A thought for the New Year
Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:50 pm
New Year’s Eve saw a veritable Egyptofest of programmes on TV….featuring the pharaohs, pyramids and lots and lots of mummies.Some stuff was the usual repeats…but there was quite a lot of new programs. At least, new to me.
The sheer volume of bodies exhumed since the commencement of Egyptomania is staggering. It makes you wonder why it still goes on. Is there anything new to learn?
I suppose we owe a lot to the ancient Egyptian habit of mummification, without which we’d know little of the lives of the elite. Just as well they had plenty of desert in which to bury the bodies!
Of course, most countries don’t have that luxury….with land being at a premium. Hence the rise of cremation as a way of dealing with the dead. But, in these days of climate-awareness, the idea of pumping umpteen kilos of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when waving goodbye to aunty Ethel has its own issues.
Hence the current fad for “aquamation”….dissolving the body in a hot alkaline bath and crushing the remaining bones. Apparently, it’s the way Archbishop Tutu has chosen to greet Saint Peter.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about it. Flushing the dissolved remains of your nearest and dearest down the drain seems a tad irreverent. But perhaps appropriate when disposing of someone you positively disliked.
Alternatively, you could neutralise the solution and pour it over the rose bed. A nice thought.
What are your plans - if any - for shuffling of this mortal coil?
The sheer volume of bodies exhumed since the commencement of Egyptomania is staggering. It makes you wonder why it still goes on. Is there anything new to learn?
I suppose we owe a lot to the ancient Egyptian habit of mummification, without which we’d know little of the lives of the elite. Just as well they had plenty of desert in which to bury the bodies!
Of course, most countries don’t have that luxury….with land being at a premium. Hence the rise of cremation as a way of dealing with the dead. But, in these days of climate-awareness, the idea of pumping umpteen kilos of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when waving goodbye to aunty Ethel has its own issues.
Hence the current fad for “aquamation”….dissolving the body in a hot alkaline bath and crushing the remaining bones. Apparently, it’s the way Archbishop Tutu has chosen to greet Saint Peter.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about it. Flushing the dissolved remains of your nearest and dearest down the drain seems a tad irreverent. But perhaps appropriate when disposing of someone you positively disliked.
Alternatively, you could neutralise the solution and pour it over the rose bed. A nice thought.
What are your plans - if any - for shuffling of this mortal coil?
