Oldham mum's ashes put in bottle in sea to 'travel the world'
A woman has sent her mum's ashes out to sea in a bottle so she could fulfil her unrealised dream of travelling the world. Cara Melia, from Oldham, said her 51-year-old mum Wendy Chadwick's responsibilities as a single parent of five had meant she had not been able to see the world before her death in February. Ms Melia put the ashes in a bottle with a note that said: "This is my mum. Throw her back in - she's travelling the world. Thanks Cara, Oldham."The bottle was put in the sea in Skegness to "see where she ends up".
After the bottle was found on the same beach 12 hours later, a Facebook post about it went viral.The bottle was returned to the sea. Ms Melia told BBC Radio Manchester that she hoped it would travel further this time.Ms Melia, 24, said: "Life happened and my mum never got a chance to travel."Nobody was meant to find her for a bit - she was meant to be in a completely different country."I'd love her to end up on a beach in Barbados or Spain, which would definitely take a while."
Ms Melia added she had originally planned to scatter her mum's ashes on a beach, but her cousin and best friend then came up with the bottle idea. They decided to put it into the sea on Monday while they were on holiday in Skegness.She said her mum, who died from a heart condition, was a "very quirky kind of person" who "absolutely loved the beach and sun" and would be giggling about this.
Ms Melia said she thanked the woman who found the bottle, who told her it was an honour to have done so.She said she expected the Facebook post about the discovery of the bottle to get about five shares, not to go viral as it did. "I wasn't expecting it to go viral and to touch as many people as it has."Ms Melia said she was looking forward to seeing where her mum's ashes might be found next.
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