(INSPIRING MUSIC) Nga kupu hauraro na Glenna Casalme www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018 (HEAVENLY MUSIC) (BELL TOLLS) Good morning. Tipene Funerals. You're speaking with Robin. It kind of depends on how big he is, just with embalming. Today we're just flat out. We've got bodies all over the place, and so we need space for viewings and dressings, and so we're just moving our bodies accordingly, just for whatever family is coming in ` for the viewing or the dressing. Oh, right. So... What, would you suggest to place Whaea here? Where would you`? OK. We'll put Whaea in the viewing room; Mm-hm. Matua here in the chapel; Mm-hm. our Tongan whaea in the dressing room ` to dress at 2 o'clock, and` Matua in the` Matua, if he's in the car, we'll place him in the dressing room. (LIVELY CLASSICAL MUSIC) (LIVELY CLASSICAL MUSIC CONTINUES) Sometimes we have more than one body in the dressing room when we're holding tupapaku here over a long period of time. Mr Albert, this is Mrs Javier. Mrs Javier, this is Mr Albert. Naturally we introduce them. It's only right. If they were alive, we would do that, and because they're now passed away, we'll still introduce them, cos we believe their wairua's still here. (DELICATE MUSIC) We hear you're going back to Niue, eh? We have a Niuean man who is with us at the moment, and he's going to be with us for two weeks. Just a normal mahogany flat lid. Mm. That's what's included in that package. Two weeks is a long time, relatively, but because of the circumstances where he is going to be repatriated back to the island of Niue, it's pretty normal. It was organised to make sure it suits everyone ` so they can fly together. And it's a different kind of material, eh. So this is the wave-type material. And it's got a nice mattress. Yeah. That's the sea. They're trying to take you to the sea. (LAUGHS) Mr Sisikefu, he's in the ocean-blue casket, which is the newer casket we got in, with the rope handles and the two-tone blue colour and the lovely koru side set on the inside. So it's really, really beautiful, and apparently, it suits him to a T, being a man of the sea. Just, you know what, with the top part, we'll just do the same thing in terms of` Yes. ...bringing it down. Or maybe I'll hold this foot up while you` Please. ...lengthen it. That'd be nice. Oh. Loving these shoes. We won't need to, uh, strap his feet with leg straps, because we need to hermetically seal his body, and we'll do that before he goes on to his flight, eh, hon? Mm. See, what I really want is a line... along there. So hopefully over the next few days it'll turn into a crease so that it stays in there. Beautiful. 'During the two weeks, families will come in and view and pay their respects 'and have time with Mr Sisikefu, and I know that on two of the Saturdays he's here, 'they will have full chapel services with him.' How's those doughnuts? Sometimes` No! Do you wanna` No, I'm just having a look at it. LAUGHS: Oh my God! I am trying to eat better. (SIGHS) All right? Yeah? I am on a... Well, I was on a diet. Not a diet, but, you know, exercise and all of that. I've got some bad news. OK. Do I need to put my spoon down? No. Well, it's not bad; it's` it's` I think it's more annoying than anything else. Mm? (SIGHS HEAVILY) Oh God. I've put on` I've put on some weight, and I want to know if I could, um, get a new suit, but a bigger one. Just one more big one and then I'll get skinny again and fit the other ones. Bunny. Just for right now, please? You've put on some weight. Mm-hm. When's the last time you went to your workout? Are you going to your workouts?! Uh, well, I think Gabriel's sick. Oh. You've started getting Gabriel sick. Gabriel ` he's my personal trainer. He's such a nice guy ` you know, like, cool and everything, but I don't really wanna see him professionally. Is this a mince and cheese or steak? Bunny! Do you wanna lose some weight or not? Just half. He bought so many suits last year. (SIGHS) So it's just gonna be a straight no. You are going to lose that weight, mate, and you are gonna fit right back into them. I can't find it in me to just go, 'Yeah, go buy you another suit,' because that one leads to five other suits. No, just one. I asked` Please. I'm gonna make sure he loses that weight. (CHUCKLES) Life is like waves in the sea. (GROANS) It goes up and it goes down. (CURIOUS MUSIC) STRAINS: Oh my Lord Jesus! (TITTERS) (GROANS) One, two, up. You all right? Today is` it's been a big day, a big Monday. Typical of a Monday, to be honest. Who put this on? I did. OK. Yup. I haven't yet finished. I see a casket hasn't been trimmed properly. Foliki, how come this one's got no rolls? Doesn't it? No. Was this an honest mistake or you just felt a bit tired? Um... I must` Oh. In the rush. OK. Let's just step to the side. And we'll just let Foliki put some rolls on, e hoa. The side set's wrong, so we need to put it on again. Although we're busy and flat tack, our standards will not slip, and that's why if we need to rip it off and put it on again, we will. (TETCHY MUSIC) (SIDE SET RIPS, CLACKS) There we go (!) All good. That's good, eh (?) (CURIOUS MUSIC) D'you have a good feed this morning? Yes, thank you. Oh, you took ages. I was talking to the family. And eating? Yes. So important. It's community; it's public relations. And what was it? It was, um, cream doughnuts and, um,... this other doughnut with raisins. (CHORTLES) Francis' diet and personal training. Heh. Does it exist? (GUFFAWS) Mm, you're not meant to taste your own food; you're meant to give it to your colleagues first, and then you. What the hell? No, because it's disrespectful if I don't eat it in front of them. (CHORTLES) (SIGHS) You're one in a million. Mr Sisikefu has been with us for about two weeks, and he is looking amazing ` like the first day he came in here. We are happy now that he's on his final journey home. All right, dear, so all of these are going with him... in the casket. Cheers. Just remind us. Yeah. Now we need to hermetically seal Mr Sisikefu in his casket. So we'll do that. And roll him to me. Mr Sisikefu, here we go. One, two,... (GRUNTS) three. Yep. All right? Yup. And so once we've hermetically sealed his body, we will seal the lid on the casket and then place Mr Sisikefu into an airport transportation pallet. Well done, guys. Oh, that's lovely. (FOCUSED MUSIC) Yo. So the tape's there. (COUGHS) Yeah. So you go... (IMITATES TAPE RIPPING) Oh. Francis has bought this new Sellotape machine that's supposed to cut your time in half, and it's supposed to be easier. (CHORTLES) I'm not sure. I` I might not have set it up the right way. You might wanna turn it around. LAUGHS: Where did you get this from? The Warehouse. Is it neat, e hoa? Yeah. Awesome. Is it saving you time? (TAPE CREAKS LOUDLY, RIPS) (GUFFAWS) It didn't come with any instructions either. (SIGHS HEAVILY) Yeah, it totally did the complete opposite. He always buys lemons, and that was one of them. That was one of them. (AWKWARD MUSIC) (ANTICIPATIVE MUSIC) We've just received a phone call about a young man who was involved in a car accident. He survived the crash but has just passed away in hospital. (SOLEMN MUSIC) Oh, his head's been wrapped, e hoa. Mm-hm. Yeah. Because Zion was in a car accident, he suffered major head injuries. So I'm not sure how he's gonna look, and I really want the family to see him. But I don't know what to expect. SOFTLY: Ka pai. (TUTS) Aw. Poor young man, eh, e hoa? (CLICKS) Mm. Been through a lot, eh? Surprisingly he looks OK. Not exactly like the photo, but considering what he's been through, he looks OK. Three, two, one. (POIGNANT STRING MUSIC) We wanna get Zion ready for his whanau so they can come and dress him. It's been two days since they've last seen or been with him. He's been in the coroner's care, so we just want to bring them together to hono, to reconnect that whanau so they can be together. Who's coming to dress...? His mama. His grandmother? And` And some other people. That's why` SOFTLY: His grandmother?! BOTH: Yeah. That's why you've gotta help. The dressing room is... is so important to me. Well, she practically raised him, the grandmother did. Yeah. Grandma, come this way. It's the last thing families do for their loved one ` is to physically touch the body. In there, the body is on the dressing table. This is the dad. Kia ora. (INDISTINCT CHATTER) Absolutely. Kia ora, auntie. Of course it is. Of course it is. Tena koe. Kia ora, mate. Heavy. Mm. Leave it there, e hoa. It's gonna be all right. Yeah. Oh. Come in and see your boy. Haere mai. Come on now. Yeah. You're all good there. (WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Kauri and Logan are here. They're able to embrace and hold and touch their loved one. It's special for them. All right. We'll give you a moment and then we'll be back in shortly. (WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) SOFTLY: Ka pai. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC) I don't know the exact circumstances surrounding Zion's death. (HAMMER BANGS LOUDLY) But what I do know is that there was another car involved and that Zion was not wearing a seat belt. (CURIOUS, LILTING MUSIC) I'm just trying to look after my... health and also my body. I have asked for bigger suits, with a response from my wife, who said no, so I have to wear the suits I already have, and they are hurting me at the moment in terms of my waistline. Oh, is that chocolate in those? (EXHALES) Yes. The only way he's gonna get into that nice, slim suit is by eating the right foods and more training. I thought we were gonna use margarine with the, um... for our cholesterol? (INTRIGUING MUSIC) Right. Would you like me to go and get the margarine? No, it's too l` We... I'm just thinking of trying to help ourselves,... (LAUGHS) ...help our bodies. It's all right, my darling. You're gonna work it off with Gabes today. I'm looking forward to meeting this Gabes. I've heard lots about him. I've heard that he... he... he does push Francis to train, and to a point where Francis has expressed that he can't breathe, which I think is funny, but it's great. Gabes is coming today. Hell, yeah. My own personal trainer. Don't touch him. Hands off. You wanna come to the training? Why are you gonna drag me into it when you and Scottie need it the most?! (SNORT-LAUGHS) I'd love Nona to join us with the personal training with Gabes. But she goes for walks... Um... (SLOW, COMICAL MUSIC) I don't know where, but she goes for walks. Don't eat too much. You're gonna get a stitch. Yeah, I know. What's the time? That's what I told him. Someone important's just arrived, so can we just make sure the table's clean when you finish, please? Who?! Someone important has just arrived? Yeah, it's Foliki. Hi, Foliki. Oh. Oh, the only person that listens to you. Of course Foliki. No problem. OK. (BURPS) * (SLOW, PONDERING MUSIC) I have been avoiding my personal trainer ` because it's too hard. It's Scottie. Oh. Yup. He's nervous about the workout. Pffbbt! (LAUGHS) Hi, e hoa. Probably about three times now, Francis and I have tried this... this health thing or this weight-loss thing. So are you able to come over? Yeah, sure. What time? I was thinking if you come over at 12,... Uh-huh? ...that'll be good. That'll give us enough time to, um, prepare, both emotionally and physically... (LAUGHS HYSTERICALLY) ...for... for what we have to do. Oh God. Do I want to do this session? Hell, no! No way! The` It comes with a whole lot of complications. (CHORTLES) We'll have our workout in the chapel. I'm gonna get out the statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, cos I think we need divine intervention to help us. (GUFFAWS) OK? I` I` I'm keen on that, yes. I will be on my hands and knees praying to them. (LAUGHS HEARTILY) Scottie is gonna be... He's gonna be... This is` He's gonna` This is gonna kill him. Like, (SIGHS) Gabe's exercises is a lot to do with your own body weight. So we don't necessarily use weights; we use the weight of our body. Now, when you come` OK. ...just park` park down the road, because we've got families coming in. So that'll give you a bit of a kilometre warm-up when you walk to the office. If we can look at our weights and look at what Scottie has to carry, in terms of his own weight, it's... Gee. Get the crane out. CHORTLES: Oh shit! Sorry, Scottie! (CACKLES) (DREAMY GUITAR MUSIC) Zion, the young man that passed away in the car accident, is ready to be placed into his waka now. He was obviously a popular young man. He's from up north, in Mangamuka, but many of his friends and whanau have gathered here in Auckland ` it's filling up in our chapel and in the lounge ` and they've come to see him before he goes home. OK, give them the guitar, dear. FIONA: Yes, I've got it. Hmm. Hmm. WHISPERS: These are lovely, e hoa. So they have a blanket that they wanna place underneath him. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Yeah. Of course. The whanau want Zion to lie on this beautiful blue blanket which he gave to his grandmother, and now she's given it back to him. (POIGNANT MUSIC) She's embraced this blanket one more time. You know, she's given lots of aroha to it, because she knows it's going back to her moko. And, yeah, I think it's so beautiful that she wants to do that. This is comfy, eh, for him? It's nice, eh? Thank you. Oh, he's sure decked out with his hunting and fishing gear. Eh. Takoto. All right? Very very sad, eh, e hoa? Oh, tino. Young too, eh? Yeah. When Zion was in hospital and the surgeons were operating on him, they needed to remove some of his skull to relieve the pressure on his brain. The hospital have returned that part of the skull to us, and now we're gonna place it in the casket with Zion, cos it's important that he goes back to Papatuanuku in his full form. As he came into this world with his whole tinana, he will leave this world with his whole tinana. (SOLEMN STRING MUSIC) He looks good. He can go back to his whanau now, eh? He waited a` a while. It's so devastating when someone so young passes away under circumstances like this. (GLOWING, HEAVENLY MUSIC) (CAUTIOUS MUSIC) (GRUNTS SOFTLY) So, Gabes, this is our chapel. This is the funeral home. Welcome. Thank you. And, um, just so you do know, we've employed the help of Jesus, Mary and Joseph` (MAN CACKLES IN BACKGROUND) ...to give us some divine inspiration. What I've heard about Gabe is that he is Francis' personal trainer. He's been taking Francis for his personal training sessions at the gym. Supposed every week. So we're gonna start with a warm-up, OK? So with the warm-ups, we're gonna start with simple lunges. When you haven't done lunges in a long time, and, like, I'm saying, like, two months, it's like that was the workout. But it was the warm-up. And so I was like, '(GROANS) Can we just get this over and done with?' But I want to make sure that I perform really well in front of Scottie. Are you feeling the burn? BOTH: Yup. Good. Just keep going. Sorry. Hold on. That's OK. I totally detest lunges. Any exercise of any variety, actually. I'd rather be picking up a body. Set, and go. Good. 15. (BOTH STRAIN) 15. Pull your bellybutton up. But lis` I'm trying to. Yeah. Seven. (GROANS) Scottie, up! Six, five... I suffer from a really bad back problem, which has kind of gone into my hip. But I've kind of learnt to control the pain, just carry on. Um, Gabes, my belly is` it's just the shirt's hanging out. Yeah, OK. Let's go. (GUFFAWS) So Gabes asked me how my diet's going. Uh, bananas and yoghurt ` fat-free. Oh, not fat-free. The Greek one. And... the tuna and rice is a little bit up and down. OK. What'd you have for lunch yesterday? I don't have a problem with eating; it's exercising. So the intake is not calculating into output. (CHORTLES) Input and output ` not working. LAUGHS: Do you, um`? (LAUGHTER) Do you skip meals every so often? Unfortunately, due to the circumstances surrounding our work, I do. (CHORTLES) Um, I did have a pie, one pie, the other day. Yup. But... You know... Life is like that ` up and down ` and so we just gotta make sure we get back on the track. That's why you're here, Gabes. Philosophical (!) (CHUCKLES) (GRUNTS) Seven. Come on. Here we go. Nine. Last one. Here we go. Last one. And 10. Good. Good work. KAIORA: Yay! (CLAPS) Oh! Well done, e hoa. Eh. How's your hip? You feeling it? That's for that, Gabes. It's been awesome. I'm glad it's over. And I'm glad he's been here and had a look, and I'm thankful for the session we had, and I will show him the way out. And this is the exit. (ALL CHORTLE) When you guys are ready, you just give me a` We'll talk to you. Is it still the same number? Yup. Absolutely. Throw it away. (LAUGHTER) Nga kupu hauraro na Glenna Casalme www.able.co.nz