My condolences to the family and friends of my recently deceased neighbor.

I just witnessed the most curious (to me) thing. I was sitting at my bedroom window when I saw a hearse with a coffin in it followed by a funereal limousine. The vehicles drove by quite slowly, clearly looking for a house, which happened to be two down from my own. Once I got over the initial shock of seeing a hearse on a quiet neighborhood road, I realized I was making a most interesting cultural observation.

The two vehicles parked and from the hearse two men, one wearing a top hat, alighted and from the limousine, one man alighted. The man in the top hat walked to the front door of the house while the other two men waited, respectfully, by the limousine. I watched as two couples, one older couple and another, much older couple, walked from the house and got into the limousine.

Once the four passengers were in the limousine, the three men stood at the head of each car for about a minute in what I can only assume was a moment of silence. Then, the driver of the hearse and the driver of the limousine got into their respective vehicles while the man in the top hat went to the front of the hearse.

At this point, the two vehicles began to move forward with the top hatted man on foot and leading the way, down the road. They moved forward, maybe a tenth of a mile and stopped. The man in the top hat then walked to the side of the hearse, bowed towards the coffin, and got into the vehicle at which point both cars drove away.

It turns out, I was witness to a traditional British funeral procession. According to the Heart of England Co-op Funerals, the funeral procession begins at the home of the deceased where any friends and family who wish to travel in the procession are waiting. The funeral director will lead then the procession a short way on foot before getting into the hearse and driving the rest of the way.

The whole affair was solemn but lovely, despite being on a noisy neighborhood street with dump trucks backing up and gardeners making a racket. I do hope the family, whoever they are, are able to find some peace with their loss. I also hope this is the only time I am privy to a British funeral.