¨ Thank you to all those who either attended or supported our Open Day on Saturday 9th May. We hope that you found it informative and beneficial.

¨ The section of damaged Cemetery wall opposite Normandy Avenue is due to be repaired in the coming months.

¨ We would like to politely inform everyone that we retain ashes for 6 months before contacting families to see if final arrangements have been made.

¨ Albeit a long way off, we are pleased to announce that our annual Carol Service will be held on Wednesday 2nd December, and for the first time there will be two, one at the usual 2pm and another one at 5pm. Further details will follow.

¨ Our website, colchestercrematorium.co.uk contains a wealth of information from opening times, maps, scheduled funerals, memorials, news and bereavement support groups. In addition to the link to our Online Book of Remembrance, there is now a link to a short virtual tour of the Crematorium.

¨ Trees that were recently felled have now had their stumps ground out, following a period of settlement the surrounding area will be tidied, levelled and either seeded or turfed.

¨ We have commenced a project to improve the appearance of our Memorial beds, starting with Bed 3. The comparison between that and other beds is clear. Given the number of beds we know that this project will take time.

¨ We continue to use the new soil when planting new shrubs or roses and I hope to report on the before and after soil sampling results soon.

¨ All of the roses in the Gardens of Remembrance were sprayed with insecticide on 12th June.

¨ Through our metal recycling scheme we are delighted to announce that in April £17,000 was split between EACH (East Anglia Children’s Hospice) and The Not Forgotten.

¨ If you encounter any anti-social behaviour, see any dangerous trees / branches or notice any other damage please report it to the Cemetery & Crematorium Office. We recently had an incident of someone fouling inside one of the green shelters in the Oxford Burial Ground.

¨ As a reminder all benches must be supplied and installed by Bereavement Services. The safety of visitors is paramount and therefore we may remove an unsafe bench.

¨ We have recently updated the information displayed on the screen in the Waiting Room, information is also being updated on our website.

¨ We have two forthcoming book launches in our Crematorium chapel. 3rd July at 6pm, Evie King will be talking about her book ‘Get ahead of being dead’. 30th July at 6pm, Robert Ashton will be talking about his book ‘Down to Earth’.

¨ Periodically we have wooden pallets to dispose of, if anyone would like these please contact the Office.

¨ Work has commenced in our Book Room painting a tree on the wall complete with dedicated memorial leaf plaques, please keep an eye on its progress.