I'm always up for a creepy film, but not gore. I will never watch Saw. Five minutes was enough. I think it's useful though, and necessary, to be able to talk about Death and what it looks like, and to reclaim our beloved dead somewhat from medical territory. The first dead person I ever saw, I was 23, was my first year student landlord. I had become close to his family and went with them in the first car to the crematorium. He died of lung cancer and was in an open casket in the sitting room, and it did not look like him. It was a lovely funeral, while terribly sad. Everyone laughed because one of the relatives thought I was the vicar, and this was a huge joke, but all the best funeral have those. He was furious about dying when he did, just as his pension kicked in. He felt cheated of retirement, but what was lovely, things being as they were, was that he died on his own bed while being washed by his sons.
