Ashes

Back Blip

Today we went to the church where almost 60 years ago, Mr and Mrs E got married. It was time to scatter the ashes of Mr E's father...sadly he missed their diamond wedding anniversary by just a few months. 

I thought that it would be a very sombre affair, so I wore black to reflect the anticipated mood. 

How wrong could I be?

Mrs E had transferred the ashes into a plastic bag and had then put them into the paper bag shown. I let Mr E go ahead with his Mother and Sister, as I thought that they may need a moment of quiet, family contemplation. Before they'd got a few feet away, Mrs E delved into the bag and started to fling the ashes with abandon. The dust blew everywhere and she seemed oblivious to the situation. She walked among the graves, throwing handfuls of ashes, seeming not to notice that they were landing on other folks 'crosses, angels and headstones'.  She turned to speak to me about how sad she was to see the neglected state of the churchyard and as she did, her face must have itched. I was left gaping when she used the ash scattering hand to scratch the itch! She stood before me with the dust all over her face. I resisted the urge to smile but it wasn't easy. 
The whole affair was totally surreal and I'm sure if William had been looking down from above, he'd have been laughing out loud. He had a great sense of humour.