I WAS walking around the cemetery the other day - no, I’m neither kinky, at least in that fashion, nor ghoulish.

I’d been to see my parents-in-laws’ graves. And as is my wont in these circumstance I wandered around looking at the gravestones and the epitaphs. The early gravestones were meant to impress both by their size and design.

Then I came across a plain military headstone that brought memories of the war flooding back, even though I was a nipper at the time.

The Home Guard’s headquarters was the drill hall, which is the site of the present Royal Mail offices. My dad was a sergeant in the Home Guard, specialising in dealing with gas attacks.

One evening he was supposed to catch up with the paperwork in an office at the end of the hall However a call came through that he was required to travel to Aberystwyth to provide a lecture for their man who had called off sick.

He muttered discontent as the drive was a long one in the car available especially with hooded headlights. However off he trundled.

Another person named Booker took his place in the office

That evening a drill took place to familiarise the troops with the Bren gun, a particularly lethal weapon. After dismantling and reassembling the gun, blank rounds were to be fired.

All went well initially but then a live round was inserted in error and fired. The round went straight through the office well and office, mortally wounding the occupant.

When he heard about the incident my dad didn’t go white, he went grey.

It was Mr Booker’s gravestone that brought back this awful incident to me.

This was an incident that has long been forgotten by many and never heard of by those who were yet to be born after the incident. But it shouldn’t be forgotten - he was a war victim.

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A COUPLE of weeks ago when driving into town I came across a collision between two cars which were parked either side of the road just the town side of the mini roundabout.

There were no less than four police cars, a police motor cyclist just arriving, an ambulance and a first response vehicle. The latter I can understand, but four police cars?

The two cars had obviously had a fair old disagreement with battered sides and front wheels that were distinctly cross-eyed.

Some days later I called at the police station to see if I could get a little more information as to exactly where the incident had occurred i.e. at the mini roundabout or just away from it.

The receptionist consulted the computer which indicated that the collision had occurred on the Gwbert Road. Now that road is nearly three miles long, so the description didn’t exactly pinpoint the incident’s location.

So I gave up.

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I’VE had an answer from the chief executive of Hywel Dda, not within the fortnight I had specified but a couple of weeks later. It contained what was purported to be his answer to me dated August 23, 2017, note 2017.

His letter began; “ I sincerely apologise that you did not receive my letter dated August 23, 2017.” If I had written a letter which had gone astray I would have made sure the follow-up was received by getting a signature of receipt for it.

But no, it was sent by normal post.

The letter contained one significant factual error – it was stated that Beryl had a dislocated left elbow when her records, and my statements, made it clear that she had a badly fractures elbow that required metal plates to stabilise it. So his reply made the incident appear to be less serious than it was.

The letter followed the usual form – very sorry that the two incidents occurred, a full investigation has taken place, agree that in view of Beryl’s medical history a nurse should have been present when she fell and the incident was not acceptable, apologies that she was not given assistance when eating (both arms in plaster), action will be taken to prevent a repeat, Hywel Dda does not believe that a liability exists.

Make what you will of that lot.