If There Is A Dark Hard Brexit The First Group Of Writers To Suffer Will Be Those Most People Wouldn't Care About

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Regular readers of this blog will know that occasionally my brain will work from the most oddest of tangents and random thoughts just enter my head. Well you may remember that a few posts back I chatted about how Britain was in such a state of nervous breakdown now that if the government was stockpiling food in the event of a dark hard Brexit then I could seriously consider doing the same without being treated as alarmist. Also that in the event of a dark hard Brexit the most important writer would become Jack Monroe, as people would have to learn to cook with less choice available and probably at higher prices.

Now, as I said in that post, I don't belive a long dark hard Brexit of the soul will happen (not saying things are going to be better than staying in the EU mind) if only because of the electoral disaster that would await the Conservatives should it occur. But given that it's unquestionably a possibility and not that far away from a probability it's not unreasonable to think of the consequences of food shortages across Britain.

It occurred to me that in the event of a dark hard Brexit the first group of writers who will suffer would be.....restaurant critics.

Stands to reason really. After all in the event of food shortages restaurants would be affected. A lot would close down and probably none would open. After all most people would be unable to afford the rising prices and those that could would probably be too scared of being targeted by the hungry masses to go.

In that scenario how can you judge a restaurant without an adequate and regular supply of ingredients? It would be like watching Julius Ceaser without Brutus and Mark Anthony. The shell would be there but important ingredients would be missing.

Thing is of course most people wouldn't care. Partly because they would be too busy trying to survive themselves. But also because restaurant critics have the reputation of being London centric and elitist. I've no idea whether it's true or not but that's not the point. It's the perception.

I've reviewed in this blog an e book by the Observer Restaurant Critic Jay Rayner and liked it. But the above point didn't occur to me until now. I think the problem restaurant critics have is that unlike a movie or even a play the chances of most people being able to experience a particular place in London where you need a payday loan just for the starter would be extremely slim.

Possibly the best answer is that should there be no Brexit or at the very least a much softer one then papers and websites should consider a second critic, possibly in rotation. Perhaps people who would live in a town which for a Londoner would require a Satnav and a pack of huskies to visit. Who would chat about the local Italian or curry house. Who would look at the price and not necessarily the most expensive item on the menu. Who is not interested in the wine and would rather have cola without ice (why would I want diluted cola?).Who would wonder whether [insert food item here] goes with chips.

The number one critic goes for the headline establishments but this second group could go to places ordinary people could relate to.

Perhaps.

But restaurants and restaurant critics will have to survive Brexit first.

Until the next time.

Why Alun "Chucky" Cairns Will Probably Wish Geraint Thomas Hadn't Won the Tour De France

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well I'm not going to lie. I don't really follow cycling. And if I do I'd only watch it on TV. Definitely wouldn't go and physically watch it unless I was at the end of the race. I mean what's the point? People on cycles whoosh in front of you and they're gone.

But having said all of the above everybody whatever their cycling knowledge has heard of the Tour De France and everybody in Wales yesterday probably watched Welshman Geraint Thomas win it. And people here are happy. A seemingly nice man has won a race in the pinnacle of his sport and in physically wrapping himself in the Welsh flag on the podium did not hide where he comes from.

And yet, there are possibly at least two people in Wales who when they think about it will regret Mr Thomas' victory. Soon to be ex First Minister and soon to be latest yesterday's man from Welsh Labour who failed Wales Carwyn Jones and Secretary of State for Wales and full stop to any sense of decency in Welsh politics Alun Chucky Cairns.

Why? You might ask. Well it's all to do with that bridge. The Second Severn crossing which at Chucky's prompting but with the First Minister's agreement (a fact that Cairns never let's anybody forget - you were played Carwyn you were well and truly played) was renamed The Prince of Wales Bridge thus enabling them to kiss royal backside. This despite the fact that polls in Wales showed an overwhelming majority did not approve of the name change and the way it was imposed on high (or in this case from low) by Chucky.

(And, as I mentioned previously, Cairns' response was that these polls were conducted only in Wales. Thus subconsciously possibly showing his true opinion for the office of Secretary of State.....for Wales)

The thing about renaming the bridge is this. For the most part Cairns has been Westminster's mouthpiece in Wales. This however was the only policy which you could believe was instigated by Chucky. So he's very protective of it.

Despite the opposition the change of name went through. One of the problems for it's opponents was that there was not a clear alternative that people could rally round.

Well I don't know who exactly started this on Twitter (not me) but now on my timeline I've seen people suggest that it should be renamed the Geraint Thomas bridge. This idea has legs (two of them) as well as a pair of wheels. After all Mr Thomas is Welsh, popular and the bridge has a cycle lane on it. So that with his achievement means that really no one should object.

Cairns of course will object. But he has a few problems. Firstly there is now a popular alternative name and secondly, as he himself showed in the change of name to the Prince Of Wales bridge, this can be done relatively quickly.

In fact when I was thinking this through there actually seemed one decent objection to this. Her name is Nicole Cooke. She is Welsh, a road cycle racer before her retirement at twenty nine but in her career was Commonwealth, Olympic and World road race champion. So in other words like Geraint Thomas she is a cyclist, reached the pinnacle of her sport and is Welsh and therefore just as entitled as him that the second Severn Crossing is named after her.

Then it occurred to me. The second Severn Crossing bridge is the second Severn Crossing Bridge. In other words there is the first one.

So why not start a campaign that the second Severn Severn Crossing bridge is named the Geraint Thomas bridge and the first one is named the Nicole Cooke bridge? Seems fair enough to me.

Now all we need is to find something to name Tanni Grey-Thompson and it will all seem complete for now.

If a bridge could bite a person in the backside then Cairns might just experience it.

Until the next time.

The Unionist's Red Herring Trick With Regard To Welsh Independence

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

A short post this. But something occurred to me which I felt I needed to write down. If you know it already ….apologies.

As I suspect regular readers will know. I enjoy Twitter. It's never a dull moment even when you're in argument with someone from across the globe.

Sometimes though it will even in the cause of arguments throw up issues that cannot be addressed properly in Twitter and need a longer platform to chat about it. So here is the latest one (though I must admit I've seen this before - just didn't consider writing about it).

I was arguing with someone on Twitter that, whilst acknowledging that the process would need planning and that mistakes will be made, Wales would be better as an independent nation. His response, basically was "but Wales would not be able to compete with the fifth largest economy" (England).

Now I didn't bother to check what he said about England being the fifth largest economy. That doesn't matter whether it's true or not. What this Unionist (and others I've seen) are trying to say is that a post independent Wales would be poorer compared to England.

The argument against it is simple. It really doesn't matter whether an independent  Wales would be poorer compared to England.

Because it's the wrong comparison.

The correct comparison is whether an independent Wales would be poorer compared to it's current position as Westminster serf. Any logical response would be yes. Remember Wales is currently low in many economic and social league tables whilst still part of the United Kingdom. Therefore a situation where Wales can improve it's own destiny can only be beneficial to the economy and the people living there.

So remember if a Unionist tries to put this comparison with England argument with you.

It's a trick.

Until the next time.

The Near Midnight Meanderings On A Movie With A Microwave Meal Part 3:On Deadly Ground (1994)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've not seen a lot of Steven Seagal movies. Largely because they came at a time when I realised that there was no chance I could save the [insert area here] from the clutches of villainous domination without getting damaged physically in the process. In other words I was getting older.

However there was one exception to this. Under Siege was the sort of film where as long you didn't take it seriously you would enjoy it. There was a sense of people enjoying themselves which no other movie I've seen with Seagal has.

(Also it was the first movie I ever saw where when there was a scene where Erika Eleniak was practically topless and my first thought was "Are they real?")

But it appeared after that Seagal movies reverted to type. Because with slight quirks On Deadly Ground is really no different to most of his other stuff.

Basically the movie is about Seagal trying to stop villainous oil baron Michael Caine from controlling the Alaskan oil pipeline and endangering the environment and the Eskimo community there.

Seagal in an expert on dealing with oil rig fires. So expert that in the beginning he resolves one whilst smoking. He can also fight. In an early scene he beats a guy up whilst saying "What does it take to change the essence of a man".....what?

And when I described Caine as villainous. Well that includes his performance in this as well. The greatest crime committed on this movie was not on the environment but by Caine getting money from the producers assuming he wouldn't (given it's 1994) fax it in. Really it wasn't so much hamming it but providing the whole pig. His accent is part American from goodness knows where and part Mockney Cockney. I'm sure somebody was offended by it. Me? I laughed

Let me rephrase this. Michael Caine. No, Sir Michael Caine, is the worst actor in a Steven Seagal movie.

Commercial Break Time: Surely the most smug man in ad land is the guy who thinks he's clever because he's hidden the smell of a bacon from a room with Febreeze and his girlfriend is puzzled because whilst the room is fresh smelling he's reeking of cooked pork?

Well my friend you shouldn't be so smug that you know how to use a Febreeze bottle. I bet your girlfriend does too. Also she will wonder whether if you can hide any unpleasant odours from a room there are other secrets you're not telling her and will leave you. Not so smug now eh?

In the movie you will get a lot on the Eskimo way of life. Well the Eskimo way of life as it appears in a Steven Seagal movie anyway. Was it genuine? Absolutely no idea.

But of course what you get in the end are fights. Unrealistic as it happens. You just looked at them and thought physically it was impossible. Also you'll get things blowing up. Yet Seagal and Joan Chen look as if nothing had happened. In the film Seagal will lecture on the environment, and yet I'm sure all of the explosions it produced didn't exactly help the Alaskan landscape.

An awful movie. Will cross it off the list. Won't see it again.

Until the next time.

This Is The Year I Understood TV Series Can Be Discovered Like Books....Years Later...By Accident....in A Flash

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I should have of course realised this earlier in the year. When on returning from hospital in Essex when my mother was unwell I would ping a microwave meal as was too bothered to watch anything else. Slump in front of the TV and surf any channel until the moment I discovered Bones. Slowly I was hooked even though it was a twelve year old series that had finished the year before. There I was though watching repeats on a remote channel and very late to the party. But in the party I was.

Thing is. When I was child there was just three channels (Yes I'm that old). So you had a good chance of seeing all of the latest series for a couple of episodes and making a decision on whether you wanted to continue. Nowadays however with the gazillion and one channels available even if you have every pay TV channel available plus Netflix and Amazon Prime most people still do not have the time to look at every available series.

So what that means is that rather like books there is now a greater chance that TV series can be discovered by accident.....which leads me to The Flash.

Daughter had series one on DVD and asked whether I wanted to watch it. As it was raining outside (the British summer at last!) and as I'd nothing better to do I said yes, though grudgingly. I was aware of the show though I'd avoided it given that this first series started in 2014 and I was then forty nine.

The other reason why I was so reluctant was that I remembered the reading the comic (now called graphic novels....please) as a child and I was at best neutral. I mean he could run fast. So what?Hardly Spiderman now is it?

Well...I loved it.

The plot is simple. Barry Allen is struck by lightening and with the help of others becomes The Flash in which he fights various super villains. Obviously more complicated than that but I don't want to spoil it for you.

Part of the reason I think why I liked it was that it television form it seemed to capture what the best American DC and Marvel comics could do which was to mix the realistic with the fantastic. You believe in the world you're seeing.

It is basically a comic book on screen. And (though this is the varifocal lens of my memory) it's better than the original comic.

It's also helped by some familiar screen faces. Jesse L Martin as the police detective and surrogate father to Barry was part of the Law team when Law and Order was in it's prime when he partnered with Jerry Orbach. Tom Cavanagh was also in Ed. A favourite of mine in the quiet humorous hometown style of Gilmore Girls.

If it was a choice between Bones and the Flash Bones would always win. But for a few moments escapism in the mad place called Britain right now you could do a lot worse.

Until the next time.

It's Mims O'clock Plus More On Why There Should Be A Boycott Of Virgin Media In Wales

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

If Plaid Cymru supporters feel a bit deflated by recent events. There are always the Conservatives ready to help out and remind them why they became members of the party and the second class (no third class really - Scots and the Northern Irish currently seem to get the better deals) that Wales has become.

Because of a ministerial reshuffle there was a vacancy in the Welsh Office. Who did Theresa May pick as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales? Well cometh the hour cometh the Mims o'clock in the form of English Conservative MP Mims Davies. And when I say "English Conservative MP" I mean to say "English Conservative MP for an English Constituency", Eastleigh

Other Welsh Conservative MPs were available. But apparently they were not good enough to meet the high exacting standards set by Theresa to work with the Conservative Cymru Chief Cheerleader that is Alun Chucky Cairns.

So then what are the Welsh qualifications that Ms Mims has that supplanted others you would have thought were better suited? Well apparently she "studied (Swansea University it appears) lived and worked there" according to her Twitter account.

That's rubbish. In fact that betrays her ignorance about Wales. I could say I lived in England until 1997, which is true. But it doesn't mean I have an expertise of England because I lived in London and Essex. So she might know about Swansea (though bet that's changed since she last went there) but what does she know about Wrexham? Or the South Wales Valleys? Or Anglesey?

The tweet that she "studied, lived and worked there" actually is quite damning therefore because it treats Wales as a region, when it's a country. Whether it's through ignorance or design it shows what a low opinion she actually has of Wales.

She also, and this needs to be noted, voted against more powers for Wales and for Wales to have a say in the Brexit negotiations (Like to be a fly on the wall when she speaks to Welsh Industry.

And it gets even worse than that. Because she will still be a government chief whip as well as a minister in the Welsh Office. It means that whilst (along with her constituency work) you can marvel at Ms Mims' multi-tasking skills the office of Under Secretary of State for Wales is a part time job.

The icing on the cake? On the same Twitter account she mentions the book she's packed on her recess trip Never Greener by Welsh comedy writer and actress Ruth Jones. I've never read it but I feel I have to now. This is the impression she's using of Wales then. I despair....then I get angry....which is why I joined Plaid Cymru.

I mentioned some months back that Virgin Media should be boycotted in Wales following it's decision to close down it's call centre in Swansea. Nothing changes from that view. Except I feel it even more every time I see a Virgin Media ad on the TV or on billboards or on Twitter. In fact on Twitter every time I see a Virgin Media ad I tweet back reminding them of the Swansea 800. Yes I troll them. Politely you understand, but yes I troll and am proud of it. They need to be constantly reminded of the misery they've caused. Personally I would encourage (politely I stress) other people to troll them as well.

Wales does not need Virgin Media. There are alternatives. They should be boycotted in Wales.

Plaid Cymru's Unexpected Problem

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Let me say first, before I say anything else, that this post is about the Simon Thomas situation as it relates to Plaid Cymru and that alone. No way am I seeking to undermine or belittle the allegations put against Mr Thomas. But as there is an ongoing police investigation I don't feel comfortable about discussing those at this particular time.

When the news first broke regarding Mr Thomas' resignation from the National Assembly and Plaid Cymru yesterday morning, there was in the beginning no background as to why. My and other Twitter reaction was one of shock. But if there was one thing I knew immediately it was that there was no political motive to the resignation. Because if that had been the case he would have waited until after the Plaid Cymru leadership election had completed.

Not in a million years though would I have assumed the background to his resignations was what it's turned out to be.

With regard to Plaid Cymru the Twitter reaction from supporters was one of shock (that included me). From non supporters there seemed to be something approaching tempered glee. I saw a tweet that suggested Plaid were "in disarray" at the moment.

Plaid Cymru is not in disarray. But like all parties with a forthcoming leadership election it is in a state of flux. Whilst I've made it clear in this blog that I feel the leadership election is unnecessary and that I'm a supporter of Leanne Wood nobody could have foreseen this turn of events (except possibly Mr Thomas himself). In terms of timing this probably could not have come at a more difficult moment for Plaid. Though of course that's unimportant given the seriousness of the issue.

So Plaid Cymru might receive a short term hit on this given the obvious bad publicity. But in politics the party is eventually always more powerful than the individual. What the membership will need to do though is once the result of the leadership election is known is to show immediate and genuine loyalty towards the person elected as leader. It will be that unity that will see Plaid through a difficult patch which the Simon Thomas situation has added to.

And it will be that unity which will make us face the main enemies of Conservative and Corbyn colonialism with confidence.

Until the next time.

Climate Change: Through The Medium Of A Post Pub Lunch Walk In Southerndown

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well yesterday the wife's birthday went well. We decided to drive along the countryside of the Vale of Glamorgan and find an isolated pub for lunch. That was the plan. But through a combination of missed turnings, packed car parks and a pub too close to the effects of the muck spreading season to enjoy breathing let alone food we eventually found ourselves in the small village of Southerndown. Not that far away from Bridgend.....where we used to live....yes I know.

Our meal was at the Three Golden Cups. Daughter and me has lasagne and chips. Wife had a chicken and leek pie with vegetables. We loved it. Once we finished though we felt that a post lunch walk was needed before we did anything else (that anything else turned out to be a quick trip to Lidls).

From where we had our meal the sea was close. In normal times we knew that it was prone to being extremely windy because of it (there's a golf course in the village - that must be fun in bad weather). But as it was still heatwave (a little cooler but that's just in comparison) week five these times in oh so many ways could not be described as normal.

Anyway we decided to have a walk from the pub to the cliff edge overlooking the beach.

So let's start with a view of the sea once you crossed the road from the pub.

Very Bright. Very Med looking

And there's this as we walked along

Really you can expect a shepherd walking along with his flock shortly

As we approached the sea it was the clearest blue.

Remember this is the South of Wales not the South of France

And for the most stunning picture I took of the day I give you this.

Breathe Deeply

The sign in Welsh incidentally is warning people to be careful of the cliff edge. And then gives people the number of the local Samaritans. Which obviously and sadly speaks for itself.

So then you will ask. Why have I bothered to write about a short walk on a hot day in a little village in South Wales? Am I being smug? Well look again at the pictures. They have something in common.

The grass is not the green, green grass of home.

The grass is drought yellow.

Here's one last picture.

Farmyard Animals Eating Off The Scraps Of Grass They Can Find

This is not the South of Texas folks. This is South Wales. If this continues it will get worse for us all.

Something is very, very wrong.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post: Wife's Birthday Special Midweek Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well, though it's too early in the morning, is the wife's birthday. She's asleep. As is daughter. Nothing to do until either of them wake up (or if I did do anything it would be likely I'd wake that I might wake them up). So here I am tapping away.

We are, both of us, not of an age to go out in the evenings normally. So the plan is for us (plus daughter) to have lunch in one of the pleasant pubs in the Vale of Glamorgan countryside. It is dull I'd admit but it is a plan. And let's face it Tuesdays is not the best day for your birthday to fall on.

Yesterday I wrote about the oncoming possibility of a dark hard Brexit making me seriously consider stockpiling food. I mentioned that if there were food shortages there might be civil unrest. Well let's be clearer about it. I see three possible sources of civil unrest. From the hungry, from the far right and from those angered that Brexit has not turned out to be what the Leave campaign promised. To those high profile Brexiteers I say this. Hire security guards. Because trust me you will be hated. I'm not advocating violence. But when you see the possibility of something happening you should not avoid mentioning it either.

Mind you I have a plan for Boris Johnson. Perhaps he should have straight swap with Iran for Nazarin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the journalist imprisoned there whose case he bungled. Win win I'd say. He wouldn't be missed.

By the way with regard to Boris Johnson and David Cameron shouldn't Eton apologise for their education of them given how rubbish to the United Kingdom they've turned out to be?

And according to an article in the Daily Mirror the world's Most Wanted could slip into Britain in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Economic turmoil, food shortages and criminal gangs. Brexit seems to get better and better and better!

For Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales the option of independence is there. Something not available for England. Which is why if a hard Brexit occurs England will be the country at most risk of takeover from the far right.

Listening to France Musique at the moment. Make that what you will Brexiteers. Yesterday whilst of the nation was watching Love Island I was listening to (amongst others) a song called "Reggae Cymraeg" on  Radio Cymru. Make that what you will.

This is the week of the Royal Welsh Show. A few weeks time it'll be the Eisteddford in Cardiff (I'll be going to that). Aside from the Welsh element what's the connection? That they will have a lot of coverage on the Welsh language channel S4C. Now I'm not saying they shouldn't have this coverage but that it illustrates again the need for S4C to have another channel. If you're not interested in agricultural shows (two thumbs pointed at this guy) there is no Welsh language alternative on TV. You have to go on demand instead.

Remember the posts I wrote about the dumping of radioactive mud from the Hinckley Point nuclear power station to Cardiff Bay? Well apparently the Welsh Labour government has offered to take in any nuclear waste from anywhere in the disunited kingdom. Leaving aside the implications of yet again Welsh Labour has allowed bad things to happen to Wales the first real question is Where will this waste go to? We should be told. And I tell you what. I'll be in any demonstration against it (for what my presence is worth).

Well wife's awake now....here we go..."Happy Birthday to you....Happy.." Well you know the tune.

Until the next time.

Britain 2018: Where You Can Seriously Ask The Question Whether You Should Stock Up On Food And Whether The Jack Monroe Doctrine Is To Be Followed

Hello there.. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well it's Britain 2018. Come March 2019 it leaves the EU and slowly, in drip by drip form the Dark Brexit scenario comes into play as it's predictors have explained.

Now as I've said before I don't belive a Dark Hard Brexit will come. If only because the consequences for the governing Conservative party would be disasterous (doesn't mean life will be better than when were in the EU mind. That I don't believe.).Still when reports come in of a shortage of fuel, factory closures and Amazon suggesting that in a worst case scenario there could be civil unrest then you need to sit up and take notice.

But of all the consequences of a hard Brexit that has made the news recently it's the idea of food shortages that has really made the headlines. The idea that shop shelves will be bare come April next year. Indeed the UK government are building up a stockpile of food in preparedness for a hard Brexit.

This action by the government begs the question. If they can stockpile food. Then why can't I?

I've even worked on the plan. From this month I'd buy five items a week to hoard. For the moment it would be just canned items but as March moves closer other things will be included. That way if Dark Hard Brexit does come then at least for a few weeks myself and the family would be covered.

Also if there is a Dark Hard Brexit then I'd give one fifth of the hoarded stockpile to a foodbank. Because the consequences to the poorest in our society will be disastrous. And if we're talking about civil unrest that's where it will start. Because a hungry people will be an angry people.

(And if the Brexit is soft by the way I'd give all the stockpile to the foodbank)

Now I haven't done this yet. But the fact that I can seriously consider it to the point of planning without being considered a madman tells you all you need to know about Britain today under the Conservatives.

Which leads us to talk about cookery writer Jack Monroe. Whose struggles looking after a young son lead her make imaginative recipes with basic ingredients on the most smallest of budgets. Her first cookery book was called A Girl Called Jack, which I bought and like most of the cookery books I have was promptly put to one side as I succumbed to the seductive charms of ready meals and the microwave.

But the thing is this. Initially Ms Monroe's books appealed to those on low incomes. If however there is a Dark Hard Brexit then she will find a whole new audience in people who might be just about managing but are struggling to find ingredients even if the prices were reasonable.

So there is a good chance that post Brexit Ms Monroe will find herself the go to cookery writer of the moment (after all in a Dark Hard Brexit world few of us could go Nigella). Which then led me to think that perhaps the best thing to do would be to practice.

What I'm going to do is to go through all her recipes and see whether I can get the ingredients in either Penarth or Barry Town (I live between both) and what happens when I cook them. If you expect an ingredient list or a blow by blow account of the recipe then you'll be disappointed as that's her copyrighted work. But what I want to see is in a Dark Hard Brexit world whether the family can adapt to this most different kind of cookbook. Because in that scenario it has to until goodness knows when.

In a Dark Hard Brexit Ms Monroe has the potential of being, not just the most important cookery writer but the most important writer of the moment.

That's why the Jack Monroe doctrine is important.

Until the next time.

Let's Be Clear. Libraries Should Not Be Part Of A Capitalist Jungle. Even An Amazonian One

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers of this blog will know I have an Amazon Kindle and I'm not afraid to use it. Equally readers also know I'm a proud library card user and I'm not afraid to use that either, Perhaps that's what drew me to an article I saw on Twitter in Forbes online by Panos Mourdoukoutas entitled Amazon Should Replace Local Libraries To Save Taxpayers' Money (https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2018/07/21/amazon-should-replace-local-libraries-to-save-taxpayers-money/#2d4c7fee60a8).

Now at time of writing there are no Amazon bookshops in Britain (which is what he proposes to replace the library). But still libraries are under constant attack and are always the ones venerable to closure in the name of "austerity cuts". So using his article to defend the library service is I suspect an issue which crosses the Atlantic so here goes.

There is firstly a principle here. And that is the library is part of the community and because it is part of the community people trust it. No private company would have that trust. They would be in fact the Gatekeeper of knowledge for the very people who would need it the most. And when I say Gatekeeper it's in the Sandra Bullock film The Net sense of the word.

Despite what Mr Mourdoukoutas would imply I suspect that people enjoy walking into libraries and discovering a book to borrow. Discovering a book is one of life's quiet little pleasures. And people still borrow "physical" books. Who knows what the future brings but for the moment the reports of the death of the physical book are greatly exaggerated.

And some people don't have internet access at home. The library, and by definition the physical book provides a world of entertainment and information (ditto borrowing DVDs in the worlds of Amazon Prime and Netflix) and of course provides internet access.

He mentions places like Starbucks as where people hang out as something the library has replaced. Perhaps. But until I've seen a Starbucks where unemployed people are helped in their CVs for example I know which building helps the community more.

He refers to the Amazon online library. In Britain you have to be an Amazon Prime member to take advantage of it. That costs £80 a year. Where are the figures in the article to say using an Amazon bookshop would be cheaper than using a public library?

A library is an important resource. To lose it damages a community even in this digital day and age. Who knows what the future will bring. But for the moment it's worth fighting for in it's present form and I'd happily fight for the good fight in it's name.

Until the next time.

Alun Chucky Cairns: Secretary Of State For Only Wales

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers of this blog will know, Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns is a blog villain from the moment he called Italians greasy wops. So don't expect calm unemotional words about this man from this blogger who has Italian ancestry.

This morning the poison dwarf was interviewed on BBC Sunday Politics programme which I caught whilst channel surfing. He was asked about the naming of the Second Severn Crossing to the Prince Of Wales bridge (which I've discussed on the blog previously) and the opinion polls showing unpopularity for the name change despite previously claiming that he represented the "silent majority" who supported it.

The response of Ant brain was stunning. These polls were carried out he said only in Wales.

And whilst this needs to be dissected. Let's be absolutely clear here. How many people saw that and wondered whether Chucky was also referring to his ministerial job.

But anyway let's examine it. And it won't take long. When he said that "silent majority" remark I doubt that there was anybody who didn't assume he was talking about Wales. So his sudden consideration for English opinion has a credibility problem even if it is true.

And what if the opinion on the other side of the bridge is different?  So what? If there was a poll on a GB football team the results could be different for each home nation but they wouldn't be lumped together to make the majority view. Each nation's views would hold equal weight. Same with this bridge that straddles England and Wales. Chucky should know this and probably does but seeks to avoid this because it doesn't fall within his narrative. After all his job is Secretary Of State for "Only Wales".

His job is to fight for the interests of people in Wales. Not for his own self interests in defending his career.

Before I can make a suggestion on how we can all help Chucky with his ministerial ambitions (sarcasm a go-go) let me make one other point. Quite obviously deliberately Chucky made it clear that the decision for the name change had the full support of the Welsh government and can't give a damn anymore soon to be ex First Minister and Demob happy Carwyn Jones. You cannot escape the feeling that Jones was played by Chucky Cairns. A small footnote for the First Minister's political career, but a telling one nonetheless.

What I believe is that Chucky's heart is not in the ministerial post he's in. He wants to bestride the world stage like a colossus and not the pygmy state he's currently feeling. So perhaps we could all remind him of his actual job by calling him the Secretary of State For Only Wales from now on.

Just a suggestion.

Until the next time.

Why Jack Reacher Author Lee Child Should Understand Readers Are Gamblers Of The Mind

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've only ever read one Lee Child novel featuring his bestselling character Jack Reacher. The first in the series in fact. It was alright. Though I didn't see anything special. Still I've other books of his to read so who knows what I'd feel after that.

However I discovered on Twitter that he complained about readers moaning about the standard price of books where they would be prepared to pay roughly the same amount on two large cups of coffee.

It got me thinking. I knew Mr Child was wrong. But I couldn't put my mind to it. Then it came to me.

When a reader buys a book he/she are gamblers of the mind.

If you buy a cup of coffee unless you try one of the coffee houses "experimental" drinks (coconut coffee anyone? Not for me) you know what you're buying. You know what you're expecting. There are no surprises/shocks because what you're seeking is the taste you already know.

When you the reader buy a book however, especially with a writer you've never read before. Then you've acted as if you've put some literary chips on red number 15  in a casino. You don't know until the book is finished whether you have liked it, hated it, or in this case of the Lee Child novel I read, neutral about it.

And so that's why price matters to a reader. He/she has a limited budget so wants to spend the money wisely on a book that gives him/her the best chance that when finished will be a good experience. So no reader wants to buy an expensive book that he/she is unsure whether will be liked at the end of it.

So Mr Child books are a gamble for the budget. Coffee is not because you know what you're getting. And I'll remember that next time one of your novels comes up on the pile of the great unread.

Until the next time.

When Welsh Labour Blames Welsh Labour For Cuts In Public Spending Then Welsh Labour Is To Blame. Welcome to Bridgend (Plus The Latest Trip Around The Town)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have in this blog chatted about Bridgend Council's public service cuts. Well on Friday came a report in Wales Online that if they have to face further financial demands from the Welsh Government then they will "think the unthinkable" in terms of cuts in order to balance the books.

Now whoever is to blame for this situation is a matter for debate. And as I've said in the past Welsh Labour have managed Bridgend with arrogant incompetence. What is clear though is this. If one part of Welsh Labour (the council) blames another part of Welsh Labour (the national government) then Welsh Labour is responsible for the situation in Bridgend.

I suspect that Bridgend Labour Council are using the old trick of ramping up the worst possible situation so that if cuts still occur they will be less than what was originally proposed but still worse than previously. Still let's assume that they completely Brigxit from reality.

The proposals include:

Closure Of The Bridgend Town Bus Station: I must admit to not having mentioned the bus station in the past and that was remiss of me. Because it's quite exceptional. It's modern, effiencient and impressive. If the town matched the bus station then Bridgend town would be an urban legend instead of an urban tragedy...….and the council would consider closing it down?.....insanity on the proportions of locking it up in a straight jacket in a padded cell.

Closing it down would also be a false economy. After all potential for people to come to Bridgend town and spend money would be reduced. And as we've chatted about time and time again Bridgend Town needs the money.

An impressive place

Closing Libraries:/Community Centres Which I would suspect be in relatively isolated areas. Thus depriving communtinites of knowledge, entertainment and help. Depriving children of more books to read, of the unemployed access to the internet. But hey. Labour is "for the many"

Closing nursery education for Three Year Olds/ Closing Daycare Centres For Adults With Learning Disabilities/Older People: You may remember previously in this blog I remarked that this year's cuts from the council were designed to protect vuncerable people? Well that's gone for the future apparently

Reduced Road Sweeping In The Town : Another false economy. Nothing attracts visitors to a town like litter.

And so it continues.

What it means is that Bridgend thanks to Welsh Labour could be reduced from madness to despair to desolation....for the many.

Now for reasons I won't bore you with I spent most of Saturday morning in Bridgend Town. I thought my next proper visit wouldn't be till September. But I'd forgotten about something so today I was there. Let's begin with the four things I regularly visit.

The old Mcdonalds site: Machinery still there. No apparent change from my last visit. Nothing seems to have been built.

The Nolton Street Arcade: No change here either. Every shop in the arcade other than the two by Nolton street itself is empty.

Bridgend Indoor Market: No change re Christmas decorations. Still up there. Person I tried to get to help me on this said there was nothing he could do that I've not already done to try and get them taken down (in let's face it July) but suggested to see what would happen when the new plan to revitalise the market comes into place. This I will do. Will wait to January and try again. (more about decorations in a moment).

Now the market had more occupancy than normal. But that was because there was a craft fair for the day so that there were temprorary stalls. Seemingly no change for the moment in the permanent state of the place.

With regard to the plan I've promised not to discuss this until September as I won't step on the work of another blogger. What I will say is that it actually seems like a good plan to my unqualified eye. But with one major flaw. No plan, however good enough, will work if people are not attracted to come to the town. Hence the idea of closing the bus station down is not just a false economy, but simply mad.

Phones4U: Whilst yet to surpass the McDonalds record of seventeen years left to rot in the town centre after having closed down come September it will reach four years. Interestingly was able to take a picture of what it's like inside.

Eerie

You can imagine on Halloween the ghosts of Phones4U salespeople trying to flog the latest oyster mobile at you or explaining the glories of 3G.

In terms of shops there doesn't appear to be much of a change since the last time I was in the town. The vast swathes of empty shops are still there.

(As a quick aside in the public meeting with Leanne Wood I posted about a few weeks back there were people lamenting about the state of Pontypridd Town. I told them that compared to Bridgend Town Ponty was like the West End of London).

On the plus side I noticed that there was a branch of The Works there. This was significant because I cannot remember the last time (other than a seller of second hand tablets etc) a high street chain came to Bridgend since ASDA about five to seven years ago.

However there seems to be a rule in Bridgend Town that when one shop opens another closes.

An unpleasant surprise

This Café has been there since at least 2000 when we moved into the area. There were signs basically saying bailiffs came in to repossess the place.

And to show how sudden this was here's a picture of it from the inside.

Sad

I was going to have breakfast there. As it happened I went to the Dragon Café in Nolton Street. Did a little reading.

Wish I Could Say I Liked The Book

So far Mr Williams has revealed himself as a fan of Empire and tolerant (though not approving of) a colour bar in drinking establishments. This is not going well.

Unlike the breakfast.

All this for £4.60

Best fry-up breakfast I've had in a while.

Now there was a classic car show in Bridgend Town. When I say " Car Show " I mean people parked old cars in some streets, made jokes about gaskets and were still cleaning their cars in case the odd speck of dust hit their vehicles. Still I get a passion is a passion and so prepare for car porn. Though looking at the cars that interested me I suspect I'm softcore.

Austin Wolseley

Morris Minor ….ahh

Bet this frightened criminals

I have this theory that Fords become interesting when they're no longer in production

It is difficult to make a proper comment on the number of people who came yesterday to the town given the craft fair and the car show but perhaps two pictures might illustrate the problems it has. Around 11:30 at (I think) Wyndham Street . This is the picture of people on one side looking at the cars.

Popular

And this is the picture a few seconds later on the other side.

Says It All

One final thing you might have noticed that in the last two pictures there is bunting that's actually across the town. It was put up for a World War Two VE party celebration they did in May. And it's not been put down. Is this another Bridgend Labour Council cut? Put decorations up but don't bother to take them down again? We'll see in September.

Bridgend....thanks to Welsh Labour....misery for the many...not the few.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac (Just) Meanderings Post : Welsh Heatwave Edition Part 4!!!

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As I'm writing this it's 6:07am which is rather late for my normal insomniac posts (though have been unwillingly awake for about an hour) but as for reasons I won't bore you with am unable to post something tomorrow and though I will post something Sunday it won't be early in the morning so I thought well might as well do it today.

And yes there is still a heatwave. Some days are hotter than others but it's still there. Relentless. And the thing is we're getting used to it. Mind you have seen the weather for next week....and it's going to be hotter.

And more and more the issue about Welsh water being used to supply England comes into the fore. Let's be clear here. Whoever (and it wasn't me) who said that water was a Welsh natural resource and could be used as a catalyst for Welsh nationalism in the same way that North sea oil helped the SNP in showing that Scotland could survive as a nation was onto something. Again it appears that Welsh resources are being ripped apart to sustain England. It's already causing resentment. And it will fester.

It seems (just to borrow the BBC Radio Wales line about the World Cup) the water's all English now.

Just imagine a scenario where many Welsh people find it difficult to pay their household bills but find Welsh water flowing into England. That will create social unrest. Wales could be the first country in Europe where political change was caused by water, and by definition climate change.

There has been a debate in Wales about the change of place names from Welsh into English. People (rightly) see it as an act of vandalism on the Welsh heritage. Just to add a small twopennyworth into this I'll say this. Surely the proof it's a conspiracy is that often the English name has no connection with the area either. "Happy Donkey Hill" or "Lake Australia! anyone?

I have a cold. Don't think it's hay fever. Just a cold. Serious enough of course. I am a man.

Came home from work last night to find Blair being interviewed on Newsnight. Let's be clear (I think I've written this before but it's worth repeating). His youthful looks and voice have gone. No one trusts him. A minority worship on his altar. Most hate him. The power of the painting in the attic has long since gone. The man is Dorian Grey personified

Quick Welsh political news: Former Conservative leader Andrew R T Davies and Andrea Leadsom Leader of the House Of Commons are hosting a dinner in the Copthorne hotel Cardiff on the 26th July.

My first thought when I heard this was that was interesting that a revival of Little and Large was taking place. Though in the cause of gender equality Ms Ledsom was taking the Sid Little part (an improvement let's be clear on her current role as glorified office manager).

It costs £30 for this experience. Something I probably would describe as danger money. The other question is why Alun "Chucky" Cairns, Secretary of State For Wales and man I would trust about as far as I could see him isn't attending. So unlike him not to appear in a pointless costly occasion.

Plaid Cymru are doing well in recent council by elections (which is pleasing to see). The sooner this leadership election is dealt with the better.

With my West Ham United cap on let me say the signing of Jack Wilshire bothers me. With the one exception of John Hartson I cannot think of a single ex Arsenal player in my lifetime whose performance was just as good in the claret and blue. We shall see. But I have my worries.

Tomorrow wife, daughter and other female friends will be going to see the sequel to Mamma Mia. I should let you in on a secret. When I was younger I liked ABBA. Now I've moved to neutrality. Whereas now I'm far more of a classical and Easy Listening guy. Is that an age or gender thing? I don't know.

Let me leave you with this opinion.

Dean Martin was a better singer than Frank Sinatra.

Anyway time to go.

Until the next time (that being Sunday)

Reading Gore In Heat

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So.I've finished this.

Really Not Worth The Effort

I had mentioned before that this was the most dull book I'd read in a long while. Not dull in this sense of too intellectual. Just plain dull.

A lot of this novel is just men talking. For a novel on American political life some were real people, others could have been real people but in all honesty I could not be bothered in the first place.

This was the novel as a sleeping pill....which was a problem.

For I was outside my daughter's school on the penultimate day of term. You could tell it was the last week before the summer holiday's by virtue of the fewer number of cars of parents waiting for their kids.

Let me tell you that there is few things worse for the reader than having to continue going through a book he/she dislikes knowing that there was nothing else to do until the children came out (I say children one of the most disconcerting things about secondary school kids nowadays is that those in their later years are taller and seemingly more confident than you).

Partly due to the continuing and freaky hot weather in Wales (which was so hot my T-shirt was feeling wet at the back) and the book I really felt like nodding off. But I couldn't of course, just in case daughter was embarrassed. I tell you though it was close.

So my advice to readers on this book is this. Don't bother reading it. And if you've been blackmailed into doing so. Don't read it on a hot day whilst you're doing the school run.

Until the next time.

How Can You Explain The Effect Of Welsh "Jokes" To An English Feminist?....Try Wolf Whistling

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Couple of days back Welsh Conservative minister Guto Bebb resigned with regard to the government's policy on Brexit and voted against the government. A lot of the Twitter reaction revolved around the agonies he went to go away from his party in making his decision.

No....only kidding.....they were laughing at his name.

One of the people who made jokes at his name was a historian on colonisation and a Labour party member. A surprising person to do this. But then again perhaps not, as we've discussed in this blog previously a Corbyn government might be just as colonial towards Wales as this current nervous breakdown of a government is.

Well she had a backlash (not all of it let's be honest pleasant - not justified) and her description of Wales being a colony as "problematic" didn't help. Not a historical expert but surely a country conquered by it's neighbour and becoming a plaything to the heir to the English throne is surely a colony? Will leave that to others to argue this (as I know they already have)

It struck me however looking at her bio that there may another way to explain the effect of her joke to many Welsh people who read it. She is a supporter of women's rights. So, (and as regular readers will know my mind does go into tangents) I thought of Wolf Whistling.

Recently there has been a campaign to make wolf whistling illegal. Now to me there's nothing against a single wolf whistle. Men do it to women. Women do it to men - where I of course have to tell them to go away as I'm married (and if you believe that etc,etc).

However I believe that wolf whistling should be banned. Because often nowadays it doesn't stop at the single wolf whistle. Often there are more whistles, followed by remarks. So twomen (mainly) should not be intimidated.

So whilst one joke against a man with a Welsh name appears to be nothing. Perhaps the lady would then imagine how she would feel if there were constant jibes against her country,her heritage, her culture, her language. Perhaps then she will understand the upset that came her way.

Thing is Wales is "the last colony" because this sort of remark is considered socially acceptable where there would be no other example where this would be case.

Perhaps she understands now.

Perhaps.

Until the next time.

So The Thing I Can't Do In Bed......And Other Things To Do With Reading Including A Bit Of Gore

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

This morning I woke up early (again) around four o'clock but for reasons I can't say today I was unable to go into the living room and either watch the TV or go on the laptop. So what could I do? I decided to try again what I haven't done in a while.

Read in bed.

No point in going online. I saw the news yesterday. This country seems to be run by a government and a Prime Minister in the form of a nervous breakdown.

Unfortunately I couldn't do it. I've never understand those scenes where somebody is engrossed in a book propped up in bed. I can't do it. My back starts to go into knots. I get uncomfortable.

I just can't do it.

Must admit it doesn't help that one of the books I'm reading, 1876 by Gore Vidal is something I'm not enthused about so far. I've reached almost halfway and I can't say I've read a more dull book in a long while. When I say dull, I don't mean that intellectually it's beyond me (and regular readers will know I'm not afraid to say when that's the case) but that very little actually seems to happen. I hope that it's not going to be one of those novels where everything including the kitchen sink is thrown.

Went to the library today. This was the book I got.

Simon Beckett - The Restless Dead

Now this seems to have an interesting link. It's set in Essex where I was in exile earlier in the month to look after my mother. And the covering blurb says that Mr Beckett (who I've never read before) has "forensic detail to rival Kathy Reichs" whose life was the basis for the TV series Bones which I became a fan of when I returned from hospital after seeing my mother.

Connections eh? Never watched it in bed though.

Until the next time.

In The Light Of The Recent Vote Could The Green Party Agree To Another Tryweryn? Let's Talk Hypotheticals

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Now for those who don't know the story Tryweryn was a village in North Wales that was flooded in order to create a reservoir and provide water for Liverpool and the Wirral. It became a catalyst for the Welsh nationalist movement and a symbol of Wales being used and abused to accommodate England.

I chatted yesterday about the recent vote of the Green Party members in Wales so that it would stay as the Green Party of England and Wales unlike the Scottish and Northern Irish versions. I mentioned that if it wasn't for the fact that most of their members were probably vegetarians it would appear to be a case of turkeys voting for Christmas.

So we come to the question why did they do it? Why did they forgo the chance of being independent from England? And will it bite them in their ecologically enhanced backside?

Time then to go all hypothetical.

Let's ask ourselves the question then what would happen if another village in Wales "would need" to be destroyed in order to satisfy the needs of [insert English town/city] here. How would the Green party act? After all we have already discussed in this blog the British trade union movement appears happy to supply London with water from Wales without any apparent consideration of the Welsh position.

So how would the Green party react if a Welsh village was to be destroyed to create a reservoir for an English town/city? Well probably taken as a whole they'd agree. They probably wouldn't like it. They would probably cry tears into their vegetable lasagne. But they would probably accept it. Why? Because of the consequences to the English town/city of doing nothing.

The Green party in Wales would be against it. But it wouldn't matter. Because it's the Green Party of England and Wales and so they would be outvoted. And therefore the Green party members in Wales would be the second group of people to realise too late the consequences of a mistaken vote in a referendum.

With this vote only Plaid Cymru therefore is the party truly independent of England. Even the Green party has surrendered it's independence. If I was Leanne Wood I'd probably try to cannibalise as much of the Green Party's manifesto as possible and then try to appeal to their voters rather than the wet lettuce surrender of the current green option.

For remember Tryweryn could happen here again if there is no opposition.

Until the next time.

Is Welsh Labour Leadership Contender A "Red Cairns"? And The Surrender Of The Welsh Green Party

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

If the predictions are correct Mark Drakeford will eventually emerge as the new Labour leader and consequently First Minister in the autumn. I've been avoiding chatting about the various leadership competitions (other than Plaid Cymru's) which will be held in Wales in the next few months. But Mr Drakeford's election Twitter account made me sit up and take notice.

Against a smiling picture of him and Jeremy Corbyn casually dressed as if off to the pub the account makes clear that the leadership favourite has always been a Corbynite and then says.

"Mark sees the role of leader of Welsh Labour as a "bridge" between the party across the UK"

Now when I saw this tweet my first reaction was to say that taken by itself it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. And that is still my view. But some Twitter reaction was completely different. What they saw was that essentially what he was saying was that he was London's man. Red London's man. In the case of Mr Corbyn let's be specific. Red North London's Man.

He has already made it clear that he will battle to keep the United Kingdom as it is today. It does have to be asked whether he will show "clear red water" between Wales and a Corbyn government or whether he will threaten Welsh devolution simply by making the National Assembly become a shell whilst he does Westminster's bidding. Remember when we chatted about the issue of water Corbyn and his allies are not beyond being colonial when it comes to Wales.

Is he in other words a Red Alun Cairns? A Pro Consul for Westminster? If he becomes First Minister then his actions will need to be monitored to make sure he isn't. Not since Alun Michael has the Welsh Labour Party's independence in the Assembly been questioned.

And speaking of political independence let's chat about the Welsh Green party. Actually they're not the Welsh Green party, they're the Green Party of England and Wales. And it's Welsh members have voted to remain so.

What does this mean ? Well if it wasn't for the fact that a large proportion of their members are probably vegetarians I'd have said that it was a case of Turkeys voting for Christmas. What it does mean though is that where there is an issue where Wales and England clash then the Green position is not clear. It's not impossible that they might side with England. What then for it's Welsh Green Party supporters.

What's clear is that the Greens have absolved all responsibility of being a party for Wales. That, as it always seems to do really, leaves Plaid Cymru as the only party speaking for Wales and the people living here.

And the sooner their leadership contest is resolved the better.

Until the next time.

Why (In Britain Anyway) Do Vets Bother To Write Autobiographies?

Britain. Land of febrile uncertainty at the moment as the Brexit cliff edge approaches. A land where according to reports the government is actually stockpiling canned food in the event of a hard Brexit (I was at the Post Office cum grocery store in Sully last week and I actually looked at the canned items on offer as I was waiting in the queue thinking whether I should start a stockpile now. Didn't buy anything but the fact that I considered it says all you need to know about Britain today)

And yet Britain is also a place you can ask the questions which other places would consider you mad for asking them. So to repeat the title of this post:

Why in Britain do vets bother to write autobiographies?

I ask this question as it occurred to me whilst reading Tales from a Young Vet by Jo Hardy (co/ghost? written by Caro Handley) Ms Hardy was a star of the BBC Two series "Young Vets". It was a series that I wasn't even aware of at the time. But that doesn't matter. As regular readers of this blog will know I wouldn't have been it's target audience.

But anyway the problem Ms Hardy has is this. For the general reader, and probably uniquely in any aspect of literature one man stands as a colossus. In the sub genre that is veterinary autobiography one man alone is used as comparison to any new writer's work. The Dostoevsky of doggies the Pushkin of the Pussy Cats he is the star others try to reach.

I am of course talking of James Herriot.

Even in this book he's mentioned in the blurb where being a trainee vet is described as not "as easy as James Herriot made it seem". Really?

As a child/teenager  I read some of James Herriot's books and whilst not for a moment did it make me consider vetenarionship as a profession I did enjoy them as a reader for reasons I'll be mentioning in the next few paragraphs.

Whilst it would be wrong to say Ms Hardy's book is bad. It does not compare well when facing the Herriotian hurdle of comparison. It's biggest flaw is that it seems too rushed. One moment we're at a surgery, then in South Africa then back in Britain in a stable/zoo etc. This did not happen in the James Herriot books. We were in the Yorkshire Dales and that was that.

This rushing also applies to characters. People are introduced then ignored only to turn up chapters later. James Herriot probably subconsciously knew that the weirdest animals were humans. So there was a regular cast around the Herriotmeister a sort of mini drama when the other animals were not around.

It would appear that the only way Ms Hardy could go away from the shadow of James Herriot was to literally go away. Her next book is set in Africa. In writing terms the logic is simple "How can you be compared to James Herriot when you're in a completely different continent with completely different problems? It's an approach certainly. Whether successful is a different issue.

For the moment James Herriot rules.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post Welsh Heatwave Edition Part 3....Yes Part Three!!!

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well at 4:24am on a Saturday morning on what is unquestionably a freaky heatwave here in Wales. What's interesting about it now is certain type of behaviour it induces.

For example I've explained before how the Welsh people are when it comes to the weather an optimistic race and would not be afraid to wear shorts and sunglasses at the slightest hint of sunlight. Here however there's no optimism about it. You have to wear "summer" clothes for comfort. The idiots are those who for example would wear jeans and long sleeve shirts.....two thumbs pointed at this guy.

Another bit of rare etiquette that people living here in Wales have had to deal with are those returning from foreign climes on holiday who went for the hot weather! Sure the weather might have been a few degrees hotter taken as a whole but unless they come back looking as if they've been on the highest setting in a toaster there is the feeling that they've wasted their money.

What you have to do. Therefore is not to mention the Welsh weather unless they mention it. The hot elephant in the room.

Am listening to Seattle based Classical King FM at the moment. Of course it being the evening there means that it's not "through the night" music.

4:48am: Dawn is beginning to break. As are those squawking seagulls.

Of course President Trump is in Britain. He says that he's popular in the UK. Well in a way he is. The sort of villain that you love to hate. After all when was the last time Trump did anything quietly with good grace.

I'll say something else I've no idea as to whether he's guilty of any crimes. But he certainly walks like a gangster.

And you know what a lot of people are feeling about Theresa May at the moment? Pity. And when people feel that about a Prime Minister then she really has to go.

6:22am Time for breakfast. Have run out of croissants (first world problems) and don't fancy cereal. Have decided to go for bread and jam. That's right I'm ten.

6:46am. Feeling a bit sleepy now. Time for a short nap. Have work today and I need to go and get my hair cut. In the early morning my hair looks like large silver spiders are fighting.

Until the next time.

The Future Of The Welsh Language Shop

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Today I caught up with some disturbing news on Twitter. The Siop Y Bont, the Welsh language magazine and bookshop in the Pontypridd arcade is to close down next month.

Now I don't know the background to the closure, and I do feel guilty having avoided it in my last visit to the town, when my time was limited before watching a rugby game, but it is a great shop. Like all classic stores of it's type it seemed disorganised. But then as you went through the place you discovered treasure after treasure. As a retail experience it was truly a pleasure. Here were people who loved the Welsh language and loved showing that love to you the customer.

It's future closure though set me thinking. Obviously this is the most unscientific of surveys. Still since I came to Wales in 1997 there were four Welsh language shops that I was aware of. Now all these years later there is just one left in Whitchurch (Cardiff).

Now the enemies of the Welsh language will say this decline is just another example of that the native tongue is dying. It's an easy argument, and of course wrong. It's just part of the general shake-up of the high street mainly due to the internet. After all does all the store closures in Mothercare mean that childbirth is on the decline?

But the question does need to be asked what is the future of the Welsh language shop in this webby universe? Well in truth I don't really know what the answer is because what no one knows what the future is going to bring to the world of shops as a whole. At the moment things just seem febrile with once mighty names going to the wall. The only certainty is the uncertainty.

For the moment two off the top of my head thoughts enter my brain. Probably people with more knowledge of the subject will shoot me down, and so they should. But here they are anyway.

1) The four Welsh language shops I mentioned were/are individual small businesses. Perhaps if remaining shops joined together as a cooperative it might help with economies of scale etc.

2) Perhaps in towns without a Welsh Language shop large supermarkets should be made to stock a small proportion of Welsh language books, CDs DVDs and magazines. Now note the italicised small in that suggestion, say a shelf or two. And it should be reviewed in say three years. But at least there would be a regular supply of Welsh language stock in mainstream outlets.

Putting the Welsh language in high streets is the easy statement. How is a much more difficult.

Until the next time.

A Fat Man On Feminism And Whether The Aforementioned Carwyn Jones Is The Welsh David Cameron

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Whilst the Conservative government in Westminster is lurching from one crisis to another undermining the whole United Kingdom ethos that "London knows best" It's worth remembering that the Welsh devolved administration is run by the arrogantly incompetent Welsh Labour Party.

It's soon to be ex First Minister and trainee roly poly Carwyn Jones has been in the news publicising Labour's attempts to make it "a feminist government". Starting with research to find out how it could do this.

But of course nothing says feminism more than a fat man in a suit who as Twitter suggested to me recently was "demob" happy. He has been First Minister since 2009. Why has he taken the action now in the fag end days of his leadership? And what action? Research. How long will that take? Then how long would any recommendations be debated and implemented?

So what appears to be seemingly positive actions by the Welsh Labour administration is in fact kicking the issue into the long grass. Women in Wales must be so proud.

But at least there is action in kicking an issue into the aforementioned uncut lawn. Yesterday at the meeting with Leanne Wood I chatted about in my previous post she mentioned that the Welsh Labour Government had exactly no plans for the consequences of a Hard Brexit in Wales.

Now at time of writing the only certainty with regards to Brexit is it's uncertainty. For the first time there was serious talk at a UK level of a stockpile of canned food. And yet this Welsh Government has made no planning whatsoever.

On a personal level you have to ask why Carwyn Jones has not done this. It seems after all the logical thing to do (and indeed something he should have done months ago). He apparently seems to have put his faith in Saint Theresa of May to get a solution that will include Wales. So to be clear he (albeit late) is happy to instigate research into making the Welsh government more feminist but not into planning for the consequences of a Hard Brexit in Wales.

What makes this non decision even more odd is that on of the big manufacturing plants that could be affected is the Ford Engine Plant in Bridgend...in his constituency.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the answer to Welsh Labour's inaction is that Carwyn Jones is doing a Cameron. He is after all not just leaving his post as First Minister in the autumn but also the Senedd in the next election. Perhaps, just perhaps when Wales sought a leader in these difficult times it in fact found itself with a moral loser, who just walked away leaving others to deal with the problems he didn't want to deal with.

Perhaps.

Until the next time.

Listening To Leanne Wood

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Although I've been a member of Plaid Cymru for about two years I cannot say other than paying my subs I've been active. Various reasons combine for this. Moving house. looking for a permanent house, work  and for the first few months of this year being in Essex exile as I was looking after my unwell mother were the main ones..

But I know I have to do more on this. And when I heard that Plaid Cymru leader was holding a public meeting in Church Village in the South Wales Valleys on an evening when both the wife and daughter were out and I wasn't working well it seemed a good enough start.

It was held in Centre For Lifelong learning. I couldn't take a picture of this relatively modern building as car regs were always in view. So let's instead look at the view on the other side.

And you wonder why I like the Valleys

The meeting was held in a small room in the complex and I guesstimate there was around thirty people there. Given that we're talking about a warm Thursday in July that was impressive. Ms Wood travels the length of the country for Plaid. She is a leader who clearly knows her responsibilities.

She didn't give a speech as such. What she did was to answer questions from the floor. She revealed her plan is to follow the Alex Salmond model with regard to independence. and given that nearly succeeded you cannot really question that.

She also implored members to get more fully involved with their local community (for which I intend to do more) as her key target is the next National Assembly and local government elections in 2021. Explaining that it was one of the reasons for their success in the Rhondda.

Regular readers know that I'm a supporter of Ms Wood and will vote for her in the forthcoming . Nothing that happened yesterday evening changed that.

She Speaks and you listen

Ms Wood also mentioned about the Welsh Labour Government's Plans for a hard Brexit...….there aren't any. More about that on my next post.

At the end a group picture was taken and yes I'm there in it. Sorry about that folks.

It was an interesting evening and something I plan to do more in the weeks and months ahead.

Until the next time.

The Near Midnight Meanderings On A Movie With A Microwave Meal Part 2: Night Passage (1957)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well continuing this relatively new haphazard series of me watching a film in segments after returning home late at night from the evening shift at work we come to this. A 1957 Widescreen western starring James Stewart and Audie Murphy.

In the days when televisions were black and white and (as they were not widescreen - you youngsters really don't know how lucky you are) they could only show a small part of the movie picture films were made like this to be as panoramic and colourful as possible to show the cinema going public what they were missing. This is a good example. If you want to see Panoramic American countryside time and time again then this is the movie for you.

Essentially the plot is this. Trains carrying wages for railway workers building the railroad are being robbed by an armed gang. Stewart a down on his luck ex railroad guy is hired to carry these wages on the latest journey. And when I say down on his luck, he had to eek out a living playing the accordion and singing for next to nothing. James Stewart was an actor of considerable talents. But what this movie revealed was that singing was not one of them.

So when he's offered the job he does it. Not for the money but because "you belong to the railroad and it belongs to you"....yeah right.

Audie Murphy is Stewart's estranged brother and of course part of the train robbing gang. He is, ahem, on the wrong part of the railway tracks. Of course to believe that Stewart and Murphy are brothers even if Murphy describes himself as a "kid brother" really stretches your imagination. It was a good thing when I watched it that I was half asleep.

And the thing is. The biggest and only surprise in this film is that Audie Murphy is actually the better actor than Stewart. He gets to kiss the girl. He gets to say to Elaine Stewart (with blonde hair that seemingly was lacquered to death in the way it defied gravity) "Want to ride with me?" with a straight face (seemingly referring to going on a horse. The answer in either case was no). He is having fun.

Commercial Break time: You know when you're growing old when you remember the man selling the opportunity to reclaim PPI  for Gladstone Brookes when he was younger as well. Boy he's growing old. I remember the first ad for them. It was so rude. Practically calling the viewer an idiot if he/she didn't contact them.

Back to the film.

A word about it's title. There's no journey by railroad or otherwise in the night at all in this film (except in one very low key way). Why it was called Night Passage is beyond me.

Audie Murphy may have been the best thing about this movie (and he was) but he didn't save it. Not an awful picture. Just you felt at the end you could have done something better. As if you've wasted precious moments of your life watching it.

Until the next time.