London – Sorry, No Burial. It’s A Day Off.

London – A bereaved son has demanded an apology from a council that gave its registrars Christmas Eve off — and almost prevented his mother’s burial.

Stephen Feiner’s 91-year-old mother, Dinah, died on the Sunday before Christmas and was due to be buried at Rainham, the Federation of Synagogues’ cemetery in Essex, on Christmas Eve.

But Mr Feiner could not find anyone to issue the death certificate and faced the prospect of sitting with his mother’s body for three days.

“Then I heard that the Burnt Oak registrar’s office was going to be open, but unofficially,” he said. “I saw a woman inside and got her to open the door. She was a registrar called in to officiate at two weddings. I pleaded with her to help.

“By this time I had missed two burial slots and the only one left was 4.15pm. In Jewish law, that was regarded as the following day so I had to sit an extra day’s shiva.”

Brian Gordon, Edgware member for Barnet Council, said: “Normally, synagogue authorities have an excellent arrangement with Barnet for authorising burials on bank holidays. This year, all Barnet’s offices were closed on Christmas Eve. If this recurs in future, I am sure there will be better liaison.” [thejc]