Joanne, I'm very sorry to hear you lost your husband so young. I do hope our macabre humour on here hasn't upset you?

My sister too was widowed suddenly one winter, when very young with two babies. She decided to have her husband buried. She also bravely allowed many of his organs to be donated for transplant. At the funeral, she asked the choir to sing 'In the bleak midwinter' which ends with the words '...give my heart...' We were all distraught, it was unendurably sad.

My husband is a Muslim, and they don't cremate. They also should be buried the same day. This can cause problems if a post-mortem is required, or there's a delay with issuing a death certificate.

I shall be cremated at absolute minimum expense. I think funerals are Big Business, and make money out of grief. The bereaved feel their loved one 'would have wanted' this and that, and it always costs a huge amount.