Half-Penny from 1966

Brixham: Coins in the Wall! (2.4.2026)

Administrative matters aside – I notice the above “interior” wall looks as if it used to be an “external” wall – as it looks weather-beaten and worn. Furthermore, in the UK, builders often leave a coin featuring the year any renovations were carried-out as a form of “good luck”. Usually, we find these coins under floor-boards, carpets, and lino, etc. Sometimes they are lodged between wooden joints or under various structures. In this wall, the coins seem cemented on the outside of the wall. There is a 1966 half-penny, and a 1960 three-penny. When I was first at school in the early 1970s – these coins were still in use. The old half-penny would today possess the buying power of £5 – whilst the three-penny bit could buy about £30s worth of goods. This was before the UK joined the EEC (1.1.1973). Prior to this, a British pound was comprised of 240 pence – afterwards it was deliberately devalued to just “100” pence. What a disgrace all this was!

A Saturday Morning Trip to the Honey-Shop!

The Galmpton “Honour System” – Walking to the Honey-Shop on a Saturday Morning! (30.8.2025)

Having stayed in Galampton a number of times now – my parent’s house is full of various medical paraphernalia – we noticed a sign (one of many) outside a beautiful brick-work #(chocolate-box) cottage – advertising local honey. Although this sign is a permanent fixture, we were never quite sure if the honey is available all year round – and we did not want to bother the owners. I could just imagine a startled villager as their sedate and isolated cottage is over-ran by a loud South London family – and their two-dogs!

Stairway to Heaven!

Northants: Kirby Hall – [1570] Elizabethan Home of Nobility! (1.8.2025)

This building reminded us in structure of Hampton Court (not far from where we live in London) – and Berry Pomeroy in Totnes, South Devon (not far from where my parents live). This is not surprising, as I believe from reading the available “English Heritage” literature that the same architects and engineers were used by the Court of Queen Elizabeth I and the nobility that served her. The front of the Hall faces North – with the back of house facing South (built on a North-South orientation). Local serfs (landless or homeless peasants) and peasants (land-occupying peasants) were employed by the nobility when large-scale building projects were initiated. Indeed, with the development of Guilds (primitive unions) – certain groups of peasants became highly skilled in specific construction and maintenance skills. Whether any such labour was employed from nearly Kirby Village, (situated to the South-West of what became the ornate rear garden of the complex), is open to debate.

Hedgehog Eating & Drinking!

Sutton: Hedgehog Asks for Water During Heat-Wave! (14.7.2025)

When I lived in Devon during my youth – hedgehogs used to be everywhere. We used to see them all the time and most gardens possessed at least one resident hedgehog. I know some lived very long and grew to surprising sizes. The last time I saw a hedgehog in Sutton was probably around 2008 in the back garden of the then house (in Westfield Road) I lived-in – but I have not seen one in the wild since then. The only time we have seen hedgehogs locally – has been in special areas of nature conservation but in a sense – these are not truly wild in the unmanaged sense. I am not sure why we do not see so many wild hedgehog in the Sutton area – perhaps their populations are low – or they choose to hide for some reason. We hope their numbers improve and remember to give them water and cat-food – or similar!

Charlie Cong in the Wire!

Charlie Cong is Moving in the Tree-Line! (28.4.2024)

Eventually, one man died of starvation and cold, whilst the survivor seems to have left the cabin in search of help around the thirteenth week, To date, only four of the five bodies have been found. Considering the cognitive and psychiatric disabilities and ailments these men suffered, (very different to the hyper-fit Soviet teenagers involved in the Dyatlov Pass), what these men achieved is impressive even if it is virtually impossible to ascertain WHY it is that they did what they did. This is the only mystery. The US is an uncaring capitalist society – perhaps this simple fact explains exactly why five disabled men died whilst hiking through the snow. 

Where Predatory Capitalism Persecutes Disabled People - Socialism Empowers These Citizens!

China: New “Socialist” Laws Empower People with Disabilities! (9.1.2024)

Addressing the most urgent needs of people with disabilities, the document listed 11 key tasks required, which include improving the public legal services network for the disabled, making legal aid accessible for more disabled people, organizing activities of support such as provision of non-profit legal services, and reduction or scrapping of fees for legal services for disabled people.

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