– when I get in the funeral I’ve forgotten something’
es have reverted back to more “traditional” ways of paying respects.
“It’s almost like going back in time. Where usually you’d think nothing of having 200 to 300 people attending, now that they can’t they’re finding other ways to pay their respects.
“It’s so emotional seeing everyone line the streets on the route to the crem.
“With church there being services, it’s no almost gone back to how it used to be, singing hymns in the street and preaching.”
For Michael Ryan, funeral director at Michael G Ryan Son & Daughters Ltd in Newport, funerals will “never be the same”.
The 69-year-old said that not being able to attend in person has changed how people are forced to celebrate a person’s life.
“I don’t think funerals will ever be the same.
“I’m 69 now and to me these are more like the funerals you’d see in the 1950s and ‘60s.
“Because churches are closed, people are paying their respects in different ways.
“We did one funeral last week where around 200 people lined the streets – people are still turning out.
“I’ve spoken to some people who have said that this is worse than the Second World War. In the war they could leave their houses other than when the bombs were falling, but today we don’t know where the bombs are coming from.”
Michael has been directing funerals across Newport and Cardiff for more than 20 years and says that not being able to build up the same relationship with those grieving has been hard.
“Not being able to shake family members’ hands or comfort them is definitely alien to us. You always build up a rapport with families but it’s more difficult now.
“There is also the problem of how many family members can attend. Some crematoriums say five, others say 10 – so it’s talking to the families about that too.”
Based within the Aneurin Bevan Health Board, one of the worst-affected areas in the country at one point, Michael said he has seen the number of funerals increase by around 30%. “I don’t think it has been as heavy as we initially expected it would be.
“The amount of funerals we are currently doing is up something like 30% on last year.
“While usually we would be doing around 15 funerals a week, now it’s around 18.
“I would still say that in this area we are still finding that a lot of deaths are from people who have been treated in hospital.”
Michael has also been faced with the challenge of temporarily replacing staff who are now unable to work.
“A lot of our workers were retired gentlemen.
“At the moment a lot of them aren’t able to work because they are isolating so we have had to have other staff in to fill their roles.
“Because fewer family members can attend, funeral directors are now doing the bearings too, so we have that to think about with staff as well.”
James Richards, funeral director at Richards Funeral Services in Aberdare, has worked in the industry since he was 20.
“Everything is a lot less personable now, which has made our job more difficult,” said the 43-yearold.
“In our job you know it’s natural to be supporting the family and being there as much as you can, but we can’t do that in the same way now because of social distancing.
“Something I will say that has come from this is community spirit – support for the families has been amazing.
“We did one funeral last week and the streets were full of people all along the route, it was really emotional.
“The number of people who can actually attend is obviously one of the biggest changes; that’s difficult, not being able to have a full celebration. “I suppose everything just feels more impersonal now.
“We have noticed a slight increase in the number of funerals we are doing but not necessarily just from coronavirus deaths, a lot of people had been ill before this,” he said.
James also acknowledged the strain on families who lost loved ones just before lockdown.
“The first few weeks were difficult, it was a bit of an adjustment.
“Obviously funerals are booked around two to three weeks in advance so we already had some booked before these new guidelines were put in.
“It then means changing everything and making sure everything was gone through with the family and they are happy with them.”
“Support for families has been amazing. We did one funeral last week and the streets were full of people..” James Richards, of Aberdare