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    Photographs of Hope - Anne Hinks!

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    Inspirational photographs at a time of crisis, creating positivity for the future!

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    My inspiration are my children, they taught me, no matter what life throws at you, as long as you do your best that all that matters and that they love me no matter what!

    Anne Hinks
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    Consumers Advocate

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    Consumers Advocate is a small organization that started in Seattle and is now based on the sunny island of Puerto Rico. The team here is deeply dedicated to the consumers of the world. 

    At ConsumersAdvocate.org we understand that most consumers don’t have the necessary time to properly investigate the thousands of products and services they’re interested in. This is why our business is committed to bringing you, and millions of other people, honest, accurate and thorough reviews of a wide range of products and services. We take what we do seriously and pride ourselves in being able to digest a large amount of information and present it to you in a succinct and accurate manner.

    Consumers Advocate conducts extensive research on products and services (everything ranging from online therapy to home security systems and travel insurance!) and then creates helpful guides that are meant to protect consumers from scams and help make the best buying decision possible.

    The team understands that sometimes big decisions are hard, especially when there is not information that is readily available or easy to read and comprehend.  That's why the Consumers Advocate team really thrives on being organized and conducting all the research, to fully comprehend a specific subject. After weeks of research has been uncovered, they pass on all of their findings to the editorial team, and they begin drafting and compiling the bulk information in easy to read guides. Our goal is to inform and provide educational resources for consumers, so that they can make smarter buying decisions. 

    If you're interested in more information about Consumers Advocate, you can read more about the company here: https://www.consumersadvocate.org/about
    Thank you to Consumers Advocate for choosing Roaming Brit, as a platform to promote your organisation. We would like to encourage our readers to take a look at this innovative group. All of us would like to wish you every success for the future!

    Consumers Advocate has a number of resources that we know readers of Roaming Brit will be interested in and would encourage all of you to take a look. We have included three important links below, to give all of you a broader sense of just what Consumers Advocate can do for you.

    Online therapy, home security systems, and travel insurance
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  • Published on

    Lockdown Life - Holiday at Home!

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    It was absolutely glorious in Portsmouth today; the weather was perfect for a stroll down to the historic dock yard, which is sadly closed at the moment, due to Coronavirus. Nevertheless, you could still see HMS Warrior and take in the sea air, just the tonic for making you feel alive. It felt good to be out and about once again, as I walked around the streets of Portsmouth and Southsea; the coast really does suit my sensibility. I have always lived close to or near to the sea and find myself drawn to coastal regions, wherever I am in the World.
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    I still have friends living in and around Gran Alacant and Alicante in Spain and it has been good to keep in touch with many of them, during these testing times. Of course Spain has started to move out of lockdown and it has been amazing to see happy faces and laughter once again throughout the Costa Blanca on facebook.

    People eating in restaurants and drinking in the bars, I used to frequent when I lived in Gran Alacant, is hopefully a vision of the future for us in the UK. After what Spain suffered during this first wave of the pandemic, normality is greatly needed and appreciated. It wasn't that long ago, that I was sending messages of condolences to my friends in Spain, expressing my horror at what was unfolding. Today I am the one receiving emails and telephone calls asking me to stay safe and take care, as Britain's death toll soars ever higher, day after day!

    The death toll in the rest of Europe is falling dramatically; in the UK, we still have over four hundred deaths a day, which emphasises our Governments failure to get to grips with this terrible virus. We have more deaths per million than every other country in the World and with our abject failure as a nation to get COVID under control, I seriously fear for the future. On my walk today, the Country seemed to be back to normal and when non-essential shops open again on 1 June, it is likely we will see a huge spike in fatalities once again and that is frightening.

    Speaking to Darrell on the phone earlier, he expressed concern about Western Australia reporting four new cases of COVID-19 and how they were not out of the danger zone yet. My reaction was, a wish we were dealing with similarly low numbers and told him not to worry too much. The scale of the problem in Australia is so small compared to here, I am thankful he is safe in his home state. Looking back now, I wish I had travelled to Australia when I had the chance, then at least we would be living our life together, rather than apart, which is the hardest part of this pandemic.

    I am still considering plans to go to Australia in the future when we are allowed to travel, but that is dependent on a number of factors. I can not afford to fly to Perth and have to self-isolate for two weeks, as well as doing the same on my return to the UK, that will be a whole month before I even spend time with Darrell. These restrictions will need to be lifted before I even think about making the journey, but the reality is, our death toll will need to fall significantly, before any changes are implemented and I can't see that happening presently.
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    On Saturday I was due to fly to Japan to meet Darrell during a two-week stay. This holiday has now been cancelled and after a lot of wrangling with the airlines and travel operators involved, we are now just awaiting a full refund. This isn't the ideal situation for Darrell or me, we were both looking forward to seeing one another this Saturday, but like many millions of other people, we just have to live with this scenario. To be honest I am not even sure I want to get on a plane at the moment, but I know Darrell and I have time constraints and my husband has to return sooner rather than later, in order to comply with the terms of his visa, that allows him to remain with me here in the UK.

    As yet we have no plans to rebook any holiday to Asia, until this situation is over, probably when there is a vaccine in place. Both of us are hoping the timing of events are now favourable, and we can finally pick up where we left off in November, when Darrell left the UK for Australia. Until that time, we will just have to continue living as we do now and hope it isn't too many months before everything returns to normal.

    In a couple of days I have two weeks off and like the rest of the population I will be spending it in my home city of Portsmouth. I have discovered much about this city, that I never knew before and it is good for the soul finding out more about the place you live in. When I moved to Spain, I also spent time exploring this beautiful urbanisation. I researched its history and also looked closely at the demographic of the population. By the time I left I knew more about my adopted home, than most people who lived there.

    Despite my fondness for Portsmouth, I am missing travelling, something I really enjoy and was a huge part of my life up until recently. It will be awhile before things change for the better and it is likely the travel industry will be decimated and the cost of flying could well be prohibited for most. For me however, my life will continue to involve a lot of toing and froing, because of the nature of my relationship. For that reason I am making the most of my time here in the UK and continue to enjoy experiences, I wouldn't otherwise of had.  I want to be able to look back at this time and say I achieved something and began the process of connecting, with the place where I was born!
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  • Published on

    Lockdown Life - 9 Miles!

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    It was a stunning day today, the hottest of the long Bank Holiday weekend and since I enjoyed a day off from walking yesterday, I decided to go for a long walk along the coast today. In total, I walked approximately nine miles, probably the longest I have ever walked in my life, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I enjoy walking more now than ever and I genuinely feel energized and accomplished by the end of my experience. Of course walking is great for physical health, but it is doing wonders for me sense of well-being and mental health also.

    I started my daily constitutional at about 8.30am this morning, so I avoided most of the people that were expected to travel to the coast; for that I am thankful! There were still many people walking along the esplanade today and not many of them were social distancing if I am honest. I was frequently nudged by a jogger and had to jump out of the way of an inconsiderate walker and that scares me. I even walk on my own, for fear of being too close to someone else and I do wish others would follow my example. On pavements, I will always walk in the road if I have to, to avoid others, who are quite literally walking arm in arm, taking up the whole width of the path, without a care for any other pedestrian. People really do need to start being more respectful to others needs, especially now, during this crisis!

    Safely at home, I have just finished watching Dominic Cummings give a statement on his trip to the other side of the country, whilst his wife was suffering from COVID symptoms, during this pandemic. I have never seen someone squirm so much. Watching this man try to justify his actions was embarrassing and like nothing I had seen on television before. These are unprecedented times indeed and watching an unelected Government advisor, give a statement in the garden of 10 Downing Street was just unbelievable. In the end it is up to the public to decide if his explanation holds water; my view, unsurprisingly, is that it doesn't, and he should resign; just don't hold your breath!

    Stay safe everyone!

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  • Published on

    Photographs of Hope - Pat Smith!

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    Inspirational photographs at a time of crisis, creating positivity for the future!

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    The picture of me, enjoying and relaxing with the World around me!
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    The sunset means
    peace,
    love and hope!

    Pat Smith

  • Published on

    Lockdown Life - Crisis in Care!

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    Once again my daily walk today took me to places in Portsmouth I haven't visited before. Southsea Castle, built at the time of Henry VIII and Southsea Rock Garden, were both beautiful places to walk around, take in the sea air and contemplate for a short while. The weather was particularly blustery, with sea spray lapping over the promenade, so I avoided the beach for the most part, preferring to explore other hidden gems.

    I have discovered much about Portsmouth during this lockdown period, as well as doing more walking than I have ever done in my life. This city is a fantastic place to live and has many venues of interest to visit, but most of all it is compact enough to explore on foot, from one end to the other. This is the positive side of life at the moment. It is however quite lonely walking on ones own, but this period has given me time to think about just what is happening in the World and today; Coronavirus and the spiralling number of deaths in care homes was top of my thoughts.

    Yesterday I had commented on a friends assessment of these fatalities. He had used a picture to illustrate that the number of people dying, isn't as high as in other countries. I did a little bit of digging at this point, and it was clear that the figures used were not telling the complete story, which just goes to show how we can manipulate data to suit our own agenda.

    We do have the second highest death toll for COVID-19 in the World and a large proportion of those deaths were older people living in retirement facilities. I have become increasingly angry at the Governments lies and spin surrounding this travesty, claiming they had thrown a protective ring around homes early on and the older generation were always at the heart of their Coronavirus policy - what a load of rubbish! The Government has completely failed our old people, and they know it. It sickens me, that they would even try to hide the truth and make us believe they were doing all they could to look out for their best interests.

    There was no protective shield in place to keep care homes isolated at the beginning of this crisis. In fact occupants who were being treated for COVID in Hospital, were being sent back to their residential homes, to self-isolate, putting the lives of all other residents at risk. As we know now, this is the main reason why so many have died in care and it is a shocking indictment of the Governments handling of this pandemic.

    It wasn't that long ago, that I went to visit a dear old lady, Mrs Fisher, who lives in a care home, not too far from me. I had become very fond of her and did what I could to make sure she was safe and well, and we had a good friendship. I have tried to call the facility on a number of occasions, but haven't been able to get a reply. The building is closed to public access in any case, so I will not be able to visit her anytime soon. People like Mrs Fisher are important to the local community, and we need to look after them in their old age, not leave them to their fate without the safeguards they need, especially at this time. 

    There are so many failings from this Government, that I remain aghast at the publics unwillingness to even question their management of this public health emergency. I understand we are still suffering from its ramifications, but there will come a time when people wake up to the appalling way this was handled. Like America, we failed to recognise the seriousness of the situation at the beginning, and are paying the consequences today. I just hope there will be no cover-ups, lies and evasion from the facts; the country deserves better.

    So despite enjoying my walk today, surrounded by flora and fauna, amazing history and exhilarating sea air, I did find myself getting quietly wound up about issues I have no control over. Luckily I can express my views in this blog, which is the only thing keeping me sane. Writing down thoughts and expressing deeply held views and emotions is my way of coming to terms with the terrible events that continue to unfold in front of us all. When I can finally look back at this awful time in my life, I can use this experience to remember the way things were, the difficulties we faced, the lives that were lost and the loneliness we all faced!

    Stay Safe!
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