Neighbours concerned with hedge screening at cemetery
Monday 25th July 2011, 2:29PM BST.
Colin Morton at his Courtil Ollivier home which currently overlooks the work on the new 700-grave cemetery next to Rue du Presbytere.
TREES and hedges supposed to protect neighbours next to a new Castel cemetery has some of the residents concerned.
Work on the new 700-grave cemetery – next to Rue du Presbytere – began last month and burials are likely to begin at the end of 2012.
The Environment Department has stated that a buffer of about eight to 10 metres of trees and shrubs must be planted between the cemetery and the houses to protect people’s view.
However, some Courtil Ollivier residents, whose gardens back onto the eastern edge of the field, are worried about the plan.
‘What I’m concerned about is if they put high trees or block out the light,’ said Colin Morton, 71.
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Isn’t it about time we stopped burials in this day and age if people were cremated and there were gardens of rest built for people to visit it would save so much room, I know its a contravertial subject but this is the 21st century.
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I believe that land should be for use of the living, not for the dead. More gardens of rest will save valuable land for the people in an already overpopulated Island, such as ours. Common sense !
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Never ever will I be buried
Time Team may dig me up one day not
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I totally agree John. Our land is finite and precious. A complete waste of space to devote more and more of it to burying our dead. Even worse is the current trend of replacing the traditional, comfortable wood and metal memorial benches all around the island with those awful, tomb like slabs that are impossible to sit on without getting a cold bottom. A grave mistake IMO.
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Martino / John – have you ever heard of promession? I’d never heard of it until today but in principle it certainly seems like an interesting option. Here’s some details here:
http://www.promessa.org.uk/about-green-burial.php
Each to their own but I have no intention of being buried. If any part of my body is useful for medical purposes they can have it – frankly I couldn’t care less what they do with the rest – I won’t need it where I’m going!
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Given right now there are only two choices, then for not taking up space I find it painful to say but it is cremation.
Though that link above reads really promising and given the real choice I would support that method.
In the immediate time we can’t continue to give up land for burial, it becomes quite literally dead land and is a luxury we can no longer afford as it will be a perpetual demand for space that is not sustainable. So it is a political hot potato which no one will want to address on their watch.
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Heres one for Mr Morton, What if the states agree with every one and make this land for the living, and put in an estate of 40 states houses ???
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….so where is St. Peter going to attach your wings to then Paul?
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In many ways, Paul, I don’t give a damn what happens to my mortal coil after I have shuffled it, but promession sounds as good a burial plan as any and better than most. Thanks for that.
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Hi Paul looks like a good idea
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hmmm – Good point Vic – I suppose I could stock up on the Red Bull before I go….
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“You can’t take it with you”, reminds me of the widow ,who, after promising her mean husband on his death bed,to put all his money in the coffin so that he may take it with him. Was asked at the funeral,by her best friend, how she was going to manage, replied, “No problem, yesterday I transfered all his money into my account and placed a cheque for the same amount in the coffin,if he can spend that where he is going then good luck!
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@ paul le page
can we at least keep your brain wired up in a jar?
I will miss your posts…they’re always perfectly balanced.
Personally i think sea burials may be the way forward. No taking up land and we take so much out of the oceans i think we should give soemthing back !
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Thanks for the compliment, damo – the money’s in the post. ;-)
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Damo
Nice thought but I think we are already putting too many nutrients back into the ocean via polluted rivers and sewage pipes.
That is what causes toxic algae blooms
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Sheila
I wasnt talking about being put in a lead coffin…just simply weighed down with rocks ! When humans rot in the ground it is good for the earth, so in the sea it would be good for the shrimps, crabs etc…
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Damo
That is what I meant. The sea does not need nutrients from rotting human bodies. There is a constant flow of nutrients from the land to the sea and sometimes this overloads the ecosystem.
Woodland burial in a cardboard coffin with a tree planted over your body is the best ‘green’ solution. Guernsey is definitely short of woodland as was highlighted when it was decided not to introduce red squirrels here, as has been done in Jersey. Unfortunately it is not legal here yet.
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Good idea Damo, the sea is fast becoming depleted of sea life which means less food/nutrients for what is left. Sea burials along with the banning of mass fishing (trawlers etc) in areas where fish breeding grounds are known to exist could encourage the return of healthy full grown fish in our waters. Not only that but in a way we will be putting back into the world what we take out eh! :-) your woodland idea is good too Sheila maybe these 2 methods will eventually replace the 2 main current options we have and that way everybody wins :-)
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People of guernsey you talk so much nonsense
Especially Paul le page a boring troll if ever i saw one
how come hs isnt banned from making his meaningless posts.
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It`s amazing that, no matter how they try to help the neighbours of these developments, there will always one one who will complain about the most stupid things.
If they guaranteed that the hedges would be kept at an acceptable height then he`d complain that they keep the grass too short or the gravel paths raked the wrong way.
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pbfalla I must disagree.
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I think one should create a cemetery on Burhou and send Pbfalla over there to look after it and make sure it isn`t a shambles.
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pbfalla – coming from you sir I take that as a compliment as well…..and since I’m a stickler for fair play your cheque’s in the post along with Damo’s.
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I’d rather see a cemetery than a block of 40 yellow states houses!
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How can PBfalla be taken seriously over his comments regarding Paul le Page. Meaningless posts indeed. You, sir are what is known as a gobsh*te and posting “another guernsey shambles” every time does you no credit at all
Ok, rant over
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nimrod
Its best not to even bother to reply to his posts, he`s just a troll. You may have noticed that nobody seems to reply to him anymore apart from Paul (sometimes).
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bcb – I do find his posts a giggle but perhaps the time is right to take a leaf out of PB’s book and join the exodus of people who feed the troll.
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bcb/plp
quite right, I shall join the silent exodus and ignore the troll in future lol
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Oh I don’t know really, I mean about PB Falla.
After all we all shout about freedom of speech and such like.
And to be fair maybe it’s a bit irksome at times, yet I, in my strange ways find it highly amusing–
But then I lived under a regime that banned all such talk, and by golly I’ll fight to the end to allow freedom of speech.
Now about that cemetery, I wonder if there will be a night watch, and how many might be saved by the bell- think it over- after all said and done our mortal remains are just like the plastic packing we get from shops- the good stuff is inside.
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Islander – I totally agree good sir and I wouldn’t want to ban PB from posting. As I said above I find his posts a bit of a giggle and let’s be honest, none of the regulars here can say hand on heart they haven’t posted rubbish at one point or another.
By the way, you’ll notice it was Nimrod’s response to PB calling for my posts to be banned that kicked this off! Ironic eh?
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Oh yes Paul; It is so easy to isolate, or even try to destroy a man’s words… but only on paper. face to face, and they are speechless.
I’m a great fan of Shakespeare, I try to interpret his many witticisms, so on that I find this might suit the occasion.
This fellow’s wise enough to play the fool;
And, to do that well, craves a kind of wit;
He must observe their mood, on whom he jests,
The quality of persons, and the time;
That comes before his eye, this is practice
As full of labour as a wise man’s art
For folly, that he wisely shows, is fit
But wise men, folly fallen,taint their wit
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