A Very Old Radnor
OAPs (those aged 65 and over) make up some 18% of the population of Wales, while Conwy on the Costa Geriatrica is the authority with the most old codgers at nearly 25%. If Radnorshire County Council still existed then it would overwhelm a sprightly Conwy with the sheer number of its zimmer-framed masses.
17 of the county's 27 communities exceed that Conwy total - Llandrindod, for example, with over 25%, Rhayader a whopping 30% and Diserth, topping the poll, with 34.2%. Now you don't really need the census to work out that at least half these oldies come from across the border. Without them we'd be nearly as youthful as Cardiff - just 13% potential Dignitas customers there.
Cliches Galore
The Tory conference provided a few belly laughs with every speech containing the phrase "hard working people." Now it's Cameron's turn, wait for it, here he goes "hard working people." It must have gone down well at some focus group, but now it's just a joke.
Meanwhile BBC TV goes overboard with programmes trumpeting Britishness. Just this week we've had: Britain's Big Wildlife Revival, James Martin's Food Map of Britain, The Great British Bake-Off, Great British Railway Journeys, Fabric of Britain, Great British Menu, A Very British Murder, Britain on Film, The Great British Year, Britain Caught on Camera, For Britain and the Hell of It, oh, and Science Britannica.
How the Beeb hierarchy must be yearning to get this Scottish referendum out of the way. Then they can get back to making programmes about Tuscany and Provence and places that really interest them.
Workers of the World Unite?
Labour may not be very good at running an economy but - hats off to them - they certainly know how to get their own slant on history accepted as gospel. We're coming-up to the centenary of the Senghennydd disaster and I'd be interested to learn how the left might explain the following snippet:
At the subsequent council elections, the Senghennydd seat was won by the Universal Pit's then manager one William Kestell, standing as an Independent but with Tory support. He gained 1132 votes. Labour were a distant second with 368, while the Workingman's Candidate trailed in third with 290.
Little Donkey
Readers of this blog will know that I'm somewhat in awe of the Rebeccaites of Victorian Radnorshire and their low-intensity war against the county establishment. One of their least attractive features - certainly to our modern minds - was the practise of mutilating animals belonging to any landlord who over-stepped the mark.
One such event occurred in November 1876 with an attack on St Winifred's church in Cwmteuddwr. Chairs were smashed, the harmonium broken and the sacistry table placed outside. To add to the mayhem the throat of the vicar's donkey was cut - newspapers report that the unfortunate beast survived.
Now it seems this was no act of petty vandalism, rather it was a Rebeccaite attack aimed at the local vicar. He was deemed to have insulted the community by allowing his donkey to graze the churchyard, and had ignored previous warnings to desist.
One such event occurred in November 1876 with an attack on St Winifred's church in Cwmteuddwr. Chairs were smashed, the harmonium broken and the sacistry table placed outside. To add to the mayhem the throat of the vicar's donkey was cut - newspapers report that the unfortunate beast survived.
Now it seems this was no act of petty vandalism, rather it was a Rebeccaite attack aimed at the local vicar. He was deemed to have insulted the community by allowing his donkey to graze the churchyard, and had ignored previous warnings to desist.
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