u/Captainsamvimes1

No hate please I'm just trying to learn

The Westcountry is a heavily overlooked part of England despite everything that's gone on both historically and in the present day - we're very much an afterthought after London has put itself first and the North and the Midlands have made their loud voices heard.

Wales also suffers from being overlooked but has a very prominent voice of its own

It feels like we're just a holiday resort for the second home owners

Give an example, when people discuss poverty in the UK they're usually talking about the North despite the fact that the Westcountry has some of the poorest regions in western Europe with low wages and a high cost of living. House prices are emblematic of this a locals are being completely priced out by the second home owners driving the prices up.

High volumes of holiday lets, Airbnbs, and second homes reduce full-time residential availability and push local rents and property values far beyond average regional wages.

Poverty in the West Country is a complex issue defined by "hidden" rural hardship, low seasonal wages, and a severe housing crisis driven by second homes—contrasting sharply with the region's picturesque scenery.

The Standard government metrics like the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) often fail to capture rural distress in places like Cornwall and Devon because hardship is masked by scenic coastal views.

High car dependency is mandatory due to sparse or non-existent public transport, creating an unrecognized financial burden just to reach basic work, schools, and healthcare - and on that note North Devon District Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital have had to close down their maternity services due to aging infrastructure and lack of resources meaning that they can't keep people safe so someone has to drive miles and miles just to have a baby and labour is not the time for a road trip

Westcountry homes frequently suffer from some of the highest fuel poverty gaps in the UK due to older, poorly insulated housing stock and off-grid energy reliance.

Economies heavily reliant on tourism and care sectors mean jobs are frequently seasonal, low-paid, and locked into part-time or zero-hours contracts.

Urban centers like Bristol alongside rural pockets in Cornwall and coastal towns like Ilfracombe face high child poverty rates, prompting regional taskforces and action plans.

And despite all this, it feels like we're an afterthought, and that thought is that we're a holiday resort

Plus, these days the Westcountry has no recognisable regional Regiment.

-The North has the Royal Yorks and the Duke of Lancs

-The Midlands has the Mercians

-The East has the Royal Anglians

-The South has the PWRR

• The Westcountry has to share the Rifles with the South, the Midlands, and the North

They considered forming a Royal Wessex Regiment but decided against it

The Westcountry is a heavily overlooked part of England despite everything that's gone on both historically and in the present day - we're very much an afterthought after London has put itself first and the North and the Midlands have made their loud voices heard.

Wales also suffers from being overlooked but has a very prominent voice of its own

It feels like we're just a holiday resort for the second home owners

Give an example, when people discuss poverty in the UK they're usually talking about the North despite the fact that the Westcountry has some of the poorest regions in western Europe with low wages and a high cost of living. House prices are emblematic of this a locals are being completely priced out by the second home owners driving the prices up.

High volumes of holiday lets, Airbnbs, and second homes reduce full-time residential availability and push local rents and property values far beyond average regional wages.

Poverty in the West Country is a complex issue defined by "hidden" rural hardship, low seasonal wages, and a severe housing crisis driven by second homes—contrasting sharply with the region's picturesque scenery.

The Standard government metrics like the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) often fail to capture rural distress in places like Cornwall and Devon because hardship is masked by scenic coastal views.

High car dependency is mandatory due to sparse or non-existent public transport, creating an unrecognized financial burden just to reach basic work, schools, and healthcare - and on that note North Devon District Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital have had to close down their maternity services due to aging infrastructure and lack of resources meaning that they can't keep people safe so someone has to drive miles and miles just to have a baby and labour is not the time for a road trip

Westcountry homes frequently suffer from some of the highest fuel poverty gaps in the UK due to older, poorly insulated housing stock and off-grid energy reliance.

Economies heavily reliant on tourism and care sectors mean jobs are frequently seasonal, low-paid, and locked into part-time or zero-hours contracts.

Urban centers like Bristol alongside rural pockets in Cornwall and coastal towns like Ilfracombe face high child poverty rates, prompting regional taskforces and action plans.

And despite all this, it feels like we're an afterthought, and that thought is that we're a holiday resort

Plus, these days the Westcountry has no recognisable regional Regiment.

-The North has the Royal Yorks and the Duke of Lancs

-The Midlands has the Mercians

-The East has the Royal Anglians

-The South has the PWRR

• The Westcountry has to share the Rifles with the South, the Midlands, and the North

They considered forming a Royal Wessex Regiment but decided against it

I'm doing a one up job to get recommended for promotion on my SJAR but because I'm an introvert I'm struggling to delegate and would rather just come in earlier and just do it myself. Plus because I've got the job not the authority so delegating to peers just a bugger.

As a history nerd I'm in favour but as an RN Medical Assistant it's not much to me

As above

I just want to make a book series recommendation of for a series I've been really enjoying

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To be clear I'm not the author and I'm not being payed by him (but if he saw this and wanted to sign my books I wouldn't say no)

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The 105th (Prince of Wales’ Own) Wessex Regiment of Foot series follows a fictitious Regiment during the Napoleonic Wars. It's comparable to the Sharpe novels, but where Sharpe was a swashbuckling action hero who always gets the girl, the 105th series is very different. It's got an ensemble cast of main characters from the Officers, NCOs, Enlisted Men, and Camp Followers of the Regiment so it's a far grittier story that's about the trials of imperfect men and women trying to make the best of it.

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At times, the author could benefit from a better editor as he gets a couple of details wrong such as using the rank of Colour Sergeant before its creation in 1813 but that's really not that big of a deal for me.

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The result is an immersive, character‑driven military saga that feels gritty, human and grounded.

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I got into it because it's a story about a Westcountry Regiment and I'm a Westcountryman so I got my mum to get me the books for Christmas but it exceeded my expectations.

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For those that are interested I used AI to make a list of the battles they're in (which I can verify as far as the fifth book as I haven't read 6 or 7 yet).

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Book 1 – Worth Their Colours

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Battle of Maida

Defence of the Castle at Scilla

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Book 2 – Close to the Colours

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Battle of Roliça

Battle of Vimeiro

Retreat to Corunna

Battle of Corunna

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Book 3 – The Plains of Talavera

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Battle of Talavera

Battle of Bussaco

Retreat to the Lines of Torres Vedras

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Book 4 – The Walls of Badajoz

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Battle of Sabugal

Battle of Albuera

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo

Siege of Badajoz

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Book 5 – To the Walls of France

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Battle of Salamanca

Retreat from Madrid

Battle of Vitoria

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Books 6 & 7 – Upon French Fields and The Rag and Bone Boys: Quatre Bras and Waterloo

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Battle of Quatre Bras

Battle of Waterloo

I'm a very hairy man and I don't know what would make it easier for the clinician

My fucking god Victoria Javadi's mother is such a cunt to her