2 minute read
The return of the Busman's Holiday
ICCM Deputy President Marian Millington visits a beautiful crematorium in Barbados
The one thing we all missed with the pandemic was the ability to travel, something I certainly did! So finally, a holiday is booked - off to Barbados for a well-earned rest. Time to switch off, you promise yourself you won’t look at emails, work is not on the agenda for two whole weeks!
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You promise yourself that this time you will;
• Sit on the beach with a pina colada • Relax by the pool with a good book • Snorkel in the sea, swim with the turtles • Visit the sites and learn about its culture. • Followed by more food and drink and repeat!
The week starts off well, we are sticking to the list: the Pina colada was nice and cold, the sea was blue, and sand was white. The book was opened, we snorkelled in the sea and saw a few turtles!
Then the inevitable happens. as we are taking a tour visiting sites and learning about the culture, what do we see a beautiful building sitting on the horizon. After a chat with our taxi driver, we learnt it was the new crematorium. Well, old habits die hard ... we just had to have a closer look. The poor taxi driver was certainly shocked and bemused!
We were lucky to meet the manager of the new site who gave us a tour of the new facility. The 26 ace cemetery was opened a few years earlier, and a decision was made to build the chapel to accommodate a crematorium. Barbados has one other crematorium in the south which does approx. 300 cremations a year. She explained that whilst burial is still the majority choice for many, cremations has started to become a consideration for the younger generations.
The conversation turned to memorials, and she explained at the moment that as cremation is new to the island there are limited options. We could have kept talking all day if it wasn’t for our driver reminding us that we were on holiday!
