Green burials – the biodegradable alternative
A grave will presumably last for several years before being reused – long enough for friends and relatives to visit, until memory fades.Tim GosslingCambridge
Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Expansion of Birstall school approved as pupil numbers grow
Proposals to expand a village primary school have been approved to meet growing pupil County Council has granted planning permission for two extensions to the Hallam Fields Primary School, in Long Meadow Way, in are currently about 200 children at the school, and the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said it was estimated there would be a predicted deficit of 200 places by 2028 if nothing was the plans, the council will create classroom extensions on both the east and west sides of the current building. The new wings will enable the school to take two classes of new pupils each year, instead of the one a year it does currently, the LDRS residents on the nearby 900-home Hallam Fields housing estate raised concerns about traffic and parking if the school officers said those were "civil matters" rather than planning authority's highways team had ruled the impact of the development to be "not unacceptable" and potential impacts on the road network as "not severe".Some concerns were raised by officials that the development would be partially on green wedge they said this was outweighed by the benefits of the new school places, adding there were "no alternative sites" that could accommodate the scheme.
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Frome's Blue House almsehouse launches urgent repair fundraiser
A historic almshouse which has looked after elderly men and women since 1480 is looking to raise £500,000 for urgent Blue House in Frome is one of just two Grade I-listed buildings in the town. The almshouse offers reduced price accommodation to people aged over 55 who has connections to Frome and are unable to buy or rent privately. Chair of trustees Miriam Cheal said: "We have to replace the windows, do substantial repairs to some of the brick work, and replace the slate on the roof, and that has to be approved by listed building consent officers." Ms Cheal said the building provided an important social service, as some residents had come to them from homelessness."Once they're here, they just pay their weekly charge, which is pre-set, and for that they get heating, lighting, accommodation and water," she said. The current building, dating from 1728, was saved from demolition in the windows were replaced with aluminium frames in the 1970s, and because the building has listed frames, they have to be replaced with new aluminium frames rather than wooden last major donation the Blue House received was in 2014."We feel as trustees that we have a reason to want to keep this going as it is and providing what it has provided for many, many hundreds of years and continue to do so," Ms Cheal said.
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Cost of living sees working families unable to afford toiletries
Some families in Oxfordshire are not able to afford basic toiletries despite working full-time jobs, a charity leader has organisation Jungle, based in Oxford, gives monthly provisions of hygiene essentials like toilet paper and sanitary towels to people struggling with includes three families working full-time at a school. The project was recently funded to the end of 2025 with a £1,000 donation from Templars Square shopping centre, where the charity is based. "One of our team members works part time at a local school and that is where this began, because she ran into a lot of families who needed help," said Jungle supervisor Beverly Visser."In fact three of the bags go to employees of the school. Even though they have a full-time job they still struggle to make ends meet."Jungle provides the hygiene bundles, nicknamed jungle boxes, to around 25 individuals and families who have been include victims of modern slavery and patients from a local health boxes include sanitary towels, nappies, toilet paper, deodorant and washing up liquid and cost around £25 each."I can tell that the people who come are so grateful and I can tell that they're struggling," Beverly said."They come regularly and I know that they need it." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
