lot of physical work

-to open up the body.

-With this system,

-the body goes into the scanner...

-..and you can determine

-the cause of death from the scan.

-That makes it easier for us

-as undertakers, a lot easier...

-..than dealing with a body

-after a conventional post-mortem.

-This is the only one in Britain.

-There's talk about bringing one

-to Cardiff and one to Swansea.

-That will reduce the costs,

-hopefully.

-Things are developing

-in the modern age. Onwards we go!

-Hello, Professor.

-To the Sheffield ear,

-Cerdin is Kevin.

-That doesn't bother him at all.

-He's here to see the new scanner

-in action.

-Come in, Kevin.

-What we've got here, Kevin...

-It's no different

-to a conventional scanner.

-The differences are in the computer.

-The new software creates

-a 3-D profile of the body.

-You can see both the lungs,

-the heart.

-Any damage,

-you could pinpoint it straightaway.

-It's been a real eye-opener.

-They can come to a decision

-very quickly.

-In England and Wales, one body in

-every five requires a post-mortem.

-The new scanner costs 3m...

-..but it will discover

-within minutes...

-..what a conventional autopsy

-discovers after two to four hours.

-The disadvantage

-is the travelling...

-..but they will be closer

-before the end of the year.

-They move the ribs at the same time,

-seeing more detail.

-Things are changing.

-The method of the post-mortem

-hasn't changed for 50 years.

-Things are developing

-in the modern age. Onwards we go.

-Embalmer Dorian

-is continuing with his long day.

-In Pontyberem, he'll need more

-than 45 minutes for this body.

-There's a cardiac defibrillator -

-I told you over the phone.

-Has the hospital deactivated it?

-They have. Is it a cremation?

-Yes. We'll have to get it out.

-Yes. We'll have to get it out.

-

-Leave it with me.

-Before removing any device

-from the body...

-..the first job is embalming.

-..the first job is embalming.

-

-I've finished the embalming.

-The next job is removing

-the cardiac defibrillator.

-Left of the heart,

-up under the shoulder.

-It's just like a pacemaker

-but it releases more volts.

-It produces around 900 volts.

-Due to patient confidentiality...

-..I wouldn't have known

-had Hefin not told me.

-Sometimes the undertakers

-don't know...

-..until I've read through

-the crematorium's medical forms.

-I'll confirm it's been removed

-on the form before cremation.

-The danger is that the battery

-is so strong, it can kill a man.

-I need to take great care

-when I remove it.

-I can feel the defibrillator

-under the skin.

-I'll make a mark above it,

-about two and a half inches long.

-These are aneurysm hooks.

-These separate the skin to allow me

-to remove the defibrillator.

-It depends how long the

-defibrillator has been in the body.

-If it's been in a while, the flesh

-and tendons will surround it.

-It'll be harder to remove. This

-looks like it's been in a while.

-I've made a little pocket. I'm

-sticking my hand into the cavity.

-Two fingers in the pocket.

-The body's cold.

-Here it is. It's coming out.

-Easy does it.

-I'm cutting the cable.

-It's out now.

-These will be returned

-to the cardiac unit.

-Here's a pacemaker -

-it's a lot smaller.

-That's worth around 5,000 -

-this is worth around 20,000.

-These keep you alive.

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-Gareth Jenkins is a leading funeral

-director in the Port Talbot area.

-Today, the Cwmafan native

-is flying to Eastern Europe.

-I met a man from the Czech Republic

-at the National Funeral Exhibition.

-They're famous for their crystals.

-They embed the ashes in

-a swirl pattern within the crystal.

-They've invited me to the factory

-in the Czech Republic to view them.

-The white strands are the ashes.

-They're encased in gold.

-24-carat gold dust.

-It's important for me to oversee...

-..that the correct person's

-ashes are embedded in the crystal.

-It's one of the questions

-bereaved families always ask.

-By going to the factory,

-I can tell them, hand on heart...

-..that the correct ashes

-have been used.

-This is the man who died.

-I knew him

-and I know the family too.

-They want a crystal heart made...

-..along with a ring,

-and as you can see...

-..he was a big Arsenal soccer fan.

-We're going to try and have

-a crystal football made...

-..encased with the deceased's ashes.

-I'll keep it in the bubble wrap.

-There we go, Wayne.

-We're going on a little trip.

-But before leaving,

-his biggest problem...

-..is deciding

-what to wear out there.

-I don't know if I'm going to be

-attending a funeral in Prague.

-It might be cold,

-then again, it might not.

-I don't know whether to go as Dr

-Zhivago with my fur-lined brogues.

-What do you think

-of my travelling top hat?

-If they use a horse and carriage out

-there, I'll have to take my coat.

-This is Czechoslovakian crystal too.

-I think I'm ready to go.

-"I'm a man of the earth. Man of the

-soil. It'll be my resting place."

-In the Prices' cellar in Lampeter...

-..a more traditional end is in sight

-for the boxes of ashes...

-..awaiting

-their final resting place.

-There's sure to be

-close to 80 or 90 boxes here.

-They might want to keep them here

-until the partner dies.

-Some of the boxes have been kept

-since the 1960s and 1970s.

-Someone will one day

-come and collect them.

-Death

-is difficult to come to terms with.

-Trying to decide what to do

-with the ashes at that time...

-..is unwise.

-They even put ashes

-in egg timers these days.

-But the majority

-want the ashes buried or scattered.

-If someone were cremated, I'd choose

-to bury the ashes somewhere.

-If people

-want to scatter the ashes...

-..if you press

-this perforated area here...

-..the ashes can be scattered.

-There's a star and moon motif.

-The horizon is very effective...

-..with the sun rising above the sea.

-There are also floral tubes

-with red poppies and so on.

-We offer people

-a wide range to choose from.

-It's a personal choice.

-I want to be buried.

-I'm a man of the earth,

-a man of the soil.

-As a native of the country,

-I want to be buried in the ground.

-It's rare

-that the ashes of a country boy...

-..would come into contact

-with a tattoo parlour.

-But this is the case

-for Helen Phillips's late brother.

-The ashes are very finely ground...

-..before being mixed with

-regular tattoo ink.

-A rising number of people are opting

-to remember loved ones in this way.

-Plenty have it done.

-It gives them closure.

-They are the ashes of her brother,

-but the tattoo is also a reminder...

-..of her father

-and his Welsh roots...

-..symbolized in the daffodil.

-Helen had been a little anxious

-beforehand, but now...

-It's very relaxing.

-That's it. It's done.

-"I've already been

-in four counties today."

-Where shall I stop for food?

-Where shall I stop for food?

-

-In West Wales...

-..having already embalmed five

-bodies, he has another four to go.

-I'm up against it today.

-I've three to do here.

-That's two and a half hours' work.

-Then I have to pack everything

-away and drive to Port Talbot.

-There's no McDonald's in Cardigan

-to grab a coffee.

-I've been

-in four counties already today.

-Swansea, Cardiganshire,

-Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.

-I'm heading back to Swansea again.

-Take that in, Sam.

-I've inserted a drip...

-..which is running through the body.

-I've added traceable dye to check

-that it's gone through the arteries.

-The body's being kept at the family

-home for a week, so I must ensure...

-..that every part of his body

-has received embalming fluid...

-..because if it hasn't, it could

-cause that body part to leak.

-It would result in wet clothes,

-a wet coffin and a pungent odour.

-I don't want that to happen.

-He has finished embalming

-his ninth body of the day.

-Job done. I'm out of here.

-He sets his sights on home.

-I'll get in, have a shower

-to get rid of the day's grime...

-..and enjoy

-spending time with the children.

-Prague, the Czech Republic's capital

-city, home to 10 million citizens.

-Gareth Jenkins is taken on a tour of

-the city's largest funeral parlour.

-Here is our customer office.

-His eye

-is drawn to all things unusual.

-This is a bit different.

-There are curtains in the back.

-In Prague,

-the state is wholly responsible...

-..for the funeral process,

-including the coffins.

-Most of them are made from wood.

-I think

-this has made been made from alloy.

-You can't use this for a cremation.

-This is where they make the coffins.

-They have to insert the alloy

-if the coffin is carried by air.

-That's international law.

-This has to be welded.

-After that's been done...

-..to ensure the correct body

-has been placed inside...

-..they've inserted a widow.

-That's not to see out,

-it's to look in!

-Next, Gareth visits one of

-the two enormous crematoriums...

-..which service the entire city.

-Since a small minority of Czechs

-are non-religious...

-..services are held in halls

-rather than chapels.

-Preparations for a family funeral

-are underway in this hall.

-But it's large funerals,

-including those of state leaders...

-..that take place in this hall.

-This is

-the biggest ceremony hall in Europe.

-It's in here

-that they hold the funerals...

-..of heads of state

-and prime ministers.

-You can see the Russian influence...

-..in this building.

-It's totally different

-from our system.

-Funeral directors here

-don't even come to the crematorium.

-They have nothing to do on the day.

-It's up to the family

-where they go...

-..and it's also up to them

-to stand up and say a few words.

-The acoustics

-are phenomenal in here.

-They're wonderful.

-They put the coffin in here...

-..before they enter the hall.

-The family stands behind the glass

-and looks in.

-They open the coffin.

-Nobody comes into this room here.

-They all have to be in there,

-for some reason.

-Here is the lift

-from the big ceremony.

-Judging from the heat coming for the

-doors, we're close to the cremators.

-Family members can stand here...

-..and watch the coffin

-going into the furnace.

-The family stands here...

-..and watches the coffin enter.

-Family members

-can also go inside the room...

-..peer through the small window

-and watch the coffin being burnt.

-It's completely different.

-Different, but we all

-become ashes to ashes in the end.

-Next time,

-why does a carer for the living...

-..want to become

-a carer for the dead?

-I can do it.

-I don't think it's morbid at all.

-In what kind funeral

-do saints go marching in?

-And in Prague,

-what kind of creation...

-..is Gareth crystallizing?

-Really nice.

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

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