Getting the right formula

I hope readers enjoy this one. As chair of burial grounds committee I have to deal from time to time with unusual headstone proposals. It's a sensitive matter and I'm not sure of my view or that of fellow councillors to a sudoku puzzle. Was it solved? unsolved? And what was the degree of difficulty? Did it include what are known as "pencil marks"?I speak as a sudoku-er. As for the equation, that would have us stumped.

The late Spike Milligan's family had difficulty about his request for the words "I told you I was ill" to be inscribed on his headstone and it was resolved in an interesting way. See the full story on BBC News

 

I'm not sure how that could have been applied to Mr Robinson's memorial

Spike Milligan's headstone: He told them he was ill

Cemetery space fear

Hot news

 Almost half of England's cemeteries could run out of space within the next 20 years, a BBC survey suggests.

And a quarter of 358 local authorities responding to the BBC said they would have no more room for burials within a decade.

Cemetery experts warned of a looming "crisis", while managers called for a change in law to allow graves that are more than 75-years-old to be reused.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the issue was "under constant review".
BBC Local Radio approached 699 local authorities - 358 of which responded.

 

Many of the councils surveyed, including those in Gosport, Mole Valley, Crawley and Rother, said they had five years or less before they ran out of room. Other areas - such as Tandridge district council in the South East - said they had already run out of space.

Full story BBC News

In Cranfield we should be OK thanks to farsightedness by parish councillors particularly Delise "Dee Eagle" Ball the chairwoman of the PC.  The extension is now ready for use and within the next year will take its first interment. Ground prepared and cut, road constructed. We are looking at extending the water supply.

Cranfield cemetery - our mark on the land

Wildlife among the gravestones

The Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust seems a  good cause to me given the potential threat to our fauna, not mention flora. 

You might have seen recent news about a dramatic decline in bees and the possible impact this could have on pollination. A representative of the BCN WT will be meeting with some parish councillors in the churchyard today to discuss identifying a small section that could be designated 'wildlife friendly'. There should also be a rep from the Bedfordshire Living Churchyard Scheme. Hopefully we will learn some of the practical benefits and not adopt this proposal just because it feels good.The Parish Council maintains the Churchyard in good order.

Cranfield Churchyard

The Churchyard and the village cemetery are, I think, the two most interesting and appealing pieces of open space in the village. They fuse human history found in the gravestone inscriptions with present day wildlife and vegetation. In the case of the cemetery, the view over the Vale is immense.

Cranfield Cemetery

Last week  the Trust and 24 other UK wildlife organisations published the "State of Nature" Report – the first of its kind in the country – revealing that 60% of species studied have declined over recent decades.

Read it at Wildlife Trust News

Duke of Burgundy butterfly

Trees

We're looking for  trees for the extension to the village cemetery. Some pressure from at least one parishioner for a native species. What about an oak, quercus, bang in the middle as a mark of jubilee year?  We also need a couple of other trees to link the old and new parts and diminish the difference. 

Cemetery

I'm off on my bike tour to see how the weeds are coming  along in the cemetery 

Cemetery

Weeds sprouting everywhere on the cemetery extension. It has been seeded but of course spring has been bone dry. What is particularly frustrating was spending last weekend on the Leeds Liverpool canal between Blackburn and Wigan and coming back to find we were still unrained on. Frosts are pledged to come back and spray out the fresh weeds and then I will ask the chair of the Parish Council to perform a rain dance. 

Babies' interment

We are exploring the creation of  a section of the cemetery  for baby/children's deaths. It's only in its very early stages but there is capacity on the ashes' interment side of the cemetery for a reserved area.

Cemetery benches

I am struggling at the moment with a 'bench policy' for the cemetery. Burial plots are obviously very precious places to those whose loved ones are buried there. Some people never visit graves but there are others who can't stay away. Strong feelings arise.

We don't want a completely regimented site. At the same time graves can become surrounded by clutter and festooned with bits and pieces. Our bench policy is aimed at dealing with anyone bringing garden furniture to place near the grave of a family member.

However convenient it is, it is not ultimately going to work if that happens all over the place. So, back to the drawing board.

Cranfield Cemetery visitors/friends' group

Cranfield Cemetery is a key service provided by the parish council. The council has developed and invested in it in recent years in preparation for an expected growth in population. It has also redesigned and enhanced the memorial garden.

Unsurprisingly, there is a regular engagement with the public on the state of the cemetery and the facilities, some of it quite animated. In line with many other public service providers I am, therefore, proposing a visitors’ group, which would meet with a nominated parish councillor or parish councillors. The aim would be to hear issues and deal with enquiries and simultaneously to provide feedback to those concerned enough to attend. This would not exclude contact with the parish council on an ad hoc, day to day basis.

It might meet just twice a year plus a site visit during the growing season, perhaps. Non-parish council membership would be flexible and self-selecting. The group’s views would not be binding on the parish council in any way but ideally it should be listening to what its members are saying.

If the parish council agrees to this proposal I would place an advert in the October Cranfield Express seeking expressions of interest.