10 Ways You Know You ...

... live in a village in Wales (and I kid you not ... well, not really*). Some good, some bad, some are a matter of perspective.

1) You don't need to spend all day, every day, in a bar for everyone to know your name.

2) No one bats an eyelid when cows suddenly appear in the park or sheep wander the Old Pit Road.

3) There's a disused mining pit in/ just outside of your village and coal slags at the top of the mountain(s).

4) If you're not "from 'round 'ere" people, particularly the older generation, find it difficult to understand you because of your accent.

5) You get good deals from the village mechanic because, let's face it, you know where he lives.

6) Growing up, every woman in your street was your 'Auntie' and even now, 30 years later, you still greet them as such.

7) As you wander past the allotments with your dog, random strangers talk to you and offer freshly picked lettuce for you to take home because they've grown too much.

8) If you do something stupid, everyone will know about it within seconds - amazingly, you don't even need to tell a soul for the entire village to find out.

9) Getting snowed in is a regular occurrence, not because the snow is too deep but due to ice on the steep-side-of-the-mountain roads and no salt being put down the steep-side-of-the-mountain side streets.

10) Every summer at least part of the mountain will catch fire (and not just the same mountain, all the mountains).

Just to be clear, I love living in Wales. I was born and raised in England but Wales is my home and I doubt I'll ever move back across the border. And as a bonus I get to live in views like these**:

What's it like where you live?

* Every one of the things listed above has happened either to me or someone I know or by someone I know

** These really are pictures I've taken from my village and immediate surrounding area whilst out with the wolf, more can be found here

Thanks for stopping by,