Going out with a bang - how people are choosing for their ashes to be sent up in fireworks and aeroplanes

In a container behind him was her last worldly remains - around 6lbs of dusty, gritty ashes which, at the precise moment the little plane passed the mourners, he planned to eject from the rear of the aircraft in a gentle ‘puff’ of delicate cloud that would float beautifully before vanishing to the four winds.

There was, however, one tiny problem. “An American chap I’d been working with suggested using insulation tape around the top of the container. I tested it with material I use to simulate ashes – cat litter, porridge and talcum powder - and it worked beautifully,” recalls Capt. McTaggart.

“On the day, I got above Gullane where the mourners were gathered, pushed the button to release the ashes and the container blew up inside the plane. There were ashes up my nose, I was being blinded by them, and it blew a hole in the airplane.”

On the ground afterwards and full of apologies, he delicately explained the ‘malfunction’. “I said I was terribly sorry, that half their friend was all over my airplane. Thankfully, they said she was a very adventurous lady and would have enjoyed the comedy of the moment.”

The mishap was an unfortunate one-off blip. Since then the 70-year-old pilot from East Lothian has perfected the process of blasting the ‘cremains’ of the dearly departed from the rear end of his single-seater plane at spots from the Highlands to Sussex, sending them on a final heavenly journey where they hang for a moment in a wispy fog before slowly disappearing into the blue yonder forever.

It may well be one of the more dramatic means of scattering a loved one’s ashes, but demand for alternatives to the crematorium garden of remembrance or the Victoriana urn on the mantlepiece – or, more frequently, the back of the wardrobe – appears to be rising.

For just as grieving families are seeking more personalised styles of saying the last goodbye, from humanist services to wicker coffins and ‘green’ burials, the dilemma of what to do with the bag of ashes presented post-cremation is now being solved in a raft of ingenious ways.

“There is a definite increase in people looking for a way to say their goodbyes that is relevant to the person’s personality,” says Richard Martin, of Scattering Ashes, an online business devoted to the problem of what to do with loved one’s remains.

“In the 1960s, only 20% of ashes were collected following cremation. But now only 20% are left at to be scattered at the garden of remembrance.

“You have all these people wondering what to do with them. I’ve heard of house clearances where people have opened a bedroom cupboard and found a collection of urns sitting there. It can be a real problem.”

Recently Inverclyde Council took the step to support Sikh and Hindu families seeking a dignified location to scatter ashes on flowing waters but for whom the traditional journey 2000 miles to the banks of the Ganges is neither practical or possible.

Instead, a slipway leading to the River Clyde at Port Glasgow has been provided with barriers to help mourners of all faiths and none stay steady on their feet while their loved ones are committed to the grey waters of the River Clyde.

But while it has helped solve a problem for some, others, says Martin, have been caught in an urn-shaped trap.

“Attitudes are changing,” he adds. “Not everyone wants the traditional Victorian-style urn on the mantlepiece.

“People are becoming more expressive; they are increasingly non-religious and they want a place or event that’s memorable and specific to their loved one.”

According to a 2016 YouGov survey, cremation is the chosen departure route for more than half us (58%). However, only 7% want to be “kept”, compared to 79% who would prefer to be “scattered”.

But while Martin points out that “Scots have a tendency to want to scatter ashes in the wilderness” climbing a mountain and distributing uncle Bert around the summit is frowned upon by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. It has warned of changes to the soil in some popular spots as a result of too much phosphorus, calcium and other nutrients in ashes being scattered and disrupting the delicate ecosystem.

While football pitches – another traditionally popular spot for fans to request as a final resting place – are so carefully pruned and tended, that scattering ash on the centre circle is no longer deemed suitable by most leading clubs.

To overcome the issue, Martin has a host of alternatives – from sending loved ones upwards on a drone or remote-controlled helicopter to be scattered in the sky, or, closer to ground, their ashes encased in a garden bird bath, gleaming silvery pyramid or ‘moon gazing hare’.

For those who want to stay close, ashes can be turned into delicate glass beads for bracelets, earrings or necklaces, or hidden inside silver charms. Or, even closer, mixed with ink and used to create a tattoo.

When Fiona Fraser’s father Dick Fleming died from pancreatic cancer, the family wanted a way to celebrate the Aberdeen businessman’s life in a way that reflected his bold and vibrant personality.

And so, on an evening around a year after his death, his family and friends gathered at the family home to watch fireworks containing his ashes light up the sky over his local Newburgh Golf Club to the tune of Neil Diamond singing “Beautiful Noise”.

The carefully choreographed firework display was, she says, a fitting farewell that encapsulated her dad’s joie de vivre.

“It was perfect,” she adds. “Dad was a larger than life character. He wasn’t very religious, his attitude was when you’re dead, you’re dead.

“And he didn’t like the idea of a gravestone and us being morbid and sad.

“The house looks over the River Ythan and the local golf course. It was a celebration; we had a glass of fizz and we’d been told to look for the green rockets as they were the ones containing his ashes.

“We were teary, but it was nice.”

The other half of her dad’s ashes were taken to Loch Lomond where, on board his boat “In the Mood too”, they were scattered over the water.

According to fireworks specialist Mark Copland of Fireworx in Inverurie, which carried out the display, there is a clear shift in demand from people looking to send their loved one – including their beloved pets - out with a bang.

“We started in 2010 when it was quite unusual, but we are now seeing people who have it written into their wills that they want their ashes made into a firework.

“In some cases, we’re asked to design a whole show – one in Edinburgh involved a marquee in Inverleith Park, drinks, buffet and even live music.

“People are saying rather than spend a lot of money of a funeral that’s not very relevant to their lives,” he adds, “they’d rather celebrate and create a memory.”