Leaving the Wizard of Oz behind I travelled over the rainbow (well not exactly) home and determined to pursue the matter. I made a report to the Council describing what I had seen or not seen and suggested that they rectify matters.
It took quite a few weeks for the manager of the crematorium to come back and say that I had got things wrong. Everything was hunky-dory at the crematorium. I’ve just looked up the derivation of hunky-dory and it’s from Kentucky in the 1860s with Irish antecedents. The reason why you pay good money to read this blog is to get gems like this!
She also said that the staff received training and that there were regular inspections. I very much doubted this. With the help of my Ward Councillor and another Councillor and two people with defective hearing we made an arrangement to visit the crematorium with Hearing Loop expert Doug Edworthy on 24 April.
It was a beautiful day and so the chapels were not at all spooky – at least not for me. The Manager had phoned in sick but that didn’t surprise me at all. However the two vestry clerks were really cooperative and we learned that there had been no visit by Council staff for at least nine years and that the staff
had received no training.
The South Chapel was not working at all (I’ll spare you the details) but Doug did a really comprehensive survey of the North Chapel. He’s a real expert. He presented the report to me as I was the initiator and then I forwarded it to the Council. It was a little bit tricky because the Council hadn’t commissioned the report and I don’t think they ever would have done so.
It was necessary to lubricate the wheels a little which was why I was a little bit presumptuous. In Life, you have to cut corners sometimes to get things done. Doug carried out the inspection and wrote the
report pro bono which is very commendable. However, I strongly suspect that the Council will pay him when they contemplate the comprehensiveness and timeliness of his report.
The situation now is that we are awaiting the Council’s decision on what to do. I am hopeful and I leave you today on this cliff-hanger.