Out of the Ordinary

This is all about the work we do for our customers and how our ‘comfort zone’ relates to it.

We all do our best for our clients.  Usually, the work we do falls within our comfort zone so doing our best does not present any problems.

Occasionally though, circumstances throw a curve-ball at us. There are aspects about a new enquiry that does not fall within the work we usually do and so gives us pause.

A New challenge

This happened to me recently. A chap I have known for over a decade messaged me to ask if I could record a funeral service – his father’s.  I had recorded a funeral once before during the first COVID lockdown so it was not a task that was entirely new to me.  That said, I did not need reminding how such an event is so emotionally charged.

This latest enquiry however, held a new challenge.

The church that was to hold the service was small.  Barely big enough to hold half of the number expected to pay their respect to the gentleman that had passed on.  So, the requirement was to relay the service to an adjacent barn.

I visited the church and the barn.. and then the lady that had recently been bereaved… Her son invited me to meet her.  Such a lovely lady..

We discussed what she wanted – and it was immediately made plain that the relaying of the service was of central importance to her and this made it all the more vital for me not to let them down.

The day of the service rolled up and all went well.  It was a beautiful, late-summer day in Suffolk. The folk in the barn could hear and see the service and be part of it.  The widow said she derived much comfort for the fact that all those who attended could be part of her husband’s send-off.  That was when I could heave a sigh of relief.

I was outside my comfort zone – but to be stretched every now and then does us a power of good.  Even more so when the nature of the task in hand has so much attached to it.