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Our cemeteries are running out of space and governments are seeking out alternative methods of burying our dearly departed. This week the NSW Government in Australia announced that proposals are to go before Cabinet to make “natural burials” legal.
If these new burial arrangements come into play, the individual plot will one day be a thing of the past.
That’s not to say that the land shortage problem is a critical one yet but it will be in the not too distant future. It is estimated that there is still enough burial land left in existing cemeteries to last until 2050 although most Council graveyards are expected to fill within ten years and many others on Crown land are expected to be exhausted by 2035.
The natural burial area would be an allocated area in farmland or bushland which would still be an underground burial but without any individual stone or plot to mark the grave. Instead there would be a wall that would be engraved with the names and information of all those who are buried in the grounds, probably at the entrance to the area.
This form of burial not only saves on space because people can be buried closer together, it also allows for coffins to be made in biodegradable material, something that it not permitted at the moment. In fact, in its announcement, the NSW Government even suggested cardboard boxes as an alternative to the traditional wooden ones.
Burials are still very common here even if cremations have become more a more popular over the last few decades. Some religions such as Jewish, Muslim and some Christian faiths still tend to favour a burial over cremation. In our own Aboriginal culture it is much the same.
Because of this, these new proposals may be very popular, although probably not with those who have carved out a nice livelihood in the coffin making industry. Nor would it be too popular, I would imagine, with those who spend their days making stones for the cemetery plots or the plaques to go with them.
In practical terms for the consumer it does make a lot of sense. It also is good news for those of us who are keen on preserving the environment although, as one commentator noted, it is a lot to put the responsibility of environment protection onto those who are no longer with us.
The Catholic Cemeteries Board is all for the idea and announced in this week’s Catholic Weekly its intention to offer its first natural burial area at Kemps Creek from as early as next year.
The Board believes it is a way of preserving the “sacred ritual involved for all religious denominations”.
If this new form of burial and memorial comes into being, the individual plots will not be outlawed but it will allow people to choose and presumably will be far more economical that having a plot of your own.
Natural burials are not exactly new. According to the Catholic Weekly, nine per cent of Catholics in the UK choose them over traditional ones already.
It sounds like a really good idea but I am having trouble imagining a funeral service with a cardboard casket.
Sourced:
www.smh.com.au; www.news.com.au; www.catholicweekly.com.au
Image credit: www.dva.gov.au
We are fascinated by lists aren’t we? The one that got my attention today was the just released Forbes list of top earning dead celebrities. This is actually the ninth annual one compiled by Forbes and it puts fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent at the top of the list with estimated 12 months earnings of $US350 million.
This isn’t really much good to M. Saint Laurent but the recipients of his post death wealth won’t exactly be worrying over rent or electricity bills too soon.
Neither will those who receive earnings on the wealth of the other 12 dead celebrities on the list who include composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein who came in second on $US235 million and Michael Jackson in third place with estimated wealth since his death in June at $US90 million.
This is the first time Yves Saint Laurent made it to the list but it wasn’t his fashion designs that pushed him to the top. Sales of an extended property portfolio earned most of the wealth on M. Laurent’s estate, something Forbes predict will have him on this list this one time only.
The estates of composers Rodgers and Hammerstein usually earn annual income from catalogue licensing fees. Famous for composing some of the most popular musicals of all time including Carousel, South Pacific and The Sound of Music, the duo’s earnings increased substantially this year by the sale of The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization as well as the rights to their joint creations to Imagern Music Group for a reported $US200 million.
Obviously this was also the first time Michael Jackson’s estate made the list and Forbes predicts the ongoing fortunes will have his name on the list for a long time.
Following the top three were last year’s list topper, Elvis Presley, in fourth place at $US55m, J.R.R. Tolien next at $US50m and cartoonist and creator of all time favourites such as Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Charles Schulz in sixth place at $US35m.
The rest of the list in order goes John Lennon ($US15m), Dr Seuss ($US15), Albert Einstein ($US10m), author Michael Crichton ($US9m), TV soap creator Aaron Spelling ($US8m), Jimi Hendrix ($US8m) and Andy Warhol ($US6m).
Those who dropped off the list from last year were Heath Ledger who was no 3 last year, Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, James Dean and Marvin Gaye.
So fortunes can certainly be made in the afterlife not that any of them can enjoy them personally. Interesting.
Sourced: www.forbes.com; reuters on www.smh.com.au
It is not something that you really see too often, if at all – a politician thanking people who have supported him throughout his career. They may usually do a farewell speech and utter a few kind words to many who have kept them in office over a long time and have even sweated out on voting days helping to get people to vote for them.
Former Howard Government Minister, former Leader of the Opposition and outgoing Member for Bradfield decided thanking his supporters was the least he could do as he forges a new career overseas as Australia’s Ambassador to Europe, a position he will take up early next year.
Today, he personally took to the streets to thank all those who have supported him throughout his career, with a “thank you” sign in tow. Nice touch. I hope we see more of this.
Nelson formally resigned from Parliament yesterday.
Sourced: abc.net.au
Image credit: abc.net.au
One of the things most of us would like to be described as is interesting but what is interesting? What makes a person more interesting than another? Is it their extroverted persona or their skill at telling a good yarn? Is it the job they do or the career they are in that almost leaves us with this silly sense of adoration?
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Beer and fairytales are not usually something I would talk about in the same sentence or even associate but that's what The Jamieson Brewery together with their ad agency The Foundry have done in their latest ad campaign.
The ad for Jamieson’s Raspberry Ale under the slogan “anything but sweet” uses a fairly risqué version of the fairytale character, Snow White.
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Leonid Konovalov
On Tuesday, the Russian newspaper, Tvoi Den, ran a story about Leonid Konovalov, a longtime homeless man who had pulled himself out of poverty and made a bit of a killing on the stock market by collecting 2,000 bottles a day over the past year and investing the money – or so he told the newspaper.
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How do you tell a friend, a family member or even a colleague that they have bad breath? Is there a tactful way?
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The debate about 16-year old Jessica Watson pursuing her dream and setting sail to circumnavigate the world on her own has heated up again. This weekend, Jessica lost her long time mentor to the seas on a 92k race and that is certainly something that will have a lot of people thinking about her controversial attempt to take to the seas alone.
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A pretty standard response from any politician and even more so from any political party leader when asked about unfavourable polling is often “the only poll I am interested in is the one of the people on election day”.
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According to an article in The Sunday Times this week there is a trend in America, for those with money at least, to build a men-only sanctuary in their homes.
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Comment by Janet Collins
on Reasons it's great to be a guy . . .
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And looking like what?