General

We have had a look at the Cremation Society of Great Britain figures for the cost of cremation in the United Kingdom, are the headlines. Countries in the UK in order of cost: Most expensive England; Scotland; Wales with the least expensive being Northern Ireland. In England there is unsurprisingly a rough north south divide [...]

Should it be your last wish to have you ashes interred in the Holy Land then we can help. We have teamed up with a company that runs two sites in Israel, one near Jerusalem - in Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim, and the other at the Sea of Galilee -  in Kibbutz Maagan. Both places are very evocative with huge biblical and historic significance: Jerusalem, [...]

You cannot send Cremated human remains / cremation ashes in the post. The Post Office prohibits this - nationally via Royal Mail and Parcelforce and internationally through Parcelforce Worldwide UK, which includes mail services: First Class, Second Class and Special Delivery The consequence is that Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to items, not [...]

If you are wondering what the chemical composition of Cremation Ash / Cremated Remains is then the following should help, I found this courtesy of the Good Funeral Guide, but thought it was worth worth reproducing. This a reproduction of the article: The results provided, with the exception of Phosphate and Sulfate, are presented as [...]

Scatter tube for cremation ashes

Well we tried waiting until Spring had sprung before writing this but Mother Nature seems to have other ideas! The daffodils and crocuses are still trying to survive despite the snow and rain and Easter is a time when many families get together and think about their loved ones and often decide to scatter their [...]

How many people opt for cremation in North America Around 40% of North Americans choose cremation, in Canada it is slightly more popular than in the States. This figure varies from state to state, in Oregon the percentage of cremations is over 63%, Hawaii it is 66% whereas Alabama it is down to 9%.  In general the further [...]

Following the Mortonhall baby scandal, The Herald Scotland looked into the practice of authorities, the results have been set out below, along with a link to the original article. Accurate at the time of publishing (Mar 2013) Authority / Crematoria Comment and or policy Glasgow City Council / “It was often not possible to collect [...]

  Ever wondered about the spiritual connotations of scattering ashes? Well now you don’t have to anymore because Spiritual Science Research Foundation (strapline –‘bridging the known and unknown worlds’) has come to our assistance. I will attempt to précis what they are aiming to communicate – however I have attached the link at the bottom [...]

This week sees the launch of this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight, every year companies, organisations and supporters get together to celebrate and raise the awareness of Fairtrade issues. Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. The sales of fairtrade chocolate, [...]

  Firstly in the Netherlands you can’t just scatter ashes anywhere, they need to be scattered in a designated place, the trouble is that there appears to be huge disparity in the amount being charged for the privilege. This was reported in the Dutch News, which emanated from the consumer show Kassa (translated quite simply [...]

The following post has been written by a company we support called Final Fling based is Scotland, your personal ante-fatal clinic. The place to sort your stuff ‘afore ye go’. Final Fling is the spirited, pragmatic home of end-of-life planning. Do it in the good times – don’t leave it to someone else. moreOur cat [...]

Since I start the blog I have repeatedly been asked who has ownership or rites over the cremated ashes (cremains) and whilst I cannot definitely give answer to those of you living in the UK I have got a pretty good answer for you for those living over in the United States. Using the site [...]

Flowers are closely associated with funerals. And scattering flower during the ceremony adds a really love touch to the proceedings. You may choose a type of flower because that was your loved one favourite, you may choose one because you think it is fitting or you like the colour. However you may choose a flower [...]

Below is a bit morbid, but a lady (well actually the lady’s mother) was perplexed enough to ask the question, so it is obviously of interest. The question and answer came from the website Allexperts.com and as far as I can verify seems a very plausible explanation, after all the chap is an expert… The [...]

Exhumation of ashes – permission granted Exhumation of ashes is a tricky subject; it is rare that it is granted. Here we have a story with a positive ending, the children of a man whose cremated remains were buried in Bourne Abbey churchyard in Lincolnshire have been granted permission by Church of England’s Consistory Court [...]