The ICCM Journal | Winter 2021 | V89 No. 4
21
eastern branch meeting event We meet again...
Peterborough Crematorium
My understanding is that we have held the first face-to-face branch meeting since March 2020 when Covid-19 hit us and brought the country to a near standstill. It felt so good to be able to organise an event where we could see and touch people (those that wanted a hug)! I think we can all agree that you just don’t know how much it means to have something in your life, until it's taken away – we at Nene Valley crematorium have so missed these types of events. We had had this event provisionally penciled in for Spring 2020. So, we just picked up from where we had left off, and arranged for a typical crematorium visit to be at Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, who kindly agreed to host the event on Saturday 16th October at 10.00 am. Aware of our supporting the carbon footprint, it was agreed at a weekly brief on Friday morning that minimum vehicles would be used to transport the full Nene Valley team, (in just three vehicles) what a turnout – a huge well-done shout-out from a very proud manager. The team arrived within 20 minutes of each other in the car park, where the good feeling of the day started to ripple through us, as we made our way to the crematorium’s restroom. A very hospitable welcome was actively conveyed by Danny and Tina, team members of the crematorium – who immediately provided hot drinks as we gathered, chatting away – noting we gathered to receive a hot drink. First impressions were noted of how big the crematorium building appeared, with much land, including woodland and several types of established memorials. This contrasts with the landscape of Nene Valley’s new Garden of Remembrance, home to young planting and awaiting memorials to provide a home for loved one’s ashes. Guests began to arrive, who were equally welcomed with offers of tea, coffee with biscuits, croissants and pastries. Chatting amongst us all continued over refreshments and once everyone was fed and watered, we were taken on a tour of the crematorium and grounds, led by Danny. First, we saw the media room and connecting vestry – a large space, which houses their media equipment, with a connecting door into a vestry for ceremony leaders to prepare for services. It was interesting to hear about how we work differently, despite delivering the same outcome, namely funerals. At Nene Valley crematorium the media room is smaller and music is sent through automatically overnight before a service. This allows funeral directors an opportunity to change any music – the media is controlled from our media room by our chapel
