Bamber Bridge Coffin Ceremony

[Guest Wen Y Hu]

The Burial of the Coffin, a tradition kept since 1948 to mark each relegation of the club, is to be held down at Ewood after permission to hold the procession and coffin burial ceremony in Bamber Bridge was rejected by local authorities.

A number of BRFCS stalwarts have been involved in the organisation of this year's event down at Ewood, led by EwoodDawn. They are hoping that representatives from the organisations involved in Sir Bill Taylor’s "Blackburn united" idea will be involved as pall-bearers and/or ceremonial flag carriers behind the coffin, but if you have any details for groups that we may not already have contacted, please get in touch with EwoodDawn via PM so that no one is left out.

Also, it is important that if you are planning on joining in, please contact EwoodDawn to let her know so that she can keep the police and local council informed of rough numbers expected for the event. Also note that this is intended as a community event and is in no way a protest event.

Date: Sunday, 22 July

Time: Meet 1.30 p.m. for 2.30 p.m. start

Place: From the Fox and Hounds pub to The Aqueduct pub at Ewood

See the front page for an account of the burial custom and for further details of this year's plans.

Edited July 5, 2012 by Wen Y Hu

[bazza]

Shame on the police for not allowing this tradition to go ahead in Bamber Bridge.

Perhaps they should also ban the Preston Guild processions, thereby stopping another tradition.

I get more and more disgusted with our police every day.

I shall try to make it to Ewood on the 22nd.

[EwoodDawn]

Thanks, Wen. It would be great to see fellow BRCFS members there with us; the more turned out à la Rhys Ifans for ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ the better!

Please could I reiterate Wen's request? If you are planning on coming, could you please send me a quick pm with a number (i.e. x1, x4, etc.)? Don’t worry, I won’t be taking a register on the day and no-one will come pestering you, if it turns out you can’t actually make it. It's just that we are trying our best to keep tabs on the numbers expected, in order to maintain everyone’s H & S and comply with local authority and police advice.

P.S. Can I reiterate that this is absolutely not a protest event; this is merely an attempt to uphold a tradition.

Hope to see you there.

[EwoodDawn]

An appeal!

For the ‘Burial of the Coffin Event’ in just 17 days I desperately need some help from our resident wordsmiths. We believe that the ‘priest’ who gave the ‘sermon’ at the last resurrection and burial of the coffin has relocated to Spain and so far we have been unable to obtain the script of his speech from 1999’s relegation. It consisted of humorous rhyming couplets all to do with Rovers’ fate. However, I’m sure that some of our members and other Rovers fans are talented enough to invent lines of a new sermon for us. Please if you feel any inspiration, post your lines on the ‘Burial Speech’ thread, which will be taken away and the best contributions will form the sermon on the day.

Incidently, do we have any budding thesps who would like to be the ‘priest’ on the day? If so, please pm me!

To help you with your creativity, I managed to find the beginning and end of the ‘resurrection’ speech from 2001, to give you a flavour of what’s required.

“Look down on your team from the heavens above, be proud Jack Walker for what they have done.

You have come from near and far, to see Blackburn Rovers as they are.

Nothing will stop us, young and old, from celebrating as we have been told.

This team they said was far too slow, did not like it down below.” …

“Preston tried and Preston failed, to climb the mountain that Blackburn scaled."...

"I bless thee in the name of the Bitter, and of the Mild, and of the Holy Lager. Amen.”

(I think we might keep that last line for tradition’s sake)

Edited July 5, 2012 by EwoodDawn

[Baz]

Den and I will try to make it along.

[Cocker]

For those of us living away and who cannot attend the ###### up funeral, is there any chance someone could video the main bits? We are no longer in ye olden times and it would be good to see

[Ben-2000]

Might be a good idea to set up a Facebook 'event' for this - good to get word round.

What type of flag do you mean? The S01 Darwen End group have the image of Jack Walker on a large 3m x 2m pole flag if that would fit in with the theme?

[EwoodDawn]

Might be a good idea to set up a Facebook 'event' for this - good to get word round.

What type of flag do you mean? The S01 Darwen End group have the image of Jack Walker on a large 3m x 2m pole flag if that would fit in with the theme?

Not quite, Ben. We were thinking more along the lines of 'ceremonial' flags seen at funerals of servicemen and the likes.

[Ben-2000]

Fair enough.

[TBTF]

For those of us living away and who cannot attend the ###### up funeral, is there any chance someone could video the main bits? We are no longer in ye olden times and it would be good to see

Could think of a few candidates for going in that coffin

[bazza]

Way back in time, I remember that a single horse-drawn hearse came through Bamber Bridge with at least one Rovers player seated on it. Bill Eckersley was one and Clayton or Douglas or both gave their services.

Perhaps someone close to the players could persuade one or two to take part. It's all part of the fun.

The more senior players should be targeted such as Dunn or Pedersen. If they are abroad with the squad, maybe past players such as Kevin Gallagher, Simon Garner or even Matt Darbyshire, Gary Flitcroft or Matt Jansen.

[den]

Shame on the police for not allowing this tradition to go ahead in Bamber Bridge.

Perhaps they should also ban the Preston Guild processions, thereby stopping another tradition.

I get more and more disgusted with our police every day.

Totally agree Bazza. I thought it was the duty of the police to "police" events, not to be the decision makers of what can and what can't take place. They're supposed to serve the community, not run it.

[EwoodDawn]

Totally agree Bazza. I thought it was the duty of the police to "police" events, not to be the decision makers of what can and what can't take place. They're supposed to serve the community, not run it.

TBF it wasn't quite so one-sided. From what I was told, the police might have allowed it if certain pubs had closed during the parade. Landlords weren't happy with that.

[thenodrog]

The Burial of the Coffin, a tradition kept since 1948 to mark each relegation of the club, is to be held down at Ewood after permission to hold the procession and coffin burial ceremony in Bamber Bridge was rejected by local authorities.

Serves you right for asking them. Should just do it even if it means carrying the bloody coffin along the pavement.

For the police to force a break with a 60 year old tradition is reprehensible but hardly untypical and sadly completely predictable. Just who tf do these jumped up little big men they think they are?

Plod 1. "This Bamber Bridge coffin jobby .... I've put a line through it Guv is that OK?"

Plod 2"Yes Sergeant, I'm on duty that weekend and I don't want my sleep disturbing."

First the Venkeys, then SkyTV and the press and now it seems to me that even Plod is taking orders from the Fat Controller these days.

Edited July 6, 2012 by thenodrog

[RealMadras]

I was speaking to Mick Higgins and his son before the meeting with the council. Mick has been struggling trying to get support on this and myself and another life long Rovers fan from Bamber Bridge offered our support going forward. He told us that the main issue was the police closing Station Road and that they also wanted the pubs closing for 2 and a half hours as there had been some minor trouble last year (I was out all day last year and saw nothing). The plan is to submit a recurring planning request for the road closure without licencing restrictions each year going forward so that in the event of a promotion or relegation, the request can be exercised. Hopefully, this will return to it's rightful home of Bamber Bridge next season when we return to the top flight.

Dave

[TAFKAP]

Some North End fans are glad about this as they believe Rovers should have no business in this area, though the fact this tradition goes back a while suggests the peripheries of south Preston have had traitoress types residing for some time.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Not 'traitors' just honest folk who chose to follow THE finest town club in the land!

Edited July 6, 2012 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[LynV]

Hopefully myself, hubby and son will attend. We went to the rising of the coffin when we came up so we may as well go to the burial and hope to come up again after the forthcoming season!

[bazza]

Some North End fans are glad about this as they believe Rovers should have no business in this area, though the fact this tradition goes back a while suggests the peripheries of south Preston have had traitoress types residing for some time.

TAFKAP, I don't know how old you are but you should learn that half of Bamber Bridge have been Rovers supporters since time immemorial.

Get used to it.

[Mike Graham]

Some North End fans are glad about this as they believe Rovers should have no business in this area, though the fact this tradition goes back a while suggests the peripheries of south Preston have had traitoress types residing for some time.

As a Leyland lad from the 70's I can assure you that whilst Leyland and Brig have always been PNE strongholds there has ALWAYS been a significant Rovers support. All my mates at Wellfield in Leyland were true blues in the 70's and 80's. ;-)

Edited July 7, 2012 by preston blue

[EwoodDawn]

As a Leyland lad from the 70's I can assure you that whilst Leyland and Brig have always been PNE strongholds albeit with a significant Rovers support ther has ALWAYS been a significant Rovers support. All my mates at Wellfield in Leyland were true blues in the 70's and 80's. ;-)

And we'd absolutely love you all to come to Ewood this year. Then hopefully, we can take it (maybe on the train from Mill Hill to Brigg - now there's a thought...) back to it's rightful place when we go up. It's a distant dream now but a dream all the same.

[Rover_Shaun]

Bloody councils and police. There were no more public disorder offences in brig than you would find on a wednesday evening in blackburn centre.

Can't be arsed going to ewood to see a watered down affair when the traditional event should be taking place just round the corder from me.

The world has gone soft

[Glenn]

You should see the hoops Dawn is having to jump through. Event Planning Statements, Risk Assessment Forms, Public Liability Insurance, finding stewards & certificated first aiders (ideally CRB-cleared ones). You'd think we were organising the Notting Hill Carnival, not walking between two pubs.

... and I think everyone involved thinks this should have happened in Brig, in fact this was born from us wanting to put a BRFCS float in the Brig one, but after Dawn spoke (several times) to various people involved with organising previous Brig ones it was obvious it was was never going to happen again (despite pressuring, cajoling and arm twisting, even offering Brig-based alternatives) and Dawn wasn't prepared to let the tradition die entirely. Hence plan B.

[EwoodDawn]

Just a thought - is Andy Cryer's missus the lady who does the local am-dram/theatre reviews for the Lancs Telegraph? Is it worth asking her to find us a Rovers supporting thesp to be the 'priest'? And whilst we're at it, should we ask if she knows anyone who could write a few lines of the 'sermon'?

[thenodrog]

You should see the hoops Dawn is having to jump through. Event Planning Statements, Risk Assessment Forms, Public Liability Insurance, finding stewards & certificated first aiders (ideally CRB-cleared ones). You'd think we were organising the Notting Hill Carnival, not walking between two pubs.

Serves you right for asking em. The World's gone stark staring mad.

Just as an aside why not a timed pub crawl through Brig dressed primarily in black but with Rovers scarves, rosettes, badges etc and with the coffin already in place at it's destination? Wouldn't necessarily be organised and would be spontaineous.

Edited July 9, 2012 by thenodrog