Rise of the alternative funeral: beaches, buses and anything but black

[SecularMotion]

The traditionally sombre funeral is being challenged by a surge in popularity for so-called destination funerals held in gardens, sports venues and beauty spots, research suggests.

Mourners are likely to dispense with the traditional hearse, choosing buses, motorbikes, horse-drawn carriages and even white vans instead, according to the research carried out among Co-operative Funeralcare’s 2,500 funeral directors, and a separate poll of 2,000 UK adults.

Nearly half (49%) of Co-op funeral directors said they had arranged a service in a location other than a church or a crematorium in the last 12 months. More than a third of adults (37%) said they would consider an alternative location for their own sendoff.

Locations mooted included a lake or river (25%), the countryside (20%), at home or in the garden (17%), at a beach or out at sea (20%).

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/sep/08/alternative-funerals-beaches-buses-anything-but-black

[hobbit709]

1. My final plans are simple.

I'm going to be cremated and my ashes are to be scattered over a marijuana field. My friends can get together and light one up at the appropriate time.
Music will be the Grateful Dead's Ripple and Blind Gary Davis' Death Don't Have No Mercy.

[malaise]

6. I think you need Peter Tosh's

Legalize It!!
Love your plans.

[hobbit709]

7. Maybe I can get some of my ashes to the Blue Mountains.

[fasttense]

2. I always wanted to be burried in plain white linens under a tree

But it against the law to Not use a metal vault when burying a body here. Even a plain pine box would be nice. So I could rot away and become a part of the earth, trees and plants. I really don't want to be cremated. But I may have to settle for being cremated and scattered under a tree.

[Ms. Toad]

3. You can get close.

http://funerals.naturalburialcompany.com/

http://www.miltonfieldsgeorgia.com/locations.php

[mnhtnbb]

4. It is not against the law in NC.

The story of the doctor who convinced a cemetery in Winston-Salem to open a green burial
site is here: http://www.pineforestmemorial.com/green-burial

A documentary movie was made of his story: http://www.awillforthewoods.com./#home


And a website that will connect you to options in other states is here:

http://www.naturalend.com/

[Javaman]

5. My will is already drawn up...

I'm having my body donated to the University of Tennessee forensic lab body farm.

and as a "remembrance", a buddy of mine, who is much younger than I (and will hopefully out live me) will put together a jazz band and play swing music for people to dance to.

Life is a celebration and in death; life, more than ever, should be celebrated.

[kelliekat44]

8. Another interesting thing about the funeral industry.Most cemeteries and burial resources are owned

by large corporations. In the US, most direct links between cemeteries and morticians are cut and families now deal with both the burial industry and the mortician separately. Nothing will be done by either until method of payment is verified (insurance must be verified). Cash is the answer...poor people who cannot afford the expense and have no insurance are caught in the middle.

[LongTomH]

9. I'd like my liberal friends to have an old-fashioned wake at a bar

"and here's drinking to his health....oops, sorry!"