Pure Cremation v AIS

[Stemar]

MOB ?
Some might suggest this also describes a typical "mostly" wood yacht from the 1960s ? but perhaps slighty faster and more seaworthy and considerably less malodorous.

I'm reminded of a gentleman sailor and racer who kitted his crew out with ballasted waistcoats, so they'd go down quickly and he wouldn't have to go back and pick them up. Nice, caring sort of fella...

 

[Juan Twothree]

Probably more requirements for a coffin used for a burial at sea than a cremation or regular burial-
200kg of ballast? That won't be taken out to sea on your average MOBO or sailboat!

• between 40 and 50 50mm (2 inch) holes drilled throughout
• corners butt-jointed and strengthened with mild steel right angle brackets screwed internally, or substantial wooden bracing struts 50 x 38mm
• about 200kg of iron, steel or concrete clamped to the base of the coffin with brackets of 10mm mild steel bar, or blocks of weak concrete mix
• weight distributed evenly to prevent the coffin from turning to the vertical
• 2 long mild steel bands running from the top to the bottom of the coffin
• several mild steel bands across the coffin at about 30cm intervals along its length

I wouldn't want to be one of the pall-bearers.

 

[DownWest]

My Uncle was buried at sea. He was RN during the war, so apparently it's included..

Chatting a Brit friend over here and he has signed up with a system that you pay €400 and when the time comes, they collect you and take you to their teaching hospital and use anything useful, then cremate the rest and scatter ashes in a dedicated garden.

Didn't I see in the news that one of these pre-pay outfits had failed, so likely back to square one and a cardboard box+ rusty anchor.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Well, although I don't take funerals, I am qualified to do so and am in close contact with those who do.

Funeral directors vary enormously in the service they provide, their adaptability and in the degree of control they expect to exert over the proceedings. When arranging my wives' funerals, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to happen and chose funeral directors who would facilitate that, by asking fellow ministers who they would suggest.

Anything that restricts the choice of funeral director is not a good thing, in my view.

There are also concerns about the viability of current funeral plans. They are currently not subject to the FSCS, and there are plans to bring them into that framework. Many smaller plans will probably cease to trade rather than accept the burden of complying with financial regulations. So, payments made into a plan with the aim of having a particular type of funeral may be transferred into schemes that provide less flexibility, or which only provide a "standard" set of options. Of course, in the worst case, the money might even be lost - you are not (currently) protected by the FSCS, and funeral plans are in general unregulated. The vast majority are well run by reputable companies, but....

 

[LONG_KEELER]

It would be nice if the RNLI went one step further than just providing a Will Service .

 

[Lucy52]

My Bro who does take funerals would recommend that you ask around independent funeral directors for comparison. Large corporate directors will want to sell you add on features, which may not be entirely necessary, helping you, of course. They also have a tendency to influence aspects of your choice in the service.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

My Bro who does take funerals would recommend that you ask around independent funeral directors for comparison. Large corporate directors will want to sell you add on features, which may not be entirely necessary, helping you, of course. They also have a tendency to influence aspects of your choice in the service.

That's why I asked my fellow ministers who they would recommend! It's a common grouse amongst ministers who take funerals that certain funeral directors try to take everything over, regardless of the desires of the family and regardless of the minister's own preferences. Of course, sometimes (where the family don't really know what they want) that may be appropriate - but it's the province of the minister (and I include humanist funeral ministers), not the Funeral Director in any event. The Funeral Director's job is to facilitate the deceased's wishes (if expressed via a will or before death) and the executors' wishes if the deceased didn't leave instructions. It isn't their job to take over and dictate what is to happen when, though of course, they may ADVISE what is possible and what is not. A good funeral director will be a facilitator, not a dictator.

 

[Lucy52]

That's why I asked my fellow ministers who they would recommend! It's a common grouse among ministers who take funerals that certain funeral directors try to take everything over, regardless of the desires of the family and regardless of the minister's own preferences. Of course, sometimes (where the family don't really know what they want) that may be appropriate – but it's the province of the minister (and I include humanist funeral ministers), not the Funeral Director in any event. The Funeral Director's job is to facilitate the deceased's wishes (if expressed via a will or before death) and the executors' wishes if the deceased didn't leave instructions. It isn't their job to take over and dictate what is to happen when, though of course, they may ADVISE what is possible and what is not. A good funeral director will be a facilitator, not a dictator.

Which is just what my priestly brother said, and you can get a more personal service from an independent funeral director.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Which is just what my priestly brother said, and you can get a more personal service from an independent funeral director.

Oddly, for my late wife's funeral last year I was recommended a member of a chain, and they handled the rather unusual requirements very well at the height of Covid-19 precautions. They were a local company that had joined a chain, though, and I don't know how someone less clear than I about what was to happen would have fared. But I was advised that one of the independents would be completely at sea with anything unusual, though perfectly ok for a "routine" service.

 

[steadyeddy]

If any of these companys goes bust you lose all the money you have paid in ,you are better paying it to a one off bank account .also it might be a little intrest might be added

 

[AntarcticPilot]

If any of these companys goes bust you lose all the money you have paid in ,you are better paying it to a one off bank account .also it might be a little intrest might be added

There's also the old Scottish saying "If the willna bury me for love, they'll bury me for the smell!"

 

[graham]

AIS may help to keep you out of the crem a bit longer.