A low-key choice for a funeral

ahead and given that we are the fifth richest country worldwide, it says a lot about our system.

One in three new teachers leaves within three years.

Headmasters are asking parents to help finance their schools. Multitudes have school repair shortcomings and now excessive classes with shortages of books, materials.

No doubt Brexit will have an impact on the number of teachers, already stretched, with teachers and assistants leaving for numerous reasons.

Private schools are classed as charities and therefore do not pay taxes on their earnings. Would someone tell me why they have this exemption when they are clearly there as businesses making profits?

Having to pay VAT is the least that could happen. If these private schools paid taxes like any other business and if so used, could make a huge difference to our state schools.

It would help state pupils to compete with their private counterparts who win hands down for top jobs. Jeremy Corbyn aims to help our state schools and better educate all of our children.

WJ CASEY, North Shields SOME are good and make you smile, Some get on your nerves and make you want to run a mile, Some are helpful good and kind, Some use their friendship to rob you blind, Some are tactful and tell the odd white lie, Some tell the truth and make you cry, Some talk about you behind your back, Some are naïve so trustingly blind, Some tell you things that boggle your mind, Some extend to you a helping hand, Some you call a friend but really SOMEONE wrote in recently about the importance of having life insurance to cover the high cost of funerals.

I entirely understand that some people want to have a normal or even quite lavish funeral but if like me you aren’t can’t stand, Friends come in all shapes and sizes, Some have brains, Some have empty cranium spaces, Some are devious and guile they don’t lack, These friends will stab you in the back, Some can be of a casual acquaintance, With no sense of a committed loyal allegiance, Some friends can be good loyal friends for life, You see, I have one, my darling, darling, darling wife. WILLIAM BANKS, Seghill,

Northumberland fussed there is a service I have just discovered called Direct Cremation and at present it costs less than £1,500.

I have actually donated my body to medical science but in the event of it not being accepted – there are conditions involved – I have opted for Direct Cremation.

AW, Gosforth