My mum called me tonight and said she'd read in the local paper that some graves had been smashed at our local church, which is where my dad was laid to rest some 30 years ago. SHe asked if I could pop down to check his was ok.
This was the sight that greeted me when I got there...
Some sick idiots had smashed 3 gravestones off the wall and taken the urns inside, containing the ashes. No sign of my Dads urn.
I may be 40 now, and my Dad passed some 30 years ago, but I don't mind admitting I cried my bloody eyes out. I'm shocked that anybody could be so mindless as to desecrate graves in this way. What the hell did they hope to achieve ? Good job they weren't still there or I would have mnade a mess of them.
Anyway, we had no idea who to contact as the church is no longer used and up for sale but Mum eventually got hold of an emergency vicar (I kid you not) who said he would look into it.
Turns out that 2 of the urns had been recovered, damaged but with the ashes inside intact, however one was missing and the ashes had been spilt all over the floor. By some small mercy my Dad's urn is one of the intact ones.
So we're thinking that as the church is due to be demolished/sold on that they would let us have the ashes back so we can scatter them at my Dad's Mum and Dad's grave. Oh no, nothing that simple.
The vicar says it's a lengthy and expensive process as it would be classed as an exhumation. WTF! They have clearly already been exhumed. I don't want to have to fill in a load of forms and fork out an as yet unknown amount of money just for some religious type to come down and do some bizarre ritual that then allows us to have our Dad's ashes back.
I never was a big fan of the church, nor was Dad for that matter, but this has my blood boiling. It's bad enough that this has happened at all without making it even more difficult for us all.
Anybody got any idea on the best approach to take here, because at the moment I feel like calling them tomorrow and giving them some verbals.
This was the sight that greeted me when I got there...
Some sick idiots had smashed 3 gravestones off the wall and taken the urns inside, containing the ashes. No sign of my Dads urn.
I may be 40 now, and my Dad passed some 30 years ago, but I don't mind admitting I cried my bloody eyes out. I'm shocked that anybody could be so mindless as to desecrate graves in this way. What the hell did they hope to achieve ? Good job they weren't still there or I would have mnade a mess of them.
Anyway, we had no idea who to contact as the church is no longer used and up for sale but Mum eventually got hold of an emergency vicar (I kid you not) who said he would look into it.
Turns out that 2 of the urns had been recovered, damaged but with the ashes inside intact, however one was missing and the ashes had been spilt all over the floor. By some small mercy my Dad's urn is one of the intact ones.
So we're thinking that as the church is due to be demolished/sold on that they would let us have the ashes back so we can scatter them at my Dad's Mum and Dad's grave. Oh no, nothing that simple.
The vicar says it's a lengthy and expensive process as it would be classed as an exhumation. WTF! They have clearly already been exhumed. I don't want to have to fill in a load of forms and fork out an as yet unknown amount of money just for some religious type to come down and do some bizarre ritual that then allows us to have our Dad's ashes back.
I never was a big fan of the church, nor was Dad for that matter, but this has my blood boiling. It's bad enough that this has happened at all without making it even more difficult for us all.
Anybody got any idea on the best approach to take here, because at the moment I feel like calling them tomorrow and giving them some verbals.
![[FnG]magnolia](/styles/overclockers/avatars/9.png){kind=avatar}
