Greensleeves

I got chatting to someone in a v long post office queue recently & they said a friend was making a good living playing snap online (how does that work?). So this could be a lucrative new career for both of you. 🤣

It was a wonderful long-distance friendship. We lost touch eventually - I didn't want to keep hovering over them as a reminder of those sad days. Was nice to be in a position where I could give them the help they needed & then just fade away. 😊

Yes, definitely - the moment she walked through the door to view when it was for sale, she fell in love with it as we had. It was time for us to move on but we needed to find someone who would love it as much as we did.

Definitely!

I agree with you totally; sorry, in my post I was looking at things from my perspective which I accept isn't ideal. I'm remembering here the persecution my gay friends suffered in the 1960s, it was horrific. Dreadful that things have not changed a great deal.

What the ECHR gives us - summary by the Green Party.

For future reference....

Sounds about right.... 🤣

We sold it some years ago, we'd done all the structural work to stop it falling down. The woman who bought it fell in love with it & she has spent the last 25 years finishing the work we started.

My mother wouldn't be pushed around & I owe a lot of my refusal to be bullied to her. When I was about 9 she was chatting to a neighbour who mentioned that one of my mother's enemies was ill. My mother, without a pause, replied, 'Nothing trivial, I hope'. 🤣

When martial law was declared in Poland Dec 1981 I got in touch w a woman in Warsaw whose husband was imprisoned. She had 2 sick children; I sent food, clothing & medicines (thanks to Home Office) for the kids & eventually got him released. I'm astonished how much we achieved without the internet!

We invited my husband's father too but he declined. We bought a tumbledown 16th century former pub & spent the next few years trying to stop it falling down. 🙄

My late husband & I came here on holiday in the mid 1980s, fell in love with Wales, packed up our lives in England & moved over, bringing my mother & brother with us! 😊

You are right, I should have included that in Starmer's dubious achievements. My apologies for the omission. It certainly wasn't intended as I am well aware of how these things have impacted so badly on those who come under the spotlight.

There's the remains of a Roman road on Mynydd Bach Trecastell where in one area you can still see the camber!

Wales is wonderful for its scenery & also for its history. As most areas have never been ploughed archaeology remains undisturbed. About 20 yrs ago the fields here were ploughed for the 1st time & medieval charcoal hearths were revealed. The historic scene must have looked like a Breugel painting!

🤣

Llangors Lake from Allt yr Esgair

It's not a difficult climb but a long one but it really is marvellous, taking in several ruins, part of a Roman road and, at the very top, the remains of an Iron Age hillfort. Here's the view from the summit looking north showing Llangors Lake in the valley.

The £35k threshold is for receipt of the reinstated winter fuel allowance. It is not the threshold for receipt of Pension Credit which is what I was referring to. The threshold for that is (I reiterate) £227 per week or approx £11,804 pa.

View of the Usk Valley from Allt yr Esgair showing some of the meanders of the River Usk.

Here's a photo of me standing on the rocky ledge in the forefront of the earlier pic.

Pension Credit is paid to people who receive under £227 in pension per week, which is £11,804 pa. I don't know where you're getting £35k from.

Oh no, I have small feet but big boots!

It's no good when the voters don't see anything good for them. The removal of winter heating allowances for OAPs was disastrous not only for those it affected but also for approval ratings of Starmer & Co. An astonishing lack of awareness whilst still avoiding taxing the rich.

Not all do; those who qualify for pension credit also get free dentistry, free eye care, reduced council tax, winter fuel allowance. Those on the threshold, like me, suffer as the assessment makes no allowance for outgoings. So maybe you too need to get your facts right.

The devaluation of the £ was something which had been needed for a long time & he did his best to avoid it but ultimately had no choice. He went on from this to launching 'I'm Backing Britain' in 1968 which was aimed at boosting the economy - & it worked. He was hugely popular then.

Domestic tariffs are controlled to allow energy companies to make obscene profits for their investors & continue to bleed ordinary people dry. Energy needs to be renationalised - if we had a proper Labour govt that would be done.

Not quite, ha ha.

Good point!

Terrifying. As you'll know, everything's going well & suddenly the mist descends & it's easy to get disorientated if you're not near a watercourse.

We have a lot of trouble round here with visitors who go up the mountains without suitable clothing, no maps, no proper boots, no food or water... Keeps Mountain Rescue bus. Visitors really need to understand that mountainous areas are not theme parks - they can kill you.

Ha ha the horizon looked perfectly clear in 2019! 🤣