'The kids fight over who holds their dad's urn'

Lisa Thomson, 37, from Corby, tells us why she takes her husband's ashes wherever she and their children go

- MATTHEW BARBOUR

Out trekking through the local countryside, Lisa Thomson and her nine-year-old son, Caeden, stop to take in the view. To a passer-by there appears to be only two of them – but there’s actually three members of the Thomson family present. As always, in an urn carried by Lisa, is her husband, Alan.

“After Alan died last year, we knew we wanted to take him with us wherever we went,” Lisa explains. “He loved exploring the world, hiking up mountains, heading to the beach, anything that got your blood pumping. It just seems right to take him on family adventures to keep him in our hands as well as our hearts.”

Now Lisa, Caeden, and his two siblings – Khya, 13, and Ashton, 10 – never leave home without him. “It’s ‘keys, wallet, phone, Alan’,” Lisa laughs. “Some people find it weird that we carry his urn with us wherever we go – to the shops, the pub, country walks, camping – but to us it couldn’t be more normal.

“The beach was always one his favourite places, so we take him to Snettisham, Hunstanton and Great Yarmouth. The kids play with Tesha, our dog, while Alan and I watch on.

“On one trip to Great Yarmouth we painted messages to Alan on stones that we threw out to sea. We had the urn in a bag and when we got back to the car I handed it to Khya, saying, ‘Take Dad for me while I put the things away.’ The look on a passer-by’s face was priceless!

“The kids sometimes fight over whose turn it is to hold dad safely in the back of the car. This Christmas we took him with us to all the parties and get-togethers. Our friends and family never bat an eyelid.