I do not swear (well much) but at time a wee story springs up on the radar which causes me to question the very fabric of the genetic makeup of certain jobsworth that forces me to resort to language that would clear pubs of sailors.
According to the Press Association today and I quote:- a grieving mother has been fined £86 by crematorium officials after she spent too long saying goodbye to her five-week-old child.
Terrie Rouse was ordered to pay the penalty after she sat by her son Zane's coffin for an extra 10 minutes before watching it disappear through the curtains for cremation.
But she was left shocked when officials at the crematorium in Crownhill, Milton Keynes, told her she would have to pay for the extra time - at a rate of £8.60 a minute.
Ms Rouse, 32, told the Milton Keynes Citizen: "The vicar asked if I would like to spend a bit more time saying goodbye. I sat by the coffin for 10 minutes, telling my son how much we loved him and begging him not to be scared."
But her grief turned to anger when officials asked her to pay the £86.
Lee Smythe, Zane's father, who was cradling the little boy when he died at their home in Great Linford, condemned the penalty as "sick and disgusting".
He told the paper: "Terrie was weeping hysterically. She just wanted a few extra minutes to say goodbye to our much-loved little boy. How could anyone be cruel enough to charge for this?"
Officials from Milton Keynes Council, which runs the crematorium, routinely impose an extra charge if any funeral over runs its allocated half-hour slot. This is paid on top of the standard cremation fee.
I am truely stunned!!!!!
These councils can't show any decency in any, and everything they do. Even the mere fact there's an additional charge for 'overtime' - on what basis can they even justify 8.60 per minute? Who decided it was that figure and on what basis?
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, why would anyone be stunned if this was made clear? Simple. It's because its another immoral and clandestine money-making operation hidden in small print.
How many people have paid this in the past - quietly because they are too upset?
Crematoriums are no more than factories for disposing of human remains.
ReplyDeleteI base this on the fact that in my experience when attending a funeral of a friend / relative I have found that when we have come out of the crematorium another funeral party is often waiting outside to go in almost immediately.
I am not putting this forward as an excuse for the council in question but it might go some way to explaining their thought process.
I do concede though – it was totally heartless to submit a bill for £86 to the grieving mother in this instance ... Beartless Hastards Indeed !
Cry Baby,
ReplyDeleteI checked this further and they have refunded the money apparently.
wonder if that would have happened if it had not hit the news wires.