And you know, with his help and the battling of the local community to save the Post Office in Abermule he might just be right.

As readers will remember, the County Times, Lembit and AM Mick Bates backed local residents of all the at risk Post Offices.

I'm sorry to say you can't win them all, but the success of the campaign to keep the Post Office services in Abermule is certainly good news.

I note during our story earlier in the paper Lembit was described as "the tiger of Abermule"!

Well done to the people of Abermule. Now you and Lembit have shown your claws and had a well deserved victory, make sure you use the service and spare a thought for the many other communities which have lost their valuable local service.

***

THE County Times' "weather girl" Eirianwen Jones is making another prediction about the weather. Our Llanfair correspondent writes to me: "If the weather is good today on Friday, November 21, we could be in for a fair winter, or if it's raining the start of the winter will be gloomy."

Well, I for one will be leaving my brolly at home on Friday in the hope she's right.

***

I KNOW stories about the big switch-off of our streetlights have rumbled on for weeks, but you don't half notice how dark some of our streets have become.

I'm not saying I feel unsafe in the dark, but I can understand the concerns of many.

I've had a number of messages from readers.
Elizabeth Emerson, of Welshpool, asks:
"What do you think would be Powys CC's reaction if every council tax payer who now carries a torch at night were to present receipts for torch and batteries when paying the last 2008/09 instalment of their council tax and reducing their payment by the same amount?"
A good question Mrs Emerson, but I think we can guess the answer to that.

While Frank Knight asked me this week: "All the councillors seem to be against turning their own area's lights off so who actually voted for the switch off?"

N. S. Davies writes to me: "Having turned off the street lights so that children and the elderly are put at risk negotiating Welshpool in the darkness, it's reassuring to see the council depot on the Severn industrial estate has approximately 10 large floodlights burning while while the depot was closed. Heaven forbid someone steals a gritter!"

He adds: " I also note that the sign for the council depot has a fence in front of it making it totally illegible. I suspect the persons responsible for that are about as bright as Welshpool's streets."

Ouch!

As a final note on the lights, we got caught in the power cut in Welshpool on Tuesday evening and Mrs N and I had a "romantic" evening by candlelight.

I've heard that a salesman in our popular Corn Store restaurant here in the town said as the blackout happened: "I've heard the lights are going off all over Powys but this is ridiculous."

***

OH what a lovely Oh! What a Lovely War! Llanymynech Amateur Dramatic Society's production of the music hall-style look at the horrors of the Great War was always an ambitious production, but as ever the LADS pulled it off in style.

With little else to do on Saturday night apart from watch John Sergeant infuriate the Strictly Come Dancing judges, Nelson wandered down to the Llanymynech Village Hall – and found it was lucky a ticket had been set aside as people queued to snap up the last few seats.

Oh! What a Lovely War! is thought-provoking music and drama, perfect for the 90th anniversary of the end of the hostilities.

The futility and hopelessness of the soldier's quest to gain a few yards of French turf, while the officers relax miles from the front, was brought comically to life.

But behind the jokes it tells a tragic tale. Great entertainment.