THE sun beat down and the blue sky mirrored the azure waters of the bay as the top directors gathered to accept their awards.

The scene was not the Cannes Film Festival but the annual funeral directors award ceremony on the banks of Loch Lomond.

The great and the good of what is a slightly less glamorous profession than the movie business had their day in the sun, and despite a determined effort to concentrate on the importance of sensitivity and customer care, it also represented an opportunity to celebrate the fact that the death business is booming.

As the winners posed for photographs in the grounds of Cameron House hotel one funeral director remarked that he found it rather difficult to smile, given the fact that there is little call for it in the course of his average day.

A Glasgow-based company, Golden Charter, the UK's largest funeral planning network business, did its best to coax the smiles with the day out.

The top prize out of 2000 nominations, Funeral Planner of the Year, went to Mr David Walker of A B Walker & Sons, of Reading. He said: ''It is very satisfying to receive this award, especially from a company like Golden Charter. You honestly feel you are doing something of value for people and providing an important service to the community, which is more important than selling funerals.''

The winner of the Scottish award, Mr James Brodie from the Lanarkshire firm James Brodie Funeral Directors, was also keen to emphasise the community aspects of the business.

He said: ''We are very pleased to receive the award. We take a lot of time to train staff to be sensitive and not to pressure people but to let them take their time and make a decision when they are ready. We are a service industry and we hold the words service and trust higher than anything else.''

Ms Anne Traill of Jonathan Harvey Ltd, Anniesland, Glasgow, was highly commended in the Scottish section.