this is not a joke. an old acquaintance of mine died last month, and having fond memories of her travels through europe some decades ago, she asked me to see that her ashes would be scattered on the seine. that was a few years ago. now she's gone, and i'm leaving for london next week. i know it's not the seine (there's no way i can make it to paris), but i thought she might enjoy the thames, and i'm getting a permit to transport a tiny amount (little more than a thimbleful) of her ashes out of the states. can anyone suggest a good locale in central london where i can unobtrusively do my little scattering ceremony for my friend? please, only serious replies. thanks for any help.

There are boat tours of the Thames that leave from the dock right near the Tower of London. They're noisy because of both engine noise and the commentary, and I doubt anyone would notice if someone dropped a little something overboard along the way. Just be sure to get on early so you can get a seat or standing place by one side of the boat.

You can do it about anywhere and nobody would be the wiser. My mom is in Lake Michigan and my bf's mom is in the Atlantic.

thank you for the advice and sensitivity re my situation. i was thinking of standing on a bridge and scattering, but wondered if anyone would notice the cloud of ashes, or if a sudden gust of wind would ruin it. the boat's a wonderful solution!

Why not go to one of the picturesque towns or villages on the Thames and scatter them there, somewhere like Sonning or Marlowe? Find a beautiful spot by a willow tree and scatter then there.

sylvia-- <BR> <BR>the problem is i only have 3 days in london before heading off on a 1:30pm train to edinburgh next monday afternoon from kings cross station. would you or anybody else know if i can get to a more rural spot on the thames that would fit the bill by train from kings cross? then i could go to the station early in the a.m., stow baggage, take the train, scatter the ashes, get the train back to kings cross and board for edinburgh. this may be asking a lot but i like your idea too.

Trains go from Kings Cross to Henley-on-Thames. Of course you could go to Richmond, in outer London.

Consider any of these <BR>Kew Bridge, Chiswick Bridge, Barnes Bridge, Hammersmith Bridge, Putney Bridge, London Bridge, Richmond Lock, Teddington Lock, Kingston Bridge, Hampton Court Bridge. <BR>

You could go very early in the morning to Westminster bridge. You could recite the Wordsworth poem beginning "Earth hath not anything to show so fair"

Mari -- what a good friend you are <BR>I don't know what your permission consists of -- but, unless absolutely necessary I would not announce what you have to British customs. Also, and please don't laugh folks -- be sure you are UPWIND when you do it. Just ask any priest wearing a black cassock what happens if you forget *that* rule!

thanks for all the ideas. i'm considering all the options but in the end will just have to see how the situation looks when i get there friday. <BR>sfowler, i completely agree abt keeping mum on this. the reason i'm getting a permit is that the mortuary won't release the remains w/o one, bc they say foreign customs officials sometimes confiscate ashes as suspicious matter! what a ludicrous (and painful) scenario.