Remembering the departed.

by Mike

From my own experiences of losing a family member, I know that it can sometimes be too painful to go and visit their grave. Sometimes it can just simply be a case of time healing all wounds and we let their memory fade and the need to visit lessens.

What can also happens is that we need to feel closer to them, so we leave certain items that identify the person to our memory…some of the items would be considered strange to an outsider looking in but nonetheless the significance they hold enables some people to cling onto the departed’s memory.

Antrim Borough Council had set the 7th September as the deadline for personal mementoes to be removed from Belmont Cemetery. However this action has been suspended pending legal action because the families of some loved ones, that are buried there, have objected and have won the right to a judicial review of the decision by the Council.

The reasoning behind the council’s decision is that they make the families aware that Belmont is a lawn cemetery and that there are many warning signs in place which prohibits items such as teddy bears, statues and plants being left at gravesides.

It strikes me as being a little bit too politically correct and that possibly the council are thinking of their own welfare instead of their constituents. There is no set amount of time for grieving and no rules as to which way it has be implemented.

Whether it is an image conscious decision or simply a safety one it seems to me that you are running the risk of upsetting more people then appeasing them. Judging by the reaction the former would stand to reason. Sometimes we deal with problems in our live by simply not dealing with them at all and while time moves on, some people do not.

Sunday, September 16th, 2007 and is filed under Pain and suffering, Thoughts & Questions.