Funeral Fun - The attack

The garage at Newtown.

    It was a late night, just three of us were to work back after hours for a vigil when one of us was almost attacked.  This incident was perhaps one of the funniest things that has ever happened to me, I ended up laughing so much and so hard that I actually hurt my lungs a little.  I may sound a little strange or mean to laugh so much at the attack of another employee, but read on and see why.

The W.N.Bull Garage & Trim Shop

    Our garage is an interesting one indeed.  A couple from InvoCare have said that it is the worst in the company, and one of the worst they have ever seen.  The way we need to move several cars to get to just one, the lack of space, the pot-holes, the constant puddles, the dirt and dust and the narrow lane outside that barely fits two cars at a time.  Yet we manage, we run an active and busy business out of there.  We are constantly coming and going on a daily basis.  And for all its flaws I have come to rather like it.

    The W.N.Bull garage has a rich history and an interesting atmosphere.  It was originally a stables when it was first established in 1892.  One can even see marks in the floor where the stable doors would have been.  So it is not very well designed for cars and has not been re-surfaced in a long time.  There is even a petrol pump installed in the mid 1960s.  This was to combat a shortage of fuel due to strikes.  In this industry reliable fuel and cars are extremely important.  The circuit board up in the trim shop is mostly original to the building, with many add-ons over time.

    Long worn wooden stairs lead up from the garage to the trim shop.  The stairs are original to the building and still going.  Our trim shop is where we store and prepare all our coffins and caskets.  Due to no real vents, no fans and only two average sized windows it is a hot place in summer and a cold place in winter.  An absolutely appalling place to work in summer, all the heat from the garage just rises and collects here.  But much like the garage it has a certain charm and I have grown to appreciate it.

    Here are some pictures to help give you a better idea of the 'fun' we put up with every day.  The low quality of some pictures is due to the darkness of the garage.  And they were all taken with just an iPhone.

The third door into our garage. Where we keep the little cars.

The first door into our garage. Where we keep the two transfer vehicles and one hearse.

All three doors to the garage; the closest one on the left is the first door.

From inside, this is the third door and petrol pump on the left.

Getting ready for the morning and washing our cars.

The middle spots and where we keep the trolleys for the blue coffins. The two transfer cars are just to the left, out of sight.

All our little cars and change room at the end. Moving the car in the far corner means moving the two cars on the left.

Our transfer vehicles. the Toyota Hicae van (capacity of 4) and the Holdon Commodore wagon (capacity of 1).

The circle in the floor by the pump is where they would have put the fuel in from the truck.

Our very own fuel pump! It has not worked in at least 20 years.
The sponge on the top left is there to help hold it together.

Stairs from the trim shop down into the garage.

Stairs up into the trim shop.

Stock coffins, trimmed and ready to be used.

Our circuit board. We believe the parts to the top left date back to the 1920s.
Other parts are from the 40s 70s and from more recent times.
I will probably make a post dedicated to this fire hazard another time.

A coffin on the horses to the left is sold and now being prepared. The others standing up are waiting to be sold.

Stairs are to the left, coffins to the right and the lift behind.

Workbench, where we keep all the tools, screws and other useful stuff.

The lift we use to take coffins up or down.

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