0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting
0:00:06 > 0:00:11Each year in Scotland thousands of deaths are unexplained.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14It's the job of the mortuary staff to find the answer.
0:00:14 > 0:00:19Tonight, they take the BBC behind the scenes
0:00:19 > 0:00:21in Edinburgh's City Mortuary,
0:00:21 > 0:00:25and give a revealing insight into, not only how we're dying,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28but how we're living in Scotland today.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31'There's been a murder.' It's nothing like Taggart.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37This is their story in their own words.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01'Every day I walk in here I'm facing death.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05'It's now coming up for 19 years that I've worked in the mortuary.'
0:01:05 > 0:01:10'It turned out a very interesting job, there's no two days the same.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13'It's not the type of job you're going to get bored at.'
0:01:13 > 0:01:18'My alarm goes off in the morning, I get in my car and come down here.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21'We open up the mortuary and initially what we've got to do is
0:01:21 > 0:01:26'check the book of the dead to see if any bodies have come in overnight.'
0:01:30 > 0:01:34'I was actually amazed myself that I actually felt OK.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39'At first I thought there was something wrong with me.'
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Watch me bits!
0:01:43 > 0:01:46'There is that kind of wall that you've got to put up,'
0:01:46 > 0:01:48or you might have some issues.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Some people stay with you.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56They don't upset me, but you don't forget the faces,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00you don't forget the circumstances. But I didn't put them here.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04I'm not religious in any way, but, to me, they're empty shells.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07If they were a person, the person that was there has now gone,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09has left that body, left the empty shell
0:02:09 > 0:02:11that I've got to take into our care
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and treat with the greatest respect, as well.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16But it's not somebody I've had personal contact with,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19so I can disassociate myself that way.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21The only thing I would say I don't like -
0:02:21 > 0:02:25but I do put up with them and deal with them - is maggots.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28They just get everywhere and stick to your gloves
0:02:28 > 0:02:30and it is no consolation whatsoever
0:02:30 > 0:02:34that they're only interested in dead flesh, as opposed to living flesh.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37That's no consolation at all.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06There's been a few bodies deposited overnight.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09The first thing we do in the morning is pull them out,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11check the name bands, check their ID,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14and we'll weigh and measure them, as well.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23On average, we maybe do about six post-mortems per day.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26The most we've ever done in one day is 18.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36I'm getting too old for this.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Somebody's jumped from a bridge in Edinburgh.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46He's obviously whacked his heid cause his heid's gone totally.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48He's hit the back of his head.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Has he been in the hospital?
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Because I did notice there's a bandage on the sleeve.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Well, I'm still to get medical stuff.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Because that could be a needle puncture mark.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02I don't think anything could bother me now,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04I think I've seen all there is to see.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07'So, I've seen people in house fires,
0:04:07 > 0:04:13'people that have been stabbed, shot, assaulted, beaten up,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17'people that have slit their wrists and throats and stuff.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19'I've seen some dramatic stuff.'
0:04:19 > 0:04:23It's different every day and there's always something new happening,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25and you cannae beat it.
0:04:42 > 0:04:48A public mortuary has a connection in terms with the legal services.
0:04:48 > 0:04:54The Procurator Fiscal in Scotland has the remit
0:04:54 > 0:04:59of investigating all sudden, unexpected deaths
0:04:59 > 0:05:02which haven't otherwise been accounted for.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04ECHOING VOICES
0:05:04 > 0:05:07- You want the decomp? - Yes, bring him up, please.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09So the right kidney, is 150 grams...
0:05:09 > 0:05:12No obvious tattoos or anything.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16This post mortem involves a young man who has got one or two
0:05:16 > 0:05:21past medical histories, he's also noted to be a heavy drinker.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25He's been with friends one afternoon.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29There's a possibility he's then gone to source some illicit drugs,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33and the following day he's found in water,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36his body is discovered in water.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39I mean, the issues for us are,
0:05:39 > 0:05:44is his death going to be related to alcohol or drug intoxication?
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Is there a possibility that his death has been due to drowning?
0:06:06 > 0:06:11Given the possibility here of a suspicious mode of death,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15you really want to exclude that the individual's neck was compressed.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19So, I'm doing that and looking at the muscles of the neck
0:06:19 > 0:06:23where we might see bruising if that was a possibility.
0:06:23 > 0:06:29Pathology is the backbone of medicine.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33Once upon a time, you were ex-communicated
0:06:33 > 0:06:36if you've touched a dead body.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41But, when people were allowed to start dissecting dead bodies,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44that's when we learned about disease.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48All naturale.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51'It's our job to assist the pathologist'
0:06:51 > 0:06:52to make his findings.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55'He'll do what's called an external examination,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58'where he'll look for any injuries or anything,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00'look at the eyes, the eye colour, teeth.'
0:07:00 > 0:07:03I'm the man that's got to open the body.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Generally, what we like to do is a straight line incision
0:07:06 > 0:07:08which comes from just under your trachea
0:07:08 > 0:07:10down to just past your belly button.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13So, we'll open the body that way, reflect all the fat and the muscle,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18take out the chest bones and then, in one fell swoop,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23take the organs from the tongue down to the bladder in a oner.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Do you want to have a look at these lungs, Claire, while you're there?
0:07:29 > 0:07:33He's got quite hyper-expanded lungs, they're pretty full.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Yeah, probably are, they're probably full of fluid.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38And he may have a lot in his stomach, as well.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Water in the stomach or something. We'll see what there is.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45We'll extract them, put them in a receptacle.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Tony'll take them to the dissecting bench.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49He'll do what he has to do with them,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52dissect them and looking for cause of death.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55What we have here are very expanded lungs.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Normally, they would sort of sit a bit lower down
0:07:57 > 0:08:01and you can see the front of the cavity where the heart sits,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03but here the lungs are filling right across.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06And when I opened the chest, that's why I asked Claire to come over,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09cos again they were filling right across the chest.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12They're very expanded, you don't expect to see them so full.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16So, at this stage I think drowning's certainly a possibility.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19In the meantime, I'll have reflected the scalp,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23taken the saw and opened the skull cap, removed the brain,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25'shown the inside of the head
0:08:25 > 0:08:28'to make sure there's no injuries or fractures in there,'
0:08:28 > 0:08:30and, while he's dissecting everything,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33it's my job to reconstruct, so I'll start stitching everything up.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37It's nice interacting with different specialties.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39You interact with law enforcement,
0:08:39 > 0:08:44lawyers, investigators - it's very fulfilling in that sense.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47You're really, you're not just stuck in your office all day,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51you're actually doing other things, talking to people.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54It's a very nice job, actually, it's very interesting.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57First section, cause of death 1A,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00drowning in brackets pending further investigations in brackets.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Background circumstances - he was a known heavy drinker
0:09:03 > 0:09:07and an apparent user of illicit drugs full stop.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12So the cause of death at this stage will be drowning
0:09:12 > 0:09:16and then, in all likelihood, there will be something added
0:09:16 > 0:09:20to the cause of death based upon the toxicology.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24It sounds like from the police that drug or alcohol intoxication
0:09:24 > 0:09:26is the likeliest cause.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Drug users die of lots of things.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38It's an extraordinary condition, and, you know,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41being medically involved with managing drug users,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43there's just this bewildering
0:09:43 > 0:09:46array of serious illnesses associated with drug use.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07More than half of the bodies that we're storing,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10at any one given time, I would say half them
0:10:10 > 0:10:12have all got something to do with drugs.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16BOISTEROUS SHOUTING AND LAUGHTER
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Oh, like it!
0:10:20 > 0:10:22'Perry was like, he was very outgoing,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26'he was always up for life, he actually loved life.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30'He loved his body, he kept on going on about upper body strength all the time.'
0:10:35 > 0:10:38I went in the room, Perry was lying there...
0:10:52 > 0:10:55He was lying sprawled across the bed.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00And I touched his foot, I kicked his foot - nothing.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02And that's when it struck me.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05I just knew, I just knew, I hadn't seen him...
0:11:08 > 0:11:11'We do have a drug problem that's bigger in Scotland,'
0:11:11 > 0:11:16so the more drug users you have, the more deaths you'll have.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20And the underlying concern is that we have probably
0:11:20 > 0:11:23more drug users per head of population than we do in England,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and certainly, according to most reports,
0:11:26 > 0:11:30we have a higher prevalence of drug use than most parts of Europe.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36'We had to go to the mortuary and identify Perry.'
0:11:36 > 0:11:38It is a surreal moment when you think about it,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42because see it on the TV programmes and all that, and...
0:11:44 > 0:11:46..the anticipation...
0:11:48 > 0:11:50..of what you're going to see.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Certainly an experience I never,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55ever want to have to go through again.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00We see quite a lot of drugs-related deaths.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Sometimes you can go for ages with none,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06and then maybe there's a bad batch of something going about
0:12:06 > 0:12:11and then we get maybe four, five over the course of a week.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16'It's just a steady, steady flow of drug users'
0:12:16 > 0:12:19just dying - it's constant.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Since I started here five years ago, it's just unreal.
0:12:41 > 0:12:4367 kilos.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45'The family and police have arrived,'
0:12:45 > 0:12:48so they're just co-ordinating all that downstairs at the moment.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Once the ID's over and done with,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52then the body will go in the lift and come up.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Anybody that's abused drugs we class as a high risk case,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02but it's anything like, anybody that's got like HIV,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07Hep C, TB, things like that, anything that that could be
0:13:07 > 0:13:10transferred from them to us while we're doing the autopsy.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15Other bodies have passed through here - almost unknown to us -
0:13:15 > 0:13:18but they're extreme high risk, what we call extreme high risk.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22That's a body that came in, it had anthrax.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24That's a killer
0:13:26 > 0:13:30We're putting masks on because we're treating these as high risks,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33just in case there's any splash when we're dissecting the body.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35It saves you inhaling it or eating it.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41SONG: "Nessun Dorma"
0:13:41 > 0:13:45HE SINGS ALONG
0:13:52 > 0:13:55We'll send these for toxicology...
0:13:57 > 0:14:04..and they'll determine amounts of alcohol or drugs in the system.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07We didn't realise that it was an anthrax case
0:14:07 > 0:14:10until the toxicology was tested,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13'which is two or three weeks down the line.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16'Then we realised that we had an anthrax case in
0:14:16 > 0:14:22and this place got shut down for two or three days to get sterilised,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26'and all instruments that were used in that case were disposed of.'
0:14:30 > 0:14:35We've cleaned with the highest power disinfectant that we can use,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38so it's clinically clean, it's not sterile.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41And it has been proven, we've had swabs taken from the place
0:14:41 > 0:14:44that proved we were cleaner than some operating theatres
0:14:44 > 0:14:46in some hospitals not too far away,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48but I'm not going to mention any names.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53You've got a job to do, you get it done.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58Everybody's the same - you come up, batter into your work, get it done,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00just get down the stairs for food.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02Time to get everything off,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05empty the buckets and get downstairs for some lunch.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Lunchtime! SHE LAUGHS
0:15:17 > 0:15:20The job actually makes me very hungry,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24really hungry and that's why I eat all the time.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27I don't know what it is and I'm not the only one.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Like, we'll have students that have not been here before
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and they'll say to me, "I'm really hungry." And I just say,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37"Oh, that's the cannibal in you coming out."
0:15:37 > 0:15:38It kind of worries them.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Humour has to be a part of the job or we'd all be mad,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46we'd all be slashing our wrists and ending up on the autopsy
0:15:46 > 0:15:49tables ourselves. And it may look to others
0:15:49 > 0:15:51as if we're being disrespectful,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54but it's just, for us, it's a coping mechanism.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56And it's...and it's certainly black humour.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Oh, long hair.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01It's just as well we were juniors for Vidal Sassoon.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05It's not us being disrespectful to anybody.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09It's just how we, as a group, use it as a coping mechanism.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Maybe some people expect if you work in a mortuary
0:16:12 > 0:16:15you're all doom and gloom and long-faced.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18And that's obviously not the case wi' us anyway.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22But even outside the PM room and in the tea room,
0:16:22 > 0:16:24we're always having a laugh and a carry on
0:16:24 > 0:16:26and I think that's just us, basically.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30- I thought you had a couple of dates last week.- Got stood up, you mean.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34So what happened then? Why was it cancelled?
0:16:34 > 0:16:35Her husband came back.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38THEY LAUGH
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Hey, there's nae need for that!
0:17:01 > 0:17:05So this is the only public area of the mortuary,
0:17:05 > 0:17:09where members of the public are allowed in and it's for this reason,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13for coming in for the purposes of ID or for viewing or for both.
0:17:13 > 0:17:14So, the family would come in.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17We know the body's at the other side of the glass.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Either myself or the police officer that's escorting the family
0:17:20 > 0:17:24will come in, and obviously the lights are a bit dimmer,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26and it'd just be a matter of...
0:17:28 > 0:17:30..just opening up the blinds
0:17:30 > 0:17:33to reveal their loved one on the other side.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40It IS important that the pathologists
0:17:40 > 0:17:45always have at the back of their minds, not just the deceased,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48very, very important because that's what they're working with,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51the material they're working with, but the bereaved.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56And the bereaved NEED to be helped as much as one can.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58I'd expect anybody else to treat me or mine
0:17:58 > 0:18:02the same way that I'd treat everybody that passes through here.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05There's always somebody else in the background.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08This is a very important job, I would say.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12I don't think there's a huge amount of people would do it,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14but it's very important because you need to know
0:18:14 > 0:18:18how people have passed away and their families need to know as well,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20for closure, and somebody's got to do the job.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28OK, the first case this morning is a young male in his 40s
0:18:28 > 0:18:31who's been found at home after taking his own life.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33He's got a ligature round his neck
0:18:33 > 0:18:37and there was a suicide note found on the premises.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43There are about 780 suicide deaths a year in Scotland.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46The rate is around 80% higher in Scotland than in England
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and Wales, if you take that over a number of years.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12I think a lot of the cases are really sad that these people
0:19:12 > 0:19:15feel that they haven't got anybody to turn to,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18even though some of them do have family that care.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21But I suppose if you're maybe depressed
0:19:21 > 0:19:23or you've got other medical issues,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27you might feel that you're completely on your own.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32Any society that's...that has a claim to be a society
0:19:32 > 0:19:34and to have some compassion must worry
0:19:34 > 0:19:37if young people are deliberately taking their lives.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40A lot more people are losing their jobs,
0:19:40 > 0:19:44worried about money...
0:19:44 > 0:19:49or it's a relationship issue. We find that with the young people.
0:19:49 > 0:19:55It's usually they've had a fall out with... It's usually a girlfriend.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Young boys, you know. It's a shame.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01The economic situation has been explored
0:20:01 > 0:20:04in quite a number of recent studies,
0:20:04 > 0:20:09and showed, that for every 1% increase in unemployment
0:20:09 > 0:20:12there was about a 1% increase in suicide.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16If they do leave a note, finance is usually mentioned
0:20:16 > 0:20:21somewhere along the lines or family have indicated in the police report
0:20:21 > 0:20:26that, you know, they were...the family or the person
0:20:26 > 0:20:29were in financial, you know, difficulties.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33I think we have to be on our guard that the suicide rate doesn't
0:20:33 > 0:20:37increase over the next few years because that's likely to happen.
0:20:37 > 0:20:38INTERNAL PHONE
0:20:38 > 0:20:42- 'Hello?'- Hi, one in the lift. Next one, please.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50There's different things,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53odd bit and bobs that are...
0:20:53 > 0:20:55are lodged within the mortuary.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Like a leg that we've got there,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00that we've had for a number amount of years.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01It was found in the water,
0:21:01 > 0:21:06and they reckon it's possibly someone that's come off a boat,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10fell overboard and been either diced up by the propellers
0:21:10 > 0:21:13or something like that. And so far they've only found a leg.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16So we've got a Polish sailor's leg in the mortuary.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18But, er, if anybody's missing one...
0:21:18 > 0:21:21I think it's been here since the '70s.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25I think I vaguely remember somebody saying '74.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Something like that, but way before my time.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Photographs of bodies that came in the '30s.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37What about the one with the dodgy looking characters?
0:21:37 > 0:21:39There's some dodgy looking characters in here.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44That'll be the murder victim the murder weapon and the murderer.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49It's just interesting to look at cases from years ago.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52This young lady was murdered by John Henry Savage,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55who was executed by Ellis.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Hanging, mummification on Rose Street.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00So he's mummified, he's all dried out,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03and there's a wee newspaper clipping there as well
0:22:03 > 0:22:06from 17th May 1934.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09It's quite cool.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19'If a decomposed body, which has died, it's concealed,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22'it's been lying there for months and gone into decomposition.'
0:22:22 > 0:22:23Oh, we've got maggots.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26'The ones that come from houses, very sad.'
0:22:26 > 0:22:29They live alone, keep theirself to theirself,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31they've no next of kin, they've no family,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35they've no friends, so nobody's missed them.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Years ago, when I was a kid, you went and visited your granny
0:23:02 > 0:23:04every week, once or twice a week,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07even though she hated you and she kicked you oot in the garden.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10But there was more family interaction, I think, then.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Now people's lives are too busy, I think.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15You're too busy living your own life to actually get out
0:23:15 > 0:23:19and interact wi'...with others.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22And it's really sad that these people pass away on their own,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25and they're not found until maybe a bill hasn't been paid
0:23:25 > 0:23:29or somebody wants to read their gas meter and sticks their nose
0:23:29 > 0:23:33through their letter box and gets a bit of a stink, you know.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36A lot of gas men find a lot of bodies, it would seem.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38So, I feel sorry for them.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43Surely, surely somebody oot there must have known that person
0:23:43 > 0:23:44and missed them.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48It was a support worker that found him.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52He approached the house
0:23:52 > 0:23:55and noticed the smell.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58It's funny saying you can taste the smell, but you can.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02I'm trying to relate it to something that it smells like.
0:24:04 > 0:24:05But...
0:24:07 > 0:24:12I suppose if, if there's something in your fridge that's gone off,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16try and multiply that 100 times and you might get close.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19It clings to your hair and your clothes,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22like, it really clings and when you're on the train
0:24:22 > 0:24:26and it's maybe summer, and, you know, the windows are open
0:24:26 > 0:24:29and you get the odd smell coming past, I just sit there thinking,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32"Oh, please, nobody think it's me.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34"Don't sit next to me".
0:24:34 > 0:24:38It all depends on the condition of where the body is. If it's...
0:24:38 > 0:24:40even if the body's been in the house,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43if a window's been left open, and a bluebottle gets in
0:24:43 > 0:24:45then all it needs to do is fire in there,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48lay a few eggs and your body's covered in maggots.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56Unfortunately, after a PM like that everything tends to be a bit greasy.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00You'll be surprised even when decomposed bodies come in
0:25:00 > 0:25:03at the amount of family that suddenly appear,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06and, "Oh, my God, oh! What's happened?"
0:25:06 > 0:25:08But they couldnae been that concerned for him
0:25:08 > 0:25:11if they've nae seen him for 12 weeks, know what I mean?
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Family can stay two or three doors away
0:25:14 > 0:25:17and the person could be lying decomposed.
0:25:17 > 0:25:18Never see them for a year.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21"I didnae talk to him, he doesnae talk to me, so..."
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Decomposed bodies are coming here every week.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32So...
0:25:32 > 0:25:35You think about, now, if you cast your mind,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38if you think about Edinburgh now, there's probably about five or six
0:25:38 > 0:25:41decomposed bodies lying now, not been found.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Friends, we gather here today at what for us is a time of sadness.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04It's inevitable and right that we should feel such sadness
0:26:04 > 0:26:07and to wish to express it, too.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Bodies that go through the City Mortuary
0:26:09 > 0:26:11will only come to us as a Council Funeral
0:26:11 > 0:26:13once everything's been established.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Once the Procurator Fiscal's satisfied with the cause of death
0:26:16 > 0:26:18and the police are finished their investigations
0:26:18 > 0:26:21and there's no family, they will then come to us.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43There shall be no more night, and they will not need lamps
0:26:43 > 0:26:45nor sunlight because God will be their light.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49A Council Funeral is treated the same as any other funeral.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52If there's no family members, it'll just be the hearse.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55They'll come up to the chapel doors,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58the body will come in exactly the same way as any other service.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00We'll provide a minister,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02and the only difference is there'll be nobody there.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05When I was first ordained,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09you were maybe talking 3-4% of funerals perhaps,
0:27:09 > 0:27:14but certainly over the last 12 months that's been much nearer 20%.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21We're as vulnerable the moment we're born as we are
0:27:21 > 0:27:23at the point we die.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30And we're as under other people's control at those two points,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33the start and finish of our lives.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Birth and death are the only two places in life
0:27:39 > 0:27:40where we're all truly equal.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04We don't talk about death. Mexicans celebrate it.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07We put it under the carpet and it's never mentioned.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12I'm not scared to die, you know, it doesn't bother me.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15It's going to happen. I'd rather not just now,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18but that's not for me to say, is it?
0:28:21 > 0:28:24An inevitable part of life is death.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27It comes to us all.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29We're all going to get on that bus.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31You're not going to be able to miss it.
0:28:54 > 0:29:01Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd