This is just another blow to the bikers of Wales and the UK as a whole after the Welsh Motorcycle Show in Builth Wells was cancelled in May.

I sympathise with the bikers' predicament and await with trepidation the cancellation of the Royal Welsh Show and other agricultural events next year when the police receive intelligence that there is going to be trouble between rival sheep farmers.

This kind of crystal ball policing is not fair on events that have been run for years without any trouble.

I just hope this is the end of the story – although I fear to the contrary.

While we're on the subject of bikers, though, they're not going to get off scot free this week.

I had several narrow scrapes with maniac bikers as I headed along the road to Aber last weekend.

One overtook me on a blind bend and heaven help us – and him – if anyone had been coming the other way we would have been involved in a nasty accident I can tell you.

Have bank holiday fun on our roads bikers, but please use some road sense and make sure we all survive the weekend.

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VANDALS have struck on one of my favourite dog walks!

For the last couple of months I have been tipping my hat to a strange little fellow I pass while having a quiet puff on my pipe and taking my old woofer for a walk along the canal.

If you've been for a walk lately from the Pool Quay area you'll have noticed that splendid statue of a stout little fellow with a creature at his feet.

When we ran a story on him a couple of months ago one of my more cynical friends (yes even more cynical than old Nelson!) said: "Won't be long before that's vandalised!"

I said that as it was a bit further on from the town centre the little fellow stood a chance of avoiding idiotic vandals. How wrong I was.
As I went by on Monday I noticed that someone had started putting graffiti on him and in the most personal of places!

I can't tell you what they've put on him (modesty forebids) but let's just say that if the graffiti had been in 3D I could have hung my hat on it. What unthinking fools, but a sign of the times I suppose.

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I WAS pleased to see recently that regular County Times letter writer Bernard Jones had dusted off his old typewriter and wielded his keyboard one more time for a swipe at Powys County Council.

In a phone call to the paper recently Bernard said he felt it was time to give up one of his favourite pastimes.

Although "retired" he did pen a letter about Lembit Opik's recent national headlines concerning the break-up with Gabi. He withdrew this on hearing that Gabi had lost a baby – quite the right thing to do.
Since then he's felt he had to have another pop at Powys and their meals for councillors policy.

Now I'm not saying, as one angry old man about another, that I always agree with Bernard, but he does provoke a debate which is surely healthy for local democracy. But one does not share my views.

Gareth Hopkins, of Llansanffraid, writes: "Only a couple of months after Bernard Jones told us all that he had decided to finish writing letters to the County Times... I was disappointed to see yet another letter from him appearing in the recent letters section.

"Who is the target of Berard's angry biro this week? Surprise surprise, Powys County Council and their (far from unique) policy of feeding councillors who attend meetings over the lunch period.
"Anyway, now that Bernard is back (and oh, how we've missed him), let us at least hope that he can broaden the subjects about which he chooses to cover over the coming weeks, months and, (perish the thought) years."

I suspect with remarks like that he might provoke more letters from Bernard.