One Step Towards Welsh Independence Is One Step Away From Serfdom

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mark my words.

Until the next time.

Danny Baker And The Reader's Dilemma

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

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

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

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

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

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

Which is a pity.

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

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

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

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

Until the next time.

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

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until the next time.