Some say death is no laughing matter, but British casket maker Vic Fearn & Company Limited is ready and willing to send you off to your eternal rest in a "crazy coffin." The coffins, ranging from a giant electric guitar to a sports bag, pink ballet shoe, a bottle opener, a skateboard and a bell. have proved so popular that they even go out on tour with exhibitions around European art galleries.

有人說，死有重於泰山輕如鴻毛，但英國棺木業者維克馮恩有限公司正準備、也很願意以「瘋狂的棺木」送你升天得到永遠的安息。這些棺木從大型電吉他到運動背包、粉紅色芭蕾舞鞋，開瓶器、滑板到巨鐘不等，由於太受歡迎，他們甚至到歐洲各大藝廊巡迴展出。

The coffin-makers first took the zany path to death when a woman fan of the Royal Air Force's aerial acro-batics team, the Red Arrows, asked to be buried in a model fighter. Next came a man who couldn't afford to buy a canal long boat so wanted to be buried in a model one. The business has snowballed from there — and the coffin-makers are thrilled with the trend after grinding out 20,000 con-ventional caskets a year. "Making an unusual crazy coffin is great for the staff. It gives them a chance to test their skills. It can create some fun in the shop,"said David Crampton, di-rector of the 160-year-old company based in the central England town of Nottingham.

這家棺木業者首先走上瘋狂的死亡之路，是因一名英國皇家空軍「紅箭」特技隊的女粉絲希望能葬在戰鬥機模型裡。後又有一名男子上門，他因買不起狹長的運河船，希望百年之後能至少葬在運河船的模型裡。從此生意如雪球般愈滾愈大，棺木行在每年辛苦打造兩萬具傳統棺木後，尤其樂見此一趨勢。「製造非比尋常的瘋狂棺木對員工尤其有好處，這給他們一個測試手藝的機會，同時也為店裡製造一點歡樂的氣氛，」這家位於英國諾丁罕有160年歷史的棺木行老閭克蘭普頓說。

Currently being crafted is a scaled-down model of a 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost as shown in this photo. It even has wheels so they pall-bearers can push it along. The custom caskets can be costly. The Rolls-Royce model costs the buyer $6,800, ten times the cost of a tradi-tional coffin. Well, it's only money, and you still can't take it with you.

目前正在打造的是如圖所示一個具體而微的1913年份勞斯萊斯「銀色魔鬼」的模型。這部車還有輪子，檯棺者可以推著走。但這種量身訂製的棺木價格不斐，勞斯萊斯棺木要價6,800美元，是傳統棺木的十倍。話說回來，錢本來就是生不帶來，死不帶走。