A Bit Odd!

When Scattering Ashes Goes Wrong – and How to Get It Right

Every now and then, videos appear online of scattering ashes ceremonies that don’t quite go to plan. They can be darkly funny – a gust of wind reversing the moment, a boat’s engine scattering more than the mourners expected, or a poorly chosen spot leading to an unintended mishap. While they raise a smile, they […]

Cremation ashes illegally scattered on a grave

Scattering Ashes on Grave – Extreme example

Scattering Ashes on Grave without Permission I want to discuss the argument around scattering ashes on a grave. This was brought into focus by a rather disturbing image that was sent to me from a cemetery manager, it shows how bad this can get. The second image is at the bottom and be warned it […]

A Pirate’s Farewell – Ashes of an Old Pirate fired from a Cannon

Shiver m’ Timbers etc etc. I adore stories like this. Drama, ceremony and a dash of irreverence. Brixham in Devon love their Pirates, so much so that every year they hold a Pirate Festival where the town is mobbed With Long John Silvers although in slightly odd fashion, 101 versions of Johnny Depp’s Character Jack […]

Cremation Ashes as a Marketing Ploy

Nothing new in the world they say. Well perhaps, but this is certainly different. There is a famous restaurant in the Las Vegas called the Heart Attack Grill. Its whole method of promotion is entirely paradoxical. It is famous for telling you that their food is very very bad for you. They are in the […]

Ashes Incorporated in Wedding Fingernail Design

Bride Uses Father’s Ashes in Wedding Nail Design “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…” The familiar rhyme that brides lean on for luck took on an entirely new meaning for one woman from Stoke-on-Trent. After ticking off the traditional items, she chose a deeply personal addition: a wedding nail design incorporating a tiny […]

Exhumation of Ashes, Rounders & Drug Dealing – Strange Story

If you have buried ashes and you want to move them it can be difficult if not impossible, particularly if they the ground they are buried in has on blessed (consecrated ground). In which case it is up to the Church of England’s court to decide whether they can be removed. And they don’t like […]

Commemorative Album Release with a difference: the singer’s mum’s ashes

Commemorative Album Release. I am a child of the era when coloured vinyl limited edition LPs were the all the rage. I was proud owning a handful in my own collection. And I have to say I was somewhat disappointed that I was not aware of this story before. The Idles Back in October 2017 […]

Carrie Fisher’s Ashes Placed in Giant Prozac Pill Urn

Family Chose Unique Urn Reflecting Her Humor and Mental Health Advocacy Carrie Fisher immortalised in film as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films passed away in December. She was laid to rest alongside her mother: Debbie Reynolds – also a movie star who tragically died a day after her daughter. Carrie Fisher had […]

Ashes are Priceless. Well Truman Capotes aren’t !

The Curious Case of Truman Capote’s Ashes: Morality, Legality and the Market for Celebrity Remains The world of ashes always throws curve balls. People often say that the cremated remains of a person are priceless — and in a sense they’re right. Ashes can’t be replaced; they can be the most sentimental item in the […]

Drug smuggling gang use scattering ashes ceremony in attempt to outwit police

Well I suppose scattering the ashes of a ‘bro’ is one excuse to give the Boys in Blue as a reason for being on New Zealand’s iconic 90 Mile Beach in suspicious circumstances. However the truth of the matter was the bad guys got busted attempt to smuggle in an eye watering ½ Tonne of […]

Could this be the oddest family tradition?

When Famous Last Wishes Take an Unexpected Turn When we think about end-of-life wishes, most tend toward the solemn and traditional — a quiet service, a scattering at a favourite place, flowers, perhaps a few meaningful readings. But every so often, a wish comes along that stops people in their tracks and challenges what we […]

King Arthur wants Cremated Remains reburied at Stonehenge

Apparently the legendary king of England has been reincarnated, what’s more Arthur Pendragon is on the war path once more. He and bands of druids are not happy the cremated remains dug up and removed from Stonehenge are not being treated with due respect and they want them returned to the earth where they belong. […]

A 6ft dinosaur, 600 umbrellas and a casket of ashes

Unclaimed lost property on a train includes a cremation urn All left First Trans Pennine trains – umbrellas, well indeed I think all of us have done that at least once. The ashes slightly strange. I suppose if you put them on the seat beside you and then jump off in a bit of a […]

A strangers ashes buried in your garden – spooky

When Bill Stephenson of Cherter-le-Street noticed something odd under the rose bush in his garden he went to investigate – he discovered a plaque beneath that was an urn. Now you may jump to the conclusion that Bill had unearthed a previous resident of the house. But this is not true, Bill had lived in […]

Ashes contained inside a marital aid

I kid you not. Now where might a product such as this be produced, come on guess…. The Netherlands, which accordingly to the straweyist of straw-type polls I conducted was the bookies favourite. I love the Dutch. Not just because of their determination to bring all things back to sex, but in the unflinching way […]

A send-off with a bang! Memorialised though a cannon blast

Firearms Enthusiast’s Ashes Fired from a Replica Civil War Cannon Now this is on the unusual side, a long time firearms enthusiast has had his ashes blasted out of a replica US civil war cannon. Now that is a proper send-off! Julian ‘Boyd’ Mercer lost his fight with cancer in September at a the age […]

Cross-dressing thief steals ashes

Cross-Dressing Thief Steals Ashes in Washington State I often wonder whether the world is becoming stranger or that weird things always happened but now communication is much better so we see more of them. In this case we have a fairly well reported occurrence: the theft of ashes. Readers unacquainted with the blog may not know […]

Make your own ashes: Japanese bone crushing apparatus for rent

Japanese Bone Crushing Apparatus for Rent — Make Your Own Ashes Now here’s a franchise opportunity you are unlikely to see on Dragons Den: Rental of bone crushing apparatus. The Japanese tradition is to cremate and then place the bones of the loved one in an urn, I have already posted on this – Japanese […]

Lazy or Accidently Misleading – Ashes from DNA

Can DNA Be Recovered from Cremated Remains? The Curious Case Behind a Daily Mail Headline The Daily Mail recently ran a striking headline: “DNA test on some cremated remains after woman found wrong body in her mother’s casket.”For those of us in the funeral sector, it immediately raises an eyebrow. We’ve long understood that DNA […]

We don’t want the ashes back

When Families Say “We Don’t Want the Ashes Back” — Unusual Ashes Story I am always keeping an eye out for news stories and when I started posting I would say every week there is a story about some cerebrally challenged crook who mistakenly pinches an urn and the family are pleading for it back […]

Medieval fashion – ashes launched from a Trebuchet or Catapult

Want Your Ashes Thrown from a Medieval Catapult? (Trebuchet Tributes) Flung from a mighty medieval war engine, soaring skyward to a drumbeat… then woosh — ashes drifting like silver confetti. Not everyone’s cup of mead, granted. But for battle-reenactors, engineers, and history buffs, the trebuchet has undeniable drama. Before we charge the battlements, a reality […]

The False Tsar who had his ashes shot out of a cannon!

False Tsar’s Ashes Shot from a Cannon — The Strange End of a Pretender This is a great little story from northern Europe from the early 17th century, during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) The incident is set in the conflict or series of conflicts that involved the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth taking an opportunistic swipe at the Russians […]

The Forever Fisherman – An Anglers Choice

The Forever Fisherman – Mixing Ashes with Fish Food in the River People who have a passion for a sport often choose to have their association enshrined with their ashes. So whilst the request Mr Peter Hodges, an angler from Somerset final wish may seem strange to many, to others it has perfect resonance. When […]

A Celebrity so famous his ashes were invited to a Broadway Premier

Truman Capote’s Ashes Invited to Broadway Premiere — But Security Concerns Stop the Show The red carpet was booked, the canopies were ordered, and the invitations were going out. Angelina? Brad? Oh yes — and the cremated remains of Truman Capote.Pardon?Yes, you read that correctly. The producers of a Broadway revival of Breakfast at Tiffany’s […]

American lady eats her husbands ashes – this is odd!

With this subject, sometimes you do get to blog about the stranger side of life , however it is rare these days when I am taken aback. Here we have the peculiar story of a lady who eats her deceased husbands cremated remains. Beware it does make for disturbing viewing! The lady concerned is […]

Pyramid scheme with a difference – Cremation ashes interred in a most dramatic way!

Bernard Madoff had a pyramid scheme which was a scam. On the Giza Plateau, in Egypt the Pharaoh Khufu constructed the largest pyramid ever built, it is made from about 2.3 million stone blocks. This project from the States has caught our eye – A modern pyramid huge in proportions set to house people cremated […]

Cremation Ashes and Art: A Step too Far?

Cremation Ashes and Art Every so often a story comes along that stops you in your tracks. This one certainly did. Artist David Maisel created a photographic exhibition based on thousands of corroding urns discovered at the Oregon State Hospital — each one containing the unclaimed ashes of former patients. Some dated back to the 19th century, others to the […]

Ashes into Vinyl Record

When cremated remains become part of a record This one is truly a boundary shot—remarkably different and uniquely sentimental. It’s a brilliant way to celebrate the life of a loved one with a touch of personal flair. Imagine having your ashes pressed into a vinyl record. This concept, offered by And Vinyly, a pioneering British […]

Cremated ashes in a Memorial Tattoo!

When memorial ink incorporates cremated remains This is a radical way of memorialising a loved one – putting cremated funeral ashes into ink, then having them tattooed somewhere on your person. The more we looked into this the more ‘common’ it actual is. Despite the obvious heath implications it seems to be fairly popular in […]