A funeral home Wales is offering funerals on the internet — at a hefty price tag per viewer, but far less than it would cost to travel to pay one’s last respects.
The cost is £75 (about U.S. $123) per on-line viewer, reports the British newspaper the Daily Mail. For those who utilize such internet video services as Skype, the price is surprising — particularly since such video streaming is free.
However, for the fee, virtual attendees can view services at the Parc Gwyn Crematorium in the town of Narberth live or at their leisure for seven days afterwards. They can also buy a copy on DVD.
A spokesman said the idea was to make people “feel part of a memorial service without being there in person.”
“Sometimes people discover that their relatives have a problem attending for some reason, so this offers some consolation,” said crematorium superintendent and registrar David Seaman. “Last month for example we provided the service to a family who had just moved to Australia.”
Access to the webcast is strictly controlled by the family of the deceased, the local authority stressed, with a password required to log on.
For the one-time fee, mourners are given a password which allows them access to the memorial.
“The service is designed very much with the distant relative or ill friend in mind,” said the funeral parlor’s manager, Trevor Mathieson. “Families are getting older and more dispersed and it is not always easy to get to a funeral these days. The webcast or DVD can let them be a part of the service.”
The service will also be offered at funeral homes in Liverpool, Cambridge, Nottingham, Peterborough, Worthing in West Sussex, Redditch in Worcestershire and Wokingham, he said.
