Brecon Beacons

I finished this painting of the Brecon Beacons in spring last week. Another for the annual exhibition.
It is sometime since I last climbed Pen y Fan but I think I will definitely revisit this year.

I heard from an old colleague the other day well actually a facebook request. It was from Dai Rees who was my Detective Chief Inspector when I was a D.C.

Senior officers come in all shapes and sizes some inspirational some awful. Well Dai Rees was not only a good detective but a great boss. For about a year I worked on a fraud enquiry with him involving  a government agency. Eventually we had to go to Canada to continue the enquiry. Now we both stayed in the same basic hotels and ate the same meals but when we got back and put in our expense receipts I had a bit of a shock.

Dai said, "Mark there is some good news and some bad news. The bad news is I have now been told that I will get the higher rate of expenses as a senior officer which will cover my costs. You will get a third less.(This meant I would be seriously out of pocket and have to go and see the bank). However I will put the two together and we will split it evenly."

True to his word when we were paid he gave me a cheque for not an unsubstantial amount of money that just about covered my expenses. He was a good boss and is a good guy. Cheers Dai.