Ashes to ashes

This weekend I went up a hill in Sussex with Miles and his sister, as they scattered their mother's ashes. She loved walking, it was the hill nearest her house, and there is a huge post there which was once part of a mill of some kind. So they will be able to go back to the exact same place, and see the exact same view.

It was extremely windy, which did lead to us all returning with bits of ash in our hair, but it really made the scattering something to behold. I almost wished I had a camera, but the picture of Miles leaping up in the air with the jar as the wind swept the ashes out over the countryside will stay with me for a very long time.

I asked my mother what she would like us to do with her. She was quite taken with the idea of being made into a diamond (see LifeGem -- only in America, right?) but we decided in the end that would be too risky. What if she got stolen? What if I lost her in a swimming pool? We would probably need two diamonds so my sister and I could have a bit each -- what if they were disappointingly small?

I like the idea of being scattered though. It's the way to go.

joella