THE LAST GOOD BYE

On a very hot day I said good bye to my friend Ilona's mother who had become my friend too. She fell asleep forever at the age of 93. She had asked to be incinerated.

In Belgium incinerations started in 1963 with just one Crematorium in Brussels. But as the number of people who wanted to be incinerated increased by around 50 %, it was not enough anymore. So for the Brabant Waloon region a new one was built and opened in 2011.

It is located in the middle of the countryside near a little town Court St. Etienne. The building is very modern and completely neutral. No religious signs whatsoever nowhere. Each person can decorate the room he gets for the ceremony just like he wants. In this case it was very simple 3 rows on each side and a place for the coffin in the middle. On the opposite walls hung a screen on the wall which showed a slide show of the whole life of my friend.




The architect had done a real masterpiece, the building is simple with an easy access and decorated in a very neutral nearly cheerful way.



On the walls everywhere colorful paintings on grey/white walls




The ceremony, Ilona, and her sister held a short speech, there was no priest although my friend had been very religious. As Belgium is catholic and nothing else, in the last years she had enough of the catholic religion and stopped going to church. There had been too many scandals. She preferred to have her own religion and this was also respected in the ceremony. A female deacan spoke some short Bible texts and a prayer. The music was a French chanso. For a 93 year old lady the service she had asked for was really very modern, nothing of a classical funeral ceremony ! After the ceremony family and friends had coffee and sandwiches.







These three pictures show the beautiful surrounding. Some people prefer to keep the ashes in an urn and this is the cemetary



There are the fields for the ashes



and the only spectators are cows.

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FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. I was  feeling a little tired this week because I still have to take the syrupe against caughing that makes me sleepy especially when I watch something interesting on TV ! But I went to acqua gym and after our tea "ceremony", I had a Gyros with chips and salad in our little Greek restaurant "El Greco".

2. Before going to Yoga classes, Dominique and I met Nicole at the travel agency and we booked our 12 days holidays at the Red Sea for end November. Despite the political situation in Egypt, the week we wanted to go was already fully booked. And we are still in September !  I is true at the Red Sea there are no troubles at all.

3. The house of our 93 year old neighbor who died in June is sold since at least a months and is still empty. The new owners haven't moved in yet. The result was,  that the house was burgled and inside damaged as there was nothing to steal. We never had burglers in our street but in the last 4 years two of my neighbor's houses were burgled. They are mostly interested in computer stuff and televisions.

4. Together with the girls of my painting group we went to our friend Geneviève's funerals. She wanted to be cremated and no religious service. We drove to the new built Crematorium in Cours St. Etienne which is about 20 km from Brussels/Waterloo in the middle of a beautiful countryside.


outside

It sits on a hill and from there you have a nice view on the little town. I have to say it has been built with a lot of taste, very modern, but still warm with very colorful paintings on the creme painted walls.


inside

Everything was done to cheer up people, if it would be possible in their grief. There were lots of people gathered in a creme colored room with banks looking like steps around the white coffin standing on a kind of block in the middle. After the funerals we went back and had a coffee at a friend's house. We didn't want to stay for a buffet which Geneviève's husband had organized for after the ceremony. We didn't want to disturb the family.

5. For the first time I did a map updating on my Garmin GPS. It was quiet easy although it lasted a long time to get all the new maps from the computer on the GPS. Now I have the latest version with all the new roundabouts ! They are growing everywhere like weeds !