Wednesday 17 November 2021

It's George Borrow Time

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The story so far. 

In 2017 I read The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane which was without question the best non-fiction book I'd read that year. I chatted about it at the time on this blog.  Now he lauded about the 19th century writer and linguist George Borrow Now as it happened there were loads of his books available for free on my Kindle. So I thought "Great. I'll download them",  Which I did.

And so far I've hated every one I've read. 

I've just finished reading three of them which trust me as I will explain as we go along is not the great achievement that it appears to be.

The Songs Of Ranild is presumably the lyrics without a tune. I read it quickly. I wasn't impressed. Did not last long.

Letters To His Wife - The worst of the three. If only because there were just twelve yes twelve letters. And they were just mundane. Nothing important. Him asking for money I can recall. Really just not worth the paper this ebook wasn't printed on.

The Zincali:an account of the gypsies of Spain is the most substantial of the three but not great. Basically he was trying to flog the bible to this "tribe". And yes tribe is the right word because throughout the book the impression he gives is of a man looking down at a group of people he probably considers a few notches above savages.

The only bit that made me smile was when he was describing the Zincali women as basically lascivious. You know full well that the rich male readers were bellowing their disapproval whilst planning to visit the area in the summer.

In short then nothing has changed. George Borrow is a blog villain.

Until the next time.



Tuesday 19 October 2021

A Short Chat As We Return To Welsh Labour And "We Don't Want Independence But..."

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well.

I have chatted before about Welsh Labour circling around a policy of "We don't want independence but...." given that whilst they are the government in Wales and a Unionist party a combination of Westminster domination by the right wing Tories and the weakness of English Labour might move them towards advocating independence of Wales.

Well apparently there is a Welsh government commission on Wales' future relationship with the UK and one of the options that will be considered is independence.

Now call me cynical but I'll predict now that this commission will advocate that the status quo where Westminster still has powers within Wales (that it does not have in Scotland) is unacceptable but that as long as these powers are devolved then remaining in the union is the best option for Wales.

But if Westminster sticks to the status quo then "We don't want independence but..." Thus setting up a confrontation between London and Cardiff. And whilst so far independence is not the majority in Wales it is growing. Also London would ultimately lose such a battle given that English Tory Westminster policies would be thrust on a nation that has consistently voted against it. "Them and us" mentality would be prevalent against Unionists.

The fact that independence is on the table at all illustrates how Welsh Labour and Wales have changed. The old certainties that have dominated this Disunited Kingdom have gone. 

There is a long way to go towards Welsh independence. But you feel that the issue has moved up a notch.

Until the next time.

Monday 9 August 2021

When You Know You're Going To Hate A Book...But Read It Anyway

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well.

For every reader there comes a moment when you come into possession of a book that you know you're going to hate but feel honour bound by a sort of "reader code" (or is it an addiction?) to eventually come round and read it.

Things We Never Said was an ebook novel by Nick Alexander which in another post I chatted about. I won't repeat what I said here except that as you can guess from the title of this post I hated it. Indeed I've also chatted about another book by Mr Alexander, a "Brits in a villa" novel which, surprise, surprise, I hated as well.

Well to come back to Things We Never Said when I bought the book online it actually came with an added bonus (oh lucky me). Three Christmases : A Things We Never Said short story (thankfully). 

And of course when I read the main story I knew I was going to hate the short story. So I decided to bite the bullet and read the thing. And I'll read it in August as well. Suitable for Christmas.

Well.....of course I hated it. The things I hated in the main novel just carried over here. And let's face it any change of mind by me would have required something superhuman to achieve. In any event a boil has been lanced.

So I didn't ask for the book, but I read it. Sometimes you get delivered a book as a gift and you know you're not going to like it but there it is, taunting you, teasing that you might be pleasantly surprised and then laughing at you when you were right all along.

This is the addiction that we readers have. To read everything in our possession. To avoid the feeling we've missed something. To try everything on the menu just to say "I've been there" even though you would have rather had something dull but pleasant with chips on the side. All for that moment when you could honestly recommend the unexpected to others.

Until the next time.

 

Sunday 1 August 2021

Two Cheers For Gavin Williamson - Why The English Education Secretary Is The Hero Of The Gaelic/Welsh Languages

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Like in some films a hero for a cause emerges when you least expect it. After all Gavin Williamson, the English Education Secretary with a career that makes you instantly think of the word "idiot" is hardly the man who would emerge as a defender of Celtic languages.

And yet when you're holding out for a hero Big G emerges.

Why? Well it has been announced that for a trial period Latin is being taught in forty schools in England.

Yes Latin.

And what has this got to do with Gaelic or Welsh? Simple. Those of us who have learnt or are learning these languages have had to put up with Unionist lies for decades. That they are "dead" languages and have no relevance in the modern world and so not worth the taxpayer's money in teaching them.

But now the Unionist arguments against Gaelic/Welsh are dead in the water. For even if these arguments were true it no longer matters. For schools in England will be taught Latin, A language surely on life support? After all unless you're interested in Roman history or pursuing a career in the Catholic church what is it's relevance to the Disunited Kingdom that we live in?

So why is Latin about to be taught?

Well firstly that the subject is not for the "privileged few". Well of course it is. But most of us don't care. Rather like Polo it's just something that the rest of us can mock our supposed "betters" at.

The other argument is that it would be a gateway into learning other languages. Let's stop there. For this is the reason why there are two cheers for the Gavster and not three.

For then the question leads itself : Why aren't children in England learning Gaelic/Welsh? After all when the Westminster government goes on about "the precious union" surely this would have been a clear symbol of this? There are easily accessible TV channels online and learning tools for these languages and kids living by the borders of Scotland/Wales could easily visit to practice the language (of course they would need to know where to go but seek and you shall find).

And this would also be a gateway to learning other languages, But no, Latin is chosen.

Well to answer the question I posed a number of possibilities present itself. That the Celtic languages were just beneath them or that Unionism seeking their death don't want to support a new legion of speakers from England

Personally though my guess is the third option. That the thought didn't occur to them. 

So much for the Union.

Until the next time.

Monday 21 June 2021

Louisa May Alcott - The Quiet Feminist Goes Dark

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

We've chatted before about Louisa May Alcott. I've suggested that she is The Quiet Feminist. The sort of person who may not (in her case) have been the person who was the driving force for women's rights in the nineteenth century but chipped away at the edges against female inequality.

I also find myself wondering whether I'm the only person who liked everything he's read by Ms Allcott except for Little Women her most famous work.

Which leads us to Behind A Mask a 1866 novella which introduces us to Jean Muir, a governess of the Coventry family in Victorian Britain. She appears quiet and demure.

But things are not is as it seems.(and you just have to add to this) ...da da daaaah!

Of course we have all seen variations on this theme before but the fact that it's Louisa May Alcott doing it makes you want to know what is happening. What she's doing, why she's doing it and will there be dead bodies at the end as Ms Muir is revealed to be a homicidal maniac (spoiler - that doesn't happen).

In this novella there are issues of class attitudes though I suspect the greater issue is that of female rights. After all the fact that the book is subtitled A Woman's Power hints at Ms Alcott's attitudes here. But even viewed simply as an entertainment this novella works. There is a gradual but increasing tension as Jean Muir's intentions are revealed to the reader and whether or not she will obtain them. In fact I'll go as far as to say that judged solely as an entertainment this is the best book I've read this year.

It is more than that though. There is no messing with Miss Muir and it's surprising to me that such a strong female character is not mentioned often enough. Little Women it seems to me colours everything with regard to Louisa Alcott and for the general (and male) reader like me that runs the risk of ignoring her other books as the impression is given that they would be similar. 

I had a look at what I wrote for Little Women and whilst I won't go into absolute detail here I felt that it wasn't written for a fifty something male with an occasional back problem. I just obviously wasn't it's audience and with a title like Little Women fair enough.

Luckily for me as they were free on the Kindle I took the gamble and downloaded some of her other works. And I'm glad I did. Behind The Mask is the sort of book where a woman is the central character but a male reader can read and enjoy it as well. 

Thinking about it perhaps men should read a few other books by Ms Alcott before reading Little Women. Perhaps then she would gain a whole new audience. 


 

Wednesday 26 May 2021

Where Is Zen And The Art Of Gloating Arsenal Fans When You Actually Need It?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have in this blog never hidden my hatred of Arsenal football club. I wont bore you by repeating why bar one which is that have good friends originally from north London and perhaps more damningly family who are fans of the Gunners. Whereas I am a West Ham fan. A club I chose specifically because it was the closest to where I was born (though ironically not now since they moved ground).

I felt as if I kept the flame. But classic tales of those who as a child choose the noble option also face the the reality of life which is generally the success did not go to me but in my experience to people who (aside from those who lived in the area) actively sought for glory.

Arsenal have from season to season have consistency won trophies and never been relegated. At the very least they always seem to get into a European competition. West Ham on the other hand have mainly regarded a successful season as avoiding relegation something which they have not always achieved in the fifty seven years and occasional back problem that has been my life.

So to summarise. Arsenal success. West Ham not so.......until now.

In season gone past West Ham have finished sixth in the Premier League. Managed by David Moyes, a man who has obviously found his Everton mojo again they have been magnificent all season and the reason why I haven't been writing about it was the fear it would all collapse. Next season the Europa league beckons. West Ham in Europe.

Arsenal however have finished eighth and their experience of European inter club football next season will be watching it on TV. Let me make it clear here. This has never happened before.

And after all of the decades of having to put up with the remarks and condescension of the Gunners supporters in my life. I want to gloat. This is my turn.

Problem is. I don't know how to gloat.

Firstly there is a time period till when the next season begins. After all no one knows how things will turn out then. So there is a potential expiry date.

Secondly I could go all schoolboyish on my attack. But I'll just turn out to be a gibbering ape and the target of my glee would be covered by my behaviour. On the other hand I might just go oh too smooth with a witty comment which will be so calm in it's execution the targets won't even notice the verba[ attack.

After decades this is my moment and yet I don't have the manual. The Arsenal fans don't need to use the manual any more having learnt it's contents by heart.

I put How To Gloat on the internet. Gives me no idea at all. Only a video of a guy showing a picture of a certificate and then putting his hand to his face.

So what to do? I don't know. Probably smile slightly. Comment on the state of Arsenal at the moment (Arsenal fans always act as if their club is going to drop to the second tier of part time football) and hope West Ham's next season is as as good as this one has been. For if it is. Or even if they just stand still then I'll have two seasons to beat them metaphorically on the head with. Things will really have changed.

Until the next time.

  


Tuesday 25 May 2021

Zadie Smith : The Essay As A Chat

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Before I chat about Zadie Smith I should start by saying that I have read The White Album by Joan Didion. I haven't really much to say about it that I've not already said about Slouching Towards Bethlehem. I enjoyed it. but  "Slouching" I would say is better.

Anyway back to Zadie Smith's book Intimations. A slim volume of six essays which as I've posted in previously I got in the local bookshop when lockdown restrictions were raised recently. Indeed it's interesting the circumstances how books are picked. In this case my shoulder problems meant that I wanted something that was relatively short. This seemed to fill the void. I've never read any of her works before though her novel White Teeth is on my great unread ebook pile.

These are essays written when the pandemic began to hit Britain/US last year. So we had to get used to something beyond our normal understanding and terrifying at the same time. 

I liked this book. Because it's not deep. Intelligent but not intellectual. This is is the sort of essay series where the writer is chatting to you, the normal reader, without patronising. Essentially this is the novel as a conversation by the garden fence with the neighbour.

For example there are mentions of Dominic Cummings and his eye check in Barnard Castle. Or the death of George Floyd. Equally her surprise at agreeing with something Trump says (one thing I stress).

But this a chat. So buying flowers in a pandemic comes into play as well. The world certainly at that time was a mixture of the mad whilst trying to grab some normality.

It's thin so I really am not going to go into great detail as I'm sure I'll spoil things along the way. So just buy it and enjoy the chat with Zadie.

Until the next time.



Saturday 22 May 2021

The Future Closure Of Barclays Bank In Penarth And Why Wales Should Take Notice

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The wife got a letter from Barclays Bank today. We don't bank there but she has a savings account with them. It said that the bank's branch in Penarth was closing around the end of August and asking for our opinions. That in itself was a laugh. Like a hitman saying that he was about to kill me and wondering how I felt about it.

This in terms of the town is not good news coming soon after the previous closure of the Santander Branch (now a snack food place) . So, let's have a look shall we? The full website is as follows: BAR_9917459_UK - Penarth (home.barclays)

This online website which explains the background for their decision and it's worth a look. But before we do let's be clear. How can Barclays seriously make a final decision on this branch when the past 14 months have been markedly different from what we have been used to? When the rules have been changed how can they make a judgement on the previous one? When we are now slowly returning into a version of the old normal you make this decision now? It smacks of cowardice.

So let's make a start on the bank's report shall we? Firstly it provides a picture of the branch. 

Except this is not a picture of the Penarth branch. I did take a picture of the actual branch but when I realised it included a car reg number I couldn't show it. Trust me though, Google it and you'll see.

So having explained to Barclays Bank what it's branch in Penarth actually looks like let's examine their actual reasons.

1) The number of counter transactions have gone down in the previous 24 months and 84% of the branch customers use other ways to bank like online and telephone. 

Again we are in a pandemic. Whilst online/telephone is the way of the future the rate of the change has been adversely affected by Covid 19. Some of that traffic might return when the old normal comes back. I don't know that but neither does Barclays Bank

2) Customers have used other methods since 2015.

And? Again customers using other methods does not mean they have left the branch behind. Customers actually like all options being available. Customers actually multitask you know. But take off the branch and a tool for the customer has been removed.

3) In the past 12 months 28% of the branch's customers have been using nearby branches.

Perhaps I should embolden this point  In the past 12 months there has been a pandemic. 

The definition of the word "using" is also unclear. How? Why? Perhaps they are key workers who used the cash machine in a Barclays closest to where they workedAlso note the word "nearby branches". The bank's definition of the word nearby is not I suspect most people's. I will be coming to that point later.

4) We've identified that only 84 customers use the branch exclusively for their banking

How is this an argument for closure? There may be 84 customers who use the Penarth branch exclusively for their banking but that also means there are more than 84 customers who use the branch. Customers who will be inconvenienced. Customers who will be more likely to consider other options than Barclays Bank if their service is depleted.

You can as it shows in the document conduct some bank business in the local Post Offices. However as it appears we need to explain to Barclays what their branch looks like we also need to explain the two Post Offices as well.

No one is questioning the skill of the Post Office staff. But neither branches are big. The nearest in Glebe Street only has two stalls (both not always open together) . When I've been there, given the variety of things the staff have to deal with there are always queues. This will clearly make it worse. The other office mentioned has only one stall. It's mainly a convenience store. So just imagine these places say, at Christmas.

In their document Barclays Bank state that they take into consideration the availability of other branches in the wider community. Really? The nearest bank branch according to the document is St David's Centre in the centre of Cardiff roughly 4 miles away. A journey which would take roughly ten minutes by train and longer by car as you would to consider the traffic and getting a car park space. Journeys which would cost the customer as well. Hardly "nearby".

In fact the nearest is the branch in Barry Town. Which though is actually closer is not a simple journey but it also shows that Barclays Bank not only doesn't know what their branch in Penarth looks like  it also doesn't know the actual nearest branch to the one they want to close.

And if you look at the branches earmarked for closure they are across Britain but a lot of them appear to be in Wales, and I'm sure you could put the same arguments to all of them. For example the branch in the Bridgend Industrial Estate is earmarked for closure, but then given the effect of the pandemic on the economy how can you truly judge that branch either? Similarly the branch earmarked for closure in Cowbridge.

There may be an argument for downsizing branches but full closure? No. 

You know Barclays Bank were founded by Quakers. It appears though they are acting more like devils.

Until the next time.



Wednesday 19 May 2021

Tears For The Lower Tiers Of Welsh Rugby Unon

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I did think that my chats about the real disaster that is Welsh club rugby would be finished for a while but of course life interferes. This time though it's about something that would initially be considered good news.

The Pro14 series is currently only being shown live on Pay TV aside from matches on the Welsh language channel S4C. However, as previously advised people have just shrugged and ignored it. The four Welsh teams stagnation since Welsh regional rugby has increased during the past few years. Perhaps with an added sprinkling of general public indifference to the mix.

So perhaps because of that the latest reports suggest that live Welsh rugby will be split in Wales next season between the pay TV company Premier Sports, S4C and BBC Wales. Seemingly good then.

Except....

What it means is that the tier of Welsh rugby underneath this closed shop of the four regional rugby teams (The Premiership) will be likely to see a reduction of matches and a consequent loss of earnings. Yet again it appears the Big 4 will profit at the expense of the other Welsh rugby clubs. This is despite Welsh Regional Rugby moving to most people here to a stage of "Who cares"?

So then what will happen next? My suspicion is that people will watch these games on TV. And why not? They're on free to air. But nothing short of success will bring back interest in the game of regional rugby that it's promoters expected oh those many years ago.

But back to the shafted teams of the lower tiers. Perhaps the only way they can establish something for themselves is to split away from the WRU. Create leagues with promotion and relegation and bring rugby back to people. It will be a risk. And there will be casualties. But perhaps just perhaps what you will eventually get is a sport aspiring to reach the legendary status of it's past.

Until the next time.

Monday 17 May 2021

The Vale Of Glamorgan Pothole Proof I'm Getting Old

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well.

I've mentioned before how I feel my fifty seven years old in terms of health. This chat is not about that. Here I'm chatting about a pothole.

No normal pothole you understand. It's not even that big. However it's importance is quite simple. 

It's outside the house.

The Hole In Question

And this is the weird thing about living in the Vale Of Glamorgan. Whilst there are posh and less posh parts like every area the posh parts here can be really posh, with some parts pushing it level snobby. Yet wherever you live in the Vale potholes can be seen. Or at the very least the work of asphalt artists filling a hole up thus the roads are coloured in a mixture of grey with intermittent black dots.

In comparison with Bridgend, which I've discussed pre pandemic many times in this blog this is one case where the Vale clearly fails, and miserably at that.

Why? I've no idea. In the street where I live this is not actually the only pothole. A few steps along there is a similar sized one. 

So like the affronted old man I am I want this done and done quickly. After all the potholes can grow and damage cars. Thus my mighty Kia Picanto could be endangered. It's suffered enough this year.

What will I do? Well I'm going to complain to the relevant council department. If the wife (who is why better at this than me) goes to the relevant neighbours then if the email is from all of us about both holes then it might swing them into action and sort it out. Note the word "might".

Strength in numbers and all that.

We shall see. An old man in action.

Until the next time

If You Want More Male Writers You Need To Find The Next Stan Lee

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday on Twitter I came across an article in The Observer basically noting the success of women writers when it came to the fiction writing. Aside from annoyingly focusing on the sort of books that win literary awards it was an interesting read.....and it bothered me.

What bothered me was not the success of female writers but why there was then a decline in male writing. My own theory, based on nothing more than gut instinct, was that it was linked to a decline in male readers.

I've probably mentioned this before in this blog but at junior school I was marked out as the only good boy reader in my class, the only one who could match the girls. I knew who exactly to thank for this. My dad who when he came home from work every day would bring a comic with him. 

The British comics of the time (the seventies) were mostly rubbish. I instinctively knew it even then. But the American ones were a class above. They were in colour and they were better written. I also knew that Marvel comics taken as a whole were better than their DC rivals. The plus point of Marvel comics was that they mixed the fantastic with the real. You could be teenage awkward as Peter Parker and yet still fight with courage as Spider Man. Or be blind as Matt Murdoch and yet still face evil as Daredevil.

The point is that these comics made me want to read. When you want to read then you progress further. I found myself reading books without pictures willingly, Bestselling writers of the time really, people like Arthur Hailey (who I liked) or Alistair Maclean (who I found dull compared to the films) or Agatha Christie.

(A quick digression - It's always surprising to me how many massively bestselling writers of my youth are relatively forgotten today - Agatha Christie is one of the few exceptions - Not just because of TV and film adaptations but simply in her genre of the Whodunnit there has been for me no one better)

Anyway you then slowly expand your reading horizons. Happily continuing reading bestsellers but getting into classics and the more modern works in what The Observer would apparently now  describe as "fiction".

But it was the writers of those comic books that opened those doors for me. Such as Stan Lee. To the point that when I had to temporarily cut down on the books I read due to a combination of the Corona Virus and a pain in my shoulder which made it difficult to read I felt as if I was losing something within.

Now the point is this. From being an avid reader some of us (not me) get the urge to write for a living. If however such a journey does not exist for most boys then generations for readers and then writers are lost.

I know that there are more distractions now than there were when I was a child. And before you ask why girls seemingly  progressed more in reading even in the seventies I don't know (I was an only child). I also am aware of J K Rowling but the output of the likes of  Stan Lee was far greater than hers and I would argue of far greater impact.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't support girls reading development as much as boys. But if a problem clearly exists then it's up to society to deal with it. For I would argue male reading and consequently male writing needs the next Stan Lee to start them on their way.

Until the next time.


 


Sunday 16 May 2021

A Reader's Dilemma : How I Became Miles Kington Apart

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Sometimes in life your reading plans become waylaid by the unexpected nature of life. As explained I've been reading essay collections because of the problem with my right shoulder (which is thankfully now gone) and am finishing the one I recently bought by Zadie Smith before going back to almost anything practically goes in what I read next. 

I should mention that I finished The White Album by Joan Didion. There is nothing much to add what I've written about previously. Except that whilst I did enjoy it I think that Slouching Towards Bethlehem is better.

However a few days back I was in the kitchen listening to Radio 4 Extra, the BBC station that is basically a drama comedy etc outlet for their old output. It was broadcasting the late humourist Miles Kington reading from his "autobiography" about his childhood Someone Like Me . The "autobiography" point is that from the internet it's not clear how much is fact and how much is fiction. a surprising example is that whilst Wikipedia does not apparently know where Mr Kington was born his parents were in fact Welsh. So they would not have sounded in the Home Counties tones in the programme.

That though does not matter. Because I loved it. Warm, funny and seemingly true to the spirit of family and suburban life it was really (and I know it was an abridged radio version) literature as comfort food. It was on for the week in fifteen minutes chunks and I made sure that every episode was devoured.

But hold on. Isn't this the Miles Kington I wrote about a few years back whose book Welcome To Kington containing columns he wrote in The Independent and other publications I disliked? The very same.

So I did something I rarely do and certainly not in the circumstances of doubting myself . I started reading the book I disliked before again. Having spent the whole week enjoying one of  his works would my views on Welcome To Kington change?

Alas no.

In fact I didn't bother to complete it at all. The first few articles reminded me of what I didn't like about Welcome To Kington on first reading. You can as a reader see the construction of supposedly humorous piece. So if you know how it's being built then it's just not funny. He is no Alan Coren who this comes seemingly just naturally.

What does this all mean? Well Miles Kington is that rare beast for me. I mean there are writers where you loved one book and the next you read gives you a sense of disappointment. But never have I encountered a writer where this difference is so wide. Hence the title of this post.

So I'll leave it like that. Except one day when another Miles Kington tome catches my eye in a charity shop or second hand book store I will buy it. Perhaps that book will become the decider of my view on the best of three.

Until the next time.

 

Saturday 15 May 2021

Death Of A Mug

Hello there. hope you're feeling well.

I know it seems odd in a pandemic, economic uncertainty and now possible war in the Middle East to chat about the death of a mug that would normally carry a hot beverage aka warm comfort morning noon and night through the weariness of a day.

But I'm going to.

So bare with me.

It happened about this time yesterday morning. I was on my second, or was it third?, cup of tea already when I noticed that the handle seemed to be a bit brittle. On closer examination I noticed that on the top part of said handle there was a small but noticeable crack.

The first thing I did was to drink the tea holding it on the other side. Did you really think that I was going to waste a cup of tea? After that it was rinsed and put in the rubbish. After all no amount of superglue would make me trust it again.

There was nothing particular sentimental about the mug. It was stone cold grey and came from Ikea. I remember why I bought it. It's dullness attracted me. As did the fact that I could wrap my oh so manly hands around the handle (not fanciful as you might think - not all Ikea mugs pass that test).

I probably thought as well that I was buying a little piece of cheap Scandinavian sophistication. With that cool sounding name that goes with it. Probably though the names Ikea gives it's stuff are probably s Swedish slang for something else. For example I could be saying that I'm drinking out of a pig's backside for all I know. The only clue would be any passing Swede wetting themselves with laughter.

But I digress.

When I told my wife about it she dismissed all of this as "wear and tear". But she is wrong. Obviously I had broken mugs in the past, largely because they were accidently dropped but this was the first time that there was an actual crack on the handle.

This is the point. There are few things that can be relied upon in this world. But if the sturdiness of a mug is now no longer one of them then it's symbolic of how things are really, really bad at the moment.

Until the next time.

 


Wednesday 12 May 2021

Why Was The Attempt Of The European Football Super League Ever Tried? Don't They Know Of The Stagnant State Of Welsh Club Rugby?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It is eight thirty on Thursday 12th May. I've gotten round to watching a rugby union game between the Ospreys and the Cardiff Blues (playing in strip that's more white than blue)that was played around late April. The atmosphere is of course as dead as the moon because of the pandemic. Though if truth be told it's not that much different before the time of Corona

They're playing for something called "The Rainbow Cup". Something I've never heard of before. I suspect most people like me have not bothered to find out about it.

This is a match recorded "as live" on the Welsh language channel S4C. As regular readers know I can record sporting events months after the event as long as I don't know the results. I've no worries about this though. This competition is continuing apparently, I've no idea how it's gone on. To be honest I don't particularly care either. 

The match would have been probably actually shown live on the pay-TV channel Premier Sports. Yet do you hear the revolt across Wales about this? No. Do you know why? For the majority of people  are not bothered.

 I have chatted many times before in this blog about the sad state of Welsh club rugby. To think if those clubs that had attempted to create the European Football Super League had known about how the rugby game had turned out then even the Kronekes would have probably turned away.

After all there are the four regional clubs. Who don't have to fear relegation. They perform in a closed league and have stagnated in play, popularity and financial stability. As I've said before in this blog club rugby in Wales have become an option to view as opposed to the option.

The inability of promotion and relegation means that the freshness new teams provides to a league is absent. The excitement these new teams bring is absent. Furthermore less teams means less opportunity for some players to thrive.

Now the key difference between the European Football Super League and Welsh regional rugby is that it was the Welsh Rugby Union, the governing body  who were the driving force in this change. Whether the downward spiral of Welsh club rugby was an act of suicide or manslaughter on the part of the WRU is a matter of debate. 

Can this be resolved? Is it indeed too late is a question Welsh rugby will need to ask itself. For if it does die a slow death in the national consciousness then it will only have itself to blame.

Until the next time. 

Monday 10 May 2021

How English Labour Might Bring About Welsh Independence

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well.

I did not think I would be writing about the consequences of last week's elections for a while, given the relatively disappointing results for Plaid Cymru but something happened yesterday that got me thinking.

I was channel surfing Sunday morning and it passed through one of those Sunday morning politics shows. Nicola Sturgeon was being shown  but she wasn't being interviewed. Instead the commentary said something on the lines that the Conservatives continued advance in England might mean continued Westminster election success for Boris Johnson. Given that he's unpopular in Scotland this would be used by her as a weapon come the second independence referendum. Especially if the Labour party is still in disarray.

Now what I'm chatting about now assumes a "What If" scenario I know that. So I'm not saying this is is going to happen today, tomorrow or two weeks Thursday. But I'm laying down a possible marker so....

What if Labour in England does not settle it's internal arguments? What if it's continually at simmering war with itself? Even if really awful wallpaper brings Boris Johnson down what if the Conservatives continually have a hold over Westminster and England because the electorate do not like divided parties?

And assuming the above happens what would Welsh Labour do?

After all of the three nations that constitute Great Britain it's Welsh Labour that's in the strongest position following last week's elections. Labour in Scotland is to all intents and purposes dead and in England it's in continued disarray. Welsh Labour would see it's own position threatened in Wales if Conservatives increase their control in Westminster and England. Welsh Labour are arrogant and incompetent generally in running things but in terms of elections they're not stupid. They will know that in such a scenario Plaid Cymru will ram the point home that independence is the only alternative to a Westminster government that Wales rejected and they will know that the electorate will listen.

What will Welsh Labour do? They will support independence

Probably not for the purest reasons they would nonetheless know that toothless English/Westminster Labour will not help them and as a consequence the only solution would be to move away from them. Self interest will give Welsh Labour a backbone that they've never shown in the past. There would be no greater irony that English Labour unwittingly provides the cause of Welsh independence with a substantial push.

Until the next time.



Saturday 8 May 2021

Why The Price Is Wrong For Plaid Cymru And Other Thoughts On A Battle (Though Not A War) Lost For Welsh Independence

Hello there, Hope you're feeling well today.

You know without going over the ground laid in other recent posts it will always be a disappointment for me that the Corona virus, and in particular the effects of Long Covid meant that I couldn't do my (extremely) small bit for Plaid Cymru in the Senedd elections. Whilst I don't feel the need to apologise it is nonetheless a source of regret.

But for Plaid as a whole the election is also  a source of bitter disappointment. Losing a seat whilst the Conservatives gain some and Welsh Labour basically sweep all before them despite a tenure of arrogant incompetence on most issues means that in terms of the fight for Welsh independence this has been a battle lost.

So the question is why? Well as in this time of Corona as in England and Scotland the incumbent has been the victor. Even though as we have chatted about in the past  whilst Welsh Labour badly handled the easing of lockdown restrictions at the end of last year, it benefited from that. It also generally benefited from the comparison with pre vaccine England.

On BBC Wales yesterday Plaid Cymru's leader in Westminster was asked whether it was asked whether a focus on independence was the right strategy for the party at this moment. Personally as I've chatted about in the past Plaid always gives the impression of reticence on this issue which is a mistake. But it's important to note that whilst the Yes Cymru movement is growing Plaid Cymru is at best moving slowly and at worst reversing. 

Plaid Cymru I would argue needs to actually increase it's focus on independence for Wales and not decrease it. For when the Corona virus comes less into people's thoughts and the state of the Welsh economy post Brexit really comes into focus then people will see independence offers the only alternative to the Unionist model. After all Westminster consists of mainly English seats and it's clear that over the border England is getting more Tory (and more Trumpian) by the minute. The same Westminster that has considerable influence on life in (mainly) non Conservative Wales.

The Conservative vote in Wales was bolstered by voters from the likes of UKIP and other fringe right wing parties going back to them. Let's be clear here for a lot of them that would be their natural Unionist home anyway.

However Plaid needed to attract the disaffected Labour voter and the floating voter. This it generally failed to do. Whilst there were the extenuating circumstances of this time of Corona it's this lack of success which needs examining further.

A quick digression - The seat Plaid lost was the one held by ex leader Leanne Wood in the Rhondda. It was a shock when I heard about it. Someone will in the future write about the strategy to remove her as leader. The Welsh dynion mewn siwtiau llwyd have a lot to answer for. 

Which leads us to the man who replaced her as leader Adam Price. Who held his seat albeit with a reduced majority. He has stated that he would not stand down as leader. I think he should.

As I have said in this blog more than once, starting from when he was actually elected leader, Adam Price needed to have been more populist in broadcasting  the Plaid message. This he failed to do. I know what you'll say, current Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford is no tub thumper either. He however had the advantage of incumbency.

Remember Adam Price when he was elected leader? Remember that his supporters stated that he would increase Plaid's support? Remember that they moaned that under Leanne Wood it had stagnated (and let's not forget Plaid's terrible position that she inherited when she became leader)? Remember that? Well remember it and reflect on what the party has become now.

The potential for the party to improve is there. But it needs a person capable of not both leading but inspiring others to follow the cause. Adam Price is not that person. I don't know whether current deputy leader Rhun Ap Iorwerth is but now is the time to find out.

A battle has been lost but the war continues. But I'd argue that the leader needs to change.

Until the next time.


Wednesday 28 April 2021

Independence First For Wales. A Name Change, Republicanism etc Should Be Voted On Later

Hello there, Hope you're feeling well today.

Personally speaking things have been moving in the right direction these past couple of days. My health, which has been bothering me for months as I've probably bored you with in previous posts is definitely improving to almost post catching covid level (ie back to being a 57 year old man with an occasional back problem). Even the mighty Kia Picanto which has been plagued by technical problems has seemingly been solved.

And as a digression the problem was that it wouldn't start first time without pressing the accelerator pedals to Brands Hatch level. Two garages looked at it and had no idea. Turns out it was probably the car mat riding up blocking the pedal...yes I know!!!

Anyway I feel that whilst not completely out of those woods my 57 year old mojo is returning. So back to chatting more about Wales, books and football and less about my health thank goodness.

When I've been on Twitter I have read many things about what an independent Wales should do. It should be for example a republic and most recently change it's name to Cymru for everything instead of whether it's in English or Welsh.

Now talking about these things particularly I'm not against either proposal subject to a proper vote by people living here in Cymru/Wales. But what I do feel is that it's currently a distraction. The political war for independence must come first and last before anything else can be considered for the future. 

Wales/Cymru is still in a Union. The forces for Unionism will use these ideas to damage independence as if to say "Look at what you have to do in this life and what the nationalists want to do". What you need to say is that independence is important to peoples' lives as it will provide an alternative to the disaster for Wales/Cymru that has been Unionism.

And that should be the focus and remain the focus. Everything else will be decided by the people for another day.

The Nationalist movement must not allow the forces of Westminster to dictate where the battles in this war are fought for that will just be damaging.

Independence must be first last and everything for now. 

Until the next time.




Sunday 18 April 2021

So The Week Off . Featuring Deliberate Isolation, Going Through The Long Covid Checklist, Buying Books From A Bookshop and The Continuing Mystery Of The Mighty Kia

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Having a week off work when a lot of things particular shops are open seems to have been an untended lucky break. Don't see it like that myself. My view is that I should just let those wanting to indulge shopping fever do it now and then I'll announce my return to retail as loud as a monk after isolating myself from this partial return to normal life exactly like a......... monk.

For the most part this was done. My relapse I'll explain later.

I have been looking forward to this week from getting a physical rest more than any other break from work I can recall. As I've chatted about I'm still out of sorts trying to work out whether my problems are just old age or Long Covid. The back spasm I chatted about on Monday did not help.

Incidentally I looked again at the long Covid checklist on the NHS website. Whilst I don't have shortness of breath, heart palpitations or "brain fog" of the 14 sections mentioned (some symptoms are grouped together) I can honestly say I've had eight of those from time to time. On the one hand I can work and do things so going to see a doctor now would appear to be a waste of their time. On the other once this pandemic dies down  I think going for advice then would not be a bad idea.

So in terms of my health this has been a mixed bag. I got the rest I sought and my health is better than it was. But it's not been perfect. The "out of sorts" feeling that has plagued me for months still continues. There were still moments in the week where I just went upstairs for a long sleep.

If there has been a real regret about the week it was that I really wasn't up to helping Plaid Cymru in my very limited manner anyway (posting leaflets etc). I'm afraid that my part in the chapter of Welsh independence is still to be actioned let alone written about. But it couldn't be helped.

The other major unresolved issue was the mighty Kia Picanto which has developed a problem where it doesn't start unless I put the accelerator full down. Well I went to a garage near where I live to get it sorted and they have no idea why. To be clear now that's the second garage I've taken the car to that's in the dark. This one actually said that it could be an electrical issue and I would need an electrician to have a look. You would have thought that a garage was capable of dealing with oh I don't know, all aspects of cars, but apparently not.

When I picked up the car the mechanic wasn't there but the plan is to call him to get precisely more details of what he was speaking to me about over the phone and speak to a third garage about it, Hopefully one that knows about electrics....and that's assuming that's the problem.

I have actually done a little exercise. Walking as it happens. I've mentioned before a long while ago that I don't mind walking a long distance as long as there was a prize at the end of it. So on Tuesday I walked from where I live to Penarth Town Centre to buy a book from the local bookshop. The walk was about ten to fifteen minutes going through pleasant enough streets. Some which did seem to have character but unfortunately I couldn't photo them on the grounds I'd be arrested for stalking.

No such worries about the actual bookshop of course. And here it is.

 

Griffin Books then. It was a pleasure to go in there. Of course Coronavirus rules still applied. Only two customers allowed to go in at any time. What that meant was that whilst you could browse you couldn't really "bookshop browse" if you know what I mean. Shop for books in the same way women shop for clothes (ie go round the bookshop three times until buying the first thing that caught your eye in the first place).

Anyway I bought two books. The first was really another example of  my new found necessity for essays so that I read something where I feel I've completed something for a while whilst reading for long periods is still difficult for me.



I have her book White Teeth on Kindle but haven't yet got round to reading it yet. Am looking forward to going through this.

The other book is....a present for my mother come her birthday.


Escape To The Chateau is the sort of  TV programme where I only watched it when my mother had control of the remote. She will love it. I won't read it. Though funnily enough I do have a TV series linked book by Dick Strawbridge with his first family years ago when they tried to make an eco friendly house called It's Not Easy Being Green. One day I'll go through it. But that day, indeed that week was not this break.

Until the next time.





Tuesday 13 April 2021

The Front Garden Snobbery

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Just a short tale told to me to give you today. 

We are at this moment in the process of installing a drive in the front of the house rather than the mixture of concrete and jungle that we inherited. The workmen are impressively quick and in just one day everything was clear. A wide dirt mud patch that they will continue to deal with tomorrow.

It's the morning. The wife was outside (I was inside nursing my back - see previous post) and a woman walks past, stops and looks at the dry patch of earth in front of her.

"Are you going to put grass there?" She asks the wife. The response was no it's going to be a drive. To which the woman groaned and walked away.

The wife was dumbstruck. After all most of the houses in the street are exactly the same and yet this garden snob literally turns her nose up on us. The latest non gardeners amongst the suburbs. Personally people like that make me want to tarmac everything. 

Until the next time.

The Occasional Back Problem....Occasioned

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I'm conscious that this blog is going hypochondriac with every post I take. Honestly had not intended to mention my health for a while when this happens.

I'm in the living room having a (restrained) argument with the wife on the renewal of  house insurance as we were trying to work out what exactly is the difference between house insurance and emergency house insurance (not as simple as I first assumed I'll admit).

Then all of a sudden I feel what seems to be a ripple on the small of my back, the right hand side. The effect is to make me feel paralysed for the moment. The wife sees my face and knows something is wrong. 

Standing up slowly I don't really know what to do. The wife sees the pain in my face. Slowly I get up. As if an invisible girdle has been tightened to one side of my body. Or perhaps more appropriately it's like one of those movies where an alien something has attached itself to your body.

Walking becomes robotic or nothing. Bending down is impossible. To tie laces I needed to sit on a stool.

Let's not forget that this was the first day of my week off work....timing is everything.

Most of the time was spent being propped up with two pillows against my back watching TV and just not being comfortable with what ever was causing my back attack.

And I was truly frightened. Scared because my back had suddenly become a problem with no obvious cause. 

Just like when I had Covid the night was spent sleeping in the living room simply because of the problems if I was almost literally stuck with pain upstairs in the bedroom. I used the pillows differently. One was traditionally used for my head. The other was for comforting my back.

Amazingly today things have got better. I say amazingly because in the past recovery has been slow. The throbbing feeling is still there and being careful is well in my thoughts. Still I can bend much easier and I can walk without people assuming I'm impersonating a Peter Crouch dance move after scoring

Do I think this is Long Covid or old age? My gut instinct is neither. When I've had a back pain in the past it's in the same place. Still the manner of the back attack is a worry.

So when I describe myself as a [insert age here] man with an occasional b.ack problem. You now know how it creeps up to haunt my health.

Until the next time.

Sunday 11 April 2021

Long Covid Or Old Age, The Saga Continues...

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

On Thursday I came home from work. I'd something to tell my wife. 

"Today" I told her "I felt very sweaty".

She didn't really understand what I was talking about.

"That's another symptom of Long Covid"

She tried to buck me out of it. "You're just being obsessive" 

My response ? "Well you were the one who made me think I could have it"

She wasn't impressed. 

And yet both positions are true. As I've said in previous posts I've been grappling with a series of various things such as muscle pain on my right shoulder, a tightness on my left foot, fatigue (I'd slept for seven hours during the daylight hours of the previous day). I could go on but basically it's a feeling that I'm out of sorts.

Still it's nowhere as bad as people I've read who have had it. I go to work and there's no "brain fog". This is the reason I don't go to the doctors. Whilst they're busy with people with far greater problems than me I feel it's a waste 

The wife tried to say that I was just depressed. Only for me to say that if true that also was a sign of Long Covid.

She still wasn't impressed.

Yet of course my original assumption that all of this was just old age might just be the right one after all. I'm fifty seven. Old to me but people keep on telling me that I'm young. These are the sort of people who are about my age, so that means if they accept I'm old then that would mean that they are just as decrepit too.

I have this upcoming week off, I'm going to basically have a rest. It's the first time I've had a break where I'm looking forward to rest physically. This I hope will make me know what I have one way or another, Or perhaps the rest will cure it? Who knows?

Here's the thing. If it is all just old age then I'm OK with it, I just have to adjust and live it.

But if it's Long Covid then I'm scared. Scared of the unknown that those words present. It's how it's going to end up that bothers me. If I'm still feeling this way if/when this time of Corona is over then I will go to the doctors. This just needs to be dealt with.

We shall see....

Until the next time.


Tuesday 30 March 2021

Is Welsh Coronavirus History About To Repeat Itself? The Welsh Labour Gamble

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Last week I had my hair cut. That's right those long silver locks have now gone. Curling up my neck like paper exposed to the sun.

This week I can see anyone I like outside socially distancing in a garden. I can also travel anywhere within Wales I like.

In two weeks all shops will be open in Wales.

In two weeks I will have the week off. Apart from finally finding a garage capable of working out what is wrong with the mighty Kia and (depending on my health) helping Plaid Cymru in my own little way with the forthcoming Welsh Senedd election I intend to be in absolute and utter monk like isolation.

Why? Well I do need the rest but also for the fear that history will repeat itself. That now it's supposedly summertime people will go out en masse to places like Barry Island or Porthcawl. That the mistakes of late last year will be made again. 

As I posted last year the biggest mistake the Welsh Labour government made with regard to their handling of the virus thus far was in muddying the waters as to what the policy was after lockdown two. This I would argue caused Wales to have in a period the highest rate of the virus in the world.

If for example you can go to Porthcawl beach without anyone monitoring your social distancing then if the weather is OK then, particularly in this forthcoming holiday period, you know that crowds are going to come

So what we're seeing is the ultimate gamble. That the progress of the vaccines will offset the greater chance of catching the virus. Of course this might work. But who knows? And if it doesn't it could be disastrous.

Personally a more slower timescale would appear to have been more justified. Welsh Labour will need to understand that if it doesn't work, particularly with all those variants now mentioned then they would be to blame.

Until the next time.


Monday 29 March 2021

Waiting With Joan Didion Whilst The Wife Gets Her First Covid Jab

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday I got the first of the vaccinations. At time of writing there hasn't been any side effects thank goodness. Though in terms of the Long Covid symptoms I may have experienced in the past few weeks the only surprise was being told by the nurse that it will be three weeks before it's fully effective. So won't really know my situation until then (which incidentally includes the urge to sleep like a baby during the day in my rest days).

It also means for a while I don't know about the pain on my right shoulder which as I've explained previously means reading for long periods is currently uncomfortable. 

Anyway today was my wife's turn to have the jab and learning from my experience the vaccine people don't mind if you come early so that's what we did. They're taking place in a leisure centre a short drive away in Barry. Near a group of interestingly shaped houses with a very arched triangular roof not (literally) at the centre of the house but to it's side. You drive in a place where it would appear works have been abandoned during this pandemic and so whatever way you're going you will be taking just one lane to go round the corner, dropping the wife in front of the entrance and then going to the nearby car park to wait.

So what was I going to do there? Well the title gives it away. After all I'd loved Slouching Towards Bethlehem so much it was time I started on the other Joan Didion book I'd bought with it. When I came out of the centre yesterday the wife was busily chatting with a woman. Me? Only Joan is the other woman in my life currently.


The first essay I read (and didn't finish here) is the title one where she sweeps through the fag end of the sixties such as the doors and a woman accused of murder along with Charles Manson. Personally I'm getting echoes of Brexit here. The idea of the end of an age and how it seems to have brought a new even more uncertain future. But hey that's all for when I finish this book. Needless to say though I'm still a fan.

But I get interrupted. A bulky guy enters. He has the authority that a High Viz jacket gives. What is he doing? He's showing some thicko that there is space in the car park for his vehicle. The guy behind the wheel being too lazy to look for himself.

There was confirmation of one of the most important rules in motoring. Never trust a man driving a black range rover with alloy wheels and tinted plates. There were three of them in my time there. The worst was the guy with a baseball cap reversing into the space one handed. Of course he has a personalised number plate, which I approve of, all the better for avoiding him with.

What is noticeable is the number of men there in their fifties dressed in a black T-shirt with [insert heavy metal group here] on it. There were two exceptions. Me with just a black adidas shirt with no design other than the company's logo and a guy wearing one with San Francisco on it. Personally this amused me given the book I was reading.

A young girl, early twenties, walks past. Clearly she has just had the jab given that the sleeve is up on her shoulder. I look at her and I know that I'm not the only one. It's a look not of lust but of wondering how it was that someone so young has received a jab so early.

Another guy in a high viz jacket comes round. Younger and with a ponytail. He asks people in the cars why they're there. "Waiting for the wife" is my response. After all did he seriously think that I'm around a car park in a makeshift vaccination centre for fun? Trust me much as I'm her newest fan there are far more comfortable places to read a Joan Didion book, with or without a dodgy shoulder.

At last the wife returns and for the first time the car fails to start in her presence. In a way this is a good thing as she is now a witness to it's problem. It does start eventually with heavy foot on acceleration movement. Come the week commencing April 12 I'll have to deal with this once and for all by taking it to another garage.

So then round one is done. Have to wait for June apparently for round two. You wonder though with all these variations whether this will just become a diary date for the rest of our lives.

Better finish reading this book as soon as possible then.

Until the next time.



Wednesday 24 March 2021

Does Joan Didion Provide Pain Relief From Long Covid and/or Old Age?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The story so far.

For a while now I've been getting aches and pains which I've just assumed to be old age and just continued with life like the good little soldier I am. However the wife. a person whose immediate reaction to any ailment I might have would be basically that men are weak and women put up with everything (though as I've written before she was magnificent looking after me when I caught the Corona virus) didn't say anything of the sort this time, Indeed it was she who mentioned the possibility that I had Long Covid

Now I thought long Covid was just the "brain fog" (which I don't have) and nothing else. But looking at the list of it's symptoms on the National Health Service website it seems that I've got a good chance of winning (if that's the right word) Long Covid bingo.

Whatever it actually is, as a lifelong reader the greatest pain is in my right shoulder blade. As if someone is continuously pressing their foot against it and so after a while causing reading to become uncomfortable. My short term solution to this was to ignore novels and biographies and so forth  just concentrating on books of short stories or essays for a while. The idea being that instead of taking long mountain climbs I go for little literary walks instead. Not a complete reader workout perhaps but still doing the exercise.

Now read on.

Some of you might ask how a Joan Didion book came to be the first one I'd come to read under this new regime. Well that's all to do with the writer Fran Lebowitz...... and Netflix.

Unlike the wife and daughter I watch very little Netflix but I was aware of Ms Lebowitz's highly publicised series "Pretend It's A City" where she chats wanders around New York and chats a lot more.

It left me cold. Not sure exactly why. Perhaps you need to be more intimate in your New York knowledge given that I've never been in America let alone there, perhaps a show set in a vibrant bustling city is not a good watch in a pandemic. Anyway I dropped it after two episodes.

But anyway like all streaming Netflix sees your viewing history and basically says "You've watched that why don't you watch this?". So the algorithm  saw I've seen the Fran Lebowitz show and, even though I didn't like it, suddenly recommends similar. One of which was The Center Will Not Hold, a documentary on Ms Didion's life produced by her nephew the actor Griffin Dunne. I was aware of Ms Didion, though I'd not read anything she produced before (so many books so little time) so not having anything better to do I watched it.

I won't spoil things for you by going into detail but I will say I really can't recommend it highly enough. I've watched it more than once which for me is a rare thing. Also as a side issue if you see black and white pictures of her in the sixties you will know there are few people who looked cooler.

However back to this post the point is that the film reminded me that some of her essays did come out in book form and immediately after watching the film for the first time I'd ordered a copy of a few of them (in paperback please note) online.

And of that order the book I've just read was this:


So then let's answer the question of the title, remembering that I was careful with my words. Did she provide pain relief from Long Covid and/or old age (relief please note and not cure).

The answer simply is yes. Indeed whilst admittedly there is not a lot to compare it with (though this does include Philip Roth) it's the best book I've read this year.

Let's start with one fact. For the most part this is a group of essays mainly written and set in late sixties California or at the very least there's a Californian connection. As I've said before I've never been to America and I was a child in the sixties and yet unlike Ms Lebowitz's TV series I am there.

But whilst the setting is mainly settled like George Orwell her subject matter does vary from essay to essay and I like that in writers. 

Her skill in unquestionable. Take the piece on John Wayne. She is able to explain that he is a movie star and like all such people capable of making a bad film watchable through the power of his presence but effortlessly shows that we all grow old eventually.

I would say that the documentary I mentioned before does spoil the big reveal of the title essay. But there is a matter of fact comment afterwards that's almost as shocking.

I read it quickly. Not because of the problem with my shoulder but truly out of enjoyment. Funny this the way to come to a writer. A scenario of aches and pains caused by a pandemic and/or old age, a TV series I didn't like, a streaming service algorithm and a documentary I did like. Probably the weirdest route I've experienced but at least as a reader it was worth it.

Until the next time.








Saturday 13 March 2021

Old Age vs Long Covid? My Personal Debate Continues

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've been chatting in previous posts about the aches and pains I've been having lately. Things that have been persistent but have not stopped me from doing anything in my daily life.

In the beginning I'd just assumed it was old age and lived with it. The idea of going to the doctor, especially in this time of Corona just seemed to be a waste of time.

It was the wife, a person, aside from when I actually had the virus, would take any thing I mentioned with regard to my well being with the general attitude "men" who suggested that in fact what I was having was long Covid.

Initially I batted this back. All I ever read about with regard to long Covid revolved around "brain fog" and a difficulty in concentration. This I've not had. However going on the NHS website other more physical things could be included. Some of which I have....but it could be old age as well.

I do feel as if I need a break. It's been a while since I've had a true rest as I've explained previously and I've booked a week off in April just to do this. Wife and daughter have been in lockdown since this all began so whilst they've been working they've had more time to relax as well. Time being something I've not really had these past twelve months.

But there is something else. As regular readers will know I'm trying once and for all to learn French and Welsh. Also that I'm a regular reader. Both however I'm finding more difficult since I caught Corona. Again the problem is not concentration but physically the act of picking up a book and turning a page seems more difficult than it was before. Things just seemed heavier.

And yes I know it's odd. I can still pick up things far more heavier than a book when at work. But somehow it's far more of a burden here. The only thing I can think of is that when you're holding a book it's being held in one position for a long length of time. Same when you're full on studying given that you're in a pose without much variety.

So what can I do about it? Well in one sense nothing until this time of Corona is over. I don't want to waste the doctor's time and if there is nothing to stop me doing things then I'd feel a fraud.

Still I want to read and to be fluent in languages. Especially when I seem to be living in a Disunited Kingdom where the learning of languages aside from Mandarin by the right wing seems to be discouraged. Particularly if they're from Europe.

What I'll do then, temporarily anyway, is not to discard these things but to change the way I approach them for a while. In terms of reading the idea that occurred to me was nor to read novels or biographies and just focus on collections of essays or short stories. The logic being that once you finish one part then that's it. Small hills than climbing the reading mountains for a while. For the moment then I've stopped the novel I was reading and changed to a collection of essays by Joan Didion.

As for learning languages this will continue. But for now the time limit will stop. At least until I know what I'm having to deal with for sure.

 I will however add the other language I have a vague knowledge of, Italian. Once I'm fluent in one of them then it will be replaced by Scots Gaelic. Monday and Tuesday will be French, Wednesday and Thursday Italian and Friday and Saturday Welsh. Sunday becoming a day of linguistic rest. The spirit you see is willing but the state of the body is a tale of the unknown at the moment.

Until the next time.


Sunday 7 March 2021

Could The Royal Family's Troubles Effect Welsh Independence?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well.

This whole Harry and Meghan/Is Meghan a bully? / Oprah interview/ British media reaction thing is an odd thing for republicans like me to work out. Ultimately it's like watching a match between Arsenal and Manchester United if you support a different team. Media focus will be on the game but you're not really sure who you're rooting for if anyone.

Personally I have no idea where the truth or otherwise lies. But this Royal televised address by the Queen (which I haven't seen) does give the impression of being a rather shabby move.

The ultimate Queen's Gambit as it were.

And when the Oprah interview is shown on TV in Britain tomorrow evening and I won't be watching it. I'll be asleep as I'm doing the early shift at work the next day. Wife/daughter will though.

Also again whether Meghan is a bully or not you look at the tabloid coverage and if you're old enough you do see shades of their approach to Princess Diana.

But anyway everyone will be chatting about all of this and that's not really the point of this post. This chat is about it's long term effect on Welsh independence.

So let's start with the obvious. The Royal Family is a pillar of privileged English Unionism indeed a symbol of it. Consequently if it's at war with itself then it cannot bring an image of unity instead it starts to symbolise the disunity which is mirroring the Disunited Kingdom as a whole.

It is a process that will not be instant but will probably begin when the queen dies. For when Charles becomes king he will not be as popular as his mother. For a man who apparently wanted to be king this is probably the greatest irony of all.

He was as I recall a popular figure until the figure of Camilla emerged in the public consciousness. Even if we put it at the most basic level there is not a heterosexual man who truly understands how he preferred a woman with the face of a mountainside to Diana.

Ah you say but there is Prince William. Well yes there is. But if there is friction between brothers and their respective wives then this will damage him as well. The Royal family's image of unity across the four nations would be no more. They become damaged goods. 

Another traditional Unionist totem tumbles. 

Indeed if things turn out as I've just outlined then it's decline will mirror declines of many of the dynasties of our time.

As it will start from within.

Until the next time.


Art and Upton Park

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

You know I moved to South Wales in 1997 and yet rarely have I felt nostalgic or wistful about the first thirty three years of my life living in the East End of London and that imaginary border where it's still really the East End but could be considered a part of Essex.

But (you knew there would be a but) I think as I've made clear in this blog the one and consistent exception has been West Ham United. It was five years ago come September that I came to say goodbye to an old friend that was Upton Park and I'd blogged about it at the time. The last game had been played that May and I could see that the bulldozers and other machines were already at work as West Ham moved to the Olympic stadium

Though to oldies like me the soul of West Ham will be forever Boleyn

Fast forward then to the present day. I have a little bit of money to spend. Not much you understand but enough to be ever so slightly able to spend a little more without feeling guilty about it.

So I bought this:


Now let's be clear before I go on. The company that produces this does similar things on [insert football club name here] so I'm not going to say it's one man and his brush producing a work with a tear in his eye. This is a mass produced product. Still, if it can conjure up emotions and memories for me then it has done it's job. And for it's effect then this is art and no one can deny it. 

So in a part of South Wales will be forever Upton Park.

Perhaps I'm holding on to my memories too much. Subject to events I will find out. Because the last time I went there it was the day before was the twenty fifth anniversary of my father's death. Come this September it will be the thirtieth and subject to how the pandemic rules regarding travel pans out I'll be visiting the cemetery to see him again.

The day before though I intend to see how the old friend that is Upton Park has changed. In a way I'll be seeing how life has affected art.

Until the next time


The Insomniac Meanderings Post : The Shift Workers Curse Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

What is the shift worker's curse? I'm glad you asked. It's Sunday seventh of March. I've been working in the morning for the past few days. Yesterday I went to bed at ten pm. No alarms no nothing to wake me up. 

Instead of course my body clock. which is why I woke up at 4am

So now I've reverted to the insomniac I was pre the time of Corona. Add to that I've got a cold. Not to mention those problems I've chatted about a few posts back. What fun eh?

So what have I done in this time? Well firstly watched a Serie A game from a few weeks back between Napoli and Juventus, As you do. entertaining game and, a good thing for the neutral Napoli won.

It is I can tell you cold outside. Glad I'm not going to work today. Mind you am having problems with the mighty Kia Picanto at the moment. It's noticeably not starting first go more often than notand I have to press on the accelerator for it to move. You may ask why I just take it to the garage? Well I did.

Last week I took it to the local Kwik Fit who ran it through a "diagnostic check" (since when has work on a car been treated like a TV medical drama?). Anyway they found nothing. Leaving me at square one.

Will probably take it to another garage the next time I have two days off work just in case they find something and it takes time to deal with. In the meantime I just have to play Russian motorised roulette with the mighty Kia until this mystery is solved. Don't think this abnormally cold weather for this time of year helps though.

It's 7:43 now. And all of a sudden the urge to snooze hits me. This really is annoying.

Until the next time.




Saturday 6 March 2021

Welsh Liberal Democrats .... Why?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Did you know there was a Welsh Liberal Democrat conference going on? Well no neither did I until I happened to read it in the BBC Wales website. It's leader, Jane Dodds said in the conference speech that Welsh independence would be ten times more painful than Brexit.

Now of course I could give you a detailed rebuttal of her statement. (For example perhaps she could explain mathematically how she can work out this "ten times worse" figure?). But really why bother? They only have one member in the Welsh Parliament the Senedd and polls suggest that they will be wiped out in May's elections/ Let's assume for the sake of argument that the polls are correct. It would mean that aside from anyone mentioning David Lloyd George Liberalism in Wales would become just a memory.

So why is? Well it's simple really. They're just pointless. Labour has the power but as I've mentioned before the real eventual battle is between separatists and unionists. Given that Unionism is represented to it's extreme degree by the Conservatives and to a lesser extent by Labour with Plaid Cymru the main political group for independence then what is the point of the Liberal Democrats when political opinion suggests they are out of touch with the battle ahead?

They call for a "federal " Wales. Yet with an economic disaster looming once the pandemic ends who wants the woolly jumper approach anymore? When the status quo has not worked for Wales for centuries people are looking at other options. Options which the Lib Dems are unable to provide the Welsh electorate.

Apparently the current one Libdem Senedd member Kirsty Williams was given a lifetime achievement award in the conference. I suspect that history will view her real achievement as being it's last ever member.

Until the next time.  



 

I Grow Old Part Two : Do I have Long Covid?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well.

I mentioned in my previous post the sudden aches pains and general weariness (as opposed to tiredness) which seem to have attacked me in the past weeks.

Now I just assumed that all of this was old age catching up on me. And to be honest I still do. But the wife has said a few things that has stopped me in my tracks.

The first was when I said that I felt I needed time off work to recharge my batteries. After all apart from when I contracted Covid in November I'd not had a real break in a long while. And I consider the time off work because of Corona to be more of a recovery than a break.

Now I'd expected the wife to have responded along the lines that she does the cooking, cleaning and the candlestick making so what am I talking about? But to my surprise she agreed. Which made me wonder whether I looked worse than I thought I did. And at the moment trust me when I say my own view of my body is not great.

But the second was that all these aches and pains I'm experiencing was actually a part of Long Covid. She apparently just typed it up on the internet and that is what came up.

This surprised me. After all when I've heard people talk about Long Covid "Brain fog" is the phrase that keeps being banded about. And I know that is something I've not had.

Yet again though the wife looked at me and thought I'd looked unwell enough to check this out. Something which I find disconcerting.

So in essence three things are happening to me.

1) I'm growing old.

2) I have Long Covid

Or the third probably most fun option of the three.

I'm growing old and have Long Covid.

Until the next time.