Oh yes we would
Denouncing plans for a new crematorium in Surrey which, if it is built, will be no more than 205m from the nearest house, East Grinstead resident David says: “You wouldn’t want to sit in your garden and overlook a funeral.” Oh no? How very different you are, David, from the readership of the GFG. Footnotes: […]
Haycombe gets cross
The argy-bargy at Haycombe crematorium, Bath, has raged over an important issue, namely, whether or not a building created and maintained by all taxpayers should, or should not, be faith-neutralThe matter of the row was the cross etched into the window (above) which the council proposed to do away with in its recent renovation of […]
Kiwi death rites
From an article in Stuff.co.nz: New Zealanders may be shy and reserved, but we hold long, personalised funerals for our loved ones, and show far more emotion than Norwegians, Swedes, English and Scots. Our funerals lean towards the American style, where everything – down to the cup of tea and biscuits afterwards – is organised […]
A new crematorium for Nottingham
The Westerleigh Group wants to build a third crematorium for Nottingham to serve the currently neglected north-east area of the city. There’s no doubting the need of it. Presently, Nottingham only has two crematoria, the excellent and brilliantly run Bramcote, and the unprepossesing Wilford Hill, famous for its electric ‘Heaven’s’ gates in lieu of the […]
What does it cost to run a crematorium?
Here’s an extract from a feasibility review conducted by Rugby Borough Council Jan 2010, which plans to build a new crematorium. The review gives us useful info about how these things are costed: Staffing: “It is proposed that the number of staff recommended would be: 1 Manager, 1 Administration Officer, 1 Operative “With on-costs this […]
Following the logic of more efficient cremation
Posted by Charles An undated document issued by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) makes clear its policy on the practice of ‘holding over’ – the retention of bodies for up to 72 hours in order to optimise cremators: 5. Operation of Cremation Equipment At present cremator operating time in relation to usage […]
Cremator says whoomph
Germany is a world leader in crematorium technology, but its crematoria are finding it hard to cope with some of its XXL citizens: The crematorium employee in the western German town of Hamelin took a last look at the coffin before pushing it inside the furnace. This was the third coffin he had processed on […]
Crematorium manager of the day
“You can’t just put the fire on the pyre and go off. The shutters should be opened and additional firewood has to be placed at least thrice. While burning bodies of people who had taken a lot of medications, like cancer patients, certain chemicals spurt out of the body. This can be hazardous if it […]
Blazing indignation
The infantile superficiality of the media’s treatment of issues around death and funerals is something we’ve deplored frequently on this blog — and today’s news is that things haven’t got any better. Instead of giving serious consideration to what a crematorium might do with the heat it is compelled to capture from its waste gases, […]
Bad teeth
We like this account of the dangers posed by mercury emissions from crematoria: Mercury is an odd element. It is a metal, yet liquid at ambient temperature and it is very volatile, easily becoming a gas. Keep in mind mercury is an element, therefore cannot be destroyed. When mercury is emitted from the stack of […]
