Month: July 2020

Amazing Ways To Save The Planet. Even When You’re Dead.

Cremation, as a choice when we die, was almost unheard of even in the late 1800’s, but now around 80% of us choose it as our preferred method over burial.

The environmental problem with cremations is that each one releases around 250kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and with around 500,000 deaths on average each year in the UK, that’s 400,000 cremations and a staggering 25 million tons of CO2 each year.

But, cremation and burial aren’t the only two options available to us now. With our views fixed firmly on looking after our planet while we’re alive, it’s only right we should do our best when we die too.

So, what are the options out there for looking after the planet once you’ve gone?

Become a Coral Reef

US based company ‘Eternal Reefs'( https://www.eternalreefs.com/ ) was started by two friends from Florida who were looking for ways to protect the coral reefs that they could see were dying out as they went diving.

After considerable research into finding the most environmentally friendly product, they are now able to mix cremated remains with concrete to form a ‘pearl’ which is lowered to the ocean floor to create a natural habitat for fish and other marine life.

Feed A Tree

Why not be buried in a biodegradable pot along with a tree seed? That’s the idea from UK company ‘Urns for Ashes'( https://www.urnsforashes.co.uk/ ), who provide all manner of urns.

The ‘bio urn tree’ houses, not only your ashes, but also the seed of a tree of your choice, so when the tree grows, the urn decomposes, and it, along with your ashes, provides nourishment and fertilizes growth.

What better way to ensure your legacy lives on?

Get Wrapped in a Woolly Coffin

Eco-friendly coffins as an option have been around for some time with funeral homes, and wicker and cardboard have emerged as the preferred options to wood.

But, there are other, more eco-friendly, sustainable options on the market.

There is a company in Yorkshire, ‘Hainsworth’ https://www.hainsworth.co.uk/ who will deliver you a WOOL coffin. The coffin is lined with cardboard and you have the option to decorate it. The added benefits, not simply from a sustainability point of view are that the coffin is easier on the eye for younger mourners and certainly easier on the touch. And what’s more the environmental impact of such a choice is negligible as the whole coffin is bio-degradable.

Get Flushed Down the Drain

Resomation, alkaline hydrolysis or water cremation

The whole process of resomation sounds particularly unpleasant but from an environmental point of view, it’s head and shoulders above a traditional flame cremation.

What is involved?

The body is placed into a large metal container, a little bigger than a coffin and a solution of 95% warm water and 5% potassium hydroxide is added. This solution is heated to 180 degrees C, a good 800 degrees less than a normal cremation, reducing gas emissions by 35%.

Inside the container, the solution dissolves the fat and tissue naturally from the body, leaving just the bones. The remains can be returned to the water cycle and treated at a water plant like any other waste water. The bones can be ground into ashes and returned to the family like a normal cremation.

Resomation is practiced across many US states and Canada and there is a lot of interest from other European countries, however, the UK is still steadfastly holding out. But it is probably only a matter of time with the company Resomation ( https://resomation.com/ ) already making waves (ahem).

And there you have it. A selection of viable options to dispose of your, or your loved one’s remains, that are not only good for the environment but will also sustain it.

Another Fascinating Find in a Dorset Churchyard

Rector, scientist, artist, coin collector, antiquarian; the list of achievements of Rev. Thomas Rackett go on and on.

Drive along the A350 from Corfe Mullen towards Blandford, and you’ll go past the church of St John the Baptist in Spetisbury. In the cemetery stands an imposing three-sided pyramid about 7 feet high. This is a memorial to one Thomas Rackett, rector of the parish and his wife Dorothy.

Such a striking memorial stands out against the more commonplace tombstones dotted around the cemetery, and little wonder because Rackett was quite an influential character.

Early years

He was born in London in 1757 and was a rather precocious child. At the age of 14, he recited the ode for the Shakespearean jubilee to the renowned actor David Garrick. He was so impressed that he presented Rackett with a gilt copy of the speech. In 1771, Garrick went one better and presented Rackett with a folio copy of Shakespeare.

The fact that the young Rackett was consorting in such company may come as a surprise to some, but growing up he was in touch with some of the most influential and greatest minds of the day. He was taught to draw by Theodosius Forrest and Paul Sandby a founding member of the Royal Academy; he was given an interest in natural history by the renowned surgeon and scientist John Hunter, who worked with Edward Jenner on the smallpox vaccination https://celebrantglynbawden.com/a-fascinating-find-in-a-dorset-graveyard/ and as a young boy he had his portrait painted by the renowned artist George Romney.

He graduated from Oxford with an MA in 1780 and at that same time became rector of St John’s in Spetisbury, the position he would hold for just over 60 years.

London life

At the time, the Dorset parish was one of the wealthier parishes, bringing in rental sums of around £750 pa, more than enough for a rector and his family to live on, and prior to Rackett, that is exactly what had happened. However, Rackett was more interested in pursuing his many other interests and living a life in London, than he was in being rector of a small parish in Dorset.

Throughout his 61 year tenure, he spent about 30 years at his house in London rubbing shoulders with eminent scientists and antiquaries of the day and spending the rental income from his post as rector on various treats and works of art.

He was friends with the Italian astronomer and scientist Tiberius Cavallo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius_Cavallo#:~:text=Tiberius%20Cavallo%20%28also%20Tiberio%29, who stayed with him at his home in Spetisbury. He also studied Dorset’s natural history, archaeology and geology.

In the early 1800’s, there was such an influential group of scientists and antiquaries living in Blandford that Dorset, for some years, became the centre of enlightenment thinking and scientific discovery and Rackett was right at the heart of it.

Problems

Unsurprisingly, his parishioners became disillusioned with their absent rector and voiced their c0mplaints to the landowner Lord Lansdowne, who took the complaint to the House of Lords. In addition to this, suspicions had been raised to the Bishop of Bristol as he discovered that several parishioners were converting to Roman Catholicism and Rackett was leaving a low paid curate to do his work in his place, and so wrote a letter to Rackett asking for an explanation.

Rackett had to answer his case to both the bishop and the House of Lords, but evidently was a very persuasive man because no further action was taken and he was allowed to continue his varied pursuits for many years afterwards.

An accomplished artist, he illustrated the second edition of the Rev. John Hutchins life’s work ‘ History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset’. He was a member of the Royal Society, the Linnean Society, the Society of Antiquaries of London and was an avid collector of Greek coins and in his 80’s was studying conchology.

On his memorial on the pyramid in St John’s church Spetisbury are carved the words;

‘During near LX years His diligence and eminent talents were not confined to the exercise of Parochial duties…’

Never were there truer words said. It was a remarkable life, lived to the full at the very forefront of, what was then, cutting edge scientific, artistic and historical investigation.

The Most Bizarre Death Rituals From Around The World

Fancy being buried in a giant-sized shoe? Or being left out for the vultures? That’s what could happen if you lived in one of these places…

Madagascar

The Malagasy people follow a tradition known as Famadihana (https://theculturetrip.com/africa/madagascar/articles/famadihana-madagascars-day-of-the-dead/ ) which means ‘turning of the bodies’. What this tradition involves is the Malagasay bringing the bodies of their ancestors from the family crypts and rewrap them in fresh clothes. You would think that this would be enough but it isn’t. The Malagasay then dance with the corpses around the tomb to live music. Apparently, it is a way to remember their dead relatives and loved ones from time to time. They bury them again after carrying them around their villages.

Surely a photograph would be easier.

The Zoroastrians

At one time, Zoroastrianism was one of the most widely practised religions of the ancient world. However, after thousands of years of persecution, there remain only about 200,000 practising members living mainly in India.

Zoroastrians, as a rule, aren’t all that comfortable with dead bodies. Because the corpses of the deceased are seen as defiling everything they touch. Zoroastrian ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/ )funerals begin by cleansing the body in unconsecrated bull’s urine. After the body has been “cleansed,” it is laid in linen to be visited by “Sagdid” a four-eyed dog. The ‘four-eyes’ comes from the idea that ideally, the dog has a spot over each of its’ normal eyes to focus its’ gaze. This rite is repeated five times throughout the day. Finally, the linens are removed using special tools that prevent members of the community from touching the defiled garments and the deceased is placed on the top of a “Tower of Silence” to be consumed by vultures; a process that’s seen as doing the smallest possible amount of harm to the living.

Tibet

Tibetan Buddhists also practice ritual dissection or ’Sky Burial’ (https://www.tibettravel.org/tibetan-local-customs/tibetan-funeral.html )and follow the tradition of chopping up the dead into small pieces and giving the remains to animals, particularly birds. Although at times, the body is left intact. To the western world this may seem undignified and even a bit disgusting, but, from a Buddhist perspective, it makes complete sense. Buddhists have no desire to preserve or commemorate a dead body, something that is seen as an empty vessel.

Furthermore, in tune with their respect for all life, Buddhists consider it most fitting that one’s final act is to have their remains used to sustain the life of another living creature; and in fact, the ritual is seen as a gesture of compassion and charity. Even today, over 80% of Tibetan Buddhists choose Sky Burial, a ritual that has been observed for thousands of years.

Papua New Guinea

Losing a loved one is a traumatic experience in itself but the Dani people of West Papua, New Guinea until not so very long ago took this to a whole new level and made any woman and child related to the deceased cut off their own fingers. Astonishingly, the reason for this was to drive away the spirits of the deceased and to use physical pain as an expression of sorrow and suffering. To perform the amputation, fingers were tied tightly with string and then cut off with an axe. The leftover piece was then dried and burned to ashes or stored in a special place. Not surprisingly, the barbaric ritual is now banned in New Guinea, but older members of the community still display the physical signs.

Benguet, the Philipines (https://www.funeralwise.com/digital-dying/the-spectacular-death-rituals-of-the-philippines/ )

The Philippines, although it is largely a Christian society nowadays, people who live in more remote regions follow the customs they have followed for hundreds of years. Benguet is a landlocked province in the southern tip of the island of Luzon. When someone dies here, friends and relatives convene at the deceased’s house. The body is cleaned, and a few of the men are dispatched to collect bamboo, which they then fashion into a chair, so far so normal, nothing too out of the ordinary, but this is when things start to go awry. The body of the deceased is seated on the bamboo chair and fastened in place with more bamboo and strips of cloth. So that the deceased does not have to bear witness to the suffering in the world, the body is blindfolded. A fire is lit to fend off insects and also to act as a beacon just in case the deceased’s spirit wanders off and is unable to find its’ way home.

This period lasts for eight days and, as you might expect, the body begins to decay. And while we in the West may find this pretty distasteful, this holds no fear for the Benguet people, quite the opposite in fact. They actually make jokes about the smell, and happily offer alcoholic drinks to the body during the mourning feast. The night before the funeral, elders give a chanted biography of the deceased and as the body is buried, mourners hit bamboo sticks together in the belief it will help the departed find their way to heaven.

South Korea

Cremation is becoming a more popular choice for many families in the small country of South Korea but not for the reasons you may think. In fact, because the country is so small it is fast running out of burial space and a law passed in 2000 requires families who choose burial for their loved ones to remove the grave after 60 years.

But rather than have their family members stored in urns, the Koreans prefer to have the ashes pressed into ‘death beads’ for about £900, in a choice of colours turquoise, pink or black. These are then displayed around the house.

Ghana (https://roadsandkingdoms.com/travel-guide/accra/the-fantasy-coffins-of-ghana/ )

While the tradition of the funeral itself is more like what we are familiar with in the UK as the service is a memorial and a celebration of the deceased, there is one very significant difference in Ghananian funerals. The departed is laid to rest in a ‘fantasy coffin’( see photo)

The idea is that the coffin is fashioned to represent something that the person was known for in life; a Nike training shoe, a 747 jet or maybe a guitar, and by being buried with something that represents their passion, it’s taken with them into the next life.

Coffin making in Ghana is an art and the designs are purposely brash and colourful, so they stand out as the dead are taken to their resting place in true party style, with some funerals lasting as long as two or three days. 

So, if you ever find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to make choices over the funeral of a loved one, be grateful that, difficult though it is, your choices are going to be restricted to cremation or burial and what sort of coffin to have and not which finger you should choose to remove!