My heart goes out to not only the husband and family of the woman who fell 150 feet to her death on Snowdonia’s Tryfan mountain on Friday but also to the volunteer mountain rescuers who searched for her and eventually found her body. Obviously the loss felt by a husband or immediate family member cannot … Continue reading Volunteer rescuers’ sad job to recover lifeless body
Wales
Ups and Downs of one of ‘those’ days
UP: Kate who posted the video that went viral. DOWN: My car's gearbox goes wrong - again. Have you ever had one of ‘those’ days? Well, yesterday was certainly one of those for me. It started before Lisa and I went to bed. Just after midnight, I posted a new entry on my blog … Continue reading Ups and Downs of one of ‘those’ days
‘Hen Wlad’, ‘Flower of Scotland’ and ‘Jerusalem’?
Wales: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Scotland: Flower of Scotland England: Jerusalem ?? If memory serves me correctly, it was in 2001 (or thereabouts) that I used my opinion column in the newspaper group for which I was senior editor to call for the British national anthem to be reserved for purely British use. … Continue reading ‘Hen Wlad’, ‘Flower of Scotland’ and ‘Jerusalem’?
Time for a moment’s reflection about council prayers
Exactly what part should prayers play, if any at all, in government proceedings at both national and locals? That question is being raised, once again, in the UK – in fact in Wales, where we used to live. Campaigners are calling on one of the country’s 22 regional authorities, Carmarthenshire, to drop its Christian … Continue reading Time for a moment’s reflection about council prayers
Looking at the 12 months ahead of us
From left: Spanish party leaders seek coalitions, UK's Queen Elizabeth II will be 90 in April, Hillary Clinton set to win Democratic nomination but President? January - now. Spain’s national politicians are trying to put together a coalition to form a government after last month’s general election created a hung parliament for the first time … Continue reading Looking at the 12 months ahead of us
Weather ‘tis nobler … *
Lisa and I had more than one reason in our minds when we decided to move from the UK to Spain but the major one was the vastly different weather conditions in the two countries. We were both tired of seeing almost constant grey overcast skies, seemingly never-ending high winds that, on one occasion, flattened … Continue reading Weather ‘tis nobler … *
A tail of two cats!
Our two cats have settled as well into Spain as they did into the UK when they arrived from Florida, America’s ‘Sunshine State’ where both of them were born. Having originally lived with Lisa and her family in the USA, they flew across the Atlantic with British Airways in 2012 to join Lisa and I … Continue reading A tail of two cats!
Support – a question of sport
Nationality and patriotism are areas that can both stir up strong emotional feelings that are mostly for the good but sometimes not. Of course, the most extreme forms of both are found in times of war or conflict between nations but, on a lesser scale, it flows across into the realms of sport. When I … Continue reading Support – a question of sport