Shropshire Star

Cosy coffins for the final journey

It started when Linda Robinson's daughter was small. If she found a dead insect, or if a pet died, the creature would be wrapped in an old jumper, or piece of material, so that it would be snug and warm.

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It started when Linda Robinson's daughter was small. If she found a dead insect, or if a pet died, the creature would be wrapped in an old jumper, or piece of material, so that it would be snug and warm. A place would then be found in which to bury it.

"It was something the kids did when they were young," says Linda, who runs Burial Cloud, a company that makes coffins from eco-friendly woven wool. "It made them feel better."

Linda's father Henry had been a great believer in environmentally-friendly burials. "When my dad died, he'd already planned his own funeral arrangements and decided to be buried in a cardboard box.

"When we put him in it, he started rattling about when the coffin was moved. I didn't like it one bit. At the time, I had a big bag of alpaca wool and my daughter, Lowella, suggested we put it around him. So we did that and the rattling stopped. Somehow, in my heart, it felt alright."

Linda had worked formerly as a weaver, working with wool, and had no connections to the funeral industry. However, after spending 25 years at the loom, Linda had a change of career. She moved into the caring professions, working with many people who were at the end of their lives. She spent time talking with people about what they expected when their time came.

"A lot of the people weren't scared about dying," she said. "But they were unhappy about being put in a box. There seemed to be quite a strong feeling that people didn't like the finality of a nail going into a coffin."

Last year, Linda visited the Humber Woodland of Remembrance, near Leominster, a green burial ground in Herefordshire. The site, near the Iron Age Fort at Risbury, was looking for new ways in which people could be buried, other than in cardboard.

"They were looking for a new idea that was down to earth. That was the moment when I had my inspiration. I remembered back to my father, and to the animals when Lowella was growing up, and I came up with the idea for the Burial Cloud."

The burial cloud was launched on April 12 at the Humber Woodland of Remembrance and Linda expects it to prove popular. "I took a year to create it and I've already sold two. People really like them. The reason they like them is that it gives them a feeling in their heart that they person is being wrapped up nicely for the journey to the other side.

"People don't like the finality of death, or the idea that a relative will be left alone in a cold graveyard. It's sort of silly, but it really matters. When people think of their loved ones all wrapped all, it gives them great comfort at a difficult time."

Linda's Burial Clouds comprise hand-woven wool from Ryeland Sheep, which has a calico liner and is attached to a wooden frame. Woven fleece liners are also available for coffins made from willow, seagrass and recycled cardboard.

Linda adds: "The environmental aspect is very important to me. Green services are becoming increasingly prevalent. People see funeral services and cremations as being like a production line. People are wheeled in, the service takes place, then the congregation has to go before the next person is wheeled in. You can't hang about. But at green burial sites it's more gentle, people have time to reflect. Of course, it's more kind to the environment as well."

Linda assembles the clouds at the Humber Woodland of Remembrance, which itself takes an unusual stance on burials. More than 1,500 trees and shrubs, as well as wildflowers, have already planted at the burial ground and each new grave is marked by an additional choice of tree, shrubs or wildflowers.

Linda's woollen coffins are available at £660, which provides people with a significant saving on willow coffins, which cost around £1,000.

Luxury wooden coffins retail at around £750, pine costs £300 while cardboard coffins are usually less than £10. With the costs associated with headstones, cremation, flowers, funeral directors and the hire of a hearse, the average cost of a UK cremation is around £2,750.

The number of green burial sites in Shropshire has mushroomed with areas at Ferns Meadow, near Whitchurch; Ludlow Park, near Ludlow; Westhope, near Craven Arms, and Rushbury, near Church Stretton; and the Newport Woodland Cemetery among the most popular.

Funeral directors in Shropshire believe the burial cloud will be a hit. Linda Dawson, a funeral director from Craven Arms, says: "Green funerals have become increasingly popular in recent times and people do like the idea.

"We visit the one at Westhope quite often and it's very tranquil and nice, people do like the concept of it. People like to be in a field, away from the regimented headstones that they might find in a conventional cemetery. They can also have whatever service they like, with music and readings, rather than hymns and a scripture. We still use traditional coffins, but obviously people are starting to go for wicker and other environmentally-friendly products a lot more often.

"I think people will be interested in the burial cloud. There's something very comforting about green services and green burial grounds and more people are opting for them."

Further details on Burial Cloud are available at www.burialcloud.co.uk

Andy Richardson

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