The practice by undertakers of offering unsolicited services is by no means new: perhaps now, it has become more refined.

I distinctly remember, many, many years ago, that when a person reached that stage in life of no return, possibly in collusion with the family doctor, the undertaker used to position himself near the residence of the moribund person in anticipation of any forthcoming ‘business’. This happened in the case of a relative of mine in Sliema almost 70 years ago.

What annoys me now, maybe because my turn is just around the corner, is the nasty and, yes, evil practice of lowering the coffin vertically in the vault, with the slabs only partially removed, and sometimes accompanied with a resounding thud.

Why cannot we have a decently-conducted ceremony in which the coffin is lowered with some dignity horizontally? It is the duty of the undertakers to see that the grave attendants do their work properly and with a modicum of respect at least to the mourners present by the graveside.

It is embarrassing to witness the way the grave personnel shamelessly go about doing their job in such great haste, in spite, ironically, of any pre-arranged pecuniary considerations via the undertakers.