With cremation now a popular means of 'disposal' of the body, people have found numerous ways to celebrate their lives by leaving various instructions as to what should be done with their ashes.
Below is a list of some of the more creative choices available:
- Be a firework. Heavens Above Fireworks can arrange a spectacular fireworks display which will include some specially designed to incorporate your ashes. Going out with a bang suddenly takes on a whole new celebratory meaning!
- Become a bullet! Consider what Mrs Booth did in memory of her husband an expert on vintage shotguns. She had his ashes loaded into cartridges and invited 20 friends for the last shoot of the season. Well this choice certainly gives the previous one a run for its money in the 'going out with a bang' department.
- Become a pencil(s)! Nardine Jarvis creates pencils from human ash and they are placed in a special wooden container (a pencil case) which allows only one pencil to be withdrawn at a time. When you need to sharpen the pencil it can be done from the side of the pencil case which captures the ash sharpenings, so that when all the pencils have been used, the pencil case effectively becomes an urn.
- Travel in Space. Probably the most expensive of all options costing from £600 to £2,000 per gram depending on how long your ashes travel through space.
- Be a tree! Yes, the easy way is to dig a hole, scatter the ashes in and plant a tree on top of them but there is a more 'civilised' way in the form of aBios Urn a biodegradable urn made from coconut shell, compacted peat and cellulose with a seed of a tree of your choice inside. Once your ashes have been placed into the urn, it can be planted and the seed begins to germinate. As the tree grows, the roots draw the nutrients from your ashes, effectively turning you into a tree.
Do you have any other unique ideas for the disposing of ashes? Let us know on our Facebook page.
