An Interview With Richard Wakely, AJ Wakely & Sons

Interviewed by Tracey Beardsley and first published for the online BV Magazine, Richard Wakely is the fourth generation of the family’s funeral director business.
(All images are by Courtenay Hitchcock.)

In 1897, in the small village of Broadwindsor, carpenters and gatemakers Arthur and Ernie Wakely turned their skills to making coffins.
Arthur’s son Jack helped his father and uncle in the family business and, with an entrepreneurial eye, he purchased a small funeral business in Bridport. Fast forward more than 120 years and that funeral business has burgeoned into 14 offices covering an area from Sidmouth to Wincanton.

Jack’s grandson, Richard Wakely, is the fourth-generation funeral director to join A. J. Wakely & Sons. Richard says: ‘It wasn’t my plan to come into the family business. My dad, Clive, a director in the firm, never pushed me or my three sisters. It wasn’t like TV’s Succession! Dad wanted it to be a natural progression. This is more of a vocation than an actual job. You’ve got to want to do it.’

David, Simon, Clive and Jack at Sherborne office in 1999.
After leaving school, Richard worked in the Philippines for the charity Mercy in Action. ‘That experience was life-changing for me,’ he says. ‘I grew up so much in three years.’
Working in the charity’s homes for vulnerable children in the Philippines, Richard ran a summer programme for street kids and a drop-in centre for orphans. ‘We’d feed them and give them a basic education.’
A keen sportsman, Richard spent time going into the community and playing basketball with the kids. This success led him to run an after-school programme as a full-time job. ‘A lot of the kids had no electricity in the evening and were doing their homework by candlelight. Opening the day centre at night gave them a safe space to study.’
We’ll find a way
Returning home, a casual chat while walking along the beach with his dad led to him joining the family business aged 21. Richard began learning the ropes as a general employee. He worked on the fixtures and fittings of coffins, having inherited his great grandfathers’ craft skills, and he shadowed experienced funeral director Matthew Paterson.
Richard juggled working with studying for his funeral director’s diploma. ‘Incredibly, you don’t legally need any qualifications to be a funeral director. It’s scary to think anyone can set up – without the right facilities, knowledge, or empathy that this work requires. Hopefully regulations will be coming in soon.’
After nine years, Richard now runs two of the Wakely offices. ‘Our motto is: “we will say yes and then work out how to do it”!
If a family wants it done and it’s legal, we’ll find a way.’
This includes unusual requests – Richard researched if a lady could keep her husband’s skeleton hanging in her office (she couldn’t).
He’s also been asked to dress down in shorts and a t-shirt rather than the usual funeral attire of tailcoated suit.
‘The taboo of talking about death has changed. People are keener to organise their own funeral and take the burden off loved ones. People want a personal touch. We now have a Land Rover Defender converted into a hearse for funerals on private land. Sometimes it’s just in a field with hay bales for the mourners.’
What is the reaction when Richard says what he does for a living? ‘I always say it’s either a conversation starter or finisher. Some people are surprised and hesitant, not wanting to know more. Others ask questions – lots of them!’
Tough days
Richard’s faith helps him handle the emotions of dealing with death every day. ‘Praying through things really helps. My wife Emily is also a fantastic support. And as soon as I walk through the door, I’m bowled over by two young children and a baby. Work goes to one side for family time and that helps a lot.’
Organising a funeral for a baby or child is the toughest part of his job. ‘You feel for the parents.
‘Also, I’m always struck by non-attended funerals, where the deceased has outlived all friends and relations so there are no mourners. You become the congregation, and when you hear about their incredible lives, it’s very moving. I remember one chap who had been a spy gathering intel during the Second World War. We’re coming to the end of that generation. Such heroic stories will be buried forever – I’m very privileged to hear some of them.’
Quick fire questions:
Top dinner party guests?
My rugby heroes, Jonny Wilkinson and Dan Carter. Jesus would be cool … and my great grandfather, so I could thank him for starting the business!
Book by your bedside?
Imagine Heaven by John Burke
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#Broadwindsor #Burstock #Blackdown #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Drimpton #Dorset #Village #WestDorset #BVMag #AJWakely #TracieBillbeard #History #FuneralDirectors #BeKind

Pour Decisions On Weekend TV

Local business Pour Decisions had one of their products featured on Channel 4’s Sunday morning programme, Sunday Brunch
“…the most delicious vintage of Galets Rouge. You may have tried the absolutely delicious ‘21 (it was a best seller), try the ‘22 and see the difference for yourselves!” – Yasemin

Congratulations Yasemin & Pete 🙂

#Broadwindsor #Burstock #Blackdown #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Drimpton #Dorset #Village #WestDorset #Community #PourDecisions #Wine #Cheese #Delicatessen #NewBusiness #SundayBrunch #BeKind #BeSafe #StaySafe

Broadwindsor Community Film Club – Friday, 19th January

At 7.30pm at the Comrades Hall this Friday, 19th January, Broadwindsor’s Community Film Club will be showing…

A Haunting In Venice (12)

Directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Kenneth Branagh, Kelly Reilly, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh and  Jamie Dornan.
Running time 1 hr. 43 mins.

Kenneth Branagh stars as celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot.  Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo.  He soon gets thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets when one of the guests is murdered.

  • Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm.
  • Film Club members – Free entry
  • Guests – £4 (cash please)
  • Refreshments available, including a cash bar.
  • Tickets can be booked in advance by contacting:
    Emma Myersbroadwindsorem@gmail.com or
    Margaret Wing01308 867252

#Broadwindsor #Blackdown #Burstock #Drimpton #Hursey Kittwhistle, Seaborough #Dorset #WestDorset #Community #Village #January #2024 #CommunityFilmClub #N
ightAtTheMovies #OffToTheFlicks, #BeKind #BeSafe #StaySafe

The Broad Palate – Jan ’24

A couple of warming recipes to fend off the January chills…

Scouse (or Lobscouse) – serves 4-6

Derived from ‘lapskaus’, a traditional, one-pan stew said to have been introduced to Liverpool by Norwegian sailors, this is a great winter stand-by, using beef or lamb and January’s seasonal root vegetables. Leave out the meat if preferred. Typically served with pickled red cabbage and a doorstep of crusty fresh bread (a squeeze of HP not to be underestimated). Every household has its own version. No need to follow exact weights, go by eye.

  • 50g butter
  • 2 onions, coarsely chopped
  • 3-4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and roughly sliced
  • 1 medium swede, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 1 cup pearl barley or dried soup mix (soaked in water for 1 hour)
  • 750g stewing beef or lamb, preferably in thick slices (I use beef as less fatty)
  • Marrowbone (optional)
  • 1.5 litres beef stock

Method:

Rinse and drain the barley/soup mix. In a large pan, melt the butter on a medium heat and seal the meat on all sides.
Add the onion and fry for 2 minutes, before adding the stock and barley/soup mix. Add marrowbone, if using.
Simmer until the meat is tender and the pulses cooked, then remove the meat onto a plate.
Season the broth with salt and pepper (plus an optional good dash of Worcestershire sauce), add the carrots and swede then after 20 mins add the potatoes and cook until everything is cooked.
Remove and discard marrowbone. Add the meat back in, check seasoning, and enjoy.

Ginger Cake

Best wrapped and kept for a few days before eating, but easier said than done. You will need a 2lb loaf tin, buttered and lined, and a hand whisk.

  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 115g hard butter, cubed
  • 115g black treacle
  • 115g golden syrup (measure treacle and syrup straight into a saucepan)
  • 115g dark muscovado sugar
  • 275g milk (whole, preferably) (measure sugar and milk into another saucepan)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 4 balls stem ginger in syrup, chopped (Opies brand is good)

Method:

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas mark 4.
Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl and rub in the butter (the colder your hands, the better).
Gently warm the treacle and syrup until runny but not hot. Do the same with the sugar and milk in the other pan, just enough to dissolve the sugar.
Add the treacle/syrup mixture to the dry ingredients, whisk, then add the milk/sugar mixture and the egg.
Whisk briefly until you have a smooth batter. Fold in the stem ginger pieces, ensuring they are fairly evenly dispersed.
Pour into the loaf tin, give the tin a sharp tap on the worktop and bake for around 40-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack.  Keeps well.

Many thanks to Ann 🙂

Bon Appetit!

To revisit the Bishops’ Kitchen recipes provided by Richard Childs – please click HERE 🙂


#Broadwindsor #Blackdown #Burstock #Drimpton #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Dorset #WestDorset #Community #Village #January #Community
#TheBishopsKitchen #BroadwindsorPalate #WestDorset #Baking #Food #HomeCooking #EatCake #YumYum #Foraging #BeTempted #CookWithKids #Enjoy #BeSafe #StaySafe

Recycling Update: No Blister Packs Please

Further to previous advice, empty blister packs for medication CANNOT be included with the foil in the bins at Comrades Hall. I was advised by an employee at Bridport recycling centre that they could be, but, it has recently come to light that this is incorrect. Any branch of Superdrug will accept them so please recycle them there.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or thoughts on 07840 128763 or saradyke60@gmail.com.

Many thanks,

Sara Dyke

#Broadwindsor #Burstock #Blackdown #Drimpton #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Village #Community #WestDorset #Dorset #DAONB #Recycle #Volunteer #CanYouHelp #BeKind #BeSafe #StaySafe

Lot’s On…

With the Christmas season formerly coming to a close this Twelfth Night, you can join in singing 17th & 18th century Christmas Carols (words & music provided) at the White Lion at 8pm this evening.

Tomorrow, Pizza! Dine in or Takeaway, 6 – 8.30pm from The White Lion – call 01308 867070.

Lots of film too at The Comrades Hall with the Comrades Children’s Cinema Club, 2pm tomorrow (Sat 6th), showing The Call of the Wild (PG, 2020 version).

A matinee this Sunday (7th) at 2pm: ‘The Great Escaper’ (12), 2.30pm.

Broadwindsor Film Club on Friday, 19th showing ‘A Haunting In Venice’ (12), 7.30pm

Live music from Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers with ‘Twenty Years With Hot Fingers‘ on Friday, 26th

This and lots more – click HERE for all this month’s events.

Add your Local Event!
email: info@broadwindsor.org
or tag on Facebook: #Broadwindsor.Org @Broadwindsor.Org
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#Broadwindsor #Blackdown #Burstock #Drimpton #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Dorset #WestDorset #Community #Village #2024 #WhatsOn #Film #NightsOut #HaveFun #TheWhiteLion #BeKind

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone good health and prosperity for 2024.

Thank you to all businesses and valued supporters of the Broadwindsor.Org website 🙂

Wendy Shields
Editor


#Broadwindsor #Blackdown #Burstock #Drimpton #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Dorset #WestDorset #Community #Village #2024 #Happy #New #Health #Prosperity #BeKind

‘Twenty Years With Hot Fingers’ – Friday 26th January, 7.30pm

At 7.30pm on Friday 26th January 2024,  Artsreach and The Comrades Hall present –

Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers with ‘Twenty Years With Hot Fingers

Hot Fingers invite you on a musical journey, weaving together the history of the songs in their repertoire with tales of 20 years on the road together. Expect an eclectic mix of vintage acoustic music, from the redhot jazz of 1920’s New York and sophisticated 1930’s Swing, to the king of gypsy swing Django Reinhardt, the blues guitars of Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson, and the syncopated Latin rhythms of Argentinean Oscar Aleman.

  • Tom ‘Spats’ Langham (tenor/banjo, guitar/ukulele/vocals) is joined by
  • Malcolm Sked (tuba/double bass),
  • Danny Blyth (clarinets/guitar/mandolin/harmonica) and
  • Emily Campbell (vocals) for this special Dorset tour, delivered in partnership with Artsreach.

Tickets in advance:

Available from Margaret Wing – tel. 07796 454203 or email margaretmwing@gmail.com

A bar and refreshments will be available – cash only please.

Early booking is strongly advised for this special anniversary tour with Artsreach,


#Broadwindsor #Blackdown #Burstock #Drimpton #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Dorset #WestDorset #Community #Village #January #2024 #Artsreach #HotFingers
#LiveMusic #BeKind #BeSafe #StaySafe

Broadwindsor Community Film Club – This Friday, 7.30pm

At 7.30pm at the Comrades Hall this Friday, 15th December, Broadwindsor’s Community Film Club will be showing…

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One  (12)

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise, Haley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson and Simon Pegg.
Running time 2 hrs. 43 mins.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: to track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands.  With the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins.  Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.

  • Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm.
  • Film Club members – Free entry
  • Guests – £4 (cash please)
  • Refreshments available, including a cash bar.
  • Tickets can be booked in advance by contacting:
    Emma Myersbroadwindsorem@gmail.com or
    Margaret Wing01308 867252

#Broadwindsor #Blackdown #Burstock #Drimpton #Hursey Kittwhistle, Seaborough #Dorset #WestDorset #Community #Village #December #2023 #CommunityFilmClub #N
ightAtTheMovies #OffToTheFlicks #BeKind #BeSafe #StaySafe

Pizzas At The White Lion

Our Community Pub, The White Lion now have PIZZAS available for dine in or collection to take away Wednesday through to Saturday.

Call 01308 867070 to order your takeaway or to book a table.

Pop in and enjoy a pint while they prepare your order 🙂


#Broadwindsor #Drimpton #Burstock #Blackdown #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough
#Village #Community #TheWhiteLion #WestDorset #Dorset #Pizza #TakeAway #BeKind #BeSafe #StaySafe