Dumfries undertaker makes festive offer to share Christmas comfort with the bereaved

A festive offer to share some Christmas comfort with the bereaved has been launched by a Dumfries undertaker.

A specially-created memorial, Message in a Manger at Roucan Loch is now available to visit at the crematorium’s Forest of Remembrance.

It has a box where visitors can place a Christmas message in memory of a loved one as an alternative to laying a wreath or flowers.

After the festive period, the box of messages will be interred in the Forest of Remembrance.

The new memorial follows last year’s big-hearted response by staff at Jardine Funeral Directors Ltd to relatives who, because of the Covid-19 restrictions and lockdown, couldn’t get to visit cemeteries in Dumfriesshire to lay Christmas wreaths or flowers on graves.

They were inundated with requests from local residents and people from around the UK to visit family graves so they wouldn’t be forgotten.

It often meant laying wreaths on their behalf and taking graveside pictures to give them peace of mind at what can be a sad time of year.

Crematorium manager Ruth Jardine said: “Recognising that Christmas can be a difficult time for many as it magnifies feelings of grief but also reflecting that it can be a time to remember with gratitude the days shared with a loved one, I thought how we could acknowledge this.

“To help reduce the spread of the virus it is far safer to be outdoors and so we now have a different kind of Christmas memorial at Roucan Loch.

Tom Donald and John Kempsell of the Masonic Lodge Dumfries Kilwinning No 53 are pictured with a £100 cheque for the Standard’s Christmas Toy Appeal. (Jim McEwan)

“A few months ago I approached artist Jo McSkimming, who has created many art works for the People’s Project such as the Palmerston Wall of Fame and recently the Castledykes murals, and I asked her if she could design a Christmas stable scene for Roucan Loch which would be fitting for the Forest and reflect many of the animals that live there.

“Her Christmas nativity scene is beautifully portrayed with many woodland animals visiting the manger including deer, foxes, a hare, owl, badger, red squirrel – there is even a highland cow. If you look really closely you may even find a dormouse hidden in the wheat.

“Our joiner Terry Dyer – who this year will have worked for us for 65 years – has built a wonderful stable and the magnificent Christmas art work has been placed inside this, along with a manger for people to visit and to leave their notes or letters in the Christmas messages box.”