Two Guarantees: Tax and Death.

The Cost of Dying.......

After the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of soldiers returned to Civilian Life all over the world and most got married and started a family.   As a result, hundreds of thousands of their children, men and women, are now into their 70’s or even 80’s.   The point of this post should now be fairly obvious.

I do not know of elsewhere, but here in the UK, there are frequent television and other media advertisements for, believe it or not, Funeral Plans.   I notice that none of them mention the fact that it is more than likely that some relatives will have to pay tax on the plan when the person dies.

Most of the companies offering the plan claim that the cost of a funeral is in the region of £3,700 to £4.500. (that is $4.500 to $5,500 US).

A few years ago, I spoke to my wife and family about my funeral and left strict instructions for when I pass away.   I am 78 years old, fit and healthy and not in the least bit morbid.   I believe that at our age it is a totally reasonable and proper discussion to have.

Whilst in the police, I saw far too many post-mortems and one exhumation.   I swore then that I would never want to be buried in a grave.   Had you seen what I saw that day, neither would you.

So, I left a comprehensive list of the things I want done when my time comes – hopefully not for another fifty years or more, and put it in the form of a poem.

It is called ‘The Vale of Clara’ which is a beautiful spot in the Wicklow Hills.   I hope you like it..................

The Vale of Clara......

Cast my dust to the four winds beside a Wicklow Hill,

In a lonely vale, beside a stream, where all around is still.

Where the silence is only broken, by some wild bird’s call,

Where small brown trout, play freely about, below the water-fall.

Beyond the bridge, a chapel stands, as white as snow can be,

There, light some penny candles for past friends and for me.

And say a prayer that I may rest, where peace will me enfold,

And ask my God, if He sees fit, to have mercy on my soul.

And in the distant future, my one and only wish,

Is that a great, great grandchild, may wander there to fish,

And if by chance, a trout is caught, just gently set it free,

Then this sweet vale, will Heaven be, for evermore to me.

-----Mike-----