Author: Charles

Promession and cryomation go head-to-head at the ICCM

28 September 2010
Charles
3 Comments
Categories: Attitudes to dead bodies, cremation, Cryomation

The prospect of Promession, the brainchild of Susanne Wiighe-Masak, has been around for a few years now. It offers an extremely attractive alternative to cremation. It is clean. It is gentle. Above all, it enables us to return to the earth in an environmentally useful way. If you want to remind yourself how it works, go here.

The method of preparing a body for disposal by freeze drying it was invented in the US by Philip Backman. He patented it in 1978, and that patent has now expired. Backman’s proposed method of reducing the body to particles left a little to be desired (I have emphasised the key passage in bold):

“A further step entails subjecting the intact, frozen body to fractionalizing means reducing same to a particulate state. This step may be termed surface enhancement i.e., an increase in surface area of the remains is provided. Existing mechanical means such as that used in the reduction of organic or inorganic substances may be utilized in this step. By way of example, a hammer mill may be utilized.”

Promessa’s breakthrough was to develop a process whereby the body can be reduced to particles by means not of  hammer mill but vibration.

At the end of last year or the beginning of this (I can’t remember) I cast doubt on whether Promessa had, actually, managed to perfect this most important stage of the process. This earned me a letter from Promessa’s lawyers. I withdrew the blog post and stood back.

Yesterday I was able to go and hear Susanne Wiighe-Masak speak at the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) annual conference. For this I am indebted to the kindness of Julie Dunk, Technical Services and Events Manager at the ICCM. It was my chance to apologise to Susanne in person, and also to listen also to the presentation by Richard Maclean, Business Development Director of Cryomation Ltd, a UK firm which has developed its own, rival freeze-drying technology.

Susanne spoke with a passion born of idealism and showed us a short film describing the promession process. Richard Maclean spoke with the detachment of a technocrat. He outlined the development history of the Cryomation process and described briefly how it reduces the body to a ‘safe and sterile powder’ using heat and compression. He told us that Cryomation Ltd had tried to reduce a frozen body to particles by means of vibration but had failed.

Both processes have attracted interest in countries around the world. Each developer will bring their Promator and Cryomator, respectively, to market imminently.

Ghost captured in Cumbria pub

24 September 2010
Charles
4 Comments
Categories: Ghosts

From the Cumbria News and Star:

In a bizarre 35-second sequence, recorded by a CCTV camera in the dead of night at The Wolfe pub in Little Dockray, a ball of light is seen descending through the ceiling, its outline pulsating as it moves around.

At one point, part of the shape appears to reach out and move rapidly just above a table as if polishing it.

Suddenly, the light ball swoops upwards, disappearing through the ceiling, its topmost part momentarily assuming the likeness of a face.

The pub’s landlord, Andrew Batemen, 38, was staggered when he saw the images.

He mentioned the footage to staff at the Thomas Cook travel agents next door – and found that they too had captured weird goings on their CCTV cameras.

That footage, shot exactly a week later almost to the hour, shows a computer mouse mysteriously moving across a desk in the darkness.

A soft light then bathes the office as the computer monitor switches on – and within seconds a large sign falls from the shop’s front window.

To add to the intrigue, staff at the travel agent believe the building was once used as a funeral parlour.

Full story here. See the CCTV footage here.

Naughty nineties

24 September 2010
Charles
1 Comment
Categories: Humour, Longevity

If you catch me reflecting too often on the travails of too-long life, this story may act as an antidote.

It reminds me of a crisis faced by Winston Churchill. I can only paraphrase. An aide greeted him with the news, one morning, that a member of the cabinet had been found consorting in St James’s Park with a member of the Household Cavalry. “And how old is So-and-So?” asked Churchill. “Seventy-eight, prime minister.” “And what was the the temperature outside last night?” “Seven degrees below freezing, prime minister.” “My God, it makes you proud to be British!”

At the end

24 September 2010
Charles
No comments
Categories: Good death, Longevity

I was struck by the sweetness of this in the Victoria Times Colonist (Deaths and Funerals):

“Life provides a puzzle for us when we outlive our friends, when we forget our memories, and when the new technologies pass us by, but we are ever loved when we remember our manners and treat others with love and respect.”

It is in quotation marks, but I think it is original.

Brand new hearse, only £60!

23 September 2010
Charles
2 Comments
Categories: funeral cost, Plan your own funeral

Here’s a charming story from Wales:

The family of a frugal farm contractor who died aged 87 paid tribute to him by building his hearse out of scrap.

For just £60 relatives of William Royden John built the funeral cart which transported him to St James’ Church in Rudry from second-hand materials.

His son Ross described the gesture as fitting for a man who grew up during World War II and who was used to recycling old parts.

Daughter-in-law Julie John said: “We started off with two axles and nothing else and the whole thing cost us just £60.

Read the whole story here.

The great unsung

23 September 2010
Charles
5 Comments
Categories: Attitudes to death, crematoria, Formality vs informality

I’ll never make a funeral director. Yesterday’s experience reinforced that. No presence of mind. No eye for detail. In any case, I like things to hang loose, come a little unravelled if they will. But the mourning public likes to be held in a reassuring grip, I was reminded. They like someone to look to; someone commanding. To what extent this is a conditioned response, the product of strict timetabling brought about by the exacting demands of crematoria, I don’t know. But there is a decidedly British funeral behaviour and there’s more to it than Britishness. It goes with a lot of glancing at watches. Everyone except the dead guy, that is.

It all went well, just in case you’re wondering. Along the way I met some great people. And herein lay another reminder. Some of the nicest people we’ll ever meet work in the funeral industry. There was Richard who prepared the body and was so happy to be told what a very good job he’d done. There was Mandy at Adlam’s, where the body was being looked after. She couldn’t have been kinder or more generous. There was Margie McCallum, the celebrant. She gave up most of her day to this funeral and conducted the ceremony with clarity, intelligence and unhurriedness. And there was lovely Dave of ClassicRentabug whose fun lim followed me in the estate car in which poor Margie was crammed against the dashboard because the coffin was 6’ 8”.

Once at the crem my essential incompetence was made manifest. I even found I was unable to reassure myself that the coffin goes in feet first. So I threw myself on the mercies of the crematorium manager, confessing myself to be an imposter. This might have made him disdainful. It didn’t. With great magnanimity and gentleness he didn’t tell me what to do, he took over. He briefed the bearers, who were intent on shouldering the coffin. He arranged the procession. He seated everyone, and was alert to every latecomer. And while I have been to many crems and met many very nice people who work in them, this man, Nick Pearce, manager of West Wiltshire Crematorium, is, in my unwavering opinion, the Best in Britain. His staff are lovely, too.

Perhaps you have your own local hero whom you would like to nominate. Please do. I’d be happy to settle for equal best (if grudgingly).

Bloggledegook

23 September 2010
Charles
No comments
Categories: Bloggledegook

A right separate funeral bag crapper attain every the disagreement to a kinsfolk who has forfeited a idolized member … Funeral directors are also answerable for maintaining the equipment. Caskets, gravestones, tamps, vases, and box cloudy devices should ever be in beatific condition; otherwise, directors separate the venture of something indecent event to the person bodies, and that could scourge the clients … A stabilize and deferential surround crapper be a maker of richness and comfort to someone who has had a idolized digit die.

More.

The Modern Mourner

21 September 2010
Charles
1 Comment
Categories: alternative funerals, Art and death, ashes, funeral trends, Humour, memento mori, memorialisation

I wonder if you spent any time over at The Modern Mourner yesterday? If you didn’t, think again and have a gander. It is the creation of Shirley Tatum, a generous spirit who signposts her readers to all manner of more or less wonderful designers. Okay, there’s nothing quite so divisive as taste, but I’m going to nail my colours to the mast here. I love ’em.

Here’s Shirley’s manifesto: My goal is to bring a sense of design to the way we mourn. I’ve noticed how much care goes into the aesthetics of weddings and births, but there seems to be little consideration when it comes to funerals and remembrance. There are so many aspects that need to be overhauled in the funeral industry – from attitudes toward death to industry practices. Design & mourning is a little niche that I’ve chosen to focus on, and hope to make a difference.

Before long I hope she will write a guest post here.

On her site she has an interview with Patrick McNally, aka The Daily Undertaker, whom I think we all admire hugely. If you’ve never been, go now. Here’s Patrick’s response to one of Shirley’s questions:

The word “Undertaker” is actually quite beautiful, but it’s a word most Americans have come to fear. Why is that?
‘Undertaker’ originally described a person who undertook to provide funeral services and goods, not someone who takes your body under the ground, and it had a neutral connotation. However, all words that are used to describe things that we are uncomfortable with end up taking on a negative tinge. When we change the word to remove the negative feeling, though, we solve nothing other than confusing people about what we really do. ‘Mortician’ is a fancied-up job title like ‘beautician’ and Funeral Director was the next step after that, but what does that title even mean? To effect a real change we need to talk openly about death, and stop changing the words associated with it. When you say ‘Undertaker’, everyone knows what you are talking about whether they are aware of the origins of the word or not. It’s plain talk and yes, plain talk has a real beauty to it.

One of the designers and makers Shirley signposts is LBrandt Terraria, which supplies an entirely new receptacle for ashes/memento mori with a strong delight factor,  as evidenced in the pic at the top.

Site I like

21 September 2010
Charles
No comments
Categories: alternative funerals, Attitudes to death, bereavement, DIY funeral, funeral cost, funeral customs, funeral trends, memorialisation

There’s interesting work going on over in Boston, Massachusetts. Two women, Ruth Faas and Sue Cross, offer a range of services to the bereaved. They have a reading room where people can sit in comfort and find out about death and dying. They offer advice and contacts to those wanting a green or self-managed funeral. And they have  an art studio where people can come and make something commemorative, or simply work through their emotions.

Have a look for yourself here.

(Hat-tip to The Modern Mourner for this link)

Great ringtone for grievers and dismalistas

21 September 2010
Charles
No comments
Categories: Humour

Chirpiness and high-jinking are, I think we agree, out of place in a mourning scenario and/or environment. If you are freshly bereaved, that screamingly funny but in the circs totally unfunny ringtone on your phone is definitely going to jar if not shatter decorous, contemplative gloom. The same with undertakers. Yes yes, you need to be in touch with HQ, but if the noise of your phone going off is downright irruptive and nonappropriate you’re outa place.

Which is why I was very pleased to find this small selection of topping Abide With Me ringtones. Download the one you fancy. Everyone’ll nod solemnly in approbation.

Ah-ha! I have just been made aware that the link don’t work. But it takes you to the right website. Just type ‘Abide With Me ringtone’ into the search box and you’ll be there.