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.

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.

 

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. 

 

Populism And Plaid Cymru - Another Chat As To Why They Should Use It For Welsh Independence

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've spoken about this before. But I'm going to bore you by chatting about it again. For Welsh independence whilst not the majority opinion is still growing however Plaid Cymru's position remains relatively unchanged. 

I have stated before that Adam Price the Plaid Cymru leader needs to be more populist in his approach. There is nothing wrong with populism in itself. Being a nationalist is not being nationalistic. After all it was the Unionist Jacob Rees Mogg who stated that fish were happier in British waters (perhaps someone should have explained to him that unless caught fish have more freedom of movement than the citizens of this Disunited Kingdom). Similarly being populist does not mean supporting a border wall between America and Mexico.

With Senedd (Welsh government) elections coming in May (for the moment anyway) and perhaps depending on the Corona situation this will be the first where the battle between the Unionists and Nationalists will be the one which will be on the agenda.

Now of course Unionists will be in the advantage they will have the current Welsh Labour and the Westminster UK government on their side. This will be a battle and not a war. But it's important that Plaid makes inroads into the Welsh electorate. It needs to engage with those who take little interest in politics unless events cause them to stop and think where they are in the scheme of things.

What Brexit and the Corona virus appears to have done is to take the issue of independence into the mainstream for various reasons. It cannot be ignored by those who wish it anymore. Of course Unionism will make attempts to stop this revolution in thoughts for independence to continue. But it's I would argue too late. "When" could be a long time coming but "if" is no longer a debate.

So Plaid needs to up it's game on the populism front. Independence is after all the only alternative to the failure of everything else that has blighted the lives of the people of Wales for centuries.

And what Adam Price and Plaid Cymru needs to realise is that the Welsh Conservatives will use populism against it. It's new leader Nikita Krushchev, sorry Andrew R T Davies, is not afraid to pronounce loudly to everybody on everything between meals no matter how questionable.

So the energetic populist engagement with the voters in the next election must be a priority for Plaid. Wales depends on it.

Until the next time

Is Louisa M Alcot Still The Quiet Feminist?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well.

Normally I don't make claims about myself as a reader but I wonder whether outside of North America what other man in the 21st century has read two books by Ms Alcot other than Little Women?

Could it be because I've a particular interest in nineteenth century women writers? Or could it be because I just downloaded a load of free books onto my Kindle? That I'll leave you to decide.

Anyway after reading An Old Fashioned Girl I put forward the view that Louisa Alcot was the quiet feminist. A person who would not so much rock the boat as gently sway it. Such a person is actually quite important as if you consider any malign orthodoxy there is a need for people to weaken it before somebody/ some group comes along and destroys it. Louisa Alcot falls into that catagory.

So we come to Eight Cousins the story of Rose,a recently orphaned young girl who is looked after by her aunts whilst her actual guardian, her uncle, is out to sea and her adventures particularly dealing with her cousins (aka boys).

I did think even when I was reading the novel that I'd made a mistake reading it given that it was a novel for young girls. Being a fifty six year old man with an occasional back problem I'm obviously not Ms Alcot's target audience. Until this morning I was of the view that had I realised that before hoovering up all those free books on the Kindle I would have read it. However I've subsequently learnt that there was a sequel with Rose as an adult. I'm glad I read it now though to chat about Eight Cousins properly I reckon I'd need to read that subsequent book first.

But for the moment we come back to the question of the title. Is Louisa May Alcot the quiet feminist? I would say yes. Without spoiling the end at first glance you would think that Rose has been subsumed into patriarchal society, she @knows her place@ as it were.

But throughout the book she is the one who confronts the problems dealing with herself and her male relatives. She is the one who for example, nurses, confronts someone smoking tobacco (yes even then) and is even an educator.

There is an interesting line that strong women are tomboys, implying that they need a bit of male chracter. At first glance it would seem that she's saying females need to act like men, but of course tomboys are actually a mixture of male characteristics but they're still women.

However at the end the message is clear. Men (who incidentally are not evil - In the three books of Ms Alcot I've read I don't get the impression that she doesn't like them) my seemingly rule but without women they're helpless. And if you forget the "rule" bit it's something the wife says to me all too often.

Until the next time.

One Step Towards Welsh Independence Is One Step Away From Serfdom

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

On Saturday there was the March for Welsh Independence in Cardiff. Thousands turned out according to media outlets aside from BBC who said six (actually they said that "hundreds" marched but the disparity between them and other organisations is an issue in itself). I wished I could have joined them but work and personal issues kept me away.

But what this march first showed is that no longer is the cliché that an aspiration for Welsh Independence can be considered a concept for freaks. It has supporters of all ages and classes. It has momentum.

Let us be clear here. Wales is probably the last serf nation in Europe because of the way it has been exploited through the centuries by Unionist parties. Only recently projects that could help Wales, like the Swansea Bay Lagoon or the electrification of the South Walian railway line west of Cardiff have been knobbled by Westminster. With let's no forget the full support of the Welsh Secretary of State Alun "Chucky" Cairns.

What does Wales gets in return? Village flooded so English towns can have water, nuclear dumping in Cardiff Bay. Prisons to house criminals who were born and living in England. A lower standard of life  A bridge renamed after a privileged man by other privileged men just to kiss regal backside.

You might quote to me the proposed  South Wales Metro link or the M4 Relief Road. But feeding Cardiff is not going to help Wales as a whole. You could argue as to why have a metro link when the entire country does not have a linking rail network? Ask yourself why that is? It's because Westminster does not want Wales to have something that would be physically independent from the Disunited Kingdom.

No one is saying that the majority of Welsh people want independence from this Disunited Kingdom...yet. But no longer can Welsh Unionist polictios brush it off like dandruff from their expensive suits. More and more people have seen the Unionist parties car crash response to the Brexit vote plus the state of the nation, looked at the concept of independence and thought "why not?".

Wales has much to offer when no longer a serf nation. Energy and agricultural resources, tourism and (mainly) a friendly and welcoming people. Like Ireland independence could allow Wales to properly educate the children for the world of tomorrow. Equip them with the skills instead of the current Welsh Labour administration being so bad the current minister is a LibDem. I know what you'll say. Education is a devolved issue. But Unionist parties currently run Wales on a Unionist mentality. Labour, as I've explained before, has a First Minister for Wales in Mark Drakeford who is not a leader but a disciple...of Jeremy.

Like Ireland there will be mistakes along the way. No nationalist is a Brexiteer in the sense of stating that it will be instant nirvana. But it can build itself up to be a vibrant, multi-faceted economy. Not today though. Not whilst it's Serf Nation.

But the chains of Unionism that have enslaved the Welsh for centuries are slowly beginning to buckle.

Mark my words.

Until the next time.

Danny Baker And The Reader's Dilemma

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Firstly I know yesterday I said I wasn't going to post anything today. But it turned out I didn't have to do what I thought I was going to have to do (if you catch my drift) so normal twaddle continues.

In Britain one of the major news stories yesterday, as I mentioned previously, was the sacking of Danny Baker from BBC Radio 5 Live for tweeting a picture of a couple walking out with a monkey with the words "Royal Baby Leaves Hospital". Given that it was on the same day as Prince Harold and Meghan Markle left the hospital with their first child, and given her African American background you could see that this caused an understandable fury in and out of the social media.

Mr Baker apologised. Saying that he wasn't even aware of the royal birth and that it was a stupid gag gone wrong. I've no idea whether he's telling the truth or not. But even if you believe him you can't argue that reasoning is stunning in itself.

I saw the reports on the news on my return from work. Watching him being doorstepped by the media Baker gave the impression that really he was the victim. But let's be clear. Even if what he says is correct, he and no one else provided the ammunition for people to attack him.

So we have a situation where Danny Baker either through a cataclysmic error or something even more disgusting has potentially put his career in tatters.

Which is a pity.

Because before the last couple of days I would have said that when Mr Baker is dead and buried and the years have passed his radio shows whether on music or football or his TV stuff or his journalism will fade away from memory. But the work that I'd predict would have survived is the first volume of his autobiography Going to Sea in a Sieve. One of the best autobiographies I've ever read.

Why? Well there is a bit on his music journalism. But mainly it's a book about growing up in the  London Docklands in the seventies. It has a sense of place, a sense of a happy working class family life and a world that no longer exists. It's truly worth a read even if you've never heard of Danny Baker.....until now.

For we come back to the tweet. Would a reader want to pick up a truly great book because of what's happened? I suspect not. If you don't believe Danny Baker you won't read it anyway. Even if you do the events of the past few days will be like an irritating fly hovering around and distracting. There would be no way you could properly give it your full attention knowing what's happened.

So Danny Baker needs to atone and atone quickly. For he wrote a truly great book. But a book that is destined to be forgotten because of his stupidity.

Until the next time.

Why Are Unionist Welsh Politicians Afraid Of Upsetting England? Example One: Smacking

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have in this blog chatted about how Unionist Welsh politicians appear to tug their forlock over the nearest neighbour so I decided when any further examples crossed my path I'm going to put it into a series.

So the first example is of a proposed ban on smacking children in Wales. This would abolish in Wales the current defence of "reasonable chastisement".

However Conservative AM Janet Finch-Saunders (who I'm guessing is English by birth - nothing wrong with that says I but there was nothing I could see which advised on this online) is worried that English parents could be prosecuted whilst on holiday because of being unaware of the new law.

Her view is that once aware English parents would not visit Wales (particularly seaside towns) because of this.

Now for this conversation put to one side your view on the subject of "reasonable chastisement" of children one way or the other. The issue I want to focus here is the idea of it's effect on England. 

Firstly with regard to the issue of awareness it would surely be up to the Disunited Kingdom mainstream media to publicise this. How many times have I seen policies affecting England only being broadcast on the early evening and evening news programmes and yet don't apply to Wales? So it would be nice if effort was made the other way.

It is a proposed Welsh law. Consequently why should Wales consider England's interests in whether or not it's implemented? Indeed Scotland as well is proposing a similar ban. So it's England who is the odd one out.

Furthermore let's invert Ms Finch-Saunders' stupid argument. Does a ban on smacking in Wales mean that should Welsh parents seek to punish their children they will go to English seaside towns? Thus as a group making Welsh kids the only ones in history afraid of going out to the beach with mum and dad?

This idea of "What will England think?" is a pervasive slave mentality that is shows itself a lot in Welsh Unionist political thinking. Whatever the rights or wrongs of the issue Wales will never be respected if it looks over it's shoulder for every decision it makes.

Until the next time.

So Will Welsh Labour Give Bridgend Town Ghost Town Status?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have in this blog only as recently as last week chatted about the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town caused I would argue by the arrogant incompetence of the Welsh Labour council.

Well something in the local paper has resuscitated my interest. And interestingly it's something outside of the town.

Work is being started in Leonitd , an open cast mine between Bridgend and Llantrisant (which was a quaint village in the beginning of the Rhonndda Cynon Taff borough). Now of course all of what I'm going to say is Property Developer speak but the proposal is for 5,000 houses with health and leisure facilities plus a railway station.

So let's go hypothetical. Let's assume that everything the Property Developer says is true. And remember that this development is between Bridgend and Llantrisant. For this is a good example of how if you live outside it, Bridgend Town has, with very few exceptions, has become a ghost town for your thoughts (and remember I'm talking about the town and not the overall area).

Where would they go for shopping? Nearby there is a retail park including a massive Tesco as well as an Aldi. Along the nearby M4 there is the Macarthur Glen outlet store.

No reason to visit Bridgend Town.

As I've advised previously how can Bridgend Town compete with the lack of public toilets, the market with it's Christmas decorations in April and empty stalls, the many empty shops, the look of sheer despair?

If you want to go to the beach there's Porthcawl.

No reason to make a detour to go to Bridgend Town.

As far as I see it the only reasons to visit the town are seeing family/friends, watching Bridgend Rugby club and if you have to go to a bank.

Otherwise where is the incentive to visit unless you have to? 

Bridgend Town is the urban equivalent of the effect of Brexit on Britain's image abroad. A place with a proud history now observed as a place for mockery and pity. And that's if people give it any thought at all.

It has become a ghost town because of Labour.

Until the next time.

Why Science Is A Tool For Welsh Enslavement

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

We have chatted before about the arrogant incompetence of Welsh Labour government in this blog and how an important example is education. Labour, it cannot be stressed enough, having been so disastrous in this subject the current minister is now a Liberal Democrat.

Incompetent management of the available opportunities will damage not just Welsh children but also Wales as a whole possibly for generations unless this failure is addressed.For the moment let's focus on science.

Now I'm not a scientist. I can look like one easily. I wear glasses and talk about anything as if I know what I'm talking about. All I really need is that white coat they all wear. Presumably white so that whoever does their laundry doesn't have them to split them up.

But I do know that if there are less people that will take up science because of the incompetent way Welsh Labour has managed education then Wales will be damaged. Furthermore assuming it does happen if it turns out to be a long dark Brexit of the soul then many jobs will be lost in the few laboratories Wales has as the facilities are moved within the EU.

Thus the possibility Wales will become a science wasteland cannot be overlooked.

But let's take it further. Do you think Westminster will allow scientific investment in Wales? Of course not. For science means knowledge and the lack of knowledge will mean a people venerable to exploitation.

Teachers in science subjects will have difficulty teaching because kids will ask what is the point of learning a subject that there will be few opportunities of moving forward. Investment in science will need to be a fundamental tenet of  Plaid Cymru policy.

So let's be clear. Not everyone is a scientist. I'm certainly not one. But everyone should have the chance to be should they wish it. Investment in science will need her to be.

Until the next time.

Why Football Support Is Not A Welsh Nationalist Issue

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

At a club level Welsh football occupies a particularly freakish position. After all there is a local pyramid structure and we've chatted about these games in the past. But we have a small number of clubs who play in the English league structure primarily Cardiff City, Newport County, Swansea City and Wrexham.

But on Twitter recently I've seen a relatively common complaint. That people could slag off England at country level and yet support at club level a team playing in the English leagues. In other words if you support an English team you're not truly Welsh.

To me football support is not a Welsh Nationalist issue and it needs to be addressed.

Now I can see this argument if you were born say in Cardiff or Swansea for example. I've always felt that you should support the closest team from where you were born wherever life takes you otherwise. That's why my first love will always be West Ham United.

But despite being born in the East End I've known members of my family who pick, excuse me whilst I hold my nose, the North London Arsenal as their team. So this "glory seeking" is not necessarily a Welsh issue.

Furthermore you could argue why should you support Cardiff if Aston Villa say is the closest team from where you were born?

There is actually a simple solution. As regular readers of this blog will know whilst West Ham is first amongst equals I've always believed that watching other leagues are more interesting when you support a particular team. Thus I follow in no particular order Barcelona, Celtic, Fiorentina, Paris St Germain, Ton Pentre and Werder Bremen.

There is no reason therefore that the Welsh football fan could not pick the closest team from the Welsh football pyramid from where he/she was born as well as a team from the English league and support them both. By doing that if you don't live near Cardiff, Newport Swansea or Wrexham you will have the chance of actually going to watch a game (which will of course be cheaper). You are not betraying either team as they play in different leagues.

And by supporting a Welsh team Welsh league club football will improve. I'm not saying you'll be watching Barcelona. But different leagues are not unlike food. I like bacon, eggs and chips. But I also like Spaghetti. There is a different taste to different leagues. It's still football though.

Of course at an international level the Welsh football fan should always support Wales.

Whilst I of course (for reasons I've explained last year) will always root for England first.

Until the next time.

So In This Holy Weekend Here's A Question. Does Atheism Fuel My Welsh Nationalism?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So it's Good Friday and instead of going to Damascus I'm instead driving along the sunny A48 road to Bridgend for work. I'm listening to a BBC Radio 4 documentary I've downloaded on the writer Christopher Hitchens. An essayist and journalist who I chatted about almost at the very beginning of this blog oh those many years (three) ago.

In it Hitchens defends the rights of homosexuals to live their lives without any pressure from the Catholic church. That part alone was worth a listen to in an enthralling programme about a man who you might disagree with but would always feel stimulated by.

However just before that attack against church anti-gay behaviour there was a speaker who said that atheists (that Hitchens became) live their lives fuelled with a purpose that drives them. Or else family and loved ones asides life becomes pointless if you believe (as I do) that when you die nothing is going to happen other than you're going to be dumped into a glorified biological scrapheap that is a cemetery.

And that got me thinking to the title of this post. Does Atheism fuel my Welsh nationalism?

So let's say straight away that I'm not saying that those who believe in a particular religion cannot be nationalists. That would be stupid. It is just whether in the relatively short time I have on this planet (and as I'm fifty five even shorter) there is something subconscious in me to try and make the area around me better than it is now. Better indeed than it will probably be in the near future because of Brexit.

After all Welsh nationalism believes that a country should be free to make it's own decisions and yes make it's own mistakes as well, But since Brexit has shown the supposed mother of all parliaments and it's government at Westminster have been so inept they've made Laurel and Hardy seem like skilled operators in comparison then why not?

Now that this question has been lodged in my brain since yesterday I think that being an atheist has fuelled my Welsh nationalism. Outside of family it has given me a purpose. A goal. Whether people will remember me when I've gone who knows? But I will know that in my tiny, tiny way I have tried to make Wales a better place.

And I realise now that atheism has given me the push to do that.

Bridgend Town. The Urban Tragedy Is Getting Worse

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It has been a while since I've been able to wander round Bridgend Town, a subject that I've chatted about since this blog began. Explaining how a proud place is being brought to it's knees by the arrogant incompetence of the Welsh Labour council.

Well on as always an admittedly unscientific wander round on Wednesday I can only say that things are actually getting worse.

Even the good news isn't really that good. What was the Co-op bank has now been replaced by a Vape shop. Now I've nothing against the Vape shop personally, though I don't smoke. but you know when something is wrong with a town when the opening of such a shop is good news.

Similarly the Phones 4 U shop which has been untouched since the chain when into administration in 2014? Well the hoardings were being taken down. However the TO LET signs were still there. Which suggests that it's the latest in the line of unoccupied stores still seeking a retailer. Plenty of those in the town. But as I've said before it's literally glossing over the cracks. It's like giving a homeless guy a smart suit.

So again it makes this decision odd.

The Old McDonald's Store

Build flats for social housing. Great. But over shops when there are plenty of already empty ones in the town? Makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

(Though on the issue of homeless people it's the first time I've seen them in Bridgend aside from selling The Big Issue - Only a couple. But the fact they were there in a small place like Bridgend Town should give you an idea of how bad British society has become)

So as I've said the urban tragedy is getting worse. Let's start with this.

Empty Again

This store was closed down. Opened again last year and has now closed again. To be honest I thought it was in trouble when I last did a similar post in January but didn't mention it as I didn't want to be seen wishing it's decline. I'd noticed that whilst it was the Sales season they seemed to be discounting everything. Not a good sign. Unfortunately some times my instinct is right.

You may remember that one of the few rays of hope was the Bridgend Indoor Market (run by the council) where investment had resulted in a slight increase in stalls. Well nothing seemed to have changed from my last visit. Which is not good.

There still vast swathes of empty stalls and it still has this to deal with.

Christmas....in April

Christmas decorations in April does not help the image of the market or the town. I've contacted the council to see if anything can be done (after all they've been up there for a year and a quarter now). But in all honesty I don't see much hope.

And speaking of things left up for about a year.

That bunting's been up for about a year

I mean there's really no excuse for the council just to get someone to just go and get it down now is there? Ah no perhaps there is. Just like last year the council have organised a World War II event for June. Why? Who knows? Perhaps it's to show everyone Britain after Brexit?

The organisers will say people will come into the town for the event. And perhaps they will. But as last year's events show they will not return if there's nothing different to return to. They really are a waste of money.

Let's talk about a couple of stores together:

A Store My Mother Liked

and

This really was unexpected

Now I know what some of you and the Welsh Labour council will say. Evans and Oxfam have been closing stores throughout Britain. This is not a Bridgend problem.

But you see it is. For if you create a situation, which Labour have done and which I've discussed many times previously, where less people want to come to the town unless necessary, then retail profits will go down. If you're a national chain in difficulties and need to close down stores therefore Bridgend makes itself venerable. Their closure means less people will go to the town which will make ( ouside of Aldi, Asda and Tesco) the situation of remaining shops even more perilous.

It's a vicious circle. Created by Welsh Labour.

In the Rhiw Shopping Centre (which I wonder whether it would have a future without W H Smith) there has been this closure since my last visit.

They were Insurance brokers

They were insurance brokers and have moved to Swansea.

Finally I'll leave you with this.

And this time I'm not going to talk about the statue

Behind the statue are the public toilets, or rather were the public toilets. They were closed down in January. I've written before if you are desperate now you have to go to the nearby ASDA go up an escalator and cross the first floor before reaching the loos there.

Difficult enough if you're able bodied. But to my shame it hadn't occurred to me until Wednesday that Disabled toilets have also been closed (the door on the left of the picture). That trip would obviously be even more difficult. Hence another reason for people to avoid Bridgend Town.

As it's Good Friday I was toying about whether or not to end the post this way but I will.

Truly the Welsh Labour Council have crucified the town.

Until the next time.

Plaid Cymru's Foothold With Ex Labour Voters

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The byelection last week notwithstanding you are getting a sense of momentum towards Plaid Cymru at the moment in Wales. Local government by elections have resulted in the party gaining seats where they have never gotten them before.

Yesterday (Thursday) it was the turn of the Court Ward in Barry. Plaid won the seat (for the first time) with 47% of the vote. Easily beating Labour with just 34%.

Now no one, least of all me will say that there wouldn't be obstacles and setbacks along the way. But what these by election results show is that Labour's biggest fear in Wales, that Plaid will eat into it's core vote, is beginning to happen.

What is happening, I would argue is a combination of things, but primarily no longer do Welsh voters accept the Labour core argument of looking at their past performance and not their current one of the arrogant incompetence of the establishment. They are looking for an acceptable alternative and that is what Plaid represents.

It is why Labour attack Plaid Cymru often. They know this.

Labour in Wales have lived off the mindset of the past for years. The fact that, albeit slowly, it's being chipped away is good for Wales let alone Plaid Cymru.

And if you add Plaid Cymru's local council by election successes across Wales with the attack on their Caenarfon office yesterday what you're getting is a sense that no longer are people looking at them as an irrelevance. They are taken seriously.

This might be the moment where people will look back and mark the date as when the march towards independence truly gathered momentum.

Until the next time.

"Mindless Violence" To A Plaid Cymru Office? I Don't Think So

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The North Wales Chronicle yesterday ran an article on the defacement of the Plaid Cymru office in Caernarfon where "Scum" was spray painted onto the door.

The Plaid Cymru Arfon MP Hywel Williams stated that it was an act of "mindless violence". Well everything I'm going to write about is pure conjecture. But I disagree with him.

"Mindless violence" suggests an action random in both intent and action. But the buildings around the office were not targeted. Just the Plaid office. Also by spray painting the word "Scum" onto the office it expressed an opinion as to Plaid Cymru and the people who worked there.

So it might have been a spur of the moment thing. But let's be clear. The office was targeted.

Therefore the question that needs to be asked is why?

Well I'm going to guess that the actions were done by a person/group on the extreme right wing of insanity. Let's assume a group.

They will feel that as the major Unionist parties are rocking at post Brexit fallout people will come to them as an alternative. However within Wales Plaid Cymru is also an alternative. Independence is an alternative strategy to mindless violence and blaming all the ills befalling Wales on the residual continent across the seas.

They are frightened.

And so you could argue (and I am) that if it wasn't for the effect on the workers in that office as well as their family and friends that the attack on the office is a good thing. For it means that the cause of independence in Wales is rising and taking effect. Even those who (even now) still believe in a disunited kingdom are noticing it.

And yes that is a good thing.

Until the next time.

On Taking a Wolfe On A Train And Other Meanderings Of Penarth To Cardiff Return

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It has been a long while since I've used the train. In fact I can't actually remember when that was. However this Tuesday afternoon daughter and I took a journey from Penarth to Cardiff Central and back.

Daughter was having an interview with the local college with regard to the next stage of her education once she knows the results of the exams she'll be having soon. I mention it just to explain the purpose of the trip. I won't say anything further on it as that's her business.

Penarth station then. Surprisingly small for a place popular with suburbanites. Just one platform. Must be packed at morning rush hour. Luckily for us it was early afternoon where there are few more peaceful things than a station at this time.

Surprisingly Peaceful

But eventually of course a train did come in. A small few carriages suburban job.

Of  Interest To Anoraks Only

I mentioned in the title that I brought a Wolfe onto the train. I didn't lie.



Now I'll chat about this properly when I've finished reading it but Nero Wolfe was a fat agrophobic private detective who got others to do the legwork but then was able to work out whodunnit.

He's not unlike Perry Mason in that he's literary fast food. Though I must be honest that whilst I can't remember why I do recall not liking the two books I read decades ago. Let's hope now I've aged my views have changed.

Also a quick word about the actor on the cover playing Nero in a subsequent TV series (which I never saw). He is William Conrad. As a child in the seventies I watched  him play fat private detective Frank Cannon which was shown on BBC1 on a Friday night ("A Quinn Martin production"). .From the late eighties for five years he also was cast as a Private investigator in Jake And The Fat man. I'll leave it to you to work out who he played.

So you see typecasting...

Back to the train. No idea how old it was but if the general wheezing was a guide it should cut down the fags quickly.  Eventually though after much huffing, puffing and general gasping for air (so much so it stopped for a few minutes) we eventually reached Cardiff Central.

Geography now. If you leave Cardiff Central by the front you're in the city centre. If you leave it by the back however you're in Grangetown. A place that does not really have a good reputation but I don't know it well enough to properly comment on it. Our walk around the college seemed to suggest a place with a curious mixture of Industrial units and Care homes (to be accurate Care apartment books).

But every place has hidden gems that make you stop and stare. I give this example of urban art.

Grangetown Style

And this. Small I'd grant you but I liked it.

A little bit of Italy in Cardiff

There's not much to say about the return trip. The train still wheezed along. Perhaps like cigarette packets it should be ordered to be painted black until it sounds better.

Until the next time.

The Near Midnight MLS Meanderings Over A Microwave Meal Part 1: Toronto Football Club vs New York City Football Club

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I like Major League Soccer from North America. It has things that irritates. I don't like the lack of promotion and relegation. Neither do I like the television coverage can be just too American sometimes.

(One example I was watching this game when suddenly the commentator said "This corner is brought to you by Visa". No No No No and NO!!!! The corner was brought to you by the guy who kicked it. No one else!)

But, especially in a year where there's no World Cups or Euros, it does give you competitive games during the summer months. So I do appreciate it. That was until a few years back when it suddenly went to what was the Rupert Murdoch's SKY and that was that.

It's now back though and on the free to air Freesports channel as well. So like the movies I watch after coming home late at night and expertly pinging a microwave meal I'm going to include MLS matches in this as well. And when I chat about them they'll be weeks after the event as well. Mad? Well yes. But I hope a bit of meandering fun in an uncertain world.

The first match then. Toronto FC vs New York City Football Club. The latter part of the Kuwaiti financed Manchester City football empire. I would have thought that they would have been the favourites for this game but apparently not. Especially as the commentator said that they'd lost their previous three matches. Something was not right with the colony then.

Apparently the idea is to develop the younger players through a competitive league before bringing them back to "Mother Manchester". Or something like that anyway. But not sure how you can develop a team through regular defeats.

Throughout the game the commentators (the analyst was Scottish - I think Steve Nicholl) kept on talking about the teams in acronyms. Why? Why can't you say "Toronto" often or "New York City"? People aren't fools they know what you mean. Even in America I don't hear people describing the Boston Red Sox as "BRS" or the New York Giants as "NYG" so why do it here?

And another thing. The (I assume) English commentator called Chile (pronounced in England as in "Chilly") "Chilay". What? It's as if he was ordering at some Latin American themed restaurant and was trying to impress a girl. I'd leave the North American pronunciation to North Americans if I was him.

Most of the first half seemed a quiet affair. I was, I won't lie tempted to fast forward the action (I resisted, honest) but it was clear that Toronto was the better team. Twice they'd put the ball in the back of the net only for it to have been deemed offside.

Always amazes me that when drinks ads are banned from Football shirts and hoardings for any influence on children Americans don't seem to have any problems in doing so. Hence I now know what Toronto's number one selling vodka is. However there was also a hoarding which was saying "Budweiser. This Bud's for you". Now surely that means that Budweiser are giving that bud for the customer free? That's how I read it anyway

Then towards the end of the first half at last a goal. Alejandro Pozuelo, Toronto's "designated player" dances along the left wing avoiding lame New York City defending and crosses to Jozy Altidore in the box who, after discovering that he has so much space he could start a farm slots it into the box.

1-0 Toronto then. Indeed in the first half I could only one New York City chance. A shot so wide satellites would be sent to track it down. Still as the half finished 1-0 was still the score and New York knew they had a chance to get back come the second half.

The second half though was more of the same. First there was a penalty when Altidore's shirt was pulled in the box. Pozuelo chipped it over the keeper. 2-0.

But Pozuelo had more chips than a cheating poker player when on open play he chipped the keeper again. 3-0.

And to add insult to injury when Pozuelo was substituted to a standing ovation in the last minutes of the game Toronto still added another goal to the tally. 4-0.

In the second half New York City had one chance that hit the post. That really was it. They really don't have the aura Mother Manchester has. And I bet she wasn't pleased at the final score.

Wonder what the empire will do to sort it out.

Until the next time.

I Wonder If There's A German Word For It?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

One of the few German words non speakers know is schadenfreude which means the joy in the misery of others. Something close, but not quite, happened to me in the past couple of days.

So I come to work and the person I'm replacing for the afternoon/evening is looking good. There's a particular task that has to be done but that person couldn't do it at the time. So I instead had to do it.

The thing was that if I eventually did this task it would look good on me. Even if I couldn't finish it no blame would fall on me. And for those particular days whilst I still had my main job to do other peripheral tasks were to be ignored.

So in other words win, win and win.

And it did make me wonder whether there was a German for those very rare days where work just becomes unexpectedly easy and all of it's problems go away.

But before you consider me too smug. As I was doing this task I raised my head and promptly hit my head over a metal shelf. Thankfully my head wasn't split but as I write this there is a bump on my head almost cartoon like.

I think that's what they call Karma.

Until the next time.

It's Monday...But It's Also Thursday. A Brief History Of The Shift Worker's Sense Of Time

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It's a Monday. A Grey Monday and as it happens a cold Monday. Didn't go out wearing a jacket yesterday. Will definitely do so today.

But for me it's also Thursday. One more day and the weekend starts here. Not restful though. Unfortunately.

And that's what shift work does. The pattern of your days alters. Nine to five is just a memory and that Jane Fonda film.

The concept of a weekend is of course different. You don't really consider the times when you take Saturday/Sunday off as a "weekend" as such. Just rest days...hopefully.

I've chatted before about working the early morning shift which like it's nightime equivalent (which I've never done) is like jet lag without the glamour. Your connection with the outside world is really just a few hours outside of work. Your body and especially your head has difficulty connecting. Rather like a bad wi-fi signal. It's not actually the worst shift though. I'll chat about that later.

So having dropped daughter off school this morning period actually becomes a sort of resting/preparation for work time. I say resting, I mean catching up on the personal related matters that happened yesterday but you couldn't respond to (such as the onward saga of the house buying). It is, (house buying aside) the calmest part of the day...when daughter is in school.

But at 11:30, an hour before I leave for work I have lunch. Almost always a sandwich, a cup of tea and a packet of crisps. It is really work time in a way, because you're conscious that the clock really is counting down for you to leave now.

And it's when I make that forty minute journey mainly down the A48 to Bridgend I'm conscious that the world has continued without me thankyou very much. I know I'm not but it feels at that moment I'm the only one on the way to work whilst everyone else is looking at the clock to get out.

When I return to the apartment at night it's a short chat with wife/daughter about "events", a short phone call with my mother. I'm not really comfortable with speaking to the women in my life at this time. Being as I am half asleep (though not whilst driving of course....he says quickly) and totally hungry. I have my dinner whereupon I have to wait about 45 minutes to let my stomach, wide as it is,  rest until midnight when I go to sleep.

The worst shift is not the night/early morning ones as you're cut from the family events of that day. The worst is actually the mid morning - mid evening shift. Because when you get back at say nine, things might be still going on. You might have literally and metaphorically gatecrashed a party. You might want food but the wife wants you to meet [insert visitor here]. Given you're not completely with it you're not in social mode.

Perhaps I need time to work on that.

Until the next time.

In Praise Of Being Welshie

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

There is a trick amongst the conquered that divide and rule is one of the best ways to handle the colonised. If an attitude sticks then it would take people a lot to wrench it away and realise that it's just a subtle mind game by the establishment.

Recently on Twitter but I've heard it also around as well there has been the word to describe some Welsh people by other Welsh people of being "Welshie".

Now I've always taken the word to mean that the person being described to is being loudly proudly Welsh. Also the accent is loud lively and broad. and not the quiet lyrical one of Welsh cliché.

When the word is spoken by someone from England describing someone Welsh it's as if to say "Well there's no mistaking where he/she comes from" which nobody can really complain about.

However when the word is used by a one Welsh person to describe another it really has a different meaning. Being too loud, too lively, too broad an accent. The undertone also is that person being described about is at best unrefined. At worse thick as the proverbial pair of planks.

So let's be clear. There is nothing wrong in being Welshie. Being loud and proud about where you come from is a right and not to be let out only during rugby/football internationals. What other nation is so pejorative of itself? Is there a similar insult on Scots or the Irish by their fellow citizens? I don't think so. And there's certainly no similar word for the English.

Then why is it so? Well at a guess I suspect that could be linked to being Bolshie. That is a word used too also describing someone who's not quiet. Perhaps as well subconsciously it's a wish not to cause trouble. I've spoken before of my view that the trouble with the vast majority of Welsh people is that they're just too nice and accepting situations/attitudes that the Scots or the Irish would fight against. Perhaps they should let out their inner Welshie a bit more. For then perhaps divide and rule will be replaced by a more unifying force for independence.

Until the next time.

Until the next time.

On Food, Drink And The Welsh Language. More Signs Of The Slow Move Of Britain Into A State Of Denmark

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I saw yesterday an article online from the Daily Telegraph which stated that the EU was going to ban British tourists from taking food with them such as cheddar cheese (Cheese!) on trips within the Union after Brexit.

Now leaving aside the fact that no one should be surprised that if membership has it's privileges then non membership means they're taken away the article also confirms a rise in a distrust of things "foreign" that whilst probably always been there in some people seems to have been permeating itself into daily life.

There is an ad going on at the moment which I will admit I can vaguely recall (who needs to watch ads if you can fast forward?) but goes something like this. It shows farmers working the land. The voiceover says that the supermarket chain involved markets British produce. Emphasising constantly the word British as he goes along.

Cut to a scene of this family having dinner. A man suddenly pipes up and asks for French mustard.

Silence. Then laughter.

And the real irony of this ad is that it's from Aldi. Which if you don't know is German.

Now I'm not saying for a moment that there's anything wrong with British food. I am a fan. But what worries me is the mindset that this ad follows that British is always best and anything foreign is both odd, unpatriotic and why are you eating that muck anyway?.

And of course it's not just food. It's drink as well. J D Wetherspoons are taking EU drinks literally off the table in their pubs and replacing them with British ones. The private sector was supposed to provide the consumer with choice. Some choice now.

The ideal is a nation of one size fits all. That size being England. The attitude of grossed out right wing patriotism.

And as I've said before the Welsh language is not immune from this. There have been constant attempts by the likes of UKIP to undermine it's usage. The reason is simple. Speaking Welsh marks you out as being different, being an individual.

Sleepwalking into an extreme right wing state of Denmark is where Britain is headed. It needs to be woken up quickly.

Until the next time.

The Isomniac Meanderings Post : The Juggling Life Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As you get older you realise life becomes a juggling act and sometimes there are many things that you have to throw up in the air and make sure they don't fall down.

That's exactly my life at the moment. There are things I can mention : Work getting much busier (thankfully - in this day and age it's a plus), the slow tortoise like process of buying a house where everything becomes ripe for examination and speaking of which there are daughter's upcoming exams. There also things I can't mention. things too personal for others so it would be wrong of me to write about them here.

The issue is not accepting your responsibilities. That I do. It's being able to devote the relevant amount of time to them. Not focusing on one thus damaging another.

Consultants will talk about "time management". That is, as they say, Bull. For events will always barge into the best laid plans. You just have to juggle as best you can.

The by-election in Newport West was a disappointment for me being a Plaid Cymru supporter. We came in fourth (though increasing our vote) coming behind even to the Mr Creepy led UKIP. I'm told by people more knowledgeable than me that Newport has never been a happy hunting ground for Plaid. Even so I can't help feeling that the muted reaction in some Plaid circles to the result would have been much more louder had Leanne Wood still been leader.

Still what has been noticeable is that in local government by elections Plaid has been doing well. For when all the other alternatives have been used up or shown to be empty there is only Plaid Cymru giving the clear road to a better future with an independent future. The journey will not be easy. But as Ireland shows independence leads to a nation confident in dealing with whatever life throws at it.

As always the weather is an issue. has been a very wet, windy, coldy (for the time of year) and even hailstoney April so far. At the moment I see nothing that tells me what the weather will be like today. I hear wind though. And that's not a good sign.

I think I've made it clear in this blog before that I'm not a horse racing kind of guy. Or even a take an interest in horses kind of guy. However the Grand National is on today (if you want a tip for the Grand National - don't wish to be reincarnated into the four legged ones - will not end well). Now it's a series of horse races in Aintree leading up to the National and yesterday one of these races was won by a horse called Cadmium.

When I saw this on Twitter for the first time in a long while my mind didn't switch off when horse racing is mentioned. For my sudden thought was why name a horse on something that could cause cancer? Odd to me.

A quick postscript on Mother's Day. Have made it clear to loved ones that I don't want to go to a restaurant on Father's Day. Just an old fashioned fry-up will be fine for me. If I am anything it's cheap.

Anyway suddenly my eyes feel droopy. Time to give sleep another try at 7:07am!

Until the next time.

If You Want Classic Fast Food Literature Ask The Erle

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It's funny how it's just over a year since I was in Essex exile looking after my mother, visiting her in hospital and then nursing her back to health. People ask me how I managed it and in truth you just do. What I did and experienced was just a fraction of what carers have to do for family members 24/7.

But if you discover things that relax you through this process then it's a help. I've already chatted about becoming unexpectedly a fan of the TV series Bones and the latest book I've read reminded me of someone else who helped as well.

Perry Mason Is Back

It is literary fast food. More enjoyable than Lee Child but still fast food. Easy to digest. A formula you already know (someone's in trouble for murder - Only Perry can deal with it) which you like and indeed trust.

It's not like fast food immune to criticism under examination. Perry Mason is too calm and perfect. How he worked the solution to the crime here is not really something the reader could have even guessed. The court scenes are also annoyingly short in relation to the rest of the book. However like fast food you don't look at the detail you allow everything to overwhelm you. And again as entertainment this really works.

Gardner's treatment of women is interesting. Whilst some including Perry Mason's assistant/secretary Della Street are described as having a good figure there is no one who could be called a bimbo. Neither is a female (or in this day and age male) character there so seduced by his charms she's ready to jump into bed with Mason either.

Also in these times of  #Metoo there was a moment when a secretary was asked by Perry whether her boss tried to make a pass at her. The answer was yes but he respected the "no trespass signs". Perhaps that's the tenplate for office rules in the future.

Ultimately like fast food you will forget this book months in the future. But you will also remember the experience. And like all good fast food, you'll remember it was fun.

Until the next time.

My Most Embarrassing Work Moment Ever

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday I saw a man with a metal leg from where the knee area to the foot. I knew he had a metal leg because he was wearing shorts (now that was the style choice to be laughed at, given that the weather was chucking down not so funsize variety packs of rain, hail and I was told in nearby Maesteg, snow).

But seeing him reminded me of my most embarrassing moment at work ever. So if I get even older and forgetful than I am at the moment I'll be reminded of it now I've informed the entire internet world.

Many decades ago and seemingly now in a different universe I used to work in an office block in London's Docklands. I remember that I had to speak to a particular colleague and on going to his particular desk (now called "work stations" - but let's be clear - it's a desk) noticed other people around it. Concerned looking men, some women in tears.

I'd assumed, being a glass half empty kind of guy, that my colleague had died. As it turned out the story was only a little bit better than that. For he was a cyclist. And on commuting London's streets his bike was knocked over and one of  his legs was run over by an oncoming truck.

He spent months in hospital but was eventually discharged. He was able to use the artificial leg we chatted about earlier and whilst obviously things would never quite be the same again he was able to return to some semblance of his life before the accident including returning to work.

So then it's months later from his return. I needed some documents to photocopy and went to where the machine was. He was there already photocopying.

I asked him how he was.

"Nervous" came the response. Apparently he'd a meeting to go to and was worried about it.

"Don't worry...." I said in my most seemingly confident voice ever ".....you'll walk it"

It's one of those moments that you wished the ground would cover you over forever. I knew what I meant. If I said the same words to most people it would've been at worse patronising.

But to him....

Either he didn't hear or just didn't want to be near me. For he collected the photocopies and went away.

It was a foot in mouth moment. And whether the foot was artificial or not the mouth was definitely mine.

Until the next time.

Carwyn Jones' Alleged Ultimate Insult To Bridgend.

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

In the life of everybody, but especially a politician, perception is everything. Whatever the actual truth of an issue events might lead people to think in one direction. And it's up to the politician to make sure that it's a perception to his/her advantage.

Carwyn Jones may no longer be First Minister of Wales but he's still an Assembly Member for Bridgend and a prominent Welsh Labour politician. Yesterday (Tuesday) was not a good day for him.

The High Court announced that it was illegal for Carwyn Jones to have made decisions on the inquiry on Carl Sargeant. The Assembly Member committed suicide in November 1987 following his sacking by Mr Jones which in itself followed allegations of sexual harassment. The inquiry was to judge the former First Minister's handling of the incident.

Now I stress as I've done in the past on this that I have absolutely no idea who is even partly responsible for the circumstances surrounding Mr Sargeant's death. But given that the High Court has advised that Mr Jones' actions in the inquiry process were illegal clearly it doesn't put him in a good light.

But other than mentioning it in passing I won't chat about the Carl Sargeant inquiry now. That will be for another day. Instead I'll focus on something else.....for Carwyn Jones has another job.

It was announced that he was to join Business News Wales to boost it's "senior advisory team" (there's a junior one?). I presume (as there's no indication otherwise) that there's a fee involved.

Imagine then that you're an employee of Ford Bridgend Engine plant. A plant that will already have half the current workforce vanish and following reports in the media that it might be threatened further if there is a Hard Brexit. Imagine how you would feel reading that. Your local Assembly Member supposedly fighting (and failing) to protect your interests as First Minister and now Assembly Member apparently feathering his nest whilst your job and indeed your future is breaking down.

As I said Perception is everything. He might be doing it for free. Or giving his money to charity. But until we know otherwise this is the perception we're getting. And if it's wrong it's up to him to put the record straight.

Potentially though it could actually get worse. The allegation, and it's no more than that at this stage, is that he's seeking a seat in the House of Lords. Imagine again that you're that employee of the Ford Bridgend Engine plant. Just think what you'd think of him then. Especially if (assuming the rumour is correct) he decides to call himself Lord Jones of Bridgend. After all as I've posted many times in this blog he does bare some responsibility for the area's decline. Particularly when it comes to Bridgend Town.

As I've also said before the one certain thing about Carwyn Jones since the Carl Sargeant incident is that he lost his skill as a politician. If I was him my next steps would be very careful indeed.

Until the next time.

Is the Vale Of Glamorgan Council Being Snobby? Let's Talk About Barry Island and Penarth Esplanade Car Parking Charges

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So in the midst of nobody knowing what to do and as it looks as if the disunited kingdom is hurtling into a long dark Brexit of the soul I'm going to be talking about car parking charges am I? I certainly know how to keep  my finger on the pulse of a very sick group of nations.

But hey let's crack on because it's in a way a metaphor for Brexit.

I've spoken about the proposals by the Vale of Glamorgan council to impose car parking charges in the area before. Focusing specifically on it's effects on Barry Town. Arguing that it would be the first step turning it into the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town. Well this week the council are going to discuss the proposals.

Now nothing changes in what I said about it's effects on Barry Town. So let's focus instead on Barry Island and Penarth Esplanade. For those who've never been in either place Barry Island is the classic place of your imagination full of golden beaches (depending on the weather) and a funfair and all things seaside. Penarth Esplanade on the other hand is far more upmarket. With upmarket shops and restaurants nearby dominated by the pier (also containing amenities) which I always hesitate to go on for fear of looking down and my glasses falling off my face.

There is a beach. But compared to Barry Island it's really a strip of craggy nothing.

And I think you could work out which of the two is more popular.

So the issue of car parking charges is being discussed this week. And for the traders of Barry Island the focus is on the effect on their winter trade. With people who like the idea of walking along beaches on a cold January night looking at the bracing sea with the sort of mournful bittersweet way seen in movies. Either by themselves, a loved one or a dog (not me I'd have to stress - hypothermia on the beach is not the way I'd like to die and as regular readers will know never with a domesticated wolf by my side).

The argument of the traders is that it will put people off visiting the Island. And they have a point given that there is a reduction in out of season charges for Penarth Esplanade but not for Barry Island.

People who'd prefer to go to Penarth Esplanade would probably be able to afford the car parking charges all season long at the same level anyway. But as I've said Barry Island is more popular as it offers more. Yet it would appear to be this popularity that has made it a cash cow in the eyes of the council. Let ordinary people suffer whilst the privileged take advantage? Who knows? But that is certainly the perception.

I've said before that car parking charges will damage many parts of the borough. Not unlike Brexit what it appears to do as well though is to give some protection to those who can afford it.

Until the next time.

Belatedly Remembering Mrs Mac (Pobol Y Cwm)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've mentioned in the past in this blog (though not recently) that when the wife and I started courting in the nineteen nineties we had a long distance relationship. I would go up to Cardiff one weekend and she would come down to where I used to live in Essex the next.

If it was my turn to visit then our Sundays would slowly end by watching the omnibus edition of the Welsh language soap opera Pobol Y Cwm.

Regular readers will know I'm a fan. But I have to admit that work and other commitments meant that whilst the omnibus editions have been recorded there is a backlog, and when I say a backlog, I mean that the one I'd just got round to watching today was originally broadcast just before Christmas.

The episode I want to chat about is the first. Where a group of characters walk up to a mountain so that the ashes of a former landlady of the local pub the Deri Arms (Jean McGurk aka Mrs Mac) could be scattered near Cwmderi. It reminded me and was a tribute to the untimely death of the actress who played her Iola Gregory.

Now Iola Gregory had a long and distinguished acting career in English and Welsh. But because I only first knew her in the nineteen nineties I can't really do her justice without sounding false so I'll just focus on the lady as Mrs Mac.

I have before also mentioned in this blog that my favourite saying about Wales is that it's Italy with rain. I presume that whoever made that saying (which I keep forgetting to go online and find out) was also referring to it's people. For like in Italy I've rarely met a shy Welsh woman. Taken as whole they've never been afraid to express an opinion on anything....and loudly. Mrs Mac armed with cigarettes ( this was before the smoking ban on pubs ) and gin and tonics is a good example of this. However unless hurt there is an underlying heart of gold through the cig smoke and the drink. Pobol Y Cwm does show this side of Welsh women well indeed other examples were the other female characters which walked up the mountain for that episode Cassie (Sue Roderick) Diane (Victoria Plucknett) and Kath (Siw Hughes).

Mrs Mac may have been the dominant personality in her marriage but she loved her husband and as he was dying of an incurable disease looked after him. Iola Gregory was able to show these differing emotions battling within the character and made it appear not like soap opera land but all too real. That ladies and gentlemen is what real acting is like.

I only knew Iola Gregory for a relatively brief period and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. But whatever she was in she was quality. When I showed the wife this episode she was saddened as well. For we liked her. And it made us remember our early courting years as well.

Until the next time.

Pen(arth) State Rugby 2

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Two years ago round September was the last time I watched a rugby game featuring Penarth RFC. It was the start of the season and they got beaten in the Welsh Division 2 East Central League by Aberdare. Two seasons later I'm back given that a combination of not working on this particular Saturday and this being the best sporting fixture on offer for me (on an equation of distance divided by cost - £3 by the way including the programme).

This time though this game is in the butt end of the season. Also Penarth are now in Division 3A East Central (a league that suddenly sounds like a class at school) so had been relegated since I'd last seen them. Penarth are ninth in a twelve team league. I don't to be honest know how the promotion/relegation is worked out here, but I overheard someone say as long as they won they'd b safe. They were playing Old Illtydians which at the start of the game were symbolic of mid table respectability given that they were sixth. On paper then they were the favourites.

It was a bright day and the sun shone. Being Wales in March though what to wear is not an easy choice. Braver spectator souls than me plumped for the t-shirt/blouse look. Me I put a jacket on.

As I entered the ground a blonde in sunglasses was by a stool drinking something purple, Further along another blonde was sitting on the ground drinking beer. Me I just went to the bar and manfully ordered a can of coke. Before the game a couple crossed the pitch to the other side, the man holding a glass of beer as well. Yes it was that relaxed.

Unlike last time I wanted to watch the game from the stand instead of being up close as previously. My fifty five year old bones couldn't take the strain anymore. However I couldn't find out how to get up there. Why? Well I'd overheard a conversation saying that the insurance was revoked for fear that the stand would collapse to the floor below. Obviously my bones were not the only things unable to take the strain. Needless to say was happy to stand then.

The team seemed to have have a problem of retrieving rugby balls when they went over the roof. Thankfully they did have a ball retrieving facility present.

State Of The Art

A quick note about the main sponsor for the Old Illtydians. It was something called The Philarmonic. I'd like to think it was a Classical orchestra if only because it make a change from a gambling website but I've no idea. Not even their website gives any clues. Another of their shirt sponsors is The Trojan Group, celebrating a side who let's face it, lost.

Along from where I was standing there were two young women observing the warm-up.

"Lush" I heard one of the Penarth players say as a pair of them approached the ladies.

Now I've never heard a man use the word lush before unless he was talking about grass or carpet. In this case he was talking about the dog the women had with them. I've no idea whether there was already a relationship there, the players were being players or there was a true love of the domestic wolf  but whatever the reason the men started to chat with the women and stroke the dog until in true sitcom fashion were called to join the rest of the team before they could continue further.

And before the game began I needed to do this.

Evidence

I hereby claim to be the first man to read an Alan Coren book during the intervals of a Welsh rugby match.

And so the game began. It was the visitors who instantly started the most brightly. Pressing Penarth nearly at their own line.

"Already!" I heard a boy's voice cry out. Which seemed to suggest that an early attack on the Penarth line was not an unusual thing. This seemed to continue for most of the early stages of the game. Until one Penarth player was upended by his opponent in a style best described as WWE. As it was the wrong move in the wrong sport however the Old Illtydian player involved was sinbinned. Penarth was a player up.



The advantage told. Penarth scored a try as a gap was spotted in Old Illtydians defence.

"Simple Rhys Simple" bellowed an instruction from the Penarthian bench to the team captain. I am assuming that was a tactical instruction than a comment on the man's intelligence.

The next score was a penalty by the away team.

In the previous game I've seen here a guy got injured and had to be taken from the game. This happened here. For five minutes he lay on the ground whilst paramedics dealt with what it turned out to be his left arm. Whatever the reasons why people play rugby never forget that it's a tough game with no American football style padding. He walked off the pitch with that arm heavily strapped.

And you remember that couple who walked along the pitch during the pre match warm-up? Whilst the guy was being treated they walked across the pitch back to the other side.



A brunette was trying to control a dog on a lead. So many dogs in this place. Not easy for a domestic wolf a phobic like me.

"He's a very good boy" she tells her friends....yeah right.

Another yellow card for Old Illtydians another gap in numbers another try for Penarth. It was how the second half ended. Full strength the away side were the better team. But Penarth took advantage of the extra man, as they should.

The Brunette with the dog came back carrying the domestic wolf.

"He can smell the food" she said. A consequence of which presumably was that the wolf was so bloated it couldn't be bothered to walk and needed the help of his owner. Though under the circumstances who owned who was debatable.

A group of teenage children pass by. One girl shouts

"Hi dad"

Dad, a few feet away from me shouts "Stay away from the boys" and it turns out one boy in particular. That moment I suspect I'll be saying the same thing to daughter is coming soon for me too.

The opponents score. But from the kickoff Penarth immediately score a try. Missed exactly how but it appears the Old Illitydian player misjudged the ball and the Penarth player was able to swoop and score. The Old Illitydian player is distraught. Sitting on the ground, staring at the grass as if to say "What have I done". A Penarth player rubs the guys hair in that sort of mixture between commiseration and mockery.

Now a Penarth player gets sinned binned. No idea why. No problem either as they score two quick tries thanks to Richard Bowen, aka "Ritchie. Comparatively small he was nonetheless able to go through gaps in the defence against him and make that killer pass enabling space for the try to be made,

There's another woman with a dog. A small thing ready it appears to bite my ankles in a second.

Another set of tries for both sides. Unlike Old Illtydians I forgot Penarth had been a man short for a portion of the game. That's how good they were second half.



I hear dogs growling at each other. Rather that than they growl at me. If it wasn't for the leads their owners are using to restrain them my money would have been on the pocket beast vs the lazy one (yes him. The one I mentioned earlier).

The whistle is blown Penarth win. Given their dominance in the second half the win was deserved.

Thankyou Penarth RFC and Old Illtydians RFC.

Dogs aside. It was fun.

Until the next time.