Mihaela

I'd say especially those people who've been indoctrinated into the modern white Anglo-American way of life, in other words pawns to capitalism and its highly noxious values - selfishness, greed, ruthlessness, materialism, consumerism, wastefulness, absolutist morality and shallow short-term thinking. Capitalism arose from the Protestant work ethic which puts far too much value on economic activity designed to serve an elite and even equates this it with progress and righteousness! We have this corrupt systen to thank for the breaking up of our natural communities. I agree, Laddo - not healthy at all! I don't think it is down to white people ... I think it is down to people. If you want to see someone's true nature, give them power and riches and you'll see their true nature. Laddo didn't say that it was simply down to white people, but it's almost exclusively white males who created the grotesque, devouring monster that has the arrogance to call itself progress. Every culture in the world to my knowledge has had at some point macabre and dangerous laws and rules, rituals or rights of passage. The Greek philosophers, the message of the gospels, the Renaissance and Enlightenment have all had an enormous effect upon Western civilisation. We now have the information, and evidence of history, to know better than to persist in our many dangerous follies, but the 'system' itself (that ugly mindset controlled by the rich and powerful) rejects all the common-sense findings of centuries in favour of quick fixes and widespread suffering. The system seems to hold all the aces.. It is human nature to seize more of something, whether that be material, knowledge, love or power. True, but it's a debased, regressive aspect of human nature. By now we should know better, but society lacks good role models. We can fly people to the moon, yet lack such basic common sense. Humans are intelligent, yet so often they either don't use that intelligence or intentionally use it for harmful purposes. Governments condemn 'crime' yet the system is largely responsible for that crime, while they themselves are the biggest criminals of all and have repeatedly let down the people due to their love of power, status and money. Anyone who supports capitalist ideology is morally bankrupt and is betraying humanity. If we did not have cities but had few villages I would still expect the same nature to evolve, though it would be less in ferocity as there's less to defend. True, but it would be easier to put the brakes on harmful trends. In communities where everyone know everyone else, there is far less crime, such as the Hebrides and rural communities generally. Even the microstate of San Marino with its 31,000 people has its prison. It has a maximum capacity of 12, and hasn't been used for years! Bullies would still be there to turn into managers then eventually leaders But only if their parents and schools allowed their harmful traits to flourish. The same applies for social status, popularity inspires the same vengeance as claiming possessions inspire. But only in societies who worship status and materialism. It need not be so. Why can't goodness, beauty and truth come first? Place us all in a city where we're all of equal and exact status ... people would get bored, some would want a change ... others wouldn't want a change! Do we cast them out, do we make more rules ... We should all want to change, but only in positive, life-affirming ways. I'm never bored, ever learning more, and striving to improve every day. If we lack the inspiration (or encouragement) to change we stagnate and our lives become purposeless. All cultures have rules that grow naturally. Natural justice is the only true law, for it derives from our consciences over millennia. We're all human and we all follow human nature. I don't! At least I don't follow that kind! It's also human nature to be selfless, compassionate and altruistic - all qualities of any civilised society. By definition, human nature must be natural. So how can it also be human nature to be the opposite? Even animals can show altruism. We humans have the intelligence and reasoning ability to know that selfishness, greed, etc. are harmful aspects of human nature and should not only be discouraged but condemned at any opportunity. The capitalist system actively encourages them. Hate and love, sharing and greed, happiness and sadness, laughter and bitterness. We've all felt it in some form ... It's human nature, but so is curiosity and ignorance. All of those distinctions are opposites. These opposites may or may not have moral dimensions. Happiness and sadness, etc. are part of the natural and universal human condition; they are states of mind. They can't be compared to sharing and greed, etc. which are of a very different order for they have a moral dimension and reflect personality types - virtues and vices, character strengths and weaknesses, right and wrong. Unlike animals, babies and psychopaths, humans develop consciences. We have an awareness of right and wrong, yet sometimes knowingly choose to do wrong. Capitalist ideology is rooted in these unethical human traits. It has no conscience. To make distinctions is human nature. Though to truly understand any nature you have to look at them all as the same. No distinctions, otherwise you inadvertently fall into the trap you try to avoid. I disagree for they are not the same. Ethical distinctions must be made when applicable. I actively think positively. Many people would and have argued that I'm ignorant of the bad in the world ... I would argue that I'm more aware of the bad than they are. Same here; I agree. Fill your mind with positive thoughts ... eventually they'll come naturally. Fill your mind with negative thoughts ... eventually they'll come naturally. Yes! We're all to blame! No! Most of us are the helpless pawns and (sometimes willing) victims of a cruel and inhuman system, even though we may not all realise this. The blame lies where the power lies, unless we choose to go against our consciences, and even then the system often plays its part. I live in a world of fantasy, I watch animated films, read old books and live for the want of a better world, in a self-fashioned bubble. It is not so bad to live looking towards the good! Same here, very much! Folktales, children's fantasy stories, fairies, mermaids, unicorns, enchanted forests... I only learn the 'news' randomly and by chance. I'm so out of touch that I often don't know when elections are taking place until I see those silly political placards people stick in their gardens (banned in certain European countries). The last time I entered a polling station was as a child. I didn't know the name of the current Prime Minister until months after he got the job, and the names of any other current politicians mean nothing to me either. Please don't think that I'm trying to teach you or anyone else the ways of the world. I am woefully ill-equipped in that department, I merely strive to write fancy sentences. I am cursed with a love of written words. I don't know many ... but the ones that I do know will always be well written. Not at all, and that goes for me too... and, yes, I'm cursed with a love of written words too! You may have noticed...

I feel the same, Exodus. Why are so few of us active on here? We have so many members yet it seems they come and go at a great rate. I've not had the time to look through old posts for patterns. Maybe our mods could tell us more about this. I find travelling alone very stressful, and I tend to stick to routines. I hate stations, airports, etc.due to all the noise, frantic activity, crowds, timetables, officials, etc.- so overpowering. All this is easier if I'm accompanied. I've found that carrying my cats with me has helped a lot, for it gives me a responsibilty to take care of them - and all three are very good travellers and will happily sit on my knee! There are certain routes that I know well, and due to habit, I find them less stressful. Locally I walk a lot, trying to avoid busy roads. I don't think I can afford too use buses anyway. Recently I went to an Autism meeting in Bradford which took me about an hour on the bus (expenses paid). I needed a day to recuperate - very tiring and stressful. So, yes, travelling can be a big problem If there were more of us on here it would become less of an issue.

Very true. The adult neurotypical world hardly makes a good role model for our children. This must surely be why civilised progress (the only true progress) happens so very, very slowly.

Hello, Gem! Welcome to the forum The only thing is he doesn't really present in a typical way. I presume you mean the typical male way. He could well have female-type Asperger's - not as often diagnosed due to its more subtle traits and less-challenging behaviour. There's also a possibility that he has a PDD-NOS - a sort of catch-all diagnosis used when the others don't quite fit. He's very engaging, chatty, uses eye contact. This could apply to female AS. Aspie girls use copying techniques in social situations, and eye contact is much more likely. He's not exactly socially awkward but will often choose to play alone, even to the point of being quite stand offish (e.g. sweet girl from his old school "DS1 do you want to play dragons" DS1 (nonchalantly) "Maybe later" sweet girl shrugs philosophically. He had a lot of these sweet little friends and it was like he deigned to join them at times then other times totally ignored them. Does he have any special interests? If so what are they? This would be clue to possible female-type AS. Did his 'sweet little friends' tend to be girls? He is sensitive to sound and his environment and has Irlens. His behaviour suffers if he is tired, hungry, overstimulated (or bored!) if the routine is lacking (although this is not a serious issue). Transitions aren't great but not as bad as tantrums or anything, although he can kick off if the plan changes. He can be very selfish and fixated on what he wants to do and he is very bad if he is disappointed. All these could suggest AS generally. I'm not sure if he's just a difficult character - certainly he struggles to process his emotions re. his Dad and I splitting up. He thinks in a very black and white way, seems empatheic and perceptive beyond his years, but you get sucked into answering endless questions and telling him too much about a subject then you can't make it alright. Other children would accept the first or second level of what you say, he won't accept it until you've explained it to the nth degree. And so does this. It reminds me very much of myself as a child! The crucial fact that you say he seems empathic and perceptive suggests a female-type profile. The trauma of you splitting up with his Dad could well have added to his emotional difficulties. The other night he told me it would be fine if I wasn't here. He didn't need me except for practical purposes, and me hugging him didn't help him feel better....ever. I wouldn't take this seriously. He's clearly very upset about not having you both together again. Does he often see him? This would make a big difference. He is very unhappy. He wants me and his Dad back together (we seperated 4 1/2 years ago and his Dad is remarried) he holds onto things for a long time. I would have been too, had this happened to me. I wouldn't have been able to handle the overwhelming emotions (still can't, such as when my parents and even my pets die, and it shows in many strange ways). Do you think it's enough to take him to the GP? I don't know how to distill all this down into something meaningful to get a referral and who would I get a referral too anyway? Your GP should refer him to a specialist in Asperger's who is experienced in diagnosing the female-type. Obviously I can't say with any certainly that your son indeed has this, but from all you say, it seems quite possible. About 10% of Aspie girls and women have the (classic) male type, and probably a similar number of boys and men have the female type. As it becomes increasingly understood and recognised more and more people are being diagnosed with this lesser-known type. Hope this helps. x

You could try contacting the NAS. I'll be seeing my local NAS branch leader on Saturday. I'll ask her.

On Tuesday I tried chasing up CAB again. My usual advisor is away at least for this week, so they say they check her desk for any clues. They rang me back later that afternoon saying that the repeat referral did arrive at Creative Support and they'd be ringing me soon. If they don't contact me by tomorrow I've to ring CAB again on Monday. So far I've heard nothing. Yesterday I attended the Autism Working Group which is connected with the council. Apparently Adult Services don't provide support and it's palmed off onto CS. Everyone there had already heard of CS and seemed to know all about them. All our grievances were passed onto the council and the NHS Clinical Commissioning group - who were also there. It was generally thought that CS weren't 'fit for purpose', and nobody appears to be overseeing them - although the council pay them. It sounds chaotic. So frustrating for everyone. That day wore thoroughly me out. As for writing to my MP, that's yet more stress for me and I'm afraid I have little faith in politicians. It would have to be a last resort, and I'd need help.

I suppose all my 'socialising' revolves around shared special interests and the mutual enjoyment of sharing and discussing them. It's important for our self esteem they we all get noticed and that we share time with one another. Even though I don't get lonely, I'd hate to feel isolated and shunned. You're doing the right thing, Dandy, and yes, start in a small way.

Such black and white thinking (which if often cited as an autistic trait yet actually seems to be a human trait) will be the downfall of this species. I agree. It's certainly no part of my thinking. I've spent most of my life thinking in polychrome, and I have a thing about rainbows too! Going back to monochrome, the grey areas of ethics interest me, as well as the grey unexplored areas where religion, politics, philosophy and psychology meet. I've also thought a lot about dualistic modes of thought. As you say, it's a very human trait found just as much in neurotypicals. I'd go as far as to say that it's the norm in NT society to think in this negative, narrow shallow way. I've tried to trace it back to its original inspirations in the natural world - which is full of dualities: light/dark; silence/noise; sun/moon; night/day; land/sea; earth/air; water/fire; hot/cold, male/female; birth/death; living/dead; young/old; animal/vegetable; organic/mineral, etc. Some are distinct pairs, while others are relative in degree. We humans, naturally extend these experiences to the ways we think - positions in time and space (up/down; left/right, near/far, past/present; present/future, midnight/midday; midsummer/midwinter, etc.); morality (good/evil; right/wrong; appropriate/inappropriate, etc.); virtues; religious (sinful/righteous; heaven/hell, god/devil, etc.); politics (right/left; libertarian/totalitarian, etc); making judgments; self/other, own tribe/foreign; black/white; sane/insane; Aspie/NT; etc. In many ways thinking is impossible without dualistic themes, but in other cases dualistic thinking can be very dangerous and unethical. It's sorting out one from the other that so many people find difficult, that's if they're even willing to try. So many become so accustomed to particularly harmful ways of the clear-cut 'either/or - type' thinking that it becomes almost instinctive. Real life doesn't work in this strict binary fashion. Surely, all forms of discrimination must arise from negative dualistic thinking. So far I've yet to see black-and-white thinking as a particularly autistic trait, and feel that this old chestnut needs abandoning.

I am a high functioning who has worked for much of my life. I'm high functioning too, but that term is so deceptive for in certain key areas of my life I barely function at all. For most of my life I've never worked for pay - the stresses would have been too great in most jobs. I'm just lucky in that my parents were able and willing to support me for all those years. Had my circumstances been different I may well feel more as you do. Its not just ASD, there are a few other defects roaming about. I don't see HF ASD as a defect, and I'm beginning to think that having Aspies within any society has evolutionary advantages, and benefits that society in various ways. (Eccentricity of all kinds is healthy for society: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/01/eccentricity-einstein-prince-society I've been called eccentric many times). I also feel that, although categorised as being at one end of the autistic spectrum, AS, at least the female-type (the type I understand best) is not simply an extreme of a continuum of disorders. There comes a point along that continuum when a burden becomes a blessing, and that any real problems associated with it are entirely due to the way the NT world views it and treats those who have it. I've suffered enormously ever since I was four due to this. The NT world is to blame for my being bullied and victimised, my fear of school, delaying my love of learning, my panic attacks, meltdowns, OCD, C-PTSD. However, it's not to blame for my many sensory issues, my eating disorders, my dyscalculia, dyspraxia and executive dysfunction - all negative traits and neurological - but it's very much to blame for the way it has cavalierly disregarded them. Nor is it responsible for my 'immature' emotions, my social anxiety, my sense of justice, my honesty, my love of learning, my many interests, my compassion and empathy, my logical-intuitive thinking pattern, my high intelligence, my passion for truth and beauty, my 'unworldliness', etc - all traits which I see as very positive. I wouldn't want trade those in in return for merely being neurotypical. It would be a far too big a price to pay - and besides, why on earth should I? I like being who I am; I just don't like being treated without humanity. Who would?

My interpretations: 1. It don't think it really matters which ones you choose; even the 'experts' disagree, use different terms and view autism in different ways. I say that I'm on the autism spectrum. Some refer to high- or low-functioning autism, yet being 'high functioning' doesn't mean that we may not support in some areas. I've never heard the word 'auties' used before, but it's a good one. Someone with Asperger's syndrome may often use the shorthand, Aspie - as I do. It's less clinically formal and seems to reflect a positive acceptance and even pride in having the condition. (Personally, I don't see it as a disorder, and tend to see neurotypical society as disordered, not least in the way it treats us). 2. We have no real word for an obsessive hobby and tend to use the term special interest. I'd sooner call it a passion or devotion than an obsession, though. I have so many that I split them into general interests (philomathic), many special interests and a few specialised interests (polymathic) - but then I don't conform to the classic male-type AS presentation (some females do). My interests are mainly intellectual, but for many they may not be. By the way, I'm also a vegan (virtually) but I would never consider that as a hobby (although cookery could well be), but rather as acting out my philosophy of life according to my conscience and ethical values. (If I chose not do so, I'd see myself as being selfish, dishonest and hypocritical. However, any diet can become a hobby with some people, including many NTs. 3. No generic name - maybe there should be. Various autism groups do exist, but they seem to make up their own names. Many tend to concentrate more on parents with autistic children. Hope this helps.

I agree entirely. If I felt better I'd be saying a lot more, but it'll have to wait, for my brain's telling me I must rest and I'll be in bed soon. Only staying up for the cats as they've not seen much of me today... I took on far too much today, and now I'm having to pay for it. It seems I never learn

Welcome, Dandy! If you need advice on Autism I'm sure we'd be happy to help if at all possible.

Messuage ...as in "The excellent equestrian performed dressy dressage around a messy messuage"

You know your American history, Canopus, far better than I do. Most interesting. I've researched the Protestant work ethic and its links to right-wing Christian fundamentalism and the punitive, judgmental mindset. It's no accident that the USA has the largest prison population in the world as well as the highest imprisonment rate. The JW appeals strongly to a certain personality type and it isn't the way that my brain is wired. Nor mine. Independent thinkers are not welcome and considered a threat. No surprise either about the correlation between guns and the 'Bible Belt' either. Waterboatman said: Bullying also happens at an insitutional level, this is normally called abuse. Its difficult to judge wether an action is abuse or bullying unless it is really blatant and or is observed by an independent observer. It certainly does, and whatever we choose to call it, the effects on the victim are the same. So is the main cause: power and control. The routine medication of young children diagnosed with a huge variety of conditions, which where completely unknown when I went to school in the 1960's and 1970's. Is as far as I am concerned 'abuse'. This is abuse rather than bullying, but the reasoning is the same: control, yet the justification is in theory well-intentioned. Ritalin, almost routinely given to children with ADHD has become the control method of choice and made very fat profits for US-based multinational Novartis. Some children just aren't suited to the school environment - and for various reasons, yet the authorities insist on pushing square pegs into round pigeon-holes. Laddo said: Are you saying should we beat children again to stop them misbehaving? That obviously has no positive effects either as there were still plenty of bullies back in those days, plus former bullies from those days have since grown up to become psychopaths. If anything it's just going to teach them that if someone wrongs you, it is acceptable to inflict physical pain upon them. This leads to behaviour like spousal abuse later in life. What we need to do is start actually talking to kids and find out why they misbehave and bully other kids. There's always a reason for bullies being the way they are, whether it's coming from a broken family, being bullied themselves or being physically, emotionally and/or sexually abused. I agree entirely. The only possible justification for giving a small child a quick slap is if that child is in imminent danger, in which case it's almost instinctive and reinforces in the child the need to keep away from danger. Most bullying is due to the vulnerability of the victim. It's due to the personality of the bully, combined with the presence of a vulnerable target. One is, do not make neatly packaged helpless victims, and care nothing for what happens, saying it the schools job to do that. Keep schools small enough so that its easy to spot something wrong, and have a simple consistent discipline. Aspies are destined to be vulnerable to bullying and exploitation if they don't receive protection and support from parents and teachers - and other children. It's the school's job to protect the more vulnerable children from the less vulnerable, after all, the school is theoretically acting in 'loco parentis'. If a parent learns that their child is being bullied, and the school repeatedly allow it to continue, then that child should be removed from the school to reduce lasting psychological damage. Liberalism is a good thing! Liberalism can mean two quite different things. The idea of human rights and freedom (as opposed to licence) can only be good. The trouble with good ideas is that they're often used for political ends, change their meaning and become ideologies. So called 'radical' feminism and other interests have hijacked liberal principles to erode our freedoms, and this process continues unabated. We're blindly and blithely ambling along the primrose path to fascism. The signs are there for all to see; that's if we take off our blinkers. I really don't understand how treating each other with respect and dignity can be considered a bad thing. It's 100% good. It just fits in with the 'anything different must be destroyed' mentality that starts the majority of wars and led to the extinction of all human species apart from homo sapiens. This arrogant anthropocentric view of the world we all share will ultimately cause our own extinction, unless we change our way of thinking. (Unless autism is a branch-off from a former species of human - personally I think this could be likely.) Fascinating! I wonder.... To me, strong conservatism is so narrow-minded. As a radical traditionalist iconoclast (!) I fully agree. It's not just narrow-minded but selfish and dangerous too. Canopus said: Bullying at school is not a subject which is well understood but is almost certainly intertwined with the question as to why certain kids are more popular than others. Contrary to what many people think, very popular kids are rarely regular bullies and bullies rarely envy the very popular kids. Popularity is proportional to how much we have in common with the peer group/gang. If we are popular, it's a sign that we're conforming well to that group's approved stereotypes, and this reinforces our self-esteem and confidence. If have little in common, such as different social class, accent, colour, religion, musical tastes, support a rival football team, dislike sport, wear 'unfashionable' clothes, etc. we're seen as 'different' and risk becoming vulnerable to bullying. Aspies by definition are very unlikely to be popular. Popularity is closely tied to culture and subcultures, and Aspies don't easily fit to these. I have speculated that body language and non-verbal communication plays a large part in bullying but this is rarely even looked at by analysts of bullying. Do those who bully possess advanced powers at being able to read people and those who are bullied have deficiencies in this area? Are there big differences in psychology between those who bully alone and those who bully as part of a group? Do different bullies like to pick on different types of people? Undoubtedly body language comes into it. Aspies are more likely to respond in 'inappropriate' ways, i.e. non-NT ways. Sociopathic bullies do have better powers of reading people. This is largely how they 'succeed' in life. I'd imagine that the psychodynamics of groups that bully are very different, in that the majority of those involved do so to appear 'normal' to the leader/s. This saves them from being bullied themselves. They receive protection, but only at the price of trading their freedom and humanity. I don't buy into the argument that bullies are the result of broken families; or that they are people who feel insecure and lack confidence; or were previously bullied themselves. It depends upon the individual; they can be any or none of these. Many who bully have sociopathic or narcissistic traits, and these seem to be caused by childhood psychological trauma, head injury or brain tumour. Children who become sociopathic bullies are most likely genetically predisposed, for many traumatised children never become bullies.

No, you're not naive. I for one, missed this post for I've not been able to spend long on the internet over the past few days. As I said earlier, I'd happily attend a meet-up in my area. What I can't understand is why nobody is responding, but we must be patient and give them time to notice the thread. I'd even organise a meet-up if there were at least four of us, but my organisation skills aren't that good, so I'd expect someone to take over from me eventually. I agree on all your points and only wish it would happen.

Equestrians (the Four Horsemen of the Acropolis - Famine, Fatigue, Futility and Fatality - or something like that. Christian fundamentalists truly believe that they'll gallop out of the Acropolis and across to the four corners of the flat earth as a harbinger of the imminent Battle of R. McGeddon).

No! They're indigenous. Old Church Slavonic was the first written Slavic language and was based on the Byzantine Slavic dialect spoken in Thessalonika. It developed in the Bulgarian Empire and from there it spread throughout the Orthodox Church. Church Slavonic appeared later and contains elements of all the Slavic languages.

The Dacio-Thracian languages were part of the Paleo-Balkan group I referred to in an earlier post. So we're both saying the same thing really, in that Albanian derived from that group and is the last surviving descendant. The reason for the survival of Romanian under the Orthodox Church may be similar to that for the survival of say, French under the Roman Church. Old Church Slavonic was the language of the Orthodox Church throughout the Slavophone world and was the earliest written Slavic language. Latin was the language of the Roman Church and the common written language of all areas under its control. Until the 16th century Church Slavonic was used in the liturgy in Romania. The indigenous languages continued to be spoken by the people (and eventually written) regardless of what languages were being used in the liturgies. The same would presumably apply to the survival of Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, etc. Even a few minority Slavic languages such as Upper and Lower Sorbian (Wendish), Carpathian and Pannonian Rusyn, are still widely spoken in certain places.

Welcome to the forum, Flyingmoccassin! I'm sick too of ASD being treated as a mental health problem, and/or a learning disability as it seems to exclusively be by health & social services. It leads to patronising, stigmatising treatment, but worst of all incorrect treatment in my opinion. I totally agree. I'd never take a psychiatric drug for the very reasons you give. I happen to believe that a whole lot of the perceived 'mental health problems' associated with ASD come from the expectation to be normal in a way we can never, and may not even want to be. So do I... and no, I don't. I'm perfectly content being who I am. My abilities far outweigh my disabilities (mainly executive dysfunction). Even my disabilities are no big issue for me. The real problem is how the NT world blames, villifies, insults and stigmatises me for my disabilities, rather than supports me, and organisations do this in their official capacities. We are being pushed into being medicated on strong risky drugs for the convenience of wider society, and the profit of drug companies who seem to have a lot of GPs round their little finger. True, and for the convenience of a wider society which is itself highly dysfunctional, arguably far more than we are ourselves, yet that society doesn't even attempt to address so many its negative traits, such as greed, ruthlessness, selfishness, dishonesty, discrimination, hypocrisy, etc. This failing is itself an example of hypocrisy. I'm prepared to accept that maybe some psychiatric medications do work for some people. So am I (especially in the case of psychoses, where either psychoactive drugs or secure confinement are the only realistic alternatives). They should certainly not be given for treating the effects caused by NT society upon people on the autistic spectrum. You have a good point over the possible evolutionary value of varied sleep patterns. I sleep well but my sleeping pattern is hardly neurotypical, but one time it was, amongst peasant farmers, and still is in closed religious orders. For me, getting up at around 4am and going to bed early is normal and feels right. The key is working out what you want to do, not what others think you're supposed to do. Indeed, and we must be firm over this by refusing to be 'treated' by having dubious chemicals or fashionably lucrative 'therapies' foisted up us.

Thanks for being angry! I relieves my own anger a little, when anger can be spread around But seriously, I'm not all that surprised for my experience with both the council and NHS over the past few years has been one of gross incompetence, arrogance, impoliteness, crass stupidity and flagrant discrimination. It's nothing new, but it's very frustrating. Friends say I'm very patient, but I have to be, for I've no choice. I am eating more than I did, so I hope it's doing me good and fighting off anaemia, but the very fact that my health deteriorated was entirely due to worrying about how careful I must be over money, and having no support. I wouldn't walk to appointments if I knew I could afford the bus fare or knew how long I was going to live. Have you looked into online shopping? It might ease the stress of going to the supermarket a little, which in turn will help you to make decisions a bit better. My mother used to do this. It would make things much easier for me. When I walk back I take the longest route to avoid traffic noise, and often carrying a heavy bag in each hand (not pleasant up a steep hill in bad weather) I still have to endure some traffic, but when I cross a motorway footbridge I can't block my ears as my hand are full. Deliveries would stop all this, but until I know whether I can afford this luxury I can't really consider it. I'd also have to fathom out how to actually do it on the internet. When I did it with my mum I'd often get into a state when things went wrong. It was very much a joint effort. I like your petition idea, it would really shake them up, but hopefully it won't come to that. When CS visit me (that's assuming they ever will), I'll show them this thread as evidence that others are concerned about the way I'm being treated. Cameron and all his cronies live in a fantasy world. Even the words 'Tory headquarters' are enough to make feel queasy, but the idea of smashing them up does have a certain appeal...

An interesting question. The simple answer is nobody really knows. Most likely extinct Daco-Thracian languages were spoken in that area, and Albanian may well have derived from them. Proto-Romanian split into four languages - Aromanian (or Vlachs, still spoken in Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria & Albania), Megleno-Romanian (or Vlăhește still spoken in a few villages near the Macedonian border), Istro-Romanian (the smallest ethnic group in Europe - spoken in a few villages in Istria and Croatia). What was left became Daco-Romanian which is also an official language of Moldova (with Russian and Gagauzian), the de facto independent PMR (with Russian & Ukrainian), the autonomous Serbian province of Vojvodina (one of 6), the Hertsa & Tiachiv regions of Ukraine (along with Ukrainian) and the autonomous island of Mount Athos (one of 5). Although part of the EU, women are still banned from Mount Athos - a policy that violates EU equality laws. A few years ago four Moldovan women landed there without realising this, but were 'forgiven'.

Thrones (groaning with the weight of overfed, pampered monarchs)

Whales

Albanian, Armenian and Greek are the only Indo-European languages currently spoken in Europe with no existing relatives. They occur as independent branches. Albanian seems to derive from an extinct non-Greek branch of the extinct Paleo-Balkan group which included Dacian, Thracian, Phrygian, Mesapian, Illyrian languages. etc. It had already acquired some Greek and Latin elements as early as 2000 years ago, and later, during the Ottoman period, Turkish elements too, although Turkish isn't at all related to Albanian, being in the Turkic group.