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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Ashes to Ashes....
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fletcher christian
Mutinous Seadog
# 13919
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Posted
It's illegal in Ireland. Ashes must be buried in a container. That's not to say that people don't go ahead and scatter ashes anyway. I've a vague memory that ashes at sea must also be in a container, but I could be wrong on that front.
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'God is love insaturable, love impossible to describe'
Staretz Silouan
Posts: 5235 | From: a prefecture | Registered: Jul 2008
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gee D:
Yes, scatter from the lee side of a boat ...
...and in my case, hope that the Isle of Wight hydrofoil doesn't go past at high speed just as you've found a nice calm spot ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
I am beginning to hope that the Archdeacon says No...
![[Paranoid]](graemlins/paranoid.gif)
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
...and in my case, hope that the Isle of Wight hydrofoil doesn't go past at high speed just as you've found a nice calm spot
Well, at least that's one thing we'll never have to worry about in Arizona.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
The other thing about ashes is that they are divisible. You could split them into separate lots and do different things with them. This can become very complex. There was a guy here in the US whose friend, a noted plumber and a baseball fan, had passed away. The guy was make a trip to every major baseball park in the nation, and quietly flushing some of his friend's ashes into a commode there.
And we all remember Keith Richards, right? Huffing his father's ashes? This cannot be good for you, but Keith Richards is not famous for healthy behavior.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
How does concern about the "integrity of human remains" square with the practice of venerating the relics of saints? If it's OK for a saint's finger to be taken to one place, and a skull or a leg to another, why is it important not to divide someone's ashes?
And how it venerating the relics of a saint different from keeping Grandma on the mantelpiece?
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
Even burying ashes in a wind is difficult.
Whenever I've done that the ashes have been contained in a casket.
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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leo
Shipmate
# 1458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:
How does concern about the "integrity of human remains" square with the practice of venerating the relics of saints? If it's OK for a saint's finger to be taken to one place, and a skull or a leg to another, why is it important not to divide someone's ashes?
And how it venerating the relics of a saint different from keeping Grandma on the mantelpiece?
Very good quesrion that I need to think about - of course, the C of E tends to frown upon relics though I venerate them.
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My Jewish-positive lectionary blog is at http://recognisingjewishrootsinthelectionary.wordpress.com/
My reviews at http://layreadersbookreviews.wordpress.com
Posts: 23198 | From: Bristol | Registered: Oct 2001
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Cathscats
Shipmate
# 17827
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Posted
In these parts, I have to advise those who ask that the one place the scattering of ashes is forbidden is the cemetery! I think that is the local council looking for their pound of flesh (and yes, not a drop of blood!). So, officially you can't be scattered on Granny's grave. Officially. Which means not with me present. But what no one knows can't hurt....
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"...damp hands and theological doubts - the two always seem to go together..." (O. Douglas, "The Setons")
Posts: 176 | From: Central Highlands | Registered: Sep 2013
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
No - I refuse, following C of E advice about the integrity of the human remains.
Bugger their advice, Mum wanted to be scattered into the River Wharfe so she was. It was even written into the Will. No way was I going back on that. She'd probably have haunted me.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
I should note that I'm not really sold on the "burial in the churchyard gives the family a focus and reminds them to pray for the dead" thing - people are more mobile now than they used to be, and as far as I can see likely to become even more so.
So whilst you certainly do find people living next to the graves of their family going back to the 16th century, you also find a large number of people with no particular family connection to the place that they end their days, and all the children have long since moved away from wherever Grandma is buried, so there's nobody to keep up the grave.
Traditions are wonderful, but they need to bow to the necessities of a changing way of life.
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Kaplan Corday
Shipmate
# 16119
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Posted
My wife, sister and I, in accordance with my aunt's wishes, mingled her ashes with those of her husband who had predeceased her, and poured them into the sea from some rocks on a Queensland beach.
The only other person in the party was a friend of hers, the bus driver from her retirement village.
He was a no-longer-young Roman Catholic, and recited the De Profundis in Latin from memory as we committed the couple's remains to the waves.
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
I'm afraid leo is right. Those of us who are Blue-Scarfed-Menaces (aka Church of England licensed Lay Readers) are indeed under authority, and have sworn solemn oaths to our Bishop(s) to obey them in all things lawful.
Hence my (repeated) emphasis on waiting for instructions/guidance from the Archdeacon (aka Bishop's Rottweiler....).
I agree that there may sometimes be urgent pastoral reasons for not so waiting, but that is not the case here.
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Nick Tamen
Ship's Wayfaring Fool
# 15164
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by Kaplan Corday:
mingled her ashes with those of her husband
Without wishing to comment on personal wishes, that shows a faulty thology of marriage - they may be one flesh but they remain two souls
You assume that her motive for wanting her ashes to be mingled with those of her husband was based on a theological understanding of marriage and "one flesh." That may or may not be the case. My guess would be the her motives were no different than the motives of married couples who want to be buried next to each other. She just wanted to be with her husband.
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The first thing God says to Moses is, "Take off your shoes." We are on holy ground. Hard to believe, but the truest thing I know. — Anne Lamott
Posts: 2833 | From: On heaven-crammed earth | Registered: Sep 2009
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
No - I refuse, following C of E advice about the integrity of the human remains.
Bugger their advice, as. It was even written into the Will. No way was I going back on that. She'd probably have haunted me.
But I am a man under authority.
And I fancy myself a man of compassion, so I pray you never find yourself upon the horns of this dillema.
[ 02. July 2017, 20:26: Message edited by: Karl: Liberal Backslider ]
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Kaplan Corday
Shipmate
# 16119
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Nick Tamen:
You assume that her motive for wanting her ashes to be mingled with those of her husband was based on a theological understanding of marriage and "one flesh."
She was an atheist and her husband was a lapsed Roman Catholic
Posts: 3355 | Registered: Jan 2011
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Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814
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Posted
New Zealand custom is to have the funeral in the church, with the coffin present. I remember one funeral where the eulogist addressed the deceased, which I think is a Maori custom. Then the close family go to the crematorium or burial; the committal may take place at the crematorium or grave side, or at the church before they leave (I remember the clergywoman planning the service gave me the option). For a non-church family the service often takes place at the crematorium.
My Dad's ashes sat in a cupboard for 16 years until I had an inspiration; I took them to the hills in Central Otago where he had spent his youthful holidays shooting bunnies.I scattered them above the lake where the ground in covered with wild thyme.
My mother-in-law brought her husband's ashes from Australia but wanted a grave site so that her ashes could be interred with his and have room for any other family ashes. My son is going to clean up the grave before his father's ashes can be interred – but I got the funeral director to keep a handful separate which we have scattered under his beloved olive tree.
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The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113
Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008
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Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
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Posted
Our practice is to have the committal at the church. Very rarely does the family go to the crematorium - even with reasonable traffic it's a half hour each way and by not going they can go straight to the reception to meet people. I can't remember the last committal for a burial, indeed the last burial would have been over 20 years ago for a Greek Orthodox man. Any interment of ashes is a quiet and small ceremony for the family only and conducted after the main Sunday service. A deep and wide hole is ready dug, the ashes poured in from ground level, and a rose bush or other shrub is planted as the hole is refilled.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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Arethosemyfeet
Shipmate
# 17047
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Posted
Cremation is very unusual here, with it being many hours' journey to the nearest crem. It is standard here for the minister to lead the coffining, funeral and burial usually within a few days of death as we don't have suitable facilities to store bodies safely.
Posts: 2933 | From: Hebrides | Registered: Apr 2012
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kaplan Corday:
quote:
Originally posted by Nick Tamen:
You assume that her motive for wanting her ashes to be mingled with those of her husband was based on a theological understanding of marriage and "one flesh."
She was an atheist and her husband was a lapsed Roman Catholic
At least she hadn't had his ashes put into an egg-timer or, worse, mingled with snuff...
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Thank you all for your comments. Our Archdeacon says, firmly, No. Ashes may not be scattered in the church grounds (it's not a graveyard as such, for there are no graves).
I'll suggest to our PCC that we apply forthwith for a faculty for the burial of ashes - AFAIK, we don't already have one - but that's not much comfort to the deceased's parents.
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Anselmina
Ship's barmaid
# 3032
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Posted
With respect to the CofE order to not scatter*, I suspect many clergy unofficially do this using whatever parts of the funeral liturgy seem to suit.
* As I understood it, the reason was supposed to be pastoral, in that the mourners had no definite location or place to return to, knowing that there were no remains remaining, so to speak. And this could be A Bad Thing.
In a couple of council cemeteries of my acquaintance there used to be a special tree or area, where the celebrant could use a special scattering device to disperse the loved one.
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Irish dogs needing homes! http://www.dogactionwelfaregroup.ie/ Greyhounds and Lurchers are shipped over to England for rehoming too!
Posts: 10002 | From: Scotland the Brave | Registered: Jul 2002
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Anselmina:
With respect to the CofE order to not scatter*, I suspect many clergy unofficially do this using whatever parts of the funeral liturgy seem to suit.
* As I understood it, the reason was supposed to be pastoral, in that the mourners had no definite location or place to return to, knowing that there were no remains remaining, so to speak. And this could be A Bad Thing.
In a couple of council cemeteries of my acquaintance there used to be a special tree or area, where the celebrant could use a special scattering device to disperse the loved one.
But how does the 'no definite place' thing square with allowing the scattering of ashes at sea, then- because even if anyone kids themselves that it's the burial of ashes at sea, scattering is what it is, in practice.
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Well, as I've said, my Archdeacon's answer was No - No Scattering Allowed On Church Grounds/Premises.
However, after a long pastoral chat with deceased's parents yesterday after church, one or two Good Ideas have emerged, which we shall explore over the next few weeks.....
*sigh*
Yet another Sin of Omission of our retired Father Fuckwit, who should have sorted this out over a year ago, soon after deceased died....
![[Disappointed]](graemlins/disappointed.gif)
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
At our church a certain large flower bed has been designated the Scattering Area. It is right by the main building, and so is unlikely to ever be redone into parking/playground/septic field, and it is always well-maintained with flowers, trees, etc. because you have to walk past it to get to the door. There is no sign or notice on the area -- if you want a plaque or a monument or something you should go to a real cemetery and get a niche. But it is quietly available if you ask. (This is also where the Altar Guild quietly ditches ruined or broken consecrated wafers. Our earth sink is temperamental and can accept only wine.)
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
That's the way to do it - and we may eventually do the same (sans scattering - interment of ashes only), once we get a faculty (Church-of-England-speak for a sort of licence from the Archdemon....er....Archdeacon, or Bishop).
In the UK, Anglican parish churches are Public Places, so there are all sorts of Rules and Regulations as to what can or can't be done. The churches are not the private preserve of Father Fuckwit and/or his Churchwardens, whatever he/they might think.
If you think you detect some bitterness, you are right. It's Me wot is copping the fallout...
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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stonespring
Shipmate
# 15530
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Posted
I think the RCC, at least, disallows scattering ashes or keeping them at home because, being a denomination that does many things that other people consider superstitious (and acknowledging that many sects it has deemed heretical or schismatic started with a disagreement over what was superstitious and what wasn't), the RCC feels a need to carefully monitor and police anything symbolic that people do in their private spiritual lives, even if the people doing think they are only following their own (and their loved one's) tastes and personality rather than expressing any unorthodox religious belief.
Also, since a lot of Protestant traditions are more rooted in beliefs, texts, and simple, (often) adaptable rituals, that means that it is easier for them to Christianize secular (and "spiritual but not religious") practices than the RCC, which in turn I believe has an advantage in Christianizing the religious traditions of non-Western converts (this is different than Christianizing Eastern, African, and Indigenous Spiritualities that have been adopted by Westerners, which I think Protestants who are neither too liberal or too fundamentalist have an advantage at, since they don't have to worry about how those practices are different from their own ritualisms (I say ritualism because I do not want to claim that Protestants do not have rituals)). That last sentence is a big tangent that can be debated on another thread. All of this means that in my opinion, the RCC is worried about westerners adopting practices of secular philosophies and spiritualities (or mere fads - although we know the de facto life of many RC priests and laypeople are full of doctrinally-questionable fads that the Vatican dislikes). Because RC doctrine is tied to very specific and elaborate rites, it thinks it is in more danger of losing adherents (or of its adherents' veering away from orthodox belief) if they begin to experiment with rites from other traditions, or rites of their own. This has led to quite a few overreactions from the RCC hierarchy over the centuries.
Posts: 1537 | Registered: Mar 2010
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Anselmina
Ship's barmaid
# 3032
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
But how does the 'no definite place' thing square with allowing the scattering of ashes at sea, then- because even if anyone kids themselves that it's the burial of ashes at sea, scattering is what it is, in practice.
Does the CofE approve of the scattering of ashes at sea?
I would've assumed that the orthodox CofE response would've been 'no, we don't do that, because that's scattering of ashes which we disapprove of' or 'we can bury the body at sea', or 'intern the ashes on land'.
Maybe there's a navy chaplain on board Ship who can comment as to the official line!
Personally, I don't see the problem with scattered ashes, in principle. Any body that is in the earth or the ocean long enough eventually disintegrates to the point of complete dissolution anyway.
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Irish dogs needing homes! http://www.dogactionwelfaregroup.ie/ Greyhounds and Lurchers are shipped over to England for rehoming too!
Posts: 10002 | From: Scotland the Brave | Registered: Jul 2002
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Anselmina:
Does the CofE approve of the scattering of ashes at sea?
Good question. My understanding was that burial of ashes at sea involved some kind of container (cf. coffin, weighted sailcloth,...) so that the ashes sank as one, vs the scattering of ashes.
Clearly, the C of E permits burial at sea.
Here's Canon B38 4(b):
quote:
(b) The ashes of a cremated body should be reverently disposed of by a minister in a churchyard or other burial ground in accordance with section 3 of the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 1992 or on an area of land designated by the bishop for the purpose of this sub-paragraph or at sea.
clearly indicating that ashes may be buried at sea. I suspect that "scattering" fails to satisfy the requirements of "reverently disposed" whether on land or at sea.
[ 10. July 2017, 21:32: Message edited by: Leorning Cniht ]
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
When I was a chaplain's assistant at the Missions to Seamen (as it then was) in Southampton 25 years ago- rather traditional chaplain, then in his 60s, originally CofI but with the Mission for almost all his ministry- the drill for disposal of ashes at sea was IIRC something like this:
Board pilot boat with chaplain and relatives; go out to designated point in Solent; chaplain robes, engine stops, ensign lowered to half mast; chaplain says some prayers on deck; assistant (i.e. me) kneels and reverently and carefully pours ashes out of container onto surface of water; possibly one more prayer; ensign raised, engine starts, chaplain goes below to disrobe, boat returns to harbour. Although the ashes were not scattered onto the water there's no doubt that they would be dispersed pretty quickly.
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Indeed!
Latest on Deceased's Ashes (sounds like a fillum) - parents are thinking of having them scattered or interred on their own land i.e. garden, so I've said I'd be happy to conduct a short service for the occasion, if that's what they decide.
AIUI, it's quite OK to do this, though if they came to sell the house, they'd have to declare via the lawyers that human remains were present.
Is that right?
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
Although the ashes were not scattered onto the water there's no doubt that they would be dispersed pretty quickly.
Interesting, thanks Albertus.
Do the ashes all sink immediately, or do some remain on the surface of the water?
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
Indeed!
Latest on Deceased's Ashes (sounds like a fillum) - parents are thinking of having them scattered or interred on their own land i.e. garden, so I've said I'd be happy to conduct a short service for the occasion, if that's what they decide.
AIUI, it's quite OK to do this, though if they came to sell the house, they'd have to declare via the lawyers that human remains were present.
Is that right?
IJ
Everything depends upon the jurisdiction. Ask in the area where the house is. The simplest way to do this might be to phone or email a local funeral home or cemetery. Be sure and mention that you're only looking for information and not in the market for services.
Or, if you would tell me what state of the union (I trust it's the US) is in question, I can give you the contact number for the state's Cemetery Association. I have a database...
[ 12. July 2017, 17:34: Message edited by: Brenda Clough ]
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
Although the ashes were not scattered onto the water there's no doubt that they would be dispersed pretty quickly.
Interesting, thanks Albertus.
Do the ashes all sink immediately, or do some remain on the surface of the water?
I think some, maybe most, remained on the surface, but I can't remember.
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Thanks, Brenda. I'm in the UK, but your suggestion is still apposite, and, before the Deceased's Parents come to a decision, I'll consult local authority etc.
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Gramps49
Shipmate
# 16378
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Posted
Last time I did it it was in a wheat field overlooking a family's homestead just outside of town. To think the matriarch's ashes helped to nourish the wheat that is being produced in the field---and to think that that wheat has fed hungry people throughout the world... Powerful.
My folks' ashes will eventually be scattered up in the Sawtooth Mountains, in a meadow where the extended family would gather to cut firewood for their homes.
Our congregation has a rose garden where ashes can be scattered. So designated and approved by the city.
Posts: 2193 | From: Pullman WA | Registered: Apr 2011
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irreverend tod
Shipmate
# 18773
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Posted
Hi Bishops, we just dug a hole, bunged ashes in minus the container and planted the tree on top. By the time we get to sell the house nothing will be left so I doubt if mas will fess up to planting pa in the garden.
FYI, and sorry to be late the discussion, the C of E also requires the whole load of ashes to be buried in one place. We had a burial of ashes where they had been split with the remainder scattered. We had to restrain father holy thing from digging up the interred remains in a state of canonical hysteria.
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Diocesan Arsonist and Lead thief to the Church of England.
Posts: 55 | From: England | Registered: May 2017
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
I think I've mentioned this before on a thread, but cremated ashes are not nutrients. People think they must be because you can buy bone meal for the garden. But bone meal is crushed and ground up animal bones, the residue after people have eaten the meat of the animals.
When a person is cremated, all the nutrients have gone up the chimney. What's left has nothing to give back to the soil.
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Brexit wrexit - Sir Graham Watson
Posts: 7610 | From: Bristol UK(was European Green Capital 2015, now Ljubljana) | Registered: Nov 2008
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Yes, if you really want to return nutrients to the circle of life, put the phrase 'green burial' into the search window. Cremation is quite a different thing.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Anselmina
Ship's barmaid
# 3032
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by irreverend tod:
FYI, and sorry to be late the discussion, the C of E also requires the whole load of ashes to be buried in one place. We had a burial of ashes where they had been split with the remainder scattered. We had to restrain father holy thing from digging up the interred remains in a state of canonical hysteria.
Father holy thing would, of course, have remembered that even interred ashes require a Home Office exhumation application!
Hoooh boy! Nearly been there, done that! Little old lady decided she didn't like where her husband's ashes had ended up; wanted the box back over ten years after it had gone into the graveyard. Thankfully she decided it wasn't worth the application and diocesan faculty fees, or the time and effort required.
It would arguably have been better if the ashes had been scattered - done and dusted (so to speak!). For some people having a physical resting place as focus for their loved one's remains is a good reason for not scattering. But for some folks, it can turn into a bit of an unhelpful obsession.
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Irish dogs needing homes! http://www.dogactionwelfaregroup.ie/ Greyhounds and Lurchers are shipped over to England for rehoming too!
Posts: 10002 | From: Scotland the Brave | Registered: Jul 2002
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irreverend tod
Shipmate
# 18773
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Posted
Enoch, we bunged a tree over him to remember where he got planted. It was all done with due reverence and a load of well rotted manure, because pa reckoned the regulations of the church on burials were all bulls**t. Needless to say we didn't involve the clergy.
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Diocesan Arsonist and Lead thief to the Church of England.
Posts: 55 | From: England | Registered: May 2017
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
I think I've mentioned this before on a thread, but cremated ashes are not nutrients.
The Calcium phosphates in bone ash are not very soluble, but probably would act as a source of phosphate for your plants if you have acidic soil.
All, in all, they'd make better china. (And I note that there is someone doing exactly that.)
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
The number of things to do with cremains is very, very large. Coral reefs, jewelry, into orbit on a space ship, loaded into a firework -- there's dozens of businesses doing things. And then you have Keith Richards, snorting them.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
And I heard recently about someone who is making them into pills, so that you can swallow the remains of your loved one.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
That noise you just heard was me throwing up.
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Brexit wrexit - Sir Graham Watson
Posts: 7610 | From: Bristol UK(was European Green Capital 2015, now Ljubljana) | Registered: Nov 2008
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
I can't remember if I've told this story on SoF before. But I work at a trade association in the funeral industry. I got a phone call earlier this summer from a woman whose dog had died. She said, "I'm really in grief." I said I was sorry to hear that. She said, "I had my dog cremated." I agreed this was a good thing. She said, "I've missed Fluffy so much, I've been opening the urn and sniffing the ashes."
At this point I ground to a halt. She was not interested in stopping. All she wanted to know was if she could get a disease from huffing her dog's ashes, like rabies. I said (true!) that the cremators go to over 1600 degrees and pathogens don't survive. But I did add that I didn't think it was a good idea.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Lucia
Looking for light
# 15201
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
The number of things to do with cremains is very, very large. Coral reefs, jewelry, into orbit on a space ship, loaded into a firework -- there's dozens of businesses doing things. And then you have Keith Richards, snorting them.
And another option...
All seems a bit weird to me.
Posts: 1075 | From: Nigh golden stone and spires | Registered: Oct 2009
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