Crem says no
Up at Sunderland crem there’s a book where you can write little messages to whoever you’ve come to visit. Isn’t that great? Linda Johnson has been popping in and writing little messages to her mum for the last eight years — and to her dad since Christmas. As she says, not everyone can stretch to flowers, […]
About time too?
Lord Bonomy’s exasperation with the NHS, cremation authorities and funeral directors, whose ill-informed advice and guidance led so many thousands of parents of babies who had died to suppose that there would be no ashes after cremation, caused him to recommend the establishment of an inspectorate of crematoria: Scottish Ministers should appoint an independent Inspector to monitor working practices […]
Tim Morris of the ICCM on the baby ashes scandal
We are pleased this morning to publish the responses of Tim Morris, Chief Executive of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management to four questions we emailed him last weekend concerning the recommendations of the Bonomy Report which was set up in the aftermath of the Mortonhall Investigation Report. We are extremely grateful to him for taking […]
All that remains
There is no legal definition of ashes. Perhaps you prefer to call them ‘cremated remains’. Or ‘tangible remains’. Or even ‘total recoverable remains’. Selecting just one term and assigning an exact definition to it was one of the jobs Lord Bonomy set himself in his report. The fact that there remains no legal definition has […]
Baby ashes scandal: responses to Bonomy
The Bonomy report lays bare the reasons why some crematoria have been able and willing to recover ashes from infant cremations and others haven’t. Given the enduring and agonising distress and uncertainty this has caused to an uncountable number of parents, it can only be a matter of time before the media give it the treatment […]
The science of what works
We’re the last people to gloat over the mortal remains of the Funeral Business Innovation Show, slated to happen at Olympia in November this year. The organisers recently wrote to those who signed up to it: The event was designed to benefit the funeral industry in a big way, at this stage it appears to […]
Cremating all over the world
By Dr Clive T Chamberlain: The cremation culture and equipment used in the UK is not the only way to dispose of human remains, although cremation in the rest of Europe is similar – driven as it is by a commonality of environmental regulation. The cremators used, and the legislation which controls their use are […]
Mother of all swear words
Posted by Wendy Coulton Recently I had a dilemma in that a funeral I was planning and conducting was for someone who was known among their close friends for using the expletive C*** (C U Next Tuesday) with affection and as a genuine term of endearment. I winced when I heard this because it is the […]
A day of reckoning for our crematoria?
The Bonomy report is published today in Scotland. Its 64 recommendations will address cremation practice in that country and, by extension, throughout Britain. They will impact the NHS, funeral directors and cremation authorities, especially the ICCM and the FBCA. Shockwaves are expected. Lord Bonomy’s brief was to “examine the policies, practice and legislation related to […]
It’s all aboard for the Ideal Death Show
First off, we think we’ve got the name right at last. The Ideal Death Show. It’s sufficiently edgy to be eyecatching without outraging some of our supporters. We’ve got the right location. Brum. Big city. Easy for you to get to. We’ve got brilliant community contacts to advertise the event locally. The show runs from […]
