The Job I'd Suggest Leanne Wood Should Do And The Job Carwyn Jones Should Have Done

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I'm not going to use this post to repeat my views of yesterday on the Plaid Cymru  leadership election. But I noticed on Twitter yesterday speculation on what she should do next. Focusing on being part of new leader's Adam Price's cabinet in the National assembly.

I do not speak for Ms Wood but I'd guess she's hurting right now. People should understand completely if she doesn't feel about getting involved in Plaid Asssembly matters as spokesperson for a particular subject.

So here's a suggestion. She attempts to unseat Labour MP Chris Bryant from the Rhondda constituency at the next general election.

This will not be easy. Currently Mr Bryant has a majority of over thirteen thousand. But if anybody from Plaid currently has a chance of unseating him it would be Ms Wood who is from the area. After all she won the Assembly vote for the constituency with a 24% swing. Unseating the then Labour education spokesperson Leighton Andrews in the process.

Mr Bryant is on the television often. Complaining about Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn for example but it occurred to me that I don't hear him talking about anything specific in his constituency.

So I went on Google search. Put his name down and pressed the news section. I was looking for the first item which was not either UK or Wales as a whole related but specifically to the Rhondda. With Mr Bryant (a backbencher) I lost the will after page 16. With Ms Wood, who remember was Plaid leader until Friday I found one in Page 11.

Now obviously for either person this does not include casework and it's the most unscientific of surveys. Still Mr Bryant gives the impression of taking his constituency for granted and seems to go off on subjects unrelated to voters' specific local concerns for his own agenda. If there is one thing we know about Ms Wood, she will care.

Unlike Carwyn Jones. Still (just) First Minister of Wales and still sporting that beard which makes him look like a shifty Santa. Recently he made a speech to the employer's organisation the CBI where he said that Wales needed to emulate the German system of Mittelstand where instead of smaller/medium companies selling up to larger firms when they come knocking on the door they instead continue to thrive and grow. Thus becoming successful and substantial not just to the entrepreneurs who set them up but to the local area as a whole.

All very good. Throw that demob happy guy a fish. Except that not once as First Minister has he given any impression of helping such companies in a pivotal moment in their existence. If anything he has done the exact opposite. Attracting large companies to Wales with various grants and promises.

I'm not saying that attracting these large companies is wrong in itself. But bringing up the Mittelstand system where as First Minister you haven't really assisted these companies that could have shown more loyalty to Wales than bigger conglomerates would have done really is the sort of demob happy pronouncement of barefaced cheek that he's making now his time is almost done.

Until the next time.

The Price Is Right For Plaid Cymru? Let's Hope So

Hello there. hope you're feeling well today.

So my gut instinct was completely wrong. There was I thinking Adam Price had no chance of winning the contest for Plaid Cymru's leadership and he does it.

I'll chat about those issues I had with him in a moment. But I do feel that Leanne Wood lost mainly because of the chipping away at her leadership which has lasted over a year mainly by people who felt impatient by the lack of power Plaid had but ignoring the position she inherited from the disastrous tenure of her successor Ieuan Wynne Jones.

I voted for her. I believe that she would have been the best candidate to lead the party forward. Ultimately though I believe she has been the victim of a deliberately slow building coup.

But Mr Price won. And he has said he will bring "New ideas and New Energy" to the post. Well he will need the new energy as he would need to bring himself to the attention of the wider Welsh public. If history has shown anything time is relatively short for leaders who take over from an incumbent through such a process. Especially as criticism of Ms Wood focused on a perceived lack of electoral success. If he cannot show improvement then his time as leader may be shorter than Ms Wood's. Even more so given that there is a clear alternative in Rhun Ap Iorweth

As for "New Ideas" well he's apparently known as "the ideas machine", but he will need a group of people to funnel the more questionable ones to the rubbish tip. After all Mr Price is the man who is leading a party that a few months back he felt should be led by joint leaders. Also his idea (which I've written about in this blog) that Plaid Cymru should change it's name should also be forgotten.

But he is highly intelligent and he has a forensic skill in dismantling Welsh Labour government proposals which will be publicised more now he is leader. If perception is any guide Adam Price would appear to be able to wipe the floor with any of the Welsh Labour wannabees for Carwyn Jones' job.He has also said that independence will be at the heart of Plaid Cymru. As it should be.

I have read criticism of his approach as "populist" well in that regard I've no problems with that. There is nothing wrong in galvanising people into politics. You can argue that an apathetic public is in fact more dangerous to democracy as they will accept anything thrown at them.

I would suspect that I am not the only person who did not vote for Adam Price but who will have my loyalty given that a split would damage not just Plaid but the cause of Welsh independence. He will though also have to face the worries and upset of people like me as well.

I hope Adam Price succeeds. For if he fails we will all regret the treatment of Leanne Woods even more than we do now.

Until the next time.

The Frenchwoman Who Loves Elephants

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I am going to mention a spoiler on this latest library book though not much of a spoiler given that it was mentioned on the inside cover of the book. Still, you have been warned.

This was the book

Francoise Malby-Anthony - An Elephant In My Kitchen

This was the sequel to The Elephant Whisperer (which I haven't read). The original book told the story of how Ms Malby-Anthony (who is French) met and married a South African. How she moved there where they set up a Safari park.

The spoiler is that her husband died of a heart attack.

What that means is that her life had to change. Instead of a partnership she was the boss with all the responsibilities and pressures that brought.

It makes the book different from any other animal book. There are the cute elephant (and rhino)stories but the emotional and business pressures her circumstances brought upon her are not shied away from as well.

And as Doctor Who might have the Daleks Ms Malby-Anthony has enemies which permeate throughout the book. Poachers and Hunters. The thing about them which surprised me was that they were sophisticated as they were brutal.

So it's a few notches above the average animal book because it includes elements beyond what you would normally expect. For that reason I would recommend it to animal lovers and (if separate) book lovers alike.

Until the next time.

The Most Idiotic Interview In The History Of S4C

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers will know I'm a fan of the Welsh language TV channel S4C. But this week in the political programme Yn Byd Yn Ei Le it (or ITV Wales the production company involved) did something incredibly stupid.

I've mentioned before that, especially since Brexit, the Welsh language has been subject to snipings from the far right. Essentially the argument that it's "a dead language".

The latest recruit to this people to the right of Ghengis Khan point of view on a nation speaking it's native language is Katie Hopkins. Right wing mouth and woman with financial problems (a right winger who has money issues - there's a certain satisfaction in that).

Well S4C allowed this woman an interview.

So the question is why. She's not a politician. She has no obvious influence on the issue. Yet there was S4C the Welsh language channel giving her a platform criticising the Welsh language. I won't go into detail on her views, but, well, you can imagine.

I would argue that one of the reasons why BBC News is questioned more about it's objectivity is that it appears to bend over backwards to be nice to it's enemies. S4C should not fall into the same trap. After all if Ms Hopkins is against Welsh language education don't you think she has the same view on S4C itself?

And it's even pointless for Ms Hopkins herself. Who but the most thicko of right wing thickos after watching a Welsh language programme would think "You know what? She's right. I'm not going to speak Welsh anymore".

S4C should be a bastion against attacks on the Welsh language. What it shouldn't do is fawn on it's enemies.

Until the next time.

Am I Being Slowly Seduced By Alexa? (Other Machines Are Available)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So I wake up in the morning. In a zombie like state I'm making a cup of tea and some croissants (get me!) and what am I then doing? Going on my Amazon Fire Kindle  and asking for a "Flash Briefing".

No that's not some rude short story. It's Amazon's way of compiling the news headlines, the local weather, a short snippet from the Daily Show and TV Choice suggestions in a few minutes (all my chosen subjects). That's it. I can then ask it for my calendar (rarely above one item in that day) and ask it to turn on a classical music radio station from anywhere in the world.

The day begins.

Later I'd ask it for a traffic update on my route to work before I go. My specific route you understand not those around Wales/the UK on the off chance it's mentioned on the radio.

I can also play something bought on Prime Music or video should I desire it in the evening.

The thing is I've barely touched the surface. There are literally hundreds perhaps thousands of "skills" which could be added if I had the time to work my brain round them.

What it does is to throw your thoughts and tasks into one place without thousands of bits of paper to confuse you. There are issues though. We don't live in a land yet where people walk around supermarkets with tablets with a shopping list on them. So I write down on a piece of paper. Luddite of me I know but at least I've marshalled it all in one place beforehand.

But the biggest issue is speaking to Alexa. Anything slightly different to the norm confuses it. Yesterday I asked for the French classical radio station France Musique.

"I'm sorry there's no France music"

"No France music"

"Sorry there's no France music"

And this continues. I have to go all Inspector Clouseau like

"France musique" with as much emphasis as I could muster before it brought me to the radio station I desired.

I am balking though at the idea of Alexa connecting to machines. For example I'm not interested in an Alexa  controlled microwave unless it's able to stop during cooking a microwave meal, stirs that meal and then starts again.

Not against communicating with others through it. Though for the moment it seems simpler just picking up the phone.

Still as a sort of personal assistant it is growing on me. Whether too much time will tell.

One final story about the voice commands. Asked wife on Sunday whether she wanted anything when I went to the supermarket the next day.

"Loo rolls" came the response which I duly asked Alexa to put on the shopping list. This it announced.

On the screen however it said I asked for Lou Rawls.

Now if Lidls sells seventies R&B singers. Then I'd be very impressed.

Until the next time.

The Final Grandstanding Of Carwyn Jones?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well it's Labour Party Conference time. Something I didn't feel I would be chatting about until this morning. When two separate events happened which needed a chat.

A quick note to the Labour delegate from Aberconwy who said that if education taught children correctly then they wouldn't grow up to be Tories? Well leaving aside the fact that I don't have any love for the Tories either AND the disturbing issues of thought control the statement suggested (the guy according to the TV is actually a teacher) he seemed oblivious to that fact that Aberconwy is in Wales.

And what that means is that in Wales Labour run education. A job they've been so bad at that the current education minister is a LibDem.

Facts, Mr teacher delegate. Sometimes they can spoil a soundbite.

Anyway time to chat about soon to be ex fat controller the First Minister Carwyn Jones who has made his final speech in the conference. A man so comfortable and demob happy he's started sporting fuzz on his face making him look like a shifty Santa Claus.

And like Santa he's been spreading gifts. Such as telling leadership candidate Eluned Morgan that he'll nominate her to be his replacement as a point of principle for feminism when he was silent beforehand. How he's offering £6m in grants to Ford,Toyota and Airbus who have major presence in Wales to help them with Brexit and how he's setting up a £50m EU transition fund for the rest of Wales to deal with the exact same issue.

The thing is though those grants and the fund is a typical Welsh Labour smoke and mirrors action. For I'm sure in a parallel universe the reaction to his speech was follows:

"Oh Carwyn we love you!"

"Why are you leaving us?"

"I love him. I'm going to throw my knickers on the stage"

In the real world however the question needs to be asked is why announce it now? Not the grants or the fund but the amounts involved. After all if the Westminster government does not know whether we're going to have a soft Brexit, a hard Brexit or a long dark Brexit of the soul (or even, though unlikely remaining).

In view of that how does Carwyn and his crew know that £6million / £50 million is going to be enough? It might be too much, or too little or pointless because the companies have decided to leave anyway. On the face of it the £50 million fund in particular for a whole nation appears to be rather small. But then again who knows? No one truly does. But here's Welsh Labour saying it anyway.

And let me stress again. I'm not saying that the grants or the fund is a bad thing. Nor am I saying that all consequences of Brexit should not be planned for. But the announcement of the actual figure seems premature given no one knows at the moment what Brexit will bring.

So why announce it? Well I would suggest to give the image of Welsh Labour fighting for Wales. To give Carwyn Jones a final conference hurrah as he slowly moves into becoming a question on a Welsh game show.

But Welsh Labour are not fighting for Wales. What they have done, as another Welsh candidate Vaughan Gething appeared to imply, is to manage decline.....and they couldn't even do that right.

Until the next time.

Why A Forty Minute Car Journey Has Made Me Realise BBC Radio 4 Will Eventually Disappear

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I work, as I've made clear previously, mainly an afternoon evening shift. From near Penarth to Bridgend the journey time to work takes about forty minutes. And as long as there's no extreme weather it's a pleasant enough there and back the anti social hours meaning that the route is not generally heavy with traffic.

But as it stands at the moment I'm not comfortable with what I'm listening to on the radio. Basically because forty minutes is simply not long enough to get involved. I find myself flitting from station to station like a broadcasting gadfly.

Which is why I've resorted to listening to podcasts downloaded from my tablet or the BBC iplayer radio app. It's simple enough and you're always certain you're going to be listening to a subject you're interested in so problem solved. Currently am listening to Backlisted and The Minimalists podcasts

But it led me to thinking. Why does anyone ever need to listen to BBC Radio 4? After all who truly listens to one BBC Radio 4 programme live and then listens to the next one?

There surely will be a time, not yet but quicker than you think where most people would be listening to Radio stations on their tablets. Just as people used to use call boxes when out and wanting to make a call.When that time comes. (Not yet). Wouldn't it be simpler to merge BBC's Radio 4 news programmes with BBC Radio 5 Live/Sports Extra and then just put the rest of it's output on podcast?

I suspect then that taken as a whole the disappearance of BBC Radio 4 would not be missed.

Just a thought.

Until the next time.

When Is A Game Of Thrones Prequel Not A Prequel? When It's The First Book Of The Series You've Read

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well as regular readers to this blog will know taken as a rule I'm not a fan of prequels. My view is that what's the point of knowing the route when you know the destination? I use the TV series Gotham as the example of this. We all know Bruce Wayne is going to be Batman. So where's the tension?

Similarly I'm not a fan of fantasy novels  as a rule either. Books where a writer makes up their own worlds with fantasy names and words with the occasional bit of "magic" thrown in. So far in my reading life the one and only exception has been the Helliconia series by the late Brian Aldiss.

And so...as I go into my local library the next book on their display which I am honour bound to read by wish to read every "practical" book there turns out to be this.

George R R Martin - A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms

This is in fact three novellas set a hundred years before the Game Of Thrones years where roaming Westeros are our heroes. A "hedge" knight called Dunk and his child servant Egg. A land where there are some exotic places as Cockswindle, Osgrey, Standfast and Ashford (isn't that in Kent?)

I remember vaguely watching the first ever episode of Game Of Thrones years ago. I was half asleep and really unaware about what was going on. Other than that I've passed it by.

Now I know that sounds snobby on my part. Not my intention. But I hope it explains that when  picking the book up I had probably the unique advantage of being able to treat this book not as a prequel but as book one of the whole saga. In other words through luck rather than design I was starting from the beginning.

So did it change my mind regarding this type of book? Well slightly. It's certainly readable. The best novella of the three was the final one which had a mystery at it's core. If I was able to read the next instalment of this (prodigious) series for free I wouldn't baulk at the opportunity.

But whilst interesting and readable I can't say I was excited by it. Even though it was for me book one it still lacked any degree of tension for me. I suppose therefore it was a prequel after all what ever you approach it.

In any case. Helliconia still wins.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post : Wet And Windy Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well out there it's wet but not windy. Yesterday was windy and wet. Tomorrow will be weather warning windy and wet. As was Thursday. And that wasn't a fun journey from work.

I left work on Thursday around ten pm in Bridgend to near Sully. It takes about forty minutes along the A48 and is a pleasant enough drive on a normal day especially as there's little traffic around that time. Thursday night was not normal however. It was wet, remnants of hurricane windy and dark. Dark is crucial to this. For there were moments where it was difficult to see the large pools of surface water or the dead fox  lying on the middle of the road which I avoided hitting at the last minute.

And being windy the mighty Kia Picanto was buffeted but unbowed. Taking the pressures and dealing with them. I think I've said before that this was the best car I've ever driven and that night only emphasised it.

I'd picked BBC Radio Wales to listen to in case there was anything I should be aware of on the journey. The DJ for that time was Chris Needs, a larger than life character whose persona is of the slightly loud camp friend you could gossip with through various types of music (a lot of which you could boogie on down to).

That night however I understood that his flamboyance hid an exceptional broadcaster. He knew the right mood for that night. Not screaming warnings of impending disaster but as a concerned friend. Entertaining you along with the music but not distracting you with the task ahead. He was the man for that moment.

As I said normally the journey takes about forty minutes. That night it took me an hour as I was deliberately slow frightened about the consequences of skidding.

When I reached home and mentioned the journey I had all I seemed to get in response was a shrug  of the shoulders from wife and daughter. That was actually understandable. Daughter seems to have got a near flu bug which seems to be permeating around. You have all the symptoms of flu (cold, cough achy all over) but not enough to go over the edge that you cannot do things. I know people at work who have exactly the same thing (and no I'm not the carrier. Apparently kids in her class have this too).

The weather will apparently die down tomorrow evening when I'm working. Hope so. Sequels are normally more louder and brasher than the original.

Here's an interesting thing. Apparently none of the top ten names of children born in Wales last year are Welsh. So names like Gareth, Dafydd and Lowri have fallen out of favour.The worry is that it's seen as the consequence of Westminster's attempts to destroy Wales by merging it with England.

Thing though is that based on my one experience choosing a name for a child isn't easy. As it happened the wife and I quickly came to a decision on what the name would have been if the baby had been a boy but we hadn't settled on a girl's name before the birth. And given that it turned out to be a girl things came (almost literally) to a head.

Eventually we settled on a name. We settled on a middle name as well, which is Welsh. And it would be interesting to know the percentage of parents who've done that. So perhaps the issue is not as worrying as some people think.

Culture is always reflective in children's names. After all in years to come there will be people in care homes named Kylie and Jason. I'm sure they will be singing her hits swinging the zimmer frames as they do (Jason? That I doubt).

Ah well. Wife's awake now. She might have the bug daughter's got. Soon coming my way then.

Until the next time.

Why Does Welsh Labour Not Take Pride in Bridgend Town?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I wish, I wish, I wish, I wish that when I'd gone to Bridgend Town centre on Monday I'd taken more pictures. At the time it seemed pointless. After all they would have just shown the very same swathes of empty shops, the neglect and the general look of a tired town which has become an urban tragedy.

But what has made me regret that decision a few days later is the front page of the yesterday's Western Mail which led in to the towns on the shortlist for Wales' best high street award. And you knew, you knew that Bridgend Town wasn't going to be there.

It led me though to the question: Why does Welsh Labour (which on a national and local level has controlled Bridgend for decades) not take pride in Bridgend Town?

I've discussed since this blog began the empty shops as well as the stalls in the indoor market. Some of these shops let us not forget that that were closed down and left to rot not just itself but the look of the town The classic which I'm sure will be urban myth in years to come was the McDonalds which was closed then left for seventeen years. The Phones4U shop, rotting for four years now has a lot of catching up to do.

There are some shops where renovation work is being undertaken. However from what I could see most of them have a TO LET sign on them afterwards

It's also the neglect. If Welsh Labour had any pride in the appearance of the town it would not have left the Christmas decorations (as I've discussed previously) in the indoor market for nearly a year. Or the bunting hanging along the town following a World War Two VE event in May. It's September and it's still there.

As I've explained previously Welsh Labour have caused the problems through the numerous mistakes the council/national government have made through the years. The pedestrianisation of certain streets proved to be unpopular for example. And crucially the effects of the Macarthur Glen outlet store on the town were not properly thought through.

Thing is of course this situation is going to get worse. Welsh Labour in the form of the council are blaming Welsh Labour in the form of the national government  for the reduction in the monies they receive from Cardiff. Rats fighting amongst themselves there. However this wouldn't be so important if it wasn't for the fact that the council as I've explained before are proposing a series of cuts to accommodate the shortfall.

These cuts include the closing of the public toilet, the bus station and the reduction in the collection of rubbish. How I ask you does that make the town attractive to look at? How does that attract visitors that would spend money that would help make the town thrive?

Other than proposed cuts there seems to be no Welsh Labour plan for the town. It's all crisis management hoping no one will notice.

Welsh Labour have betrayed Bridgend Town. If the town was a child it would have been taken away from Labour's clutches and put in a home with people who would care for it's future. In this case it would be Plaid Cymru.

Labour cannot say it cares for Bridgend Town. For like the Phones4U shop under their stewardship.....it's been left to rot.

Until the next time

On Books: Where We Chat About the Only Rugby League Novel Most People Knows And Why My Teenage Self Was Right Over James Bond

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So let's start with the rugby league novel.

1674 - David Storey - This Sporting Life

This tells the story of Arthur Machin and what happens to him once he signs on to a professional rugby league team in the North of England in the late fifties. I say "professional" but for that time it's just an extra job from his main one in a factory. It's still fame though and what the novel shows is it's consequences for him and his life.

Thing is I'm not sure what I think now I've finished it. Which probably means I've not completely understood it. The biggest issue is the behaviour of Arthur Machin's landlady Mrs Hammond which I just don't get. Perhaps what happens to her explains it. Perhaps not. I've no idea.

And speaking about female characters leads us of course to James Bond.

So let me tell you a story of me in three time periods. Me as a teenager. Me in January February this year and me now.

It's 1977 and I'm thirteen. I have the princely sum of £1.50 in my pocket. I decide to buy two James Bond books. One was Goldfinger.

Well I hated it. Partly because it has the most racist prose I've ever experienced. No matter if you're North and South Korean I bet nobody there read that and wanted to read another bond book again.

The other reason was quite simple......the movie was better.

So the other book I put on the shelf and ignored. Eventually my mother wanted to read it so she put it on her shelf and that's where it stood. Unloved and unread.

The other book was this.

Ian Fleming - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

A quick word on the cover. When I put this on Twitter there was a comment on how typically sexist it was for the period (the seventies - 1977 to be precise). Well for that period it's actually quite restrained. The sexism is actually quite more subtle. In the inside cover there's a credit for the maker of the gun, the photographer, the clothes designers and even the hairdresser....but not the model.

Anyway regular readers will know I'm a fan of the Backlisted podcast and this book was the featured on early this year when I was in Essex exile looking after my then unwell mother. And well as it was on the shelf I decided to read it, though I didn't actually look at until now. I was hoping I was wrong.

Well I wasn't. This book was truly awful. My teenage self was right. The movies are better. Bond is a wisecracking saviour of the world. In the novels he's just a pompous prig and not really that secret of agents either. In the movies the sex is between lustful consenting adults. In the book Bond is hunting for women.

Ah you might say but what about the main woman in this novel Tracey? Well do you want to know how she was conceived? As a result of a rape between a Mediterranean gangster (who knows about Bond - again not so secret an agent) and a wayward English woman. You know what? She stayed and married him. Thus perpetuating the myth at that time (1960) women liked it.

Not only that but this was told by the gangster to Bond in the same way that they might be discussing the weather.

Of course the books were popular at the time but I suppose it just appeared glamorous at the time. The films (even this one starring George Lazenby) takes the basic plot, throws away the rubbish and then puts better parts to replace it.

Yes. My teenage self can be right sometimes.

Until the next time.

The Near Midnight Meanderings On A Movie With A Microwave Meal Part 6: Long John Silver (1954)

Hello there. hope you're feeling well today.

So Treasure Island wasn't good enough for filmmakers oh no. There has to be a sequel. Long John Silver. Or as I prefer to call it : Treasure Island 2 : This time It's personal.

Made in Australia ("Treasure Island Studios no less) with a choir going all "Yo ho ho" for the opening titles. I really didn't know what to expect. Regular readers would remember that I was quite underwhelmed reading the original Robert Louis Stevenson novel.

Essentially the plot is this. Long John Silver and his crew have to deal with a kidnap and various opponents in their search for (of course) treasure. Which will of course lead them back to (of course) Treasure Island.

I say "various opponents" the chief one being another pirate( and his crew) called Mendoza. The chief villain of course being both flouncy and foreign.

It's all rubbish of course. But it's the sort of movie that as long as you don't take it seriously is entertaining rubbish. The person to thank for that is Robert Newton in the starring role who overacts good and proper. But in this sort of film that's what's required. The film is on his shoulders for the most part and he takes it on. Without him (for the most part) this would be just rubbish. He makes it watchable rubbish.

Thing is. In a film like this if you see that an actor is having fun it rubs off on the audience. Newton is having fun.

The only other of note to mention here (and I didn't realise he was in the film until afterwards) is Rod Taylor. Won't tell you his part as it would spoil the film, but only he can match Newton for screen presence here.

A quick mention of the main kid in this Jim Hawkins (yes he returns too). Won't go into the plot but what he does is a surprise. Let's just say he enjoys the life of a pirate for the most part.

Of the six movies I've done so far in this occasional series. This actually comes second if I was stranded in a desert island with wi-fi for my tablet to watch on the cloud.

A treasure island hopefully.

Until the next time.

Bridgend Town : The Decline Continues

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Regular readers to this blog will know that even though I don't live in the area anymore I make occasional trips to Bridgend Town to look around. As I've discussed previously I believe it's an urban tragedy mainly brought on by the arrogant incompetent management of the local Labour Council.

After visiting it yesterday nothing appears to have changed. Still vast swathes of empty abandoned shops or redeveloped shops no one wants to rent. Indeed it's got slightly worse with a clothes outlet in the local shopping centre closing down.

With one exception I haven't bothered to do any pictures. Simply because there would be no change from the position in July, or when I chatted about it many times beforehand.

Bridgend Town is...let's face it...seemingly being slowly tortured.

I have four indicators re the town that I refer to when I visit. Let's chat about them.

Nolton Street Arcade: This is the small shopping arcade where apart from the two shops that go onto the street every single shop in the arcade has closed down. Well nothing has changed.

Bridgend Indoor Market: The Christmas decorations (it's September!) are still there.

You may remember that there was a plan to revitalise the market but I promised the blogger who first explained it that I wouldn't mention it until September out of fairness to him? Well it's September now so the plan is basically to cut the rents.

Trouble is. Whilst it's fine in itself judging on things as I went there yesterday it doesn't appear to have worked. If anything (though I'm not sure) there may be even more empty outlets.

I think I know why. If you have difficulty in attracting visitors to the town then you will consequentially have difficulty attracting people to the market. Bridgend Council should realise that. And yet nothing appears to either have been done or has been apparently successful.

The Old McDonald's: That is the old McDonald's that had been closed down and left to rot for seventeen years until demolished last year. Well last time I visited there was machinery. Today just a space, a portaloo and three men in high vis jackets.

I mean...what are they doing and why has it taken them so long to do it? Will we have to wait another seventeen years for a building to emerge from it all?

Phones4U: With the demolition of Mcdonald's this I think is the oldest disused space in the town. Four years since it closed down and still nothing.

This was the one I wanted to take the picture of:

Have A Look At The To Let Sign On The Right

Above the actual To Let wording it says in smaller lettering "Prime Shop". Really? If it was a "Prime Shop" it would have been let out a long time ago.

So you see the urban tragedy continues. What it shows above all is that Labour, who helped cause it, should be thrown out and people with, what are the words? Ah yes common sense should take it over. And as I've argued before that should be Plaid Cymru.

Unless anything unexpected happens I'll return again in December.

Before I go and relating to absolutely nothing I wandered round the local W H Smith for a bit and two books caught my eye.

Firstly in Bridgend I give you proof that perfection comes cheap

Told you

And probably the most astonishing book I've seen this year.

I see it. I've taken a picture of it. I still don't believe it

Until the next time.

Welsh Rugby : Time For One Club Two Codes?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Now as I often do when chatting about rugby on this blog I will first need to say that I'm not the world's expert. Not my favourite sports (I'll explain the use of the plural later) but I do like it and am bothered by the decline in the club game here.

I'm also going to say that what follows is a top of the head thought. Not backed by any insight or indeed thought. Just something that emerged whilst reading a book...which is what books do, Just not I suspect the tangents that enter my head.

The book is David Storey's 1960 novel about a professional (though there are caveats to that word at that time) rugby league player This Sporting Life. I'll chat about it properly when I've finished.

Now reading this novel reminded me of the time this summer watching a Welsh Rugby League game which I posted on this blog. The response to this post was quite surprising. Especially when I was
offered to visit the Valley Cougars by the coach. Unfortunately as it happens work commitments meant I couldn't make it. Though I definitely would have taken up on his kind offer otherwise.

But the thought that occurred to me was this. What if one Welsh club played both codes of rugby? League and union?

After all the old animosity between the codes seems to have gone now. The home team in the match I saw (Rhondda Outlaws) played in Sardis Road which is the home of Pontypridd RFC. If they joined together then the sponsors could be happy because they would be wearing the same shirt. Their seasons don't clash and having the name changed to from the outlaws to Pontypridd RFC would bring in some more Ponty supporters during the summer months.

And it would only take this to happen once and I would suspect others would quickly follow suit.

Rugby in Wales is changing and is getting harder. Perhaps thinking the unthinkable might help both sports in the long term.

Until the next time.


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Belatedly On A Saturday Morning Over A Pizza, I Discover Who Murdered Sheryl

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Doing this extra work has meant the downside of having less time with wife and daughter (which hopefully the extra money will alleviate come Christmas time) and that the normal family life patterns are thrown away as I start work in the afternoons and finish late in the evenings for a considerable length of time.

So in terms of television viewing things we watched together as a family are at this moment being watched by wife/daughter first and then eventually I get around to viewing it. And when I say "things" I actually mean the Welsh language soap opera Pobol Y Cwm.

I was, measured by the Sunday omnibus programmes, almost three weeks out of date. The day before however wife told me that she and daughter had watched the programme and had found out at last the question which had been intriguing us since the summer.

"Who killed Sheryl Hughes?"

In the morning daughter also mentioned this to me....in a manner of speaking.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Who did you think killed Sheryl?"

"Hywel Llywelyn" (Estranged husband of Sheryl - Angered that she had a fling with Gethin the mechanic). My choice from the day we visited the Pobol Y Cwm studios instead of welcoming back Geraint Thomas to Wales

My daughter laughed.

The Pobol Y Cwm publicity department had suggested that there was going to be six suspects for the murder. But it soon became clear after the subsequent episodes that there were just four. And, unless the writers were playing a game of bluff and double bluff, my choice of Hywel Llywelyn was out of the question because he was in jail as the police's chief suspect when the weapon used to kill Sheryl was found in his garden.

So it boiled down to three (spoiler alert to come. You have been warned):

1) The aforementioned Gethin, who was angered when he realised Sheryl was not going away with him and the baby to Ireland

2) Garry Monk. Gethin's boss. Ex partner of Sheryl. Husband of Dani Monk....Gethin's sister (This is a soap after all) who went a bit off the rails since her death.

3) Rhiannon. Partner of Gethin until he left her after the fling (which Sheryl regretted later) came out in the open. She too hated Sheryl. She is also an ex alcoholic.

I have my Saturday lunch at had at 11:30am on a Saturday morning. A few portions of pizza. Cooked because the due date was coming soon (wife/daughter scoffed the rest later). it's a Margarita pizza. It's alright. But I'm beginning to loathing the way pizzas make your throat dry. I now need dollops of [insert sauce here] to keep my neck happy.

Yes I'm stretching it.

It was....

Gethin the mechanic.

Now the one thing I really didn't like about this was the reveal. After all Gethin had been calm enough to have been able to convince his sister that her husband could have been the killer. He'd also been so close to Sheryl's mother that I was wondering whether he was going to have a fling with her as well (hey it's a soap. Nothing is impossible).

And yet he cannot contain himself during the funeral service which he runs away from and subsequently confesses all to his sister. Is that possible? I have my doubts.

One other point. If I wasn't (in Sunday omnibus terms) two episodes behind I'd have immediately set up a petition to have Rhiannon living with a good and decent man. Gethin being the second man she's lived with to have turned out to be a killer. The first incidentally....a priest.

I finish my pizza. Time to brush my teeth and get ready for work. One mystery of life solved. The ultimate mystery of reality is still ongoing.

Until the next time.

The Non insomniac Meanderings Post:Now There's A Change

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well it's 7:22am on a Saturday morning. I've had a deep sleep, so deep it almost feels that someone's chloroformed me. Even now as I'm tap,tap tapping this along to the computer I'm not completely awake.

The cause of this cure for insomnia? Well simple. I've been working more hours as they are currently short staffed. Not a situation that will last but grabbing some overtime whilst it's there. It will sort out Christmas (yes thinking about it already. But only on the finances).

But in the meantime it means when I get home late at night the body is ready for a microwave meal, light undemanding television and then basically it shuts down until the morning.

And I do mean shut down. Cannot physically walk to the bathroom and clean my teeth. The body is demanding a rest and wants it now. Often I find myself unintentionally sleeping on the settee. Simply because I just cannot move anymore.

It's a reason why by the way the blog has been disjointed for the past few weeks and will continue to be so for the rest of this month and a lot into the next.

Does this temporary timeshift in my day affect me? Well aside from the lack of contact with wife, daughter and mother I think that the only odd thing about it all is the way you feel disconnected with things until you're back on the car on the way home. As if once I've listened to the news (believing as it happens only a part of it - certainly the way it's slanted anyway) I'm back with the world. Finding out how it's gotten along without me.

Not at looking forward to doing this on Sunday night. Dreading finding out how West Ham have gotten on. No points. NO POINTS since the season began in August. Remember when he was appointed to lead Manchester City current manager Manuel Pellegrini was supposed to have a "holistic approach". Where's that gone? The way things are going West Ham fans will need a therapist's couch. We have, HAVE to get at least a point against Everton.

Sunny out there. Weather is another thing that I've know interest in at the moment except for the possibility of strong winds on Monday. Hate that driving. Otherwise well enjoy it people whilst it lasts. The feel is certainly autumn at the moment.

8:05am. As per instructions from wife. Washing machine is on. There we are. Who says I don't listen to the wife? Even when three quarters awake?

Anyway wife's awake now. My throat is killing me. Need another cuppa.

Until the next time.

Pete Wedderburn : Pet Detective

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers will be aware. I've had an occasional series (based on the books I've taken out from the library) on whether there's a writer who could replace James Herriot's unique position in the field (where the cows don't roam) of veterinary autobiography.

We have had so far the young vet, the out of hours vet in London and the vet whose USP is that he works in James Herriot's old practice and wanders round Yorkshire...yes I know. All though unsuccessful in usurping the crown of the king.

(As a quick aside on Tuesday when our finds from the South Wales Valleys came down to see us
 the subject of the Yorkshire Vet came up...no idea why. Apparently his TV series is now on season four. Which says everything you need to know about how up to date I am.

Anyway I mentioned that I've read his autobiography which brought surprise given we don't have a pet. Hey I'm a reader...don't judge me.

So I was asked what I thought of the book.

"Well" I began "It's not James Herriot".

And there was a nod of understanding. I did not need to say anything else. The most succinct piece of literary criticism I've ever given.It was all you needed to know)

So here's the latest contender:

Pet Subjects - Pete Wedderburn

Let's start by saying this...… it's not James Herriot.

But in Mr Wedderburn's case it does not matter. Because he doesn't attempt to be. There are no descriptions of [insert landscape here] , no courtship tales, no eccentric pet owners or work colleagues. What we have is no so much a vet (though he is that) but more of a medical detective.

Mr Wedderburn is the resident vet in the Telegraph who answers reader's problems. You'd have thought Telegraph readers would have issues like "Why doesn't my dog stand to attention when God Save The Queen is playing?" But no. Their problems are the same as other animal lovers.

So what Mr Wedderburn does is tell us a particular case history from his practice in the Irish Republic how he solved the mystery that was brought before him (such as the case of the dog who stopped eating, or the parrot who stopped talking) before ending discussing general animal problems that the chapter related to.

And it as a casebook of medical mysteries that the book works for the reader. He entertains but also informs.

So it's not James Herriot. But certainly the best book of it's kind I've read this year simply by not trying to be.

Until the next time.

Could An M4 Relief Road Increase Anti- English Sentiment, Welsh Regional Differences And Alun Cairns' Master Plan?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The Welsh Government are planning to build an M4 relief road. This relief road would basically be to handle the heavy traffic around Newport.

Now let me say from the outset that I'm no expert on traffic (though if you think the M4 is busy try travelling along the M25 or the M11!) nor do I know about the environmental concerns that the proposed road would take. But two separate issues have made me wonder whether all the potential aspects to this road have been thought through.

Regular readers may remember some time back I chatted about the probability of a rise in anti English sentiment due to a combination of the abolition of the tolls on the Geraint Thomas bridge and the pitifully small number of social housing being built throughout Wales. What that would cause is that English people would buy houses along the M4 corridor up to Newport, which would be cheaper than those in the South West where they would commute to work crossing the toll-free bridge. Thus causing a anti-English resentment towards them which unless dealt with promptly might turn unpleasant.

Well surely this relief road, bringing potentially a better road network to this actual part of South Wales will only increase the likelihood of this happening? Predicting disturbances does not mean supporting them. But really Cardiff and Westminster need to sort out a way to resolve this or else it will happen mark my words.

But that's not all. I've read an article from a councillor in Bridgend worried that new business investment will basically stop west of Cardiff because of the improved links the M4 Relief Road would bring the M4 Corridor East of the capital. Essentially West Wales will become a backwater and East , from Cardiff,(including those commuters to England) will become a "Western Powerhouse".

And yes I used those words deliberately. Because whther through accident or design Alun Cairns will become a beneficiary of this road because it will help him in the vision of a regional economic base between South East Wales and South West England. Welsh Labour will have helped finance his ambition.

Possibly, just possibly, Welsh Labour have been played by Alun Cairns.

But I say again, this road might be needed, I don't know. What is needed though is more thought about it's social consequences. Or else it might be a catalyst for social unrest.

Until the next time.

Possibly.

Word Of Mouth On Tonypandy,Treorchy......And Bridgend Town

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

What I'm going to say has absolutely no scientific basis on it whatsoever. Just word of mouth. But I would contend no less interesting because of that.

Yesterday friends from the Valleys came down for the evening. Given that it was the first opportunity for them to come down and give my daughter her birthday present. It was a pleasant time, and as these things go the conversation led to one thing and then another till suddenly for no obvious reason Tonypandy came into the conversation.

I have not been there for many years. Before indeed my daughter was born. I remember buying something from a greengrocer's (can't remember what) and the shop assistant's surprise that I was speaking with an English accent.

Well apparently that shop has closed down. Along with a number of others. The ASDA's nearby is blamed. Note to self. Have a look next time you're up there.

From then on the conversation moved onto Treorchy and how that town has relatively survived the effects of austerity. Daughter's and wife's eyes rolled upwards. For as I've said on this blog before if my wife dies before me that's where I want to move to.

"But..." said I moving it onwards "surely Tonypandy can't be as bad as Bridgend Town?"

And the answer?

"Umm Someone else has told me Bridgend Town's not that nice".

And that's the point Bridgend Labour Council. When a town's reputation spreads beyond the borders of the borough, then things are really serious.

It may be word of mouth Bridgend Labour Council but it spreads rapidly.

And Bridgend Labour Council you are to blame.

Until the next time.

Britishness Is A Threat To Wales. Just Like Welsh Labour Arrogance

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

On Twitter there is a Labour Assembly Member called Lee Waters who, in response to Plaid Cymru's leadership candidate Adam Price stated that "Britishness" is not "one of the many of the many threats faced by Wales".

The comment betrayed an ignorance of Welsh history as well as the arrogant incompetence that has signified current Welsh Labour rule. Both at national and local level which I've chatted about from time to time in this blog.

So let's start with the definition of "Britishness". The definition you need to follow here is that of former Plaid Cymru leader Gwynfor Evans who said that it was a "political synonym for Englishness which extends English culture over the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish".

Now this may seem like a digression but bare with me. If you go into a Marks and Spencer food hall or store in Wales you might see bilingual signs, or local produce. But in essence it will be exactly the same if I walked into their equivalent stores to where my mother lives in Essex.

And so it's exactly the same with Wales. Whilst there are certain differences, it's still has to work to the "Britishness" tenplate no matter how damaging it could be to the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of the nation.

"What about devolution?" You might ask. Well under Carwyn Jones Wales has been run through the tenplate of Tony Blair. As we've chatted about previously current fsvourite to take over as First Minister Mark Drakeford seems to be a "Red Cairns" in his admiration for Jeremy Corbyn. The point being is that neither has/will run Wales with independence of thought. They are both tied with following British political models.

(And of course let's not forget that both Jones and Drakeford agreed to the shameful Brexit deal surredndering their devolved powers to the weakest Conservative government I can ever recall in my lifetime)

So with an arrogantly incompetent Labour party and a Conservative Secretary of State in Alun Chucky Cairns apparently wishing that the South East of Wales is merged with the South West of England to form a "Western Powerhouse" "Britishness" is flexing it's muscles .

And for Wales Mr Waters, it is a danger to it's very heart.

Until the next time.

Is Chucky Cairns' Plan To Partition Wales?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well Secretary Of State for Wales and human malevolent mite Alun "Chucky" Cairns is at it again. Apparently in a radio interview this (Monday) morning he called his opponents "anti- English" for arguing that his " Western Powerhouse" idea (in that the South West of England and South East Wales becomes an integrated economic region) is damaging to Wales and is just an attempt to subsume it within England.

Let's start with the "anti-English" comment first . This is just typical Chucky. Throw in something  to deflect from the veracity of your opponent's case just to make the headlines. Rather like Boris Johnson but without the diplomacy.

There is nothing "anti-English" about disliking an extension of England across the Geraint Thomas bridge. If Pro Wales makes you anti English then what team does Alun Cairns support during the six nations match between the two? Or does he sit on the fence?....Or between that bridge?

The phrase "anti-English" means that you dislike the people of England. I've never heard anyone in Wales say that. Indeed I suspect the people of Wales (if they know who he is...and then try to find the poison dwarf) hate Cairns more than they do the English as a race.

As an aside in a speech about it today in Bristol Cairns says he wants "...to make the Western Part Of The UK Greater Than The Sum Of It's Parts". That mathematically does not make any sense whatsoever.

Chucky Cairns strikes again.

But what if it's not Chucky's intention to subsume all of Wales within England? What if the intention is just the South-East corridor of the M4 until it reaches Cardiff? After all look at the investment and actions that have been made. Rail electrification until Cardiff when to all intents and purposes stabilisers are put in for journeys west of there?

Or the forthcoming banning of the tolls on the Geraint Thomas bridge. Which will encourage commuting across the nations (which as I've mentioned before could cause social unrest - though not for the reasons Cairns would promulgate).

What has been the proposed major investment in South Wales west of Cardiff? Well not the tidal Bay lagoon in Swansea which Cairns seemed happy to help cancel.

No.....a prison....a big prison....a prison big enough to accommodate criminals England  didn't want to hold.

So why is Chucky doing this? Well the South East of Wales along the M4 corridor is (relatively) it's wealthiest part. There are also parts of this corridor more likely to vote Conservative.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the intention is that more investment might mean an increase in the Conservative vote in the area. For various reasons that's unlikely to happen. But watch Chucky damage Wales as he seeks to try.

Until the next time

The Other Side Of Insomnia...When You Actually Do Sleep

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've often in this blog written stuff too early in the morning because of insomnia. When you feel too sleepy to be awake but too awake to sleep. Well for those of you lucky enough not to be affected by this. Let me give you the other downside of this.

So as I've said previously I woke yesterday (Sunday) morning at 4:27am. During the intervening time I led my mother to the M4 before she drove off to her home in Essex.

Now it's the afternoon. Wife is off to a friend's for a natter. Daughter is with her friends watching a movie in the local multiplex.

I am alone.

Hooray!!

For that means I can watch Denmark vs Wales alone on S4C without either of them bothering me.

(And as a quick aside it's interesting to note that the Welsh Language channel shows more live football than BBC or ITV)

Anyway it's me, the TV and a cup of tea. The first half is mainly a dull affair. One side is dominant then the other and I get the feeling that what I'm watching is the football managed by chess grandmasters.

But then the Danes score. Erikson had too much space and there you had it. One-nil. Disappointing but still just a goal difference.

Summaries and ads done second half begins. Watching the game. Wishing Wales well. I notice the score.

Two-nil?

It was as if I was on anaesthetic. Seemingly all of a sudden half an hour of my life suddenly disappeared and there was just five minutes remaining of the game. It was as if my body just said enough is enough.

Two nil was how the game ended. Daughter and wife returned expecting me to be happy having watched a game without them hanging around found a disgruntled old soul instead.

And that's what insomnia does. Makes sleep catch you in the wrong time and place.

Until the next time.

Virgin Media: Boycott In Wales By Association? Perhaps It's The Destiny

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have argued before in this blog that there should be a boycott of Virgin Media in Wales following it's decision to close the Swansea call centre next year. For too long it would appear that Welsh people have taken the brunt of the United Kingdom's austerity and have seemingly felt unable to argue.

Boycotting Virgin Media, whilst being a gesture and might not stop the closure of the centre would nonetheless be damaging to the company. Both financially and in the bad publicity it would receive.

But now another front has occurred to me that might hurt Brand Branson (though he doesn't actually own it now) and that's if there were boycotts of anything associated with Virgin Media in Wales as well.

And that's where Destiny comes in.....or rather Destiny 2.

Destiny 2 is the sequel to (you'll be surprised to hear) Destiny. A computer shooter video game. Virgin have a competition where the first prize is a trip to Seattle where the makers of this game are based.

So then what if there was a boycott in Wales not of the computer maker but that specific game? After all even leaving aside the morality of it all there are other such games to choose from. That way it will make the computer makers and other companies have second thoughts about associating with Virgin Media again.

Perhaps then this should be the first of many. Coordinated boycotts just to show that people living in Wales are tired about being discriminated against. People living in Wales should try to make Virgin Media suffer in the same way that it's making those workers and their families suffer.

A gesture maybe....but sometimes gestures are important.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post: The Day After Daughter's Birthday Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It's actually 8:02am as I start to write this. But I've been up since 4:27am. Have helped my mother pack and lead her to the M4 on her way back to Essex. She's been here for the weekend as yesterday was daughter's birthday.

I won't chat about what presents daughter got. Except to say that in terms of this blog I'll be chatting a lot more about comic book superheros and heroines on the TV.

Today daughter is going out to the cinema with her friends. Yesterday at her request we with other members of the family went to the Nandos in Cardiff Bay.

Let me say from the outset that I'm in the minority not just in the family but also I suspect the country regarding Nandos. I've mentioned in the past that whilst it's perfectly edible it always appeared to me as ponced up KFC and nothing has changed.

And as for those hyped up sauces. Why isn't there one for Tomato Ketchup? Why do they have to rely on the common as muck (but always reliable) Heinz?

I often work on Saturday evenings. And whilst that means the sadness of not being with the family for most of the weekend that doesn't happen in the autumn. Why? Because Strictly Come Dancing starts. I really might as well be in the Arctic circle when that's on. Wife/daughter love it. Me? I'd rather watch the sport.

Yesterday was the lauch show where the celebrities are paired with their dancing partners. I genuinely tried not to pay attention but two things (unfortunately) did catch my eye.

1) A Strictly Come Dancing tradition is that the middle aged woman is paired with Anton Du Beke. Only once has this tradition been breached. You knew Susannah Constantine was going to partner him before the announcement was made and no amount of fake tension could hide it.

2) I've realised that another sign of ageing is the number of celebs in these shows that you have heard of. Out of the fifteen contestants I've heard of five (six if you include Joe Suggs - but he doesn't count because I only know of him through my daughter's interest). As the years go these numbers get less and less.

Ah well. Wife's awake. Not really sure what I'll be doing today....except I'll be definitely watching Denmark v Wales.

Until the next time.

The Geraint Thomas National Velodrome Of Wales Responds

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well here's a surprise. You may be remember a few posts back I chatted about the renaming of the National Velodrome Of Wales after the winner of the Tour De France Geraint Thomas. I said that it should be renamed the Cooke-Thomas Velodrome in honour of the other successful Welsh cyclist Nicole Cooke.

So amazingly it's drawn a response from the Velodrome on Twitter.

They tweeted as  follows: Like all cycling fans in Wales, we are HUGE fans of Nicole Cooke (we have her bike hung on the wall). We took the decision to rename the Velodrome after Geraint due to his close links with our venue and track as well as the road. He trained at our venue regularly before winning Olympic Gold medals and titles on the track. We would definitely support the renaming of a facility or a circuit after Nicole in recognition of her phenomenal success on the road, but that decision isn't ours to make.

Thing is......

They made the decision to change the name following the Tour De France victory. But what if Geraint Thomas hadn't won? His use of the Velodrome wouldn't have mattered. There would have been no renaming and there would have also been no issues regarding Nicole Cooke being Wales ' successful cyclist having been individual Olympic and World Champion.

And it is after all Wales' national velodrome.

Now of course both are equal in their success. Which is why it's important the sport remembers Ms Cooke, who after all reached the pinnacle of her profession first.

Until the next time

Yan Lianke : A Man With China In His Hands?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I borrowed this book from the local library at 12:30 yesterday.

The Years Months Days - Yan Lianke

By 7:30 that evening I'd finished it.

Now it's a thin book. And I wasn't reading all through that period. Just when I had breaks. But when I had breaks I had to read it. I've not been so gripped by a book since American Psycho.

The story is simple. There's a drought in a Chinese village. Indeed a drought so bad that everyone in that village leaves except for an old man who knows he couldn't survive the trek and a blind dog. This is where the book starts. One old man and his dog, and their fight to survive.

The book it's translator (Carlos Rojas - who incidentally does a brilliant job - the art of a translator is when you forget it's been translated) refers to in comparison is Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. Both explore the themes of isolation, friendship and the struggles to just live in the event of a disaster.

(It's not a spoiler alert to say that whilst the old man and his dog face opponents they're not of the vampire kind. Of course the biggest villain here is the sun)

Some of Mr Lianke's books (as Mr Rojas tells us in his introduction) have been banned in China. This hasn't. Though whether you could put the barren landscape as an allegory of authoritarian Chinese Communist rule, or authoritarian Chinese capitalist rule with a Communist face. I've no idea. The point though is as an allegory or not. It works.

This is truly the most beautiful and moving book I've read this year. I've not heard of Mr Lianke before. I'll make sure I'll hear from him again.

Until the next time.

The Near Midnight Meanderings On A Movie With A Microwave Meal Part 5: The Musketeer (2001)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

When it turned out that the next movie randomly picked was this one I was  brought back to my teenage years. As it starred Catherine Deneuve.

If you were a teenage boy in Britain in the sixties, seventies or eighties you would basically fall into two camps regarding French actresses. Most would be following Brigitte Bardot. But there would be a minority, and I was one of them, who were definitely in the Deneuve side of the issue.

Judged on screen persona (and as a teenage boy how else would you judge someone?) Catherine Deneuve seemed cool and classy. You felt sophisticated just by watching a film she was in.

Let's put it this way. You might lust after Bardot but you'd die for Deneuve.

The film is a Miramax production. Controlled then by the now disgraced Harvey Weinstein. I mention this fact in passing because you look at the character played by ex EastEnders actor Bill Treacher , a fat, ageing, lecher and wonder whether the screenwriters had him in mind when writing it. Certainly if it was so that would be their only bit of real classy inspiration. For the script seems to have thrown Alexander Dumas' original novel into a fire, just googled the basic plot and made it up as they went along.

But along with the uninspiring script the greatest issue with this movie is that in terms of it's production values it's probably the laziest film I've seen in a long while.

I'll give you three examples.

1) The first scene is set fourteen years before the main action. Yet Tim Roth's character hasn't aged at all during all that time.

2) You will hear French accents, English accents,faint Celtic accents (Stephen Rea) and an even fainter (but it's there) American accent (Mena Suvari). One accent, whatever it is, is fine. This mixture goes beyond being just annoying.

3) I learnt afterwards that the stunt co-ordinator was a guy who normally did martial arts movies. this did not surprise me. The first fight scene involved swirling flashing blades that seemed more Ninja than Nice.

But that's not all. There's a scene where D'Artagnan has to fight whilst on a stagecoach a swarm of bad guys chasing him on horses. Not only does one shot apparently get rid of two people (what?) but he bounces on horses to deal with one guy and then you suddenly realise you're watching that similar (though motorised) scene from Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

Alas Catherine Deneuve couldn't save this. None of the cast could. But you feel that the real tragedy of this movie is that if there was a little bit more care it could have been at the very least decent.

Until the next time.

On Books: Chatting About An Unlikeable Penguin And An Almost Mad Vet

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It has been a long while since I've finished reading a vintage Penguin paperback but at last I've finished it. Why at last? Well regular readers might recall I actually started The Spotted Deer by J H Williams in July?

Why so long? Well quite frankly I hated it. The author is working for the British Government (and let's say here from now on) "the Empire". Not clear of the date but I think the early fifties. He's in Burma (now Myanmar).

In the beginning he makes it quite clear that he believes in empire. Now you might think that given how Myanmar has turned out he's correct. But two wrongs don't make a right. An empire is quite simply inexcusable.

Whilst not approving of it he also apparently accepts a colour ban on people not pale enough in bars. And whilst he might take the advice of local people he is British so he makes the decisions. He is the leader of an expedition to the Andaman islands. Whose inhabitants I think (I've forgotten this part to be honest - Quickly wiping away this from my memory) are described once as savages

Brexiteers will probably love this.

There has been a short and (very) occasional series on this blog seeing whether we can find a writer capable of usurping James Herriot from his status as the colossus of veterinary autobiography. We've had the young vet going off to South Africa from time to time. We've had the out of hours vet in Brighton. So let's see the USP of the next contender.

What???!!!

Is this man mad? Yorkshire? James Herriot's Yorkshire? Surely not...but yes it is.

The answer is he's not mad...just. Apparently there was a TV series called Yorkshire Vets which he was in. The practice he has was James Herriot's one. And it has an introduction by his son. Also whilst mainly in Yorkshire it's not solely set there.

It's also not awful. There is a particularly moving chapter, ironically not animal related, which I won't spoil. Ultimately though I didn't think it was anything special. I feel I've read this sort of thing before....and I have.

I think the point is this. If you approach this book as a fan of the programme you'll love it. If you approach it as a reader however, you will know in the end that it's been done better.

The search continues.

Until the next time.

Alun "Chucky" Cairns' Vision For Wales Is Revealed. Dependent, Disabled And Poor

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Last time I chatted about blog villain, Secretary Of State for Wales and faulty microwave of thought that is Alun "Chucky" Cairns it was to mention the one time I've agreed with him over the issue of car parking across the Vale of Glamorgan.

Now however the Chuckiness has returned. When in a House Of Commons Committee meeting yesterday he said and I quote:

"Infrastructure investment doesn't have to be in Wales to benefit Wales".

Really? How are the high speed rail networks of HS1 and HS2 going to benefit Wales when the tracks are not going there? And even if you take a connection to wherever in Wales the service will obviously be slower and in most cases you'll feel that the stabilisers have been put on. How is that going to benefit Wales? Welsh taxpayer's money going on projects where there is no metaphorical or literal connection to the country.

Let's go on. The Swansea Tidal Lagoon project would have provided Wales with a lot of it's power supply but no the UK government with Alun Cairns as it's Welsh figurehead and glove puppet rejected it. So instead the plan is for Welsh taxpayer's to help pay for Hinckley Point in Somerset England. And when I say pay it's not just in fuel bills but also in the nuclear mud coming Cardiff's way.

I could continue but you get the drift.

Now time for me to go off on a tangent.

On Sunday I was in the South Bank in London with my mother. As we were walking along the Thames I noticed a frail old woman walking slowly. Whether from old age or disability I could not tell but her back was arched as she was walking. In her hand was a pink mug as she weakly asked people for any spare money.

That old lady is a metaphor for Chucky Cairns' Wales. A Wales where the infrastructure is underfunded. A Wales which has to be dependent on England for essential services such as power. A Wales consequently poor because of the lack of investment by businesses specifically because of the lack of infrastructure spending (a vicious circle).

Given the weakness of Welsh Labour once the election for leader is resolved Plaid Cymru will need to be vocal not just to be against Chucky but to explain loudly that the only alternative to this disaster will be independence.

Until the next time.

Florence Nightingale, The Museum And The Tramp Nurse

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

At time of writing I'm now back in Wales. But before I leave my short time in Essex to one side, I felt I should tell you this disturbing little tale.

On Sunday my mother asked whether we could spend the time in centre of London. Being a) A dutiful son and b) having nothing better to do I agreed. She wanted specifically to see the (apparently) newly revamped Florence Nightingale Museum.

Now this museum is in fact by London's South Bank within the grounds of St Thomas' hospital. Personally I've found that as I've got older museums have held less interest to me. I'm not sure exactly why that is. This was no exception. And whilst my mother wandered round I found myself grabbing a seat and waiting for her out of sheer boredom.

Now before I go on I need to explain one thing about the museum. Whilst primarily (surprise,surprise) concerned with the life of La Nightingale it's relatively small space is also covered by exhibits about nursing as a whole, including interviews with nurses as to what led them to the profession and their experiences.

I say that when I lead you to this which I noticed whilst I was waiting.

Images of Nursing

Now the above was part of a group of pictures which represented images of nursing through the years. But the one I'm leading you towards is obviously the centre picture of a pulp novel called Tramp Nurse by Arthur Adlon.

Now this is a book I haven't read. But I've every right to assume that the cover says everything you need to know. From the blonde nurse showing cleavage, the title and the sub title which says ( and I kid you not):

"She healed their bodies with her white hot passions"

Now you could argue that the sexy nurse was part of popular culture (Carry On films and the like) but even if you think that a museum on nursing is not the place to show such a misrepresentation of the profession. But this, judged by it's cover and title/sub title alone is even worse. Because the nurse is not just sexy but easy.

So really Florence Nightingale hospital. Surely it would be better to replace Tramp Nurse by a still of a nurse say in BBC's Casualty? Surely that would be more true to life?

Until the next time

Why The National Velodrome Of Wales Needs To Be Renamed....Sorry Geraint Thomas

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Firstly apologies for the short nature of this post. But I'm tapping this on my tablet as I speak as I'm on my way to Wales in the next few hours. However I wanted to chat about this now whilst the thought occurs to me.

As I understand it yesterday the National Velodrome in Wales after the current Tour De France winner Geraint Thomas. All very well you might think. Except again we have to refer back to the figure of Nicole Cooke. That is to say World and Olympic champion Nicole Cooke. The Nicole Cooke who reached the pinnacle of her branch of cycling Nicole Cooke.

The person who reached the top of her sport first and yet did not have  the velodrome named after her Nicole Cooke.

What I suspect is that no one thought of naming the velodrome after Ms Cooke. A sort of unconscious sexism.

Anyway this injustice needs to be addressed.So perhaps the Velodrome should be renamed the Cooke -Thomas Velodrome?

Just a thought.

Until the next time

On Books: Letters With Ludwig And Reading With Ruth

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Beethoven's Letters 1790-1826 Volume One was taken out of curiosity (and it was free) online. As I think I've said before the reader in his or her choice of books does play a certain type of Russian roulette as to how it well end up. In this regard I'm afraid the bullet was triggered.

For the general reader the problem with these letters are that they're mundane. Not so much the processes into how [insert Beethoven work here] was created. More can I have payment for the work, or how it's doing.

The one exception worth noting to the above are in the couple of letters where he discusses his deafness. They were truly moving. I forgot he suffered with this affliction when relatively young and yet despite this he would probably be one of the names anyone would mention when asked to name three classical composers.

For the most part though it's a book for scholars of the man's life. They'd be interested. Most people wouldn't be.

Now for the second book:

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Heat and Dust

I had forgotten when I bought a Penguin paperback version of his book in Maesteg a few years back that I'd already purchased it many years before when I was nineteen. Annoying when that happens.

In many ways it was an unusual book for me to have bought at that time. It's relatively small and the blurb for the this novel has a quote from The Times review "It is a jewel to be treasured". Words like "delicate" and "jewel" in this regard would have a male reader running to the hills. For it envisages something well, wimpy.

But I'd seen a couple of films where she was the scriptwriter and was a fan. This was not a wimpy writer. I could trust her. Was not aware though until I'd bought it that she was also a novelist.

So now decades later, when I'd bought the book again without remembering I'd got it in the first place have actually read it. And am happy to say that I'm still a fan.

This is the sort of novel where the plot is of secondary importance. Two British women in India in different periods. One in 1923 and the second in the present day (the novel was first published in 1975). I won't spoil it by going further but let's say there are no major surprises here.

No this is a novel where the key are the characters. You are absorbed into their lives and that includes the character of India itself.

It's a book that doesn't waste words on the atomosphere but those that it uses are effective enough.

Yes I'm still a fan.

Until the next time.

BBC News:Biased Against Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales....Through Sheer Laziness

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Whilst I'm in Essex (until Monday, possibly tomorrow) a man said to me that he did not understand why people outside England felt that the news was English based. He sighted the example of the sexual harassment allegations against for SNP leader Alex Salmond.

Now whilst I'm obviously not going to discuss the allegations against Mr Salmond (except to say in passing that I can't see what current SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has done wrong here) he is still a prominent figure in British politics. So you can see why it made the UK news.

I really couldn't be bothered to argue. Firstly because perception is always the key to your point of view. I'm sure if this guy moved to the other countries that make part of this disunited kingdom he would understand then.

But the other reason is I didn't have a laptop or tablet to hand when this conversation occurred. Because otherwise I actually had a recent example.

It was this report on BBC News Online. Not any regional byline you understand but the UK as a whole that English schools faced a shortage of teachers. It referred to a recent report by an educational think tank on the subject.

The webpage is here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-45341734

And the key point is that there is nothing wrong in the article itself. The issue is that people in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales would have looked at it and asked what was the situation on this issue regarding their nations....given that education is devolved. As licence fee payers on this UK website they would have been entitled to know.

But no. The article is England only. There are not even links to the situation outside England.

This is the issue. The journalist could have done a bit more research before writing the piece to include the situation outside England even in passing but failed to do so.

That's lazy journalism....and that's one of the reasons why people not living in England feel that BBC UK News is biased against them. I know with the internet more and more people are turning against the BBC and cancelling the licence fee for this reason.

And for me I feel that moment's fast approaching.

Until the next time.