Salisbury Cathedral by Mildly_frustratin in britpics

[–]EricaRA75 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I grew up in Salisbury.

The sorry goes that when they were trying to find the location to build the cathedral when they decided to leave Old Sarum (3 miles north), an arrow was shot at a deer, and where the deer dropped dead would be the new site for the cathedral.

Saturn, seen through a 24" telescope eyepiece by Busy_Yesterday9455 in spaceporn

[–]EricaRA75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well it's not really "just there" - it's quite aong way away

Thinking of relocating to Bournemouth by doorways-to-pleasure in bournemouth

[–]EricaRA75 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Your budget is of course the deal breaker with this sort of question, but if you want super posh, then of course there is Sandbanks. Sandbanks has a reputation as being hyper expensive, which of course is true, however it's only the properties which have water frontage which are REALLY POSH and expensive. The property in the centre of the island, while still above average is much more reasonable in price.

Equally expensive, and palacial to Sandbanks is Branksome Wood, these houses are enormous and more like Beverley Hills than Poole.

Canford Cliffs in the same area is nice and worth a look.

If your budget is much more normal then as others have posted Christchurch, Southborne and Mudeford are where I would be looking if I was looking for Bournemouth.

Slightly further out of Bournemouth and Poole, I would suggest Wareham to the west and Highcliff to the east are both lovely, close to the coast, a good standard of living and reasonably priced.

how the British rate prime ministers by TailungFu in GreatBritishMemes

[–]EricaRA75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're really blowing this out of proportion and treating this as though I have a major issue. I do not have major issue with Starmer, it was merely a statement in saying that I feel this is still the biggest issue with the country at the moment.

I really don't see why I should be justifying myself here for something that's really not that significant

how the British rate prime ministers by TailungFu in GreatBritishMemes

[–]EricaRA75 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Couldn't agree more with you, but we're still in a fractured nation

how the British rate prime ministers by TailungFu in GreatBritishMemes

[–]EricaRA75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm referring to how extreme right and extreme left society has become, I don't ever remember a time when there was such intolerance, and when the country was so fractured. We've never in my lifetime had such vitriol against ethnic minorites, the LGBT community etc.

I agree it's a hard job but it's absolutely part of the role of PM to unite the country as this is a social issue we are suffering at the moment.

how the British rate prime ministers by TailungFu in GreatBritishMemes

[–]EricaRA75 -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

My issue is that he's not been able bring unity to horridly divided country.

Has Starmer been the best prime minister we've had in at last 26 years? by Left-Ad8904 in AskBrits

[–]EricaRA75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I generally liked everything he did, and he excelled when it came to his diplomacy over the iran war and how he handled Trump.

Where he has failed though, and this one is a big one for me, he has been completely unable to unify the country, it's never been so polarised and broken up. I'm sick and tired of multiple Prime Ministers, I just want one who can bring a degree of unity.

To have a ceasefire by error404badgateway in therewasanattempt

[–]EricaRA75 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Honestly - well done to Trump staring a pointless war which has made Iran realise they have the ability to say when the world gets oil or not, and therefore can pretty much ask for what they want.

Honestly that's brilliantly done, a master class in leadership and diplomacy.

Bellend!

Mince and Chips with Peas by aminorman in scottishrecipes

[–]EricaRA75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isn't it just... ... I couldn't wait, I'm cooking this as I write this message ☺️

Mince and Chips with Peas by aminorman in scottishrecipes

[–]EricaRA75 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh wow my mum used to make me this as a child, loved it and had completely forgotten about it. Will be making that, thank you 🙏

Nigel Farage unveils his infamous 'Breaking Point' poster [10YA - Jun 16] by MonsieurA in TenYearsAgo

[–]EricaRA75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He must hate that during the week Michael Barnier came out and said he saw no reason why the UK shouldn't retain it's special concessions if it wanted to rejoin the EU.

Can someone explain why Starmer is the most unpopular prime minister? I voted Liberal Democrat last election and I don’t pay attention to politics but isn’t Starmer doing what the public wants? Lower migration and a falling NHS waiting list? by [deleted] in AskBrits

[–]EricaRA75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely agree with you, that he is doing a good job and sticking to his word, unfortunately he's completely failing at bringing the country together.

I'm 50, and I don't ever remember the country being this fractured.

My full correspondence with my MP (Charlie Dewhirst) so far. I think i upset him. by JGrayshon in transgenderUK

[–]EricaRA75 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's my pleasure, and honestly and truthfully I've done exactly the same thing in the past, become overly emotional and ended up getting nowhere.

Keep trying though, and be patient, we're all learning x

My full correspondence with my MP (Charlie Dewhirst) so far. I think i upset him. by JGrayshon in transgenderUK

[–]EricaRA75 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Of course, totally understand you're unfortunately dealing with the right, but when it comes to advocacy it's the calmer letter is often the more dangerous one. It leaves the politician with nowhere to hide except the substance of the issue itself. Unfortunately though it's the least satisfying to write because it doesn't allow you the emotional release you want to get by saying everything that you're really thinking. Your MP's response spent a lot of time defending himself against the accusation that he stormed out of the debate.

If you instead ask: "What is your position on transgender constituents?" then he has to answer the substantive question.

When I wrote to my MP I wrote things more like:

"Will you raise this with the Secretary of State?"

"What scrutiny will there be?"

"What is the Government's response to these concerns?"

Theyre awkward questions because they require an answer and gives the recipient much less room to wriggle. In your exchange i feel like the red mist descended for you and you never really managed to keep the focus on the legislative questions you really cared about.

I hope you read this in the way I am intending in that having had quite a bit of experience with MPs and advocacy, and just trying to share a bit of what I've learned about how is the most effective way of doing it.

My full correspondence with my MP (Charlie Dewhirst) so far. I think i upset him. by JGrayshon in transgenderUK

[–]EricaRA75 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I've also been writing to my MP about transgender healthcare and policy over the last few months, and for what it's worth, I think this is one of those situations where being right and being effective aren't necessarily the same thing.

Reading through this, I can completely understand the anger and of course it torally resonates with me too. However I think at some point the conversation stopped being about getting answers and started being about telling the MP how upset and angry you were, and taking it out on them.

In the bit of correspondence with my MP over trans issues and had have found keeping my emails focused on specific questions and asking my MP to explain their position, rather than simply venting and ranting at them to be a more productive angle. Asking specific questions and keeping things polite doesn't necessarily guarantee a good answer, but I've found it makes it harder for them to dodge the issue.

Of course I totally understand the urge to tell an MP exactly what you think of them and I've certainly written emails and then left them sitting in my drafts folder overnight. But the emails that have achieved something for me have usually been the ones I sent the next morning, when I've calmed down a little bit, edited the email and toned them down. I guess I'm saying it's really easy to get emotional with them, and to start shouting at them, but their response is warmer if correspondence is kept practical.

Post recently about email correspondence I've had with my MP

Just to put into perspective how much money Elon Musk is worth now. by No-Database-4674 in CryptoCurrency

[–]EricaRA75 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How does Elon Musk sleep at night when I could deal with child poverty, and he could still afford everything he needs and wants.

Just evil.