From today, England is the only UK country still charging for prescriptions

England now only place in UK with prescription charges

Scotland has today joined Northern Ireland and Wales in scrapping fees for prescriptions.
(link via telegraph.co.uk)
 
It's worth noting that Scotland scrapped all prescription charges on the same day that prices of prescriptions in England have increased by 20p to £7.40.
 
What the heck? Why are the three other nations in the UK able to offer free prescriptions and the English the only ones forced to pay for prescriptions?

Happy St David's Day!

St David, or Dewi Sant, as he is known in the Welsh language, is the Patron Saint of Wales. Happy St David's Day!

Did you notice the Google Doodle today? It's in honour of St David's Day. The second 'g' in the word Google is covered in a Welsh hat plus lace and a shawl tied with a daffodil, the national flower of Wales.

A daffodil or leek (Welsh national emblem) is worn by most Welsh people on St David's Day.

About Saint David's Day (from Wikipedia)

Via BBC: St David's Day recipes

To all my Welsh readers: I hope you enjoy celebrating today!

Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus!

Online crime maps for all streets in England and Wales

Crime Maps Will Make Police More Accountable

Detailed crime maps for England and Wales are being published by the Home Office - the first time anywhere in the world such information has been released.
(link via Sky News)

Type in your postcode at http://www.police.uk and find out what crime or antisocial behaviour has happened on your street.

Video of Welsh sheep is internet hit

Welsh sheep video is internet sensation A group of Welsh sheep farmers have become internet sensations after a video went online showing sheep being herded into astonishing shapes on a mountainside. (link via telegraph.co.uk) Extreme Sheep LED Art

Happy St David's Day!

St David is the Patron Saint of Wales and today, March 1st, is St David's Day. I would like to wish all my Welsh readers:

Happy St David's Day

Visit Wales - official tourism site

UK's new homes are 'smallest in Europe'

'Rabbit-hutch' Britain: UK's new homes are 'smallest in Europe' New homes in Britain are the most cramped in Europe with almost every other country in western Europe providing its citizens with more living space. In Denmark, newly-built homes have almost twice as much floor space as those built here in the UK. The main reason for the UK's cramped living conditions is the lack of building regulations regarding living space, according to experts. England and Wales are the only parts of Europe where house-building is unregulated by legally binding minimum space standards. (link via dailymail.co.uk) With no regulations, it's no wonder new homes are so small. And I do mean small - in most new houses, the bedrooms barely have room for a bed and little or no room for a wardrobe (closets aren't featured in British houses) and houses don't have basements so unless there is a utility room (laundry room), the washing machine is in the (tiny) kitchen. And it's not just the houses that are being built smaller, the garages are smaller too - and not big enough for a car! It's shocking that England and Wales don't have regulations for miniumum space! It means that the developers can (and do!) build very tiny houses.

Hay on Wye Short Story Contest

If you like to write, you may be interested in a new writing competition, the Hay on Wye Short Story Contest. Closing date for receipt of entries is 19th July. The theme for 2008 is: "Deception". Authors may enter as many stories as they like. There is an entry fee of £6.00 for each story submitted. The Hay Short Story Contest is a charity event and all proceeds will go to Hay and District Comunity Support. The prizes are as follows: 1st prize £400, 2nd £200, 3rd £100. The famous HayFestival (22 May - 1 June 2008) is an annual literary event at Hay-on-Wye, Wales. If like me, you aren't able to go, there is consolation via virtual visits: the Guardian offers a Hay podcast and Mariella Frostrup presents a special programme from the Hay Festival on BBC Radio 4 Open Book.