🙁

My friend’s father was found dead today in his cottage in West Wales. I’ve been asked if I know of any suitable ‘Green’ burial sites and TBH, Google has not thrown up anything even vaguely local to Whitland, the closest I can find is Swansea (Oystermouth), Cardiff and near to Newtown, Powys.

He was a bit of an ageing hippy type who liked his alternative therapies etc but was also very pragmatic about things. Personally I think that a cremation locally and then ashes scattered into the stream that runs through his garden would be the best thing but I’ve not yet suggested it. In the meantime, does anyone have any local knowledge?

Cheers in advance. Ambrose

Not in the area, but entirely fitting with his beliefs, etc, this might be worth considering:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-24532224

Do you know of Brithdyr Mawr? The roundhouse in Newport. The community there might be able to recommend something.

Another avenue is giving the steiner school at Nant Y Cwm a ring and see if they have any ideas. Without wishing to stereotype or sound disparaging, they attract the more alternative type who might have some ideas.

If I think of anything else, or you need help with phone numbers, let me know.

Rich.

Ambrose,
Another thought – if it comes to cremation, maybe ashes scattered on Carn Ingli would be appropriate?

Rich.

There is a list here:

http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk/index.php?page=find-a-natural-burial-site

There is also information on that website about burying on private land – if there is a spot with sufficient soil depth and not near a watercourse (and the water table is low), you should be able to get permission to do that.

Cheers Guys- I was going to suggest somewhere on Mynydd Preseli to his daughters. He lived in Maenclochog for a while and loved it there.

I love the kindergaden building at nant y cwm steiner school.

He lived in Maenclochog for a while

My village!

Pretty sure I’ve passed a sign for green burial up near Rhayder in Mid-Wales.

There’s one in Usk http://www.usknaturalburials.co.uk/
The Usk one is a lovely area, and they do have other sites about the country, but I don’t know of any in W Wales.

BTW: My ex-wife is Melissa in the contact us section.

Well- what a week we have had. Malcolm lived in rented accommodation that we need to clear, so I now have a hot-wired mobility scooter in my back garden. It has quite a turn of speed but is a bit unnerving on steep descents. Loads of unexpected items appeared whilst clearing the house; a sword-stick being the one that surprised me most. I’m told that there are two electric bikes buried under the mess that is in the shed and I have seen a rather tantalising handlebar grip.

We buried Malcolm today, in a field near Swindon that looks over to Uffington White Horse. He used to camp by Wayland’s Smithy as a kid and one of his daughters lives very close by. In keeping with Malcolm’s ethics everything was simplified, rationalised and pragmatised. ‘Put me in a cardboard box in the ground’ he said, so we did.

It seems that anyone can transport a body but in the end he was moved from Carmarthen to his daughter’s home near Swindon by private ambulance. From there to the burial ground he traveled in the back of his daughter’s Vauxhall Omega estate. With the air-con on full blast. It was hot in Wiltshire today.

We decorated the coffin and said a few words. Then we lowered him into the ground with a few mementos from his garden beside the Afon Taf in West Wales. Filling a grave is hard work so we all got stuck in with the shovels and spades that had been brought along just for this occasion. And then we had a barbeque.

All in all it was an excellent day and to be honest I’m now reconsidering my final wishes. My original plan was to be cremated and then have my ashes scattered over Cadair Idris. Today’s events have given me a lot of cause for reconsideration. It was a very ‘interactive’ experience, one that I must admit that I really enjoyed.

Glad it all worked out. Good luck with the electric bikes!
Rich.

It seems that anyone can transport a body

When my grandmother died last year we did just that. She was never one for ceremony, we collected her from the mortuary and took her for cremation in the back of my brother’s rusty Mercedes estate. The coffin didn’t fit in the mothership. The guys at the mortuary and the crematorium had never seen it done before, my grandmother was never one for convention either.

My mum did the flowers.

I think Malcolm would have enjoyed his send off too.

Slightly ot but be careful when disposing of the sword stick, unless it is an antique giving it away or selling it may be a criminal offence – stealth knives. Best check it out (IANAL)