Two sisters who travelled from northern England to Brussels to scatter their father’s ashes went through an emotional rollercoaster ride when they accidentally left them on an airport bus.
Sarah and Jane Wheatley, from Marske-by-the-Sea in North Yorkshire, travelled to Brussels last month with a simple plan to honour their Europhile father, Leonard: they would fly to the Belgian capital and scatter his ashes in the heart of Europe.
Leonard died aged 77 in November 2023 after a battle with motor neurone disease. The sisters were keen to take him on one final journey, to a place that epitomised his politics and principles.
Speaking to The Brussels Times, they explained how the idea came about.
“Dad had a very dry sense of humour and he was very political,” said Sarah, 56. “He was a massive remainer and very anti-Brexit. The photo we used at his funeral was of him sitting in a café outside in the street with a croissant and a political book.
“The plan was to scatter the ashes outside the European Parliament. We thought it would be really symbolic.”
Jane, 44, added: “We just thought we’d like to take him on a journey somewhere that would mean something to him, so at least he could be in Europe, even though we’re not!”
After obtaining a cremation certificate from the airline to allow them to bring the ashes on the flight, they set off to Brussels carrying Leonard’s ashes in a Tupperware container.
But when they arrived in the city, they realised it was missing.
“We were just about to get on the train after we'd got off the bus,” said Sarah. “And I just turned to Jane and realised, oh god - we've left the ashes on the bus. By then the bus had gone and it was too late.”
'If things goes wrong, we just laugh about it'
The sisters frantically called the airport and sent emails to try to find out where the ashes might have ended up, but nobody replied.
They called their mother back in the UK to break the bad news. Fortunately, she laughed it off, and the women decided to take the same attitude.
“We’ve both got the same approach to life,” explained Jane. “If things go wrong, we just laugh about it. Anyway, it was nice to think of dad doing circuits of Brussels in a bus.”
Sarah and Jane continued their Belgian odyssey with trips to Antwerp and Bruges before heading back to the capital.
When they reached the airport for the return journey to the UK, they discovered to their great delight that Leonard’s ashes had turned up in lost property.
They knew then and there that they had to go through with the original plan and leave him in Brussels. They found a suitable spot under a tree, and together, they scattered Leonard’s ashes.
'I’m going to spend the next 44 years just going to Belgium!'
Despite the mishap, the sisters told us they had a wonderful time in Belgium. In fact, Jane, who had never travelled abroad before making the journey, enjoyed being in Belgium so much that she intends to come back here this summer.
“I’ve moaned for years about being too nervous to go on holiday,” said Jane. “I've always just made excuses, I've always just felt too nervous about travelling.
“But the atmosphere, the vibe and the people were amazing – everything was just lovely. So I’ve booked to go back and I’m taking my kids at the start of the summer holidays for four days.
“I’ve spent 44 years not going on holiday, and now I’m going to spend the next 44 years just going to Belgium!”
