Well there i was Tawnyowl just roosting in the canopy of a local tree. The sun was shining a gentle breeze blowing from the South. Everything was as it should be. As usual from time to time i checked the weather forums when horror,the headlines:!: I nearly fell from my roost. Not that you'd know it if you're in Northern England or Scotland, but it's been a stormy 24 hours. The thunderstorms have brought over 13,000 lightning strikes across southern Britain and the Channel, with more to come through the remainder of the long weekend and into next week. https://www.netweather.tv/weather-forecasts/news/8933-stormy-uk-weather-13000-lightning-strikes-and-more-to-come so you can see what may be heading your way.Then i will continue. https://www.lightningmaps.org/?lang=en#x=;m=sat;r=0;t=2;s=0;o=0;b=;n=0; Where was i up to,oh yes.As far as i know we are still in Spring but nearing Summer. Looking around over the last few weeks i have seen due to many reasons the possibilities of a summer like 1976. If you were around this was a summer to remember,i hope i have the year right. It was blistering hot for many weeks. Bacardi and Coke etc. Tunes like I Recall a Gypsy Woman,well i do not recall much of that summer it must have been the Bacardi was a tune around along with Dont go breaking my heart-Elton John-Kiki Dee along with the Bee Gees-You Should Be Dancing tunes like those. Well just thought i would pop in start a thread on summer 2018. See what develops as the summer goes by,and of course it keeps me rambling away about something. Some of you must have been woken by the thunder and lightning for sure. Go on tell us what it has been like where you are. And of course recollections of summers gone by. Old Tawnyowl,off to my roost to remember years of summers gone by. Charge your quills dip in ink and let a memory of yours free. Or a pencil or pen if no quills available. Bye. Tawnyowl.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/giant-house-spiders-are-invading-british-homes-following-wet-and-warm-summer-10467050.html

During the summer 2013 a limit will be introduced to the total amount of benefit (including Housing Benefit) that an out-of-work household can claim. This is so that no family who are out of work will receive more in benefit payments that the average wage paid to people in work. If your benefits are above this limit your Housing Benefit will be reduced to the amount you are above the cap From April 2016 the benefit cap will be reduced. New amounts are: Single parents and couples with children: £385 Single adults, no children: £258 For those in London, the amounts are £442 and £296 respectively This cap will apply to the combined income from a number of different benefits and tax credits including Jobseekers Allowance Income Support Employment and Support Allowance (unless in the support group) Child Benefit Child Tax Credit Housing Benefit The cap will not include one-off payments, non-cash benefits and things like free school meals, nor will it include Council Tax Reduction Scheme. As before, it will be applied to the UC monthly amount or as a reduction in HB. The UC childcare component will not count towards the cap. People not in receipt of HB or a UC housing component will not receive sufficient benefits to be affected. The following will not be affected by the cap. All pensioners are exempt from the cap The cap won't apply if you receive any of the following benefits Working Tax Credit Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment Attendance Allowance Employment and Support Allowance if paid with the support component Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit War Widow/er's Pension If you lose your job (through no fault of your own) after a period of 12 months continuous work, the cap won't apply for nine months.

The second wettest summer on record has blighted UK harvests and will lead to food price rises, farmers and retailers have warned. Wheat yields in England are down by almost 15% on the five-year average, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) reported, with some areas in the west of England suffering worst from the summer rain. The world price of grain has already been rising in recent months following a heatwave in Russia and the worst drought in 50 years in the US, which destroyed 45% of corn and 35% of the soya bean crop. Read more here :- http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/10/food-prices-rise-wettest-summer?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038 Farmers are taking the first hit as feed wheat and compond foods for stock have risen by £50 a tonne this month !!! Lex

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/holidays/article-2157178/Summer-airline-rip-How-checking-suitcase-end-costing-260-bag.html