scot47

Any interference with our God-given right to drive vehicles or own firearms is COMMUNISM !

(Be careful - the writer may be employing IRONY here.)

Jerseygirl

trottytrue

I'm not sure if I have asked this question before. I know the US and UK have an agreement about pension credits whether its your UK credits going towards your US pension or the other way around. I know that the Uk lowered the amount of credits needed but can anyone remember how many it is. when I first applied I did not have enough in both to get a higher British pension but I was wondering if now they have lowered the number if I should reapply for a higher pension.

cheers

Heavy rain was forecast for many parts of England for Saturday night and I see Devon was included. Is there anything to report or are you just watching the weather on the television?

Cheers

islandwoman120

It's raining in Devon, but the sun shines in between showers. It's an umbrella and mac day.

formula

If you are talking about how many years you need to get a UK pension, you can use this calculator. Pension calculations depends on when you were born because of all the changes over the last few years. https://www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension

It was 39 years contributions for a woman and 44 for a man and you needed at least 10 years of contributions. This group will have already reached state pension age. Women reached state pension age before a man for those born in this age range.

For a short time it dropped to just 30 years for all and the 10 years was removed.

Now: a man born on or after 6 April 1951 or a woman born on or after 6 April 1953 will need 35 years of contributions for a full state pension with a minimum of 10 years contributions again.
The main changes being that a UK state pension will now only be calculated on your own contributions, with no more using the contributions of a spouse to get a UK state pension or to get a higher state pension nad the rise in state pension age. The other being the higher amount UK state pension, which is part of the welfare reforms and will reduce the UKs welfare bill (of which state pensions are part of - rightly or wrongly) and not just the state pension bill part.

EDIT From Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_State_Pension

Mallory

After three sunny weeks in France, and three sunny weeks in UK, it's now pouring down in Glos. Back to US on Tuesday.

old.sparkles

Think that's Bertha.

Looks like it's gonna get rather wet

J.JsOH

Jasper (Rodney), you seemed interested in this when I mentioned it previously, and any other males over 65 years old returning to UK .

If you male and are over 65 when you arrive back in UK you may well have missed the call up for a free NHS screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

I had my screening today and all is normal. Good thing, I knew someone that died on the spot from this AAA problem.

To find out more and arrange a screening,NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme Home Page

jasper123

Thanks John I will look into it!!!

cheers

Bandrui should be back in Canada this next week so it will be interesting to read about her observations from her month trip to the UK.

bandrui

Just got back this weekend and had a fantastic time. I've been catching up on the posts and first of all, the driving question:

I was worried to death about picking up the car rental on July 23 and wondered if I was out of my mind when I booked (and paid!) for it but have to say that I am sooooo glad that I did. My holiday would have been entirely different and much less rewarding without the car. I drove all through the Cotswolds, down through the Southwest, along the Dorset coast, back up through Wiltshire and the Cotswolds before dropping it off again in Bedford.

When I picked it up, I drove around a couple of backstreet blocks before hitting the road... first stop Oxford. I got to many many places that I would never have seen if I did not have the car and I didn't have to drag my luggage form bus to train, etc.

I had (unexpectedly) no problem with being on the left side of the road, right side of the car, shifting with the left hand or roundabouts. Ok so there were times at first where I was white-knuckling the steering wheel a bit but became more and more comfortable as time went on and by the time I came back I was worried about driving on the right-hand side of the road again! I am just so happy that I rented that car. It made my holiday.

I drove primarily B roads (which I loved... some were just as good as A roads) and non-primary route A roads, with the occasional primary route thrown in. I stayed away from motorways. This was not just for less frenetic driving but because I wanted to see the real England, the little villages and countryside that you just don't see from the heavy traffic ways. I stopped where I felt like it and got to talk to locals, sample local fare, ask directions and enjoy my travels. For instance, stopping for a break in Long Crenton, Buckinghamshire, I discovered the large country house where 'Midsomer Murders' was filmed, and drove throughout the Dorset hills to seek out stone circles and chambered tombs. I would do it again in a heartbeat and highly recommend it to others who might be on the edge of 'should I, shouldn't I'. I now consider myself ambi-drive-strous . Apparently I drove 813 miles in my 2-week car rental, which was dirt-cheap (about ƒ10/day) booked on the Air Transat website (You don't have to fly with them to use the car rental option, or even live in Canada, and you can choose your pick up location).

My worst moment was getting lost in downtown Oxford trying to find my way to the hostel but a nice fellow helped me out. In fact, I found everyone to be incredibly helpful. Drivers were courteous and much better than here. If traffic behind me wanted to go faster than I, I just pulled over in the next lay-by or widening in the road (of which there were many, even on country lanes) to let them through. I would have just gone from one major centre to another without the car and it would have been a much less rich experience.

Rodney: Please give your change of heart some serious consideration. It would be wonderful to be able to get to those out-of-the-way locations and take your Mum on some drives. I too am in my 60s and hadn't driven in the UK for 44 years! I feel that for those of us in our 60s, NOW is the time. I don't want to sound negative but your Mum (or any of us!) are not going to live forever and I think you would find it so rewarding to be able to drive around.

Fish n Chips 56

A Brilliant report, Im so glad you enjoyed yourself, The UK is Fab, even better in a car, I just love it, Ive always said Brits are courteous drivers and they are, I could go on but wont, you said it so well...

bandrui

New topic!

I have finally answered the question "Do I want to move back to England?" and the answer is "Yes!". The car really helped me to answer this. Inmy whole month there this time, I never felt like a visitor. I felt like a resident and became more and more depressed as my return flight loomed.

As I drove through different places, I would ask myself the question "Could I live in this village/town?" A couple of yeses were Tetbury, Stroud, and some of the villages I passed throughbut when I drove into Lyme Regis and saw the sea, I felt that I was 5 years old again and heard my mother say (mentally... she has been gone for many years) "See who's the first one to see the sea." I knew right away that I had to live by the sea and absolutely fell in love with Dorset, particularly Lyme Regis and Swanage. I stayed for 2 days in each and 4 days in Weymouth... less impressive but a good place to explore from... Dorchester, Hardy country, the hills and villages.

I know that it's expensive and all I will have is the money from my house but where there's a will, there's away so trust that this will happen. It won't be the proverbial tomorrow because there is so much that I have to do here, but one day..... the gods willing.

I got home to see that about 6 panels of my side fence were flat on the ground, my extensive vegetable garden was literally non-existent an the rest of my garden... roses and perennials... shredded. Those damn deer. I take it as a message from the universe that I am no longer meant to be here .

Jerseygirl

Sounds like you have a great spirit and attitude. I am pleased you enjoyed your trip so much. You go girl!!