“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 falls on you.”
Selina Jacob, manager of Thrikkakara crematorium, Kerala, India — here
Posted by Juno Gatsby
Jack’s granddaughter called me and asked if I could recommend a venue for his funeral service. His family knew he didn’t want his last journey to be in a church or crematorium. He would be laid to rest in their local cemetery after his farewell ceremony. We talked about hotels and wedding venues but most hotels aren’t too keen on having a hearse parked outside the main entrance! They tried the local Register Office as a potential venue, they were very kind and helpful but…..there were just too many corners to be negotiated. It would be impossible to manoeuvre a coffin into the building with any dignity. Then we hit on the idea of wedding barn venues, and the family got busy on the phone and sorted it all out for themselves. The owners of a beautiful, mellow stone-walled, old oak-beamed barn conversion agreed in principle – as long as there were no legal restrictions. We reassured them that, unlike weddings, there are no legal restrictions on where and when you can hold a funeral ceremony.