Garden Railway Forum

Since just before Christmas Diane and I have attended four funerals. I like to think this is exceptional and we can take a break now. I have lost a family member and two good friends who were both talented model makers, one of whom went out in some style..... Ken was a man of many interests all of which he excelled in..... Scottish dancing, indoor bowls, RC helicopters and railway modelling, how's that for a mixture?
The graphics on the sides and top of his coffin depicted his interests, all details of his final journey and celebration of his life were his own plans and preparation.
His railway models were of special interest as he built only in cardboard but managed to create most convincing works which were always well received at our exhibitions. I am pleased to say he left his models to our members to keep his memory alive and I now have some in my own collection..... It is not a subject many people want to talk about but unless plans are made we might not get the send-off we would like for ourselves.
Do you have any special requirements for yours?

Peter, Sorry, you've had such a hard time with losses recently, but I must admit to breathing a huge sigh of relief when I realised that that was "all" your thread title meant. When I read "End of the line..." I thought you were announcing giving up on this forum, or maybe even modelling completely, or even worse that you had been diagnosed with something terminal.

In answer to your question; My wife and I will be buried side by side at a Natural Burial Ground on a hillside facing the rising sun, either in wicker coffins or plain cotton shrouds. There will be no services, no fuss, no wreaths, no big catering, no crowds of mourners, just the bare minimum of people to drop us into our respective holes, and no headstones but just simple plaques on a post at the end of the row to say where we are.

philipy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 21, 2018 6:39 am but I must admit to breathing a huge sigh of relief when I realised that that was "all" your thread title meant. When I read "End of the line..."

Same here Philip,
you'll have to choose your words more carefully Peter.
Grant.

Thanks for your reply Philip, the Natural Burial is a great idea and one which a local landowner is hoping to provide subject to planning etc... Because we are in a very traditional Welsh community area there is opposition to change, however, the site proposed seems suitable and would eventually become a very peaceful and beautiful place to rest.
I'm all for cremation myself and so is Diane. The recent funerals have also been cremations so that seems to be the preferred option round here. The small local churchyards, many of which have been established for centuries, are rapidly running out of space.
I'm with you all the way on minimum fuss, I have no siblings and no grandchildren, just a small group of good friends which is fine by me.
I'll let you know when I'm ready.

Your last comment creased us!

Our chosen location doesn't allow cremated ashes to be buried/spread because the balance of minerals is altered during the cremation and the ethos of the place is 'natural' and planted with wild flowers etc as a meadow.

Psst... don't you think your friend's hearse is crying out for Grant to get his teeth into??

philipy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 21, 2018 11:37 am Your last comment creased us!
Psst... don't you think your friend's hearse is crying out for Grant to get his teeth into??

Yes I certainly do, however it might be something peculiarly British?

Crikey! as a result of posts on this forum I'm already looking at options for a rail car/motor, a Nissen hut, now a horse drawn hearse. I have got one pair of spoked wheels still. Hmmm.
Grant.

I don't plan on being old!

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:34 pm I don't plan on being old!

Unfortunately 'being old' has nothing to do with it. We just go with the flow and grow old disgracefully ( well, I do!)

Old is a very relative thing - influenced by many factors. I know a lot of 'old' people who are somewhat younger than me - and I'm only in my mid fifties (Yikes! ) your state of mine - the way you think and feel are, in my humble opinion, the important factors in how old you perceive yourself to be. Of recent times I've suddenly started finding myself as the 'senior hand' at work, which is a little sobering but doesn't make me feel or act any less like the thirty something that I would like to imagine myself to still be!

I see Tom's point about not getting old, but it's physically unavoidable without drastic steps I'd rather not take . Peter sums it up well I think. I'd hate to think I was going to become infirm though, that would be a very different 'kettle of fish'.

Like Phil I was somewhat disturbed by Peters topic title and relieved to know he's still actively with us!!

My point I should of made was I hope euthanasia is legalised in the UK should I ever need it in my old age although it could apply at any time.

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Sun Jan 21, 2018 5:28 pm My point I should of made was I hope euthanasia is legalised in the UK should I ever need it in my old age although it could apply at any time.

Hi Tom,

It seems we were both thinking the same thing. The beauty of the English language is that there are many ways of alluding to the same point - it can also create a fog in which ships drift passed each other!

It will be interesting to see where the latest test case on the subject leads to.

Andrew

I won't get onto the issue of euthanasia (I wrote a long paper on it last year and sadly nothing is as clear cut as it seems in the media)

I am currently in the middle of writing a funeral eulogy at the moment. This will be number 7 since mid December, sadly it does go with the territory for my profession.

I have my funeral all planned, I have the use of a plot in which to be shoved when the time comes. Hymns all chosen and instructions written down.

One thing that I find worrying when caring for families who have suffered bereavements is that people don't do this. The time after a loved one has died is not conducive to rational thought and arguments about "what mum would have wanted" are not uncommon. I watched a solid teak coffin being pushed into the retort at the local crem a few months ago. This was all due to someone deciding that they wanted only the 'best' for Dad, I knew the deceased well and he would have been most distressed at the money spent on it.

I still have the amusement of running into colleagues who think I am terribly young to be a bishop. I was consecrated at 39, and I have just had my 9th anniversary as a bishop and my 22nd as a priest. As a result I feel fairly senior professionally. However, unlike most of my clergy I don't remember 'The Beatles.' ABBA and the Bay City Rollers is about as at back as I can remember.

I hope it is a while before I meet Mr. G. Reaper, but it is not something we have much control over. When my time comes, I hope I have the good fortune to go quickly and quietly, and that one of my colleagues will be kind enough to bury my ashes using the 1662 Burial Office and preach a sermon on Justification by Faith.

Peter in Va

1662 - Sound

Funeral number five today!

Just caught up with this thread, sorry to hear about the hard time you're having Peter.

We're finalising wills tomorrow and then I suppose I need to document last wishes/funeral plans. Still not sure what to do with the trains both 4mm and garden. We have another grandson coming in June so there may be some railway genes that might be interested in taking some of it.

Thanks for raising the taboo subject and just wish old age was a case of reaching 80 plus going to bed one night and nature taking a kind course but we know it is not always that easy. If nothing else the timing of this thread has confirmed I need to get something in writing for my boys and Sally.

It has been a taboo subject for far too long now and should be addressed openly and practically. It can't have gone unnoticed how many 'seniors' there are on this Forum, and most likely many other Fora too. We already see collections being dispersed by the 16mm association, so at least there are some who have made preparations for the inevitable. If there was an 'afterlife' in one of the two options generally spoken about, my plastic models would melt there with me!

Just back from the solicitors, a few hundred pounds lighter but feel good. Over the next few days I will write up some note of guidance for disposal of my railway chattels.

Do you ever consider how many more years of good modelling you have left?. I'm watching my dad go like his father and sometimes think I may only have 15 to 18 years of modelling left to go. Typing this I think I will build another 4mm micro at the same time as the garden railway. I don't think I've ever finished an oo layout and have several small schemes I would like to try before it's too late...

Do you ever consider how many more years of good modelling you have left?

This is a very interesting point. I have found myself more involved with the ME fraternity over the last few months and my club does have its fair share of members who have reached "three score and ten". Many are now finding that they are not capable of building/running locos like they were a few years ago. Some are being very phlegmatic about it and selling off engines that they cannot use (or move) any more. The thought being that a project is easier to sell when the builder is still alive and able to talk with a potential purchaser than post-mortem when it will be passed on as a load of bits with no information.

This is countered by the 'it will never happen' brigade who still have projects that they will never finish. One lady of my acquaintance, whose husband died last year, left instructions that his collection should be split between his two grandsons. Sadly the 'collection' is of very limited value either financially or aesthetically. The poor woman and her family are stuck between the desire to follow Grandads wishes or just sell the lot for a small amount and split the money (neither of the grandsons or anyone else in the family has any interest in modelling at all). The majority of the collection is 1980's 00 Hornby/Lima with a G scale set (Bachmann and not a good one) and two part built 3 1/2 inch locos (badly made and not very far advanced)

My own Father was a great horder and when he died I had to clear out large amounts of 00 stock and unbuilt kits. Some dated to the 1960's, There were so many unbuilt wagons kits from one producer (still going) that I sold the lot back to them as I had no desire to flood the market and deprive someone of their lively hood. All this stuff had be collected for my Fathers retirement. A conservative estimate on the amount of unbuilt stock led me to realise that it would have taken him about 30 years to build all that he had waiting.

It is defiantly worth appointing a trusted individual/individuals to look at your collection should the worst happen. This should mean that it can be disposed of in a fitting manner that either allows it to go to those who would appreciate it or be sold for the best price and the money passed on to family members. I have various friends lined up to see to my tools, vehicles and models when the day comes

You "know not the hour" and having recently taken a funeral of a 35 year old individual who went to his doctor with a nasty cough, was hospitalised three days later after seeing a consultant and was dead within a week, it does bring it home to you.

Failing that, if you believe in reincarnation, just leave it all to yourself.