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Sorry to bring the tone down, but DVLA. We hates it. I need to apply for a new licence. Should be easy online. Was easy online last time I did it. IT IS NOT EASY ONLINE. Of course YOU know that you can be a British citizen and never own a passport. Well, TELL THAT TO THE DVLA. Does everyone who wants to drive a car in the UK have a passport? OF COURSE they DON"T.

So NOW, I need to FILL IN a paper form then DRIVE into the outskirts of GLASGOW to go to the nearest Post Office that offers this service, with all my documents, so that photos can be taken (which I already have but are now unusable); they will then check my documents and send it all off to SWANSEA. AND THIS COSTS EVEN MORE MONEY.

And THEN I'll have to APPLY for a PASSPORT!!!

Sigh.

Unbelievable, but it reflects the usual incompetence of the UK government and the way the civil service goes about stuff (= why would they make it easy when they can make it impossible and really P*** everyone off).

I'd write to your MP but most of them are useless

Jo

Grrrrrrrrr

And it gets even better. DVLA says you can use the online service with a foreign passport that you used to get your British documents. Oh, NO THEY DON”T. I tried that, and the system said, in effect, “Nope. Sorry. Go away.” Seemingly my US passport was just fine for Visa & Immigration to support my CITIZENSHIP application, but not NOT FOR A DRIVER’S LICENCE.

Can you vote? If so there is an election coming up so time to get the MP to pull their finger out and work for your vote.

Jo

Yes, I can vote. Of course, under the devolved settlement, licenses of this sort (never mind passports) are “reserved”. But I’ll be sure to vote for an MP that might be able to change that situation…!

Our MP has spoken 4 times in Parliament since 2019, and has 8 references in the official House of Commons transcript Hansard (I searched Hansard for his name and constituency name so as not to miss anything). He seems to have spoken about 3 sentences a year. So his 'work' is costing us all about £30,000 a sentence. I am hugely impressed with his diligence and efforts in the service of his constituency, almost impossible to duplicate. Shame it's not in a good way.

I have had to get a photo driving licence from a Post Office too. February, it was. Got it back after a week, and it seems that I have morphed into a convict since the last official photo I had taken. My passport expired in 2017, so I'll need to get one too. And, yes, the driving licence photo is invalid for passports. Makes you sick.

Regards

Richard

Yesterday our 18.5 year old cat 'Squeaky' had a repeat of an unpleasant problem. He passed a horrible blood -feces slurry, and it was obviously agony, to the point he screamed in pain. He also has three lumps and his body. His kidneys are failing, and he is very arthritic when it's cold.

We got an appointment at the vet this afternoon. Oddly enough, given his problems, the result was quite upbeat.

As the weather is improving, his arthritis is improving. His kidneys are not much worse than last year. His blood slurry was due to him managing to get some milk, which is way too rich for him these days and caused him to scour. Two of the cancerous lumps are slow growing and not bothering him. The third may be a problem. It was a lump in a nipple. Could have been a blocked duct as the vet managed to express something, but if it's a form of breast cancer, it's not great news. Apparently it's more likely to be a blocked duct. So, the result was as good as we could hope for a cat as elderly as he is.

One funny thing. He was booked in for his appointment as 'Squeaky old cat', so the receptionist expected a cat who's joints all squeaked like an old bicycle when he moved..

Regards,

Richard.

A good illustration of the importance of punctuation! But poor kitty; it is slightly reassuring that even the feline Masters of the Universe cannot resist food that is bad for them. In which case, how can we limited humans expect to abstain?

My MP used to be a MEP (he of the famous "leave a light on" speech in 2019). He's been a good constituency MP. I might very well have a moan at him. As for passport/ driver's licence photos...

And new licence has been obtained (once it's delivered, of course). We chased around to find a Post Office that had a D1 form (for a licence). Who knew that not all POs are created equal? Trucked out to the nearest full service PO via a circuitous route, as one of the main roads was only open in one direction. Thank heaven for SatNav. Lovely and helpful counter staff. Was the D1 Form needed to renew my licence? No, it was not. Just the licence and the letter from Officialdom, plus photo which he took , and for me to sign the pad. Done. All that angst. (I'm still gonna write somebody a letter, though.)

Winter has arrived smack on time. (Not) Cold, wet, sleet: the worst possible weather for the young lambs. It's meant to brighten up tomorrow!

Poor Squeaky. I hope he’s feeling better.

It’s a good thing I spend a lot of time watching my cats. Earlier this week it looked like Tiger vomited up a clown….or at least part of a clown. He had been chewing on a crocheted cat toy…variegated wool. Goodness knows what I would have thought if I hadn’t seen what he was playing with. (The crocheted toys have now been disposed of.)

Next day I’m cleaning out the litter box and I find two small pieces of poop tied together. Then I remember, a few days earlier I had been chasing him around trying to grab a piece of ribbon out of his mouth. He won and I watched it disappear into his mouth. (I trim any chewed pieces of ribbon after we play with the rod toys. I guess I’ll have to keep checking while we’re playing now.)

Better out than in?

I am now getting images of a cat walking round with a bit of brown ribbon dangling from The joys of pets

I have a tame pheasant now who would like to join the morning breakfast round but I would rather not feed it. My friendly Robin "Hopeful" keeps getting under my feet as she knows the other Robins will not dive bomb/fight her there and I will throw her pellets. Her logic seems to be the closer the better for first dabs at the pellets She is clearly intelligent and has come up with many different ways of attracting my attention (so I can provide the required Robin Pellets). She is feeding chicks so there will be baby Robins around in 6 weeks but the others do not have any yet and are only feeding themselves.

Jo

Ozzie is a terror for chewing tinsel. One year, when aged 2 or 3, he got hold of streamers of magenta tinsel, 8-10" long. They mostly passed right through, but with a couple the last couple of inches remained inside and we ended up chasing him round the house with a lump of tissue in our hands. He obviously hated the feeling when we caught up with him and gently pulled it out.

Regards,

Richard.

I got a text from my oldest granddaughter today. Her highschool is having a PowWow and she is going to be selling some of her beading at it.

I’m happy for her for the chance to make some money, but also the opportunity to associate with other Indigenous People at school.

What a lovely opportunity!

Agree!

This morning on "On your Farm" ( Radio 4 : https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001y219 ) they visited a Farm that spins their own wool. I found it very interesting as they discussed the process for spinning the wool from the back of their sheep to the yarn and all the other products.

Jo

I agree, that article was fascinating.

Hadn't meant to be awake to hear it, but having punched my bedside locker in my sleep and knocked it out of the bedroom door onto the landing, I managed to wake myself up (and the rest of the household) and couldn't get back to sleep, for some reason.

Regards,

Richard