Answer: when it happened while scattering ashes
Lynda Crowther a resident of Runcorn, Cheshire, was on a family trip to North Ayreshire in Scotland to scatter the ashes her mother.
On the walk she broke her ankle in a pothole and due to the remote location needed an air ambulance to remove her from the mountainside.
While she was awaiting the helicopter she used her mums ashes to support her ankle and after her being picked up the rest of family continued on their journey to honour Ina Craddock’s last wish to have her ashes scattered on the same spot as spot as her late son, William.
When they return from the mountain they found Lynda in a hospital with her ankle in plaster.
The interesting aspect is that there is nothing remarkable about this story at all. The two essential elements: a loving family honour a parent’s wish and the air-lifting are fairly ordinary, so why did this end up in The Mirror? Without the benefit of a journalist’s nose it would seem that the ashes are the critical factor, I suppose it ticks the boxes to make it worthy: family, human interest, excitement crated by mild peril, all well that ends well and then the taboo subject… death with all its black humour and when we all able to make light of this subject it becomes newsworthy – fascinating if you think about it.
I will end with a quote from a niece who was on the trip which “Gran always loved a bit of ceremony and would have been laughing at the RAF seeing her off.
“Gran would have found our antics hilarious.”
Without trying to sound too pompous I think posthumous envisaging of anothers reaction, which almost always exclusively relates to humour, reveals much about our comprehension of death and its place with British society.
Oh and yes, you will be happy to know Ms Crowther is on the mend.
Original story: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-rescued-raf-helicopter-after-6305043
The post Question: When does a story of a woman’s broken ankle make the nationals? appeared first on Scattering Ashes.