Sorry but I am so sad

Nfk, I think the English should be proud of being English, probably it isn’t guilt but the fact England didn’t have to battle for recognition as part of the U.K , we still hear of the Queen of England, and when there was a tv series of elderly celebs visiting India they often said - back in England not back in the U.K. but I think English people have suffered from such groups as the English defence league , so unfair for the majority of English to have their country linked to such a group. I was annoyed when the Welsh nationalist went too far but they didn’t get the media attention the EDL had. Be proud my English friend ?

That is suppose to be the English rose , ooops ?

You do get a lot of fen for your money!! Lincoln is lovely, but a bit too steep in parts for my liking.

I’m glad the Welsh are still Welsh. I remember going into that pub in Bwlch and the locals all starting to talk in Welsh. I thought it was great - that I’d finally managed to go Abroad!

The English Ruling Class do have a lot to answer for. And so do the rest of us for believing them and doing as they told us for so long. We carry the guilt. Why should the World and it’s mother follow what they dictated? The Welsh, Scots and Irish are all proud of who they are but us English are always apologising for being English. I think things are slowly changing and I do now sometimes feel proud of my Englishness. But I suppose that’s why when asked, I say I’m Norfolk born and bred. Other regions are specific too. We need an identity to be proud of.

So funny, wish I could forward it to my younger daughter , yes they bought an old farmhouse on the fens, no houses near, she loves the isolation, walks her four dogs across the fens every morning . Didn’t notice web feet , he was born in Lincoln so not a fen person, they chose the old farmhouse because it is isolated and has very large gardens ?

Fen-ish? The Fens. A large flat area mostly in Lincolnshire interspersed with tiny hamlets with very poor communication between them. Rumour has it that many inhabitants have webbed feet and look strangely alike. I’m sure there are hidden Welsh valleys that have similar peoples. (Although not with webbed feet obviously). Yes, I was being rude and I’m sure your SiL is not at all Fen-ish!

Me too , but it has been a very long fight. I was so amused when working for Anglesey archives to learn how much of a fight every generation had. My g g grandparents lived in a village on the coast, a favourite pastime was , putting it politely , salvaging goods from sunken vessels,England sent English coast guards there, Welshmen not permitted to work as coast guards, the coast guards married local girls and the favourite pastime continued , suppose stopping you in laws would have caused problems ?. When trains arrived on the island only English men were employed , silly because they couldn’t speak Welsh and passengers couldn’t /wouldn’t speak English

I'm not just saying this but I think its brilliant that Wales has hung onto its culture , heritage and language.

I don’t think it is batty, perhaps because of years of Wales being disregarded as a country, if he were racist he wouldn’t have married a welsh girl ? his work takes him to many parts of the world, I have a photograph of him dining with sheiks and he wearing the same robes and head gear. He visits friends in Africa who run a animal reserve for endangered species.

isnt " he doesnt like the Welsh" racism?

He is from Lincolnshire, my daughter is most certaintly Welsh, I think his problem is he wants life to be just him and my daughter , his offer of financial support is really for my daughter , no reason for her to want to come home more often . He wouldn’t be happy if I moved there. I have accepted it. And he is a Tory ?,

What is fen-ish Nfk? ?

Cross country is impossible , Tenby is lovely , town gets overcrowded in Summer but so much beautiful countryside. Hope you are able to have a holiday there .

So, where’s this SiL from? Lincolnshire?! And, I always thought you’re Welsh which rather means your DD is W...? He sounds a bit, well, Fen-ish to me!

We’re considering taking our caravan to Wales (Tenby) to see some friends and will allow two overnight stops to get there. I do wish they’d move London to somewhere in the middle of the UK to change the emphasis on all trains/roads leading to London. Cross country is impossible.

mmm trying to process some of this. So they are quite wealthy...he will support you financially if you live in a town near them or will support you financially if you intend to stay put?
I guess thats a positive?

Not much emotional connection though and seems to have very strict rules about what he will or will not do . Honestly lifes too short and unpredictable for all these " won't dos"

Maybe Welsh extended family is challenging to him but so be it.

batty, my daughters husband ? He doesn’t like the Welsh, he will not stay with the family when they come here, my son in law invited them to stay with him, my brother invited them to stay with him, they could stay in the house or the annex , my sister offered them her bungalow she keeps for her son to visit he lives in London, the bungalow is in the grounds of her bungalow. No.

They stay in the most expensive hotel in town but only for two nights, not that they can’t afford to stay longer, they drive down on a Monday arrive in the evening, my daughter pops in to see me whilst he unpacks . The next day he climbs the mountains, my daughter spends the day with me, in the evening my granddaughters who adore their Aunt is invited to have dinner with them at the hotel.
Next day they visit my mother in law then leave for home.
He doesn’t call with me. He is generous if I need anything, not that I will ask. Generous with my grandchildren .

I am partly to blame, when they started their relationship daughter brought him to my home, I had a shelf with loads of photographs of family, one was my son in law who isn’t , daughters ex husband. He said I should have removed it, I forgot it was there. About five years ago he referred to my darling elder daughter as ‘the drunk’ I blew a fuse, said ‘never, ever speak of her like that again , never ever. Haven’t seen him since. I feel sorry my younger daughter is stuck in the middle, he adores her, but would like her to break connection with us . He works abroad quite a lot and when he is away my daughter and I have long chats every day, when he is home, no.

He is home this month but has flown out to climb Mt.Blanc for charity. He is a good man just doesn’t like the Welsh extended family. I just accept it. Daughter wants me to move up there but I have to live in a town some distance from them and he will pay for any help I need , as he has offered the same if I stay here no point in me moving.
that’s it. Daughter isn’t bullied, is in fact doted on.

Synon, it is a long drive, approx 230 miles and I don’t have a car. Think I would have to take a bus to Cardiff , train to London then another train to get to Lincoln then a bus to reach the nearest town to my daughter. Exhausting thinking of it ?I miss having a car.

Jalima, the signposts problems came about with the investiture of Prince Charles, attempts to blow up reservoirs, turning sign posts, sawing off signposts, holiday cottages set on fire when poor Charles had to do a term or two in Aberystwyth University.

Annie it seems a shame your daughters husband insists on such a short visit. I wonder why that is.

When signposts were allowed to be in English and Welsh the Welsh Nationalists went around sawing off the English signs, caused problems for holiday makers and was unkind
We visited Wales about 50 years ago (I mean that that was the first time we visited Wales together, I had been lots of times before as had DH) and the Welsh Nationalists had gone around turning the signposts round. We got lost several times but probably saw places we wouldn't have seen otherwise.
The days before sat nav!

Just musing over the driverless cars and had a chuckle about how you would tell it to go somewhere in Wales anyway with neither the car or the passenger being able to understand or pronounce anything. Hopefully it might still have a screen option.

Is it a long drive for your DD Annie? I don't suppose trains are as easy in Wales as is the case in other countrified parts so you have to use cars or perhaps buses and nothing is easy if it isn't on the arterial routes of the UK. Sometimes my DD drives but it is at least 6 1/2 hours on a good day which is not great on your own. Sometimes she brings a friend but with DH being so poorly over the past 16 months it is not really on hence the trains. I can remember in the days before the motorways when it would take 16 hours to drive to my DPs and the question "are we nearly there yet?" would start at the end of the road! I think I am looking forward to the driverless vehicles of the future when you can just tell it where you want to go. What would our own GPs think of that possibility I wonder.

We took our 8 month old kitten out in the garden for the first time this morning and he spent most of the rest of the day sparked out. I had forgotten what a big deal it is to do that and was so glad that DD was here to help because I was almost as exhausted as the kitten was! I hope we will manage ok on our own the next time.

I love seeing her , wish she could tackle the drive herself , it would save me having to make excuses for her husband

Teaching must be such a stressful job Synon

It is hard isn't it - but I am so grateful and glad she came as I expect you are to have your DD even if only for such a short time. My cousin's children have all emigrated so she rarely sees them at all so we have many blessings to count.

Well, in spite of all she has already done whilst here, DD has lots more work to do this weekend before term starts again on Monday, teaching is horrendous nowadays and I can't see how she can keep all this going for another 22 years! So glad to be retired!

Synon, your daughters visit must have gone so fast, my younger daughter can only visit about four times a year, they only stay two nights ,he won’t stay longer , so I have a full day with my younger daughter and he climbs the mountains,I never see him , pity but his choice

Slept well in parts Annie what with how I sleep anyway plus DH's negative pressure wound therapy bandage beeping every so often through the night!
Today was the last day of DD's visit and I have to get her to the railway station mid morning tomorrow. It has gone so very fast but she has been such a blessing and used her time to put more meals in to the freezer for us.

Try this , Ch - as in Bach

Think how impressed your Best Beloved will be when you read all the signposts next time you are in Wales, and when holiday here you can say exactly where you are holidaying ?