A WIND phone intended to help those struggling with grief feel connected to lost loved ones has been installed in Winsford. The old-fashioned rotary phone, which is not connected to anything, has been installed in a private wooden booth in the garden of remembrance at Fowles Funeral Services on Delamere Street. The wind phone provides a safe space where people can talk to those they've lost, and while their loved ones won't talk back, just the act of reaching out can sometimes be a comfort, and can even help users move forward in their grieving process.
The first ever wind phone was conceived and built in Japan in 2010 by garden designer, Itaru Sasaki, to help him process the death of his cousin. It was then opened to the public in 2011 after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which killed 15,000 people, and has been used by more than 30,000 people. Dave Fowles, director of Fowles Funeral Services, is keen to embrace new ideas he believes may help the grieving families he works with every day.
The wind phone provides a safe place for people to reach out to those they're grieving (Image: Dave Fowles) While he acknowledges the wind phone ‘may not be for everyone’, their popularity worldwide ‘speaks for itself’. Dave added: “We all deal with losing a loved one in different ways, but given the opportunity, I think we’d all want the chance to talk to them one last time, even if they don’t talk back. “The wind phone could be the right place to give people that chanc.