The Battle For Wales : Populism And Welsh Independence....Why Not?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

On Monday. As the wife was driving us to drop daughter to guides and then for us to do some bathroom shopping I overheard the Welsh government finance minister Ken Skates on the radio.

He was talking about the revelation revealed by Plaid Cymru that A Welsh government taskforce set up to deal with problems surrounding the Ford Bridgend plant since it's future was first under threat a few years back.

Now I didn't really catch the whole gist of the interview, since trust me watching paint dry is normally more interesting than listening to Mr Skates, but he did say something that made me pay attention. For he compared Plaid Cymru (or as I seemed to recall him saying "the Nationalists") with Trump and other similar populist right wing movements throughout Europe.

My first reaction was to laugh. Clearly it was both a smear on Plaid (I have written about the difference between inclusive Scottish/Welsh Nationalism and the far more cliché right wing English kind before). It was also clearly a deflection tactic to hide the Welsh Labour incompetence on this issue and like most present day subjects with "Welsh Labour" as the tagline doomed to failure. Finally it was an acknowledgement that Labour fear Plaid. For as I've said before and the European elections are showing, more Labour voters are turning towards it.

But thinking about it later I started to wonder whether, on the principle of why should the devil have the best tunes, populism is such a bad thing? Why shouldn't good causes (in this case Welsh independence) not take the attractions of populism to help promote themselves?

The rise of Plaid Cymru, the apolitical pro independence movement Yes Cymru and the growing support for this in opinion polls shows that a free Wales is on the radar. A combination of Brexit, Westminster/Cardiff Bay arrogant incompetence and the lack of infrastructure investment under the supposed "precious union" (a phrase from Secretary of State for Wales) giving it a "poor man" status is beginning to galvanise people. It's consequently the job of those who believe in Wales being free to make it's own decisions to take it further. That the "mustn't grumble" approach to being treated as lapdogs of a so called London/Cardiff Bay elite is not good enough. That Wales needs to protest. That is populism.

Populism strives to appeal to ordinary people. So let's do it. Let's ask ordinary people to think why is it that the Welsh education and health service is in crisis? Why there is a lack of infrastructure and business investment? Why is the transport system laughable when you compare it with England and Scotland? Why is Wales lacking in social housing around the Newport Monmouth area yet houses are being built/bought  to accommodate English commuters across the Geraint Thomas bridge because they're cheaper?Why is Wales apparently only good enough to dump nuclear waste on, build new prisons over and to pillage it's natural resources for the benefit of England?

The answer is simple. Wales is being run by Unioinist parties in Westminster and Cardiff Bay. They do not care about what you think. They act within a Unionist mindset. Plaid Cymru will act for the benefit of ordinary people living in Wales. For they have "the vision thing". That, as I've mentioned before is independence. More and more people are waking up and smelling the excrement of the current political elite in Wales, and more and more want to fight for a better future than the disaster the Cardiff Bay/Westminster elite have apparently mapped out.

People from the old dinosaur Unionist parties will say what people want is not independence but economic prosperity. This is true. But when Wales does not experience this prosperity under the union (indeed the situation with oncoming Brexit likely to be even worse) then the Unionist model they advocate has failed Wales. The unionist parties will continue to advocate for the status quo. Only in politics is failure talked up and the alternative (independence) attacked. But that's self interest for you.

And populism over Welsh independence means that it's rooted in a combination of ideology (why not? For every political principle needs an ideology, which is essentially a political guide - otherwise it's just anarchy) and grass roots activism. People might query the consequences of independence but everyone understands what it is and what it represents. The freedom of what is currently the serf nation under the union to make it's own decisions for the benefit of the people living there.

Because of this. Welsh populism over independence will obviously have a leader, as all causes have to do, but it won't be the demagoguery type like Hitler or Trump. There will be no cult of personality.

Wealth and power would not remain in the hands of the elites with Welsh populism over independence because those Unionist elites currently in power would be thrown out. Unable to participate in the rebirth of a nation they have battled against. Of course there would be a danger of "a new elite" of which we have to be vigilant to guard against. As Emmanuel Macron in France has shown you can be popular one minute and widely unpopular the next if  voters feels betrayed.

And let's be clear. As I've said before Welsh nationalism is inclusive wherever you're born. Consequently no one is blaming Mexicans or East Europeans or refugees from Syria. They are blaming the Cardiff Bay/Westminster Unionist axis elite. As that great Pro-EU placard said Blame the Etonians not the Romanians.

As I've also said before. I'm not going to be a Brexiteer and claim instant milk and honey. Yes mistakes will be made. But there is also that vision of moving away from the serf nation status under the union. That is the vision that can invigorate Wales with populism as it's teacher.

Until the next time.

On Books : Including Judging The Odds On A Future Book

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well I finished reading the latest library book. Here it is:

The Norm Chronicles - Michael Blastland & David Spiegelhalter

The idea of this 2013 book is this. Life is full of risks. That is a fact of life. What the authors do is to examine the perceived risks of a subject (including the facts of life) and then through statistics look at the actual chances of you being affected by the relevant subject.

The way they do it is that each chapter is devoted to a specific subject and starts with a story involving three characters and their differing attitudes to risk. Norm (I get it), Prudence (I get that too) and Kelvin (No. Over my head). After which they go for the reality of the actual risks based on statistics.

And it's all interesting in the beginning. Then the stories start to irritate. Then the statistics. Too much information. I'm getting fed up.

About half way through though I suddenly get a revelation. I realise that unwittingly I've read this book wrong. It is I realise the sort of book that you don't go all glutton and read from cover to cover. The way to treat it is as a form of literary snack. Say read one or two chapters a day. Put it down and absorb the facts whilst doing something else. You will trust me appreciate this book a lot better. I know I did when I read it this way instead.

To me the most interesting thing about Nick Alexander's 2017 novel Things We Never Said is that about a third of the way through the book I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

On the one hand the basic story. A widower receives a package from his wife containing pictures and photos and one by one she over a cassette chats about the picture and their life together. Well I've read and seen variations on this theme before. So it's not new.

On the other hand there was a mystery within it. For me that drove the book along. For everything about their relationship could turn on it's resolution.

However eventually a third of the way through I did come to a view.

I hated it.

Leaving aside the basic storyline being unoriginal I was annoyed by the author's use of the cliché of the Muslim sex pest. Eighties and current tropes such as anti nuclear demonstrations and Brexit are wedged in cowboy builder fashion. But perhaps the most annoying was the miner's strike where the wife went to demonstrate at the notorious Orgreave incident. She calls those who crossed the picket line "so called scabs".

Now whether you believe they were scabs or not (and for the record I do) if you went to the demonstration there is no way you would have called them "so called scabs". They would have been scabs pure and simple.

Then there are the emotional ebbs and shifts to the novel. The more I read it the more I felt I was being played. Now you might say that all fiction writers "play" with their readers and this is true. But when that thought enters your head as you're reading it means the writer has failed.

And that mystery I mentioned earlier? Resolved two thirds into the book. Leaving it's conclusion really becoming a damp squib.

This is the second book by this author I've read this year. The previous one was a "Brits in a villa" novel The Half Life Of Hannah. I didn't like that one either.

I've another one in the Kindle. The odds are not looking good.

Until the next time.

Why Adam Price Could Be Wrong About The State Of England. For It Could Turn Into A State Of Denmark

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Adam Price, the leader of Plaid Cymru has in a speech argued for England, Scotland and Wales to act like the Benelux nations. Whilst independent of each other pooling their resources for the common good in certain areas.

I won't go into the detail about what he had to say. In principle I'm not really against it. After all as the song goes good neighbours become good friends. Though I probably would argue that the initial priority would have to be to bed down independence first.

But it seemed to me to have one telling flaw without needing to go into detail first. And that flaw is that should Scotland and Wales become independent (let's assume Ireland becomes unified) then England will be a stable nation.

As I've chatted before more than any other time in my life the possibility that England will become A State of Denmark (a dystopian novel by Derek Raymond about an England under dictatorship) has never been greater. After all we will soon have a Tory Prime Minister who will inspire people to run away in despair whoever he is and a Brexit Party in the background led by Nigel Farage.

When Wales becomes independent there would be a sizeable non right wing vote lost and therefore there would be a good chance that England could be become right wing, and extreme right wing at that.

As I've also discussed before there is a possibility that Wales/Scotland could be sucked into this scenario if they were still in the union. But an England left alone would definitely be more susceptible.

Now I might be wrong. Crystal ball gazing is not my forte. But no one can say that the picture I've painted is impossible and because it's not impossible any sort of cooperation needs to be treated with an exceptional amount of caution. Indeed we can go further for should Westminster currently be seen to going in this direction there should be every effort to create an independent Wales/Scotland as quickly as possible no matter how messy the logistics could turn out to be because whilst it would be tough the consequences of aligning with right wing England and possibly extreme right wing England would be a lot worse.

Until the next time.

Why I Read

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So the news has come in a few days back that Britons are buying less physical books and are instead watching Netflix and the like as well as TV. The perception in the headline is that people are reading less and watching more.

I've currently has five books on the go (that includes the one I'm reading from the Kindle. You know I don't think avid readers deliberately intend to juggle reading so many books. It just happens) so perhaps being of the apparently dying species I'll give a go as to explaining why I read.

Let's start then by saying this. the sales of physical books are down but those of their upstart digital are up. Personally my views on Kindles (other e readers are available) have evolved. My preference will always be for the quiet pleasure of turning a page but you cannot deny the advantages that the e reader has regarding cost and particularly space. In my head there is now the peaceful coexistence of the two forms of reading books.

As for watching Netflix and other streaming services well I suspect similar comments were made regarding the rise of radio or the TV. Yet reading still survives. The issue really is how people are reading. Not of reading itself.

So we come back to the title of this post. Why I Read. I read because at it's best it allows you to enter worlds that no other medium does. If you're watching a series on TV or a film then the landscape is laid out before you. As you're reading though it's your imagination that has through the writer's words created the world he/she is writing about. Unless corrupted by seeing another media adaptation beforehand what you see is not quite what another reader does.

And not just what you see, what is felt as well. For consistency no other media can make you feel as much as a good book does whether fiction or non fiction. If we take fiction for example the writer's description of a scene or an emotion can take you to places where watching the same scene on the TV could not. Seeing a person cry is not the same as a description of why that person is crying. Talking generally only reading gives you that.The act of reading, as opposed to chatting about it afterwards, is a solitary activity. But unlike say, collections of [insert object here] it has a certain intimacy of the moment.

Or let's take non-fiction. Television cannot take opinion properly. Far better to read a book or an essay. Let the argument into your mind and decide yourself.

What is the bookshop, the library or now the e-bookstore but a world wide web of the mind where you can be entertained and informed seemingly on a one to one basis? I have nothing against Netflix, Amazon Prime, TV etc but their choice is smaller than what books in whatever format can offer you. This would consequently mean that in a Fahrenheit 451 world our choice would be far more regulated. I don't want that. Neither would most readers. Because we think.

Until the next time.

So Plaid Cymru Are "Political Point Scoring" Over Ford's Bridgend Plant......Good

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've been feeling anything but. Which is why I haven't been writing anything for a couple of days and is why I hope you'll forgive me for chatting about something revealed on Monday.

It appeared that since 2017 there was a taskforce set up by the Welsh Labour government to protect jobs at the Ford Bridgend plant which is due to be closed next year following Ford's recent announcement….hurrah. The taskforce consisted of representatives of Ford, the Welsh government, the Welsh office in London and the Trade unions.

Only it appears their taskforce did nothing for nine months anyway between 9 July 2018 and 8 March 2019 given that they did not meet for that period. Even then the first meeting was a couple of months after Ford announced redundancies at the plant (so before the recent closure confirmation).

Why? Who knows?  Plaid Cymru's leader Adam Price attacked the news.

Welsh Labour's response? Well it appears there is no response to the issue of why this taskforce didn't meet for such a long and crucial period. Only that they "strained every sinew" to keep the plant open. But how can that be the case when the muscle of the taskforce was left flaccid?

Both the unions and Labour focus blame on Ford and Brexit, which is probably correct but doesn't mean Labour should not answer this question or is blameless in their handling of it. Indeed the union accuses Plaid of "political point scoring" but you have to ask yourself why didn't the union call for more meetings with the taskforce over this period either? This is the question neither Labour or the union answers. They just say there were other meetings, again probably true, but not an explanation as to why this taskforce was considered in this period unimportant.

But let's be clear. Plaid Cymru is right to be political point scoring. It is the duty of an opposition to ask questions as to the actions of the government of the day. "We did our best" is not a good enough answer. It's Welsh Labour's job to show how they did their best and no patronisingly arrogant response will hide that fact.

Until the next time.

Clothes and The Old Man

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Rather like my post on gardening. I'm beginning to realise that there are certain subjects I have to go back to as I'm soon to move house. Today's subject, as beginning to be nagged about by wife....daughter...mother... is my wardrobe.

My wardrobe is fine by me. It's the most conservative thing in my DNA. I've always dressed like an old man. And now I am an old man I'm perfectly comfortable with it thankyou very much. What I'm not comfortable with is the wideness of my belly meaning that I'm probably going to have to, whether dieting or not contemplate buying new stuff.

And yet the women in my life want me to dress younger. They site brother in law. He dresses younger they say. And he doesn't look odd....and he's older than me.

So I'm facing a battle to dress like the old man I actually am.

As women argue (rightly) that they should wear clothes that they're comfortable with then my view is that no matter how dull and dreary it seems as long as I don't look like I've been dragged through a compost heap backwards then I should wear what's comfortable for me.

I mourn the loss of my jacket over jeans look. Yes the one made notorious by Jeremy Clarkson. I wore that before it was consigned to villain status. And yes I'm going to wear it again. Thing is it needs a jacket that doesn't look stupid. It has to have that "you can't be sure it was part of a suit look". It must also be dark (that includes grey or dark blue). This is Wales. And rather like yellow cars there are few days where la light jacket doesn't look as if you've come out of the asylum.

 Jeans? Dark. Socks? Dark. Shoes/Trainers? Dark.

Why mainly dark barring the occasional white shirt for weddings, funerals, baptisms and bar mitzvahs? Well for two reasons. Firstly you don't look like a clown and secondly as I learnt whilst looking after my mother last year in Essex exile it makes washing them in the machine easier. No need for that is it white, coloured or dark conundrum.

It all means I'm happy in being dull. Now that my age in clothes have caught up with my actual age it's a battle that the women in my life will (for once) lose.

Until the next time.

Coming Soon To My Life.....The Return Of Gardening

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I had a conversation with the wife yesterday. It went something along these lines.

"Once we move in I'll need to do something about the internet. I can get something temporarily arranged through the mobile but we really have to get BT as soon as possible."

The wife's response? "You need to get that hedge done".

(But with more fruitier language)

Thus the return of gardening in my life is announced....or demanded....anyway it's coming back.

Now let's be clear. If gardening includes not letting things look like a jungle then yes I'm a gardener. I've cut the grass. I've done weeding. But for me gardening is planting things and watching them grow. Planning as to what's the best plant to put on a north facing garden etc, etc (and full disclosure I've no idea and to be honest care less).

Wife though is of course whilst having my same lack of knowledge is more enthusiastic about doing something. With friends she has already done some weeding ( before you ask I'm curtailed by shift work, opportunity and the weather from literally mucking in so far. Can't say I'm sorry though) and already she's planning on "the look".

I see Sunday morning visits to [insert garden centre here] . The most suburban activity. The most dull. The most that communicates to the world that you've nothing better to do.

Personally tidying aside I see the biggest problem being the large aforesaid hedge in the front garden. Wife doesn't like it. For the moment I'm a fan if only because it provides privacy. But that isn't the immediate problem for me. The problem is that it needs cutting and I've never used a hedge trimmer before.

Now to be fair to me I've never needed to use one. But when you approach a task that you've never done before you're liable to make mistakes before you get the hang of it and since this is in the front garden your mistakes will be a free to air comedy for the neighbours. Those neighbours you're trying to make a good impression to (in the sense of saying "we're not odd").

Time to pause again. I do get allotment gardening/people growing vegetables in their garden. I get the point. You're actually creating something. There's a purpose. But the front/back gardens of the new house are too small for that purpose. We're talking here about gardening as decoration and nothing else.

And for what? As I've said I'm all for tidying but nothing else. What actually is the benefit of gardening as decoration? What is there to enjoy? You're not going to spend hours on end looking at your garden. As I'm writing this it's 6:48am in the morning. The sun's shining and the sky is blue but I know that assuming there was no tidying up to do I would not be in the garden just relaxing. I don't like really hot weather. I could watch TV. I could go on the internet. I could read. I could go out to watch some [insert sport here], I could even just have a cooler less insect prone nap inside. In other words for me there are just better things to do.

If you like gardening then fine. We all have our hobbies I get that. But for this horse gardening is not the right course.

Until the next time.

Daughter Is Growing Up.....But Is Entering The Unknown....As Are We All

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

A few days time daughter will be going to Prom night. It is in truth a tradition that I don't really get, rather like Halloween having been installed somewhere between when I left school and when I got old and became a parent. Some sort of American cultural institution shoehorned into the British way of life. And yet do the Brexiteers care? Of course not. And yet if it was a European import.....

Personally I'm not that comfortable with what girls are expected to do in these proms.Hair, dress, shoes, jewellery, handbag for goodness sake  As if expected to look round groomed like a parade of show horses. Of course I'm overruled in this. By daughter, wife, mother and assembled female family and friends. In other words women. So what do I know?

And of course given that I'm Dad there is nothing I can do to help her prepare. Good. Let's face it we're going to disagree and being Dad I know my advice will be listened to the same way I listen to wife when watching football on TV.

In this supposed ritual into adulthood then I feel nervous. A question enters my mind and has been knowing into me for a while. It's this : how do can she prepare herself for Brexit when Westminster has been unable to do the same? What type of Disunited Kingdom will it be?

I've always been interested by the idea of parallel universes in literature. So let me throw two such universes before you one is if Britain had voted to remain in the EU. The other is that Britain voted to leave the EU but there was a clear plan whether I liked it or not as to what happens next. We live in the third world though. The third world though of Britain voting to leave the EU but without clearly being told the route to get there and the only thing "clear" about whatever "there" turns out to be is that no one really knows.

So my daughter grows into a Britain where parents have difficulty helping their kids with the future because no one who should have known have given a clear indication as to what it shall be. I felt that Wales should be an independent nation before the referendum. But everything since has solidified my view especially that there is a purpose and clear vision. Young people respond to a clear path in the way few of us tired oldies do.

For there is a danger regarding Wales that it will emulate Ireland in the financial crash where because of the situation there the young left for a better life overseas. It's amazing how the world has changed since then (where seems the more secure country now. Ireland or Britain?) but that scenario cannot be overlooked and indeed feared for those of us who stay.

Let's stop for a moment. What if my daughter, in a future Britain ravaged by economic hardship decides to leave? Well of course Brexit will mean lack of freedom of movement within the EU so the logical step would be around the other side of the world. Australia, New Zealand. I'd obviously be saddened. But I would not try to stop her. How could I in a situation as grim and a future uncertain? I would stay and fight for Welsh independence as the best route for the future. But I could not guarantee that the fight would be successful.

And being a woman what daughter will need to realise is that in the time of future uncertainty her rights as a woman might be in danger of being eroded. The danger is there for all non-wealthy of us (ie the majority) but women are more venerable to exploitation and expectation than men ("You've a child to look after!"). Economic and social instability will lead to a decline in her rights as well.

I could go further. I have a "foreign" surname. Therefore Britain could be a country where the state will target you for that reason. Already hate crime is on the rise.

Now all of the above are "scenarios" at the moment. But the thing is that no one. Well no one who is honest anyway can say that none of them are impossible in the Britain at the moment . And that's the point. As parents we are trying to lead our daughter through a future which could lead us into things that we have not experienced in our lifetime. And that's truly the scary part.

Until the next time.

The All Year Round Christmas Decorations In Bridgend Indoor Market : An Update

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The story so far...

Bridgend Town installed Christmas decorations in 2017 in Bridgend Town Market. They lit up. Fine. After Christmas however they left them there....

Taken on April 2019

Regular readers will know I've tried to get them taken down but to no avail.

Now read on....

Yesterday I had the opportunity to try again arguing with Bridgend council on Twitter.

They started by saying that decorations were "permanent ceiling fixtures" being switched on during the festive season but then stated that they were being taken down as part of the works to the market.

So a) Not so permanent then b) the council are actually spending money on something no one could argue with  c) the decorations are coming down!!!

But wait...after all we're talking about Bridgend Labour council here....I asked whether the decorations will make a return once the works on the market have finished. The response? That it was going to be under review.

What? How can all year round Christmas decorations (and let's be clear whether lit or not they're Christmas decorations) which are an embarrassment to the market, it's stall holders and the town be under review?  How is it that the Labour council can go all legal gangbusters on the Cofiowch Dryweryn mural painted on the side of a sweetshop and go all tortoise on the blindingly obvious?

And it's important. Because as I've said previously for a long while every conversation on Bridgend will have the forthcoming Ford closure as a backdrop. The county needs to do everything it can to improve it's image. The permanent removal of the all year round Christmas decorations is a no-brainer (or so you would have thought) and it would be start.

We'll see how things develop.

Until the next time.

The Battle For Wales : Carwyn Jones Wrong Again. For The Option Of Independence Has Gone Beyond Curiosity

Hello there hope you're feeling well today.

You know since former Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones left the post in December last year, he seems to have used his mouth to talk about more things than he ever did when in office. He's everywhere talking about this and that, not perhaps realising that the sudden verbal diarrhoea only emphasises his legacy failure.

And this is but another example. For he has gone on record to say that the shambles in Westminster has led to "curiosity" over Brexit.

Of course no one disagrees that the supposed  "mother of all parliaments" is having a nervous breakdown. But it's typical Welsh Labour patronising to suggest that it's just "curiosity". For it has gone beyond that. It's now an option that more and more people are considering. And, more and people are not just considering it as well but promoting it.

He states that an independent Wales would have less money. A strand of Unionist propaganda  that I've discussed in a previous post.

This is linked to the current relationship with England. Where Wales is of Serf Nation status. But the idea Wales should not leave an abusive partner because of financial issues will not stop the abuse.

Of course Wales should have a good relationship with England, after all good neighbours become good friends, but what unionists fail to discuss is whether in Westminster might actually make many Welsh people, even those who are more inclined towards the status quo.

After all despite denials today a scenario where the British government is a  right wing Boris Johnson / Farage coalition is not beyond the bounds of possibility. What in Wales is the alternative? Labour? The useless part of the establishment?

No it's independence. Not just that but people might even rather go independent without an organised plan because the alternative of Johnson/Farage would be worse.

And whilst it's interesting Unionist politicians acknowledge support is on the rise being patronising about it will not halt it.

Until the next time.

The Near Midnight Meanderings On A Movie With A Microwave Meal Part 21: Rescue Dawn (2006)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Rescue Dawn then. A film set during the Vietnam war that begins with the bombing by the American air force on Laos to classical music. You think "well that's odd". Then the credits reveal that the director is Werner Herzog to which your mind then goes "Ah right..."

It stars Christian Bale an actor I  like but nonetheless has always the look of a man about to poison a few street cats having read a bedtime story to his kids.

So the Vietnam war and Christian Bale. You know it won't be a comedy.

Bale plays Dieter Dengler, a navy pilot  shot down and captured in Laos in 1966. It's as they say "based on a true story" and whilst some aspects I learn later have been questioned for the person watching it with a microwave meal after having done the afternoon/evening shift at work (two thumbs pointing at this guy) that doesn't really matter.

I should remark that for a man who has been just shot down and crashes with the plane Bale gets out remarkably quickly and unscathed

The Herzog influence on this movie? Well whilst there is a film score it's used sparingly and with good effect. For a lot of the film all you hear is the sound of the Laoian jungle.  Also once Bale is captured it does appear that the director is very mobile and swift as to where to suddenly go the camera swiftly moves from one part of the scene to another.. As if at a wedding and the bride suddenly starts to appear and the video swings to show their arrival after being distracted.

It's disorientating at these moments but you get it. He has been captured. Suddenly everything is not what it was. Everything is different now.

Eventually Bale gets sent to a Prisoner of War camp. Not that it has that many people in it. Of course the life there is no holiday. The life there is obviously no holiday camp. The lack of food, the behaviour of your captors and that mentally you're not all there either.

There is a further plot twist which I won't go into. But for those who don't know the story or seen the film it does make it interesting. However whittled down in terms of storyline only this does seem to be a very odd choice of film for Herzog to make based on his other work. In other words plot wise it really is just a glorified made for TV movie.

But it is glorified.

The direction is impressive. You feel both agoraphobic and claustrophobic as the events unfold. Equally there is full use of the scenery. It is literally a jungle out there. Also I will never claim to be an expert on Laotian jungles in a state of war in the nineteen seventies but it certainly gave the impression of being realistic.

But ultimately though he has able assistance from the rest of the cast  (notably Steve Zahn) this film is above the pack because Christian Bale does what Christian Bale always does which is to carry a film should he need to. In every respect you believe he has changed from the smug navy pilot at the start of the movie to a Prisoner of War living off meagre rations.

He is the one whose focus you turn to.

He is the one who makes this film ultimately worth watching.

Until the next time.

The Battle For Wales : Plaid Cymru and That Vision Thing

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

There are only certain things about Britain in 2019. Firstly is that it has changed irrevocably since the referendum that voted by a narrow margin to leave the European union. It is a Disunited Kingdom, a depressed land, a group of nations no longer at ease with itself.

Secondly the politicians of the major unionist parties have excelled themselves in their curious mixture of rabid ideology and incompetence. Leaving one Prime Minister in tears announcing her resignation and her likely successor to be a baboon in posh clothing.

And finally should there be an international comedy award then you know Britain is going to get it. The Brexit mess has made it into a free to air comedy masterpiece for people overseas. For let's get this straight. Overseas people are laughing at us.

And as I've chatted about with regard to this strand it's my belief that Wales is leading towards a political battle between whatever the right wing turns out to be and Plaid Cymru. The current Unionist parties are unable to offer "more of the same" because it has failed. the middle of the road has become unstuck politically because it's uncertain of it's next steps. Wales, with First Minister Mark "Jeremy's Disciple" Drakeford at the helm is led by a man who politically speaking seems to require a white stick and a labrador to help him muddle through. There is no sense of purpose or certainty about the man or his party. This damages him but more importantly the nation that he's supposed to lead.

So there is Plaid Cymru in it's stead. And it has what Labour, the Conservatives, the Libdems hasn't. It has that vision thing. That vision being of course an independent Wales.

Now I'm not chatting in detail about what independence can offer the people of Wales. It is to explain that this vision is beginning to take hold as the alternative to right wing unionist dogma now that the position of the more traditional unionist parties has become discredited. The political middle have tried and failed to engender unity or even a common plan to deal with the aftermath of Brexit which is why independence is, whilst not yet the majority view, is no longer laughed at either.

After all when Britain today is as I've described above. And you add to that job insecurity (if you have a job), the state of the NHS and education, rising crime, cutbacks to public sector services that would have been unimaginable even five years ago then people seek hope. They seek hope because they want a life for them and their children which is beyond Just About Managing. Only Plaid can offer that hope. Only Plaid have a clear purpose, destination and yes vision beyond that of "muddling through". More and more people are realising this which is why Plaid is increasing it's vote.

And as more and more people are realising. It's no point going out of the EU in union with a neighbour that's acting like the abuser in a relationship. It's best just to get out and become independent as independence sets you free.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac's Meanderings Post : Alone On Father's Day Post

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yes I'm alone on Father's Day. Wife/daughter went on Friday for a birthday party for my cousin. I declined to go as I'm holding my leave as much as I can for when I need to look after my wife after her operation.

They'll be back this afternoon. A Tapas bar has been suggested but no. I've vetoed it. As I can do on Father's Day. Other things I can do include watching sport without argument and having Dominos pizza without argument and doing whatever legal I like without argument. So might as well make hay whilst it's still pouring with rain outside.

Tell you what yesterday for the first time in a long while someone asked me what was wrong with my face. Though I didn't show it I was upset. For what was wrong with my face, as I've chatted about before, is Bells Palsy. It did occur to me that Britain in the past no one would have mentioned it to my face unless I started the conversation first. Now hey, that face looks odd, let's ask the odd bloke why. Britain today folks.

Weather outside as I've said is wet. It's been a wet June. It's also been relatively cold. Cannot remember the last time I could walk out on a dry June day wearing a jumper and not feel stupid. And last year of course there was the heatwave.

So Boris Johnson is likely to be the next Prime Minister. Who can now say Darwin was wrong? We're now likely to have a baboon as PM....great.

Ah well.

Until the next time.

The Battle For Wales : Countering The "Wales is Too Poor To Be Independent" Argument

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have in this blog begun a thread where I'm suggesting that Wales is heading towards a political battle between Plaid Cymru and whatever the right wing turns out to be with regard to it's future. With the current Welsh Conservative and Labour parties being whilst still in power slowly going the way of the dinosaurs.

One of the arguments (which I've had again recently) about Wales and independence is that it's too poor to be a free nation. I was waiting for a particular report to continue the argument I've had on Twitter but have decided instead just to take it head on.

So let's begin with one fact. Welsh Nationalists have never and will never state that the benefits of independence will be instant. As I've stated Rome was not built in a day but it was built. Furthermore mistakes will be made. No nation, even America, has made a seamless journey building the foundations of a new state. But that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done given the end result.

The argument will also be made that Westminster subsidies Wales. In one sense this is true. Three years ago Cardiff University's Welsh Governance Centre stated that as an independent nation Wales would have a £15bn deficit. Not enough to pay for the Welfare budget, or the justice system or defence (That was incidentally the report whose update I was waiting for but have changed my mind).

Now I will deal with the exact figure in a moment. But I would argue that the monies (not I'd argue enough) is a consequence of the lack of investment by Westminster for decades thus continuing in what it would prefer it to be as Serf nation. Useful for plundering it's natural resources like water and (until fairly recently) coal but nothing else. Hence the lack of infrastucture projects to compare with the likes of HS1 and 2 for example.

But let's talk about the figure of £15bn. I reckon it's flawed. I'm not qualified in any way shape or form in this but I believe it to be flawed. Why? Well for example the figure sets an assumption for the Welsh share in UK wide spending for defence.

But taking defence an independent Wales will not be Britain. An independent Wales will not intend to bestride the world stage militarily like a colossus. It will set out the costs for the defence forces for the defence of Wales and that will be that. Defence is a subject that will be looked at in a Welsh context and not a global British one. Consequently the costs will be much less (no Welsh government would agree to an independent nuclear deterrent for example)

And there will be many other subjects where Wales, not being Britain, will find that after the obvious set up costs it will be paying less than it did as a proportion of UK investment. Setting up embassies will be an example. Wales, not being Britain, will have a smaller number of embassies in smaller offices than it did as a part of the Disunited Kingdom.

This "too poor" argument has been used by Westminster and the Mainstream media for [insert country here] for decades. And yet these countries survive. Not always as I've acknowledged previously smoothly, but still they've survived.

I've heard the argument that Wales should stay in he union because of the lack of infrastructure in the country. That is a stupid argument. Wales has this lack of infrastructure whilst being a part of the Disunited Kingdom. It's like saying you should stay in an abusive relationship because the abuser is the main breadwinner. An independent Wales can address these infrastructure issues in a way that it's current Westminster status as serf nation does not allow.

Wales is a nation rich in natural resources such as wind, tidal and water. It could also make investments in education. Give incentives for small and medium sized businesses. Wales could do all of things because it would be free.

Of course the biggest uncertainty would be the consequences because of Brexit. However Brexit is not an argument to stay in the Union. The abusive husband metaphor applies here as well,

So Wales is not too poor to be independent. It won't be quick easy or simple.

But it's a vision. And that's what Wales truly needs now.

Until the next time.

How Wales Loses Out On Transport Investment Yet Again : The PROPOSED Cardiff to London Rail Express

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have in this blog before chatted about one of the clearest symbols of how Wales as a nation is discriminated against is on the issue of transport. I've chatted also about the railways. Wales being the only country where you cannot get from North to South by train/(and vice versa) and how the main London to South Wales line is not electrified west of Cardiff.

Latest news from the BBC Wales Website is that things will be "better". With a proposal that there will be a new train journey from Cardiff to London that will knock off twenty minutes from the journey.

And so you think yippee. Wales is actually going to get some transport that will look as if it's in the twenty first century and not in the nineteen seventies.....until you read the article.

1) It's a proposal. If agreed it won't start until at least December 2020.

2) How is so fast? Is there some great technological advance in train technology? No. It will just stop at less stations than the standard Cardiff - London route.

3) Indeed let's be clear the standard route is not Cardiff - London. It starts before Cardiff  but presumably as the line is not electrified west of the capital commuters from say Swansea will have to take two trains to take advantage of this proposed service. So they might as well stay on the current direct route.

Literally then any commuter west of Cardiff is on the wrong side of the tracks.

4) The trains will be second-hand.

So you see hardly HS3.

And this is what Wales being Serf nation in the eyes of Westminster gets you. Something seemingly hyped up but in reality should it be operational appears to be the best of a bad job. No new infrastructure investment just something that will utilise what's already there and will not benefit everybody in South Wales.

Crumbs from the fat controller's table.

Independence and it's consequences as I've said before will not be simple or straightforward or indeed quick. As I've also said before Rome was not built in a day but it was built. But decisions will be made for all the people living here taking into account their needs. Transport is a key example of where lack of investment has failed Wales under Unionism

Until the next time.
Until the next

The Book I Probably Took Too Personally

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So this is the latest library book I've read.

Rhys Thomas - The Unlikely Heroics of Sam Holloway

I have already mentioned this book in an earlier post. Annoyed as I was in an assertion it made that an only child is a lonely child specifically because he/she is an only child. As you read it further the background  as to why the central character of Sam Holloway feels lonely is far more complex. However he is not as lonely as the blurb and the story sets him out to be. He has friends. His loneliness is of a person who is seeking a companion and is finding that and it's consequences difficult. It is loneliness. But a different type to what the blurb implies.

And so he becomes the Phantasm. the costumed superhero (without any powers) that patrols the streets of the unnamed city (which I've taken given the authors background to be Cardiff).

But along comes a girl Sarah and all of a sudden his lonely but well ordered world comes into question. Can she help him even unintentionally solve the problems in his life? Well you'll have to read on.

Personally I disliked it. And the fact that I took it so personally early on obviously didn't help. Though to be fair to me if you take the mask and costume off this novel is not that original (lonely guy/possible female love interest/love rival for the female).

Beneath the costume then. Not so super.

Until the next time.

Blog Villian Bridgend Labour Council : Now Considering Cutting Grass Cutting

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have since this blog began chatted about the arrogantly incompetent Bridgend Labour council. Recently I've been focusing on their actual (and proposed) public spending cuts. Cuts which have seemed both petty and cruel including as they do public toilets and children's play areas.

The latest focus for the destruction of Bridgend county as somewhere that could be described as civilised is the proposal to cut the frequency of grass cutting in the parks, open spaces in housing areas, highway verges and playing fields.

Now I don't know the proposed revised frequency or even the one used now, let me make that clear, but let's say the frequency is currently every two weeks and the proposal is to increase it to every three or four weeks.

Well let me give the council some meteorology lessons. For sunshine, there is also rain and if you don't cut the grass regularly rain will make that grass grow. I mean what's the ambition here? That Bridgend will be Wales' answer to the Amazonian rain forest?

And if you don't cut the grass frequently there is a good chance that mice and rats can congregate. Is that good for the communities? Particularly the children?

Let us focus on the kids as well. Remember last week's proposal to cut money spent on local play areas? Seems that the kids who want to play in the parks will find their opportunities cut as well as parents will not want their kids playing literally in the long grass where not just rodents but also drug paraphernalia ( such as needles) could be just tossed aside and hidden as well. Again the Labour council's proposed cuts could have a direct effect on the fitness and health of the children of the borough.

And this needs repeating. This is a Labour council imposing Labour cuts stating that it's because of the reduction in it's grant by a Labour Welsh Government.

But do you know how even more stupid this cut is?  Every conversation about Bridgend will for a foreseeable future have the closure next year of the Ford Engine plant to take into account. This particular proposed cut was announced yesterday. Less than a week after the closure announcement.

These cuts may seem inconsequential in themselves but added together as well as their arrogant incompetence that has already turned Bridgend Town into an urban tragedy (as I've detailed years before the announcement) the council have not created a good image of the borough for any potential business interested in moving to the area.

Money does not need to be cut. It needs to be spent. Spent on public amenities, spent on  making kids leisure time fun, spent on making the borough look good.

Doing the exact opposite will only destroy the fabric of the borough.

Welsh Labour in action.

Until the next time.

Britain Through The Medium Of A Supercar In A Layby On A Sunday Afternoon

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well I'm driving on my way to work in the Bridgend area yesterday afternoon. The sky is blue at that moment but it has changed throughout the morning. At least it's dry though.

I notice on this journey that a car with it's bonnet open is by a lay-by. The car itself is a Ferrari.

Now let me quickly go on a literary layby myself in this post. I'm not personally bothered by supercars, indeed I'm not a fan of big cars either. I'm perfectly happy with my mighty Kia Picanto thankyou very much. As I was previously with a Ford Fiesta and a Renault 5.

That said, I suspect like most people I do dislike some supercar owners. The sort that act as if owning a Ferrari (other supercars are available) means that you have some sort of extra privilege along the road itself.

I've no idea whether the guy in the Ferrari comes into that category. But I can't say I'm bothered by his predicament either. After all if he can afford a supercar then he can afford a gold plated mechanic as well.

Anyway the guy looks into the front bonnet.....and takes out two bottles of mineral water.

Aside from driving itself my knowledge (or lack of) automobiles really has no bounds.

The traffic in this stretch was slow moving so I was able to notice the reaction of others to the supercar in their midst. It was as you would expect a mixture of admiration, envy and jealously. Except for one guy. The expression on his face could only be described in one word.

Hatred.

Now what I'm going in for next is conjecture. I'm guessing. I might be completely wrong. I might be talking out my backside. But here we go.

We are in the Bridgend area. The area which has been informed of the closure of it's biggest employer Ford by the end of next year. An area whose future is for the moment extremely bleak.

What if the guy is working for Ford? What if he sees an uncertain future for himself whilst watching someone else without apparently a care in the world enjoying a fast car on a Sunday?

I will suspect that as the closure of the plant gets nearer there will be many people in the area who will view the sight of a supercar in the same vein. And if the consequences of a hard Brexit are as it's detractors predict then so will people across the Disunited Kingdom.

And for some people hatred will turn into anger. And that anger might result in those cars being attacked.

I'm not for one second advocating violence. But I remember Alan Stubbs then manager of Hibernian being led by a Sky Sports interviewer to condemn fans who ran onto the pitch when their team were winning the Scottish Cup final a few years back. Stubbs, a brave man who has battled testicular cancer gave a nuanced answer that the interviewer did not expect when he said he didn't condone the action but understood the reasons why.

So it is here. People on the right will condemn the social unrest that Brexit could cause but will never condemn those in their own ranks who brought this situation to a head.

Until the next time.

Further On The Battle For Wales And Labour's Inadequacy : Bridgend Ford Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have discussed before my belief that Wales is slowly moving towards a battle between Plaid Cymru and whatever the right wing eventually turns out to be.

So we have another example of Labour's inadequacy when it comes to the Bridgend Ford engine plant.. They are the party both in national and local level and they've been impotent to even battle this decision. You don't get the sense of people metaphorically giving their all and fighting for the Ford workers.

First Minister Mark Drakeford stated that Brexit was a factor. The wife told me that the local MP Labour's Madeline Moon was almost in tears on TV and Economy Minister Ken Skates was "livid" at Ford given the investment the Welsh government has put in over the years.

All of which is true. But it hasn't stopped Ford announcing the closure. Neither, as I've explained before does it excuse Labour for not looking into the "worse case scenario" when the possibility was first hinted at over two years ago. Criticisms of Ford and Brexit are valid. But it's also a deflection  to hide Labour's weakness.

Now I'm not saying that Plaid Cymru would have stopped the closure had they been in power. But I know that they would have fought tooth and nail to have kept the plant alive. It's also noticeable that Plaid Cymru politicians have been on TV on a Disunited Kingdom level far more frequently than normal. Perhaps a subconscious acknowledgement that when it comes to Wales they are the people who speak with true passion.

And let's focus on that. Because Plaid Cymru wants independence for Wales it has (as I've said before) "the vision thing" that Labour and the Conservatives lack. On the issue of Bridgend Ford it's opinions are made in Wales. There is no need to look over the shoulder to make sure London will back you up. Plaid Cymru is a party with clear Welsh focused opinions on Welsh issues. How can this be wrong?

It's that independence of policy, thought and opinion that makes Plaid the perfect party to battle whatever the right wing turns out to be. For it is potentially a threat to us all.

Until the next time.

A Short Post On Apparently Dodging a Vasily Grossman literary bullet

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've mentioned prequels before in this blog. Apart from the TV series Young Sheldon (which I've chatted about previously) I hate prequels for the simple reason that even if you don't know the route to get there you know what the destination is going to be. So giving the example I always use in this chat regarding the TV show Gotham where you see a young Bruce Wayne struggling to cope after the death of his parents you know he's going to be Batman. Exactly how you don't know but the fact you know the end result means that there will be no tension.

Indeed for me the only acceptable prequel (as I chatted about in a previous post) is where you're not aware of subsequent events thus able to treat it as a first novel. So I'm one of the few people probably who read George RR Martin's Game Of Thrones prequel on that basis.

But now I discover that Vasily Grossman. Author of apparently on of the greatest novels of the twentieth century Life and Fate wrote a prequel called Stalingrad and that it has been translated into English.

I've chatted about Mr Grossman before having read (and liked) the last book he wrote before his death. An Armenian Sketchbook about his travels there in the sixties. But the key here is that I have in my Kindle a copy of Life and Fate. Thanks to this knowledge I now know that once I eventually get round to reading Life and Fate I will have to read Stalingrad first. That is irritating.

I suppose though I'm lucky in that I haven't got round to reading the mountainous Life and Fate yet. Presumably Stalingrad is almost as big.

Life and Fate is a relatively well known and read book. Many people will feel uneasy about reading Stalingrad knowing the destination of some if the characters. Will the fact that it's a prequel spoil it for them? I know it would have done so for me.

I've dodged a literary bullet. Been hit by few before though.

Until the next time.

Dads,Daughters and Dyeing

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well daughter has done something that she's wanted to do for a few years now. I return from work to discover she has dyed her hair.

I have been against it since the first time daughter mentioned the subject years ago. But she's now sixteen. That gave her an ally from which I knew I would lose on the issue....the wife.

The colour at first glance seems to be a sort of blondy gingery look but if the wife's hair dyeing is a judge it's best worked out in daylight. Probably described on the packet as "Champagne blonde" or the such like. The descriptions reminds me of how car colours are described. I once got a car whose palette description was "Pennine Grey" which is odd by itself. Even more so when I tell you that it was a Skoda (what is this link between the Pennines and the Czech Republic? I'm intrigued).

Possibly the worst in this regard was a Renault 5 I once had. The colour here was described as "Iceberg Silver". Only existing in the copywriter's imagination.

But anyway back to daughter. Why was I against it? Is it something to do with her no longer being "Daddy's Little Girl"? Well no. Trust me that ship sailed a long time ago.

It is I think because to me the idea that women (and some men but I'll come back to that later) changing their hair colour is something that will make them feel better is akin to the slimming industry trying to pursue a "beach body" look. As long as your weight is healthy you really shouldn't be seduced into such a path of alledged happiness. Similarly I'd argue that colouring your natural hair is just corporate seduction.

And of course how they do it is such a juxtaposition to those ads with the [insert TV personality here] and the shots of long shiny hair being slicked back. The process (and I'm not an expert) seems to involve bleach, the colouring bottle, possibly foil that makes them look like an extra from Doctor Who. Trust me you take a picture of a woman during this process and "glossy" is not the word that comes to mind.

Men too dye their hair. But it seems to me the propaganda directly aimed towards them is different (though it is the other weapon society uses on women). I vaguely remember an ad for Grecian 2000 in the eighties. It went something along the lines that a man had gives a business presentation He had naturally grey hair and people were unimpressed. Particularly the camera focused on two bored looking women.

The guy is persuaded to use Grecian 2000 and a week later takes another presentation. This time the previously bored women are attracted to him. The subliminal message was clear. With grey hair you are old. The dye makes you appear young again and in the case of men virile (of course in that particular ad the reality would have been that the women having already known that his true hair colour was grey would have still been unimpressed but there you are).

Me? No question there are definitely fifty shades of grey (or is it iceberg silver?) in my hair.

For the moment I'll just have to ride out my dislike and hope that the novelty will ware off and daughter goes back to what it was.

Won't hold my breath though.

Until the next time.

The Book That Will Make Some Men Contemplate Having Sex...Over A Cup Of Tea

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

When I started my history GCSE's oh those so many years ago the starting focus was British parliamentary reform around the early nineteenth century (I can tell you're riveted already).

One of the books that I remember my teacher mentioning in passing detailing the lives of ordinary people at the time was Rural Rides by William Cobbett. A book about his travels over foot and horseback through Southern England. I didn't read it then.

And I still haven't read it now.....

But I have it on my Kindle. And as is my way if I can get a classic book free on Kindle I tend to download other free books by the same author. Hence Cottage Economy comes my way.

Now in essence it's a self-help book (published in 1821) for working class people with a small bit of land to farm with. So it's audience is shall we say limited. Cobbett was an unusual man. He was a farmer but he seemed to treat the poor with more understanding than a lot of the landowners of his (and every other) decade.

Indeed in it's introduction he attacks the rich for imposing poverty on the working class yet implying it's a good thing. The sort of post crash austerity propaganda which the right imposed on us all.

But then.....

He starts off properly by discussing tea. Regular readers know that tea is my hot beverage of choice. Indeed as I'm tap tap tapping away I have a cuppa of the sacred liquid by my side. William Cobbett doesn't just dislike tea however. He hates it.

He gives a list of what he says tea does to you. It includes insomnia (not true), debauchery (no hope for me then) and that it makes men effeminate.

Now I'm not and never have been homophobic but I'm not teaophobic either (no such definition really made it up). I suspect there have been many heterosexual men on reading that passage who contemplated having (consensual) sex there and then.

One of the reasons why Cobbett doesn't like tea is that it has according to him reduced the consumption of what he assumes should be Britain's favourite drink. What's this drink? Is Cobbett the ancestor of a Starbucks director? Well no it's not coffee. It's actually beer. This entire chapter, the first you should note, is on how to brew beer (priorities) and not just how to brew beer but how to brew beer for the family.

Similar mad statements litter this book. Women. Don't you know how to cook the insides of a pig? Then you're a slattern. Just look at a mirror and admit it.

Kids don't want to go to school? Fine. If you can wrap bales of wheat...even if you're six... pay attention there... you don't have to go to school because you're in the school of life instead working on the farm.

I could go on but you get the drift.

This is actually a surprisingly readable book for someone like me who has no knowledge of the subject matter but really if you have to keep wondering what is the good farming advice and what's plain bonkers then what's the point? A book like this is not there for the reader to have to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

Entertaining though it was.

Now back to my cuppa.

Until the next time.

Bridgend Ford Engine Plant - The News Everyone Feared

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

When I return from work normally just after 10pm and drive along the A48 I normally have to stop at a set of traffic lights early on the route. From the road to my left cars come out whilst I'm waiting. They're from the Ford's Bridgend Engine plant. But from the end of next year that will be a memory as Ford will shut down the plant making 1,700 people redundant. It is, to put it simply, a disaster.

I have chatted about Ford's plant before  in this blog and what I'm going to write are initial thoughts. In the days and weeks and months to come perhaps then I can be rational. But now is not that time. Also I might be repeating things I've written about previously here. But no apologies for that. For the fear has become the reality.

If you live in Bridgend (as I did) or work there (as I do) then you are probably one or two steps away from someone who works there. That's how important the plant is.

So now we face a situation where families are faced with the loss of income skilled highly paid wages brings. Even if those made redundant find another job it's unlikely to match that of what they had.

As it was put to me. Don't just think of the people who made the engines. Think about all the others who work there as well. Including (the example given to me) their truck drivers.

"South Wales will become a ghost town" said one man as he was walking into the plant Thursday morning. That's a debate. But since I've blogged about this constantly that may be the effect on Bridgend Town. Already an urban tragedy because of the arrogant incompetence of the local Labour council this is what it did not need. People with less money to spend will consequently spend less and this may cause further shop closures.

So what or who is to blame? Well Brexit is not the only cause. But I would argue that it was the tipping point. After all when announcing redundancies in January Ford did say that the situation would be reviewed if the Brexit situation got worse. And we are where we are...

As for the politicos when the closure rumours began ex First Minister / Bridgend Assembly Member Carwyn Jones and Secretary of State Alun Cairns gave anodyne statements of nothing. Both mentioning that they were in "dialogue" with Ford. Some dialogue.

Since the announcement current First Minister Drakeford has organised a taskforce looking into revitalising the area. It begs the question "Why now"? Surely a taskforce should have been set up from March 2017 when the possibility of the plant's future being threatened was first brought up? This is shutting the garage door after the V8 powered sports car has bolted.

Preparing for the worst is not the same as wanting something to happen. The apparent lack of preparedness damns Welsh Labour, damns Drakeford and most of all damns Carwyn Jones.

There are "discussions" with new companies to move into the area. And let's hope they're successful. Clearly with hindsight having one dominant employer in Bridgend was a mistake.

But for the moment people really should operate on the basis that the glass is half empty. Because, for the moment, that's what it feels like.

Until the next time.

Blog Villain Bridgend Labour Council : Now Targeting Children's Play Time

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Before I chat about the subject of the title let me briefly chat about something I mentioned a week or so ago. Following the vandalising of the Cofiowch Dryweryn mural. As I mentioned Bridgend Council are threatening the landlord of a sweet shop in Bridgend Town with fines for the painting a copy of this mural against the wall saying that it's advertising.

I won't go on about this, partly because there are ongoing legal proceedings and partly because the owner of the sweet shop will obviously do a better job than I about this. She's on Twitter @FreyaSykes and it's an account worth following.

What I've done though is to ask the Bridgend Council's Twitter account given the many problems of the town which I've blogged about to advise on the last time they have acted swiftly and with such energy on an issue .....needless to say I'm awaiting a response.

But on a borough wide basis the LABOUR council are still proposing swingeing cuts on all manner of things blaming it, let's not forget, on the Welsh LABOUR government. They try to say about these cuts that they are "consulting" the electorate but as I've explained before their method of "consultation" is Orwellian. Basically asking people whether they want to be tortured by water or electricity but not offering them the option of not being tortured at all.

Having gone through public toilets and bus services now the question of children's play areas come under scrutiny.....yes I know.

They have sent a tweet our which says as follows:

"Should we continually repair slides, climbing frames and swings that are frequently vandalised in local children's play areas or should we focus more on spending money to improve the more popular play areas?"

And then suggesting people to "Have Your Say".

So now the water/electricity torture question has come to this subject. Have they no shame?

But let us go through this tweet and the Newspeak it's trying to use.

Firstly by the logic of the tweet if I started to vandalise Council amenities/offices throughout the borough then repairing them could just be a waste of money. Since when has a council suggested that vandalism could be successful by not bothering to repair what has been vandalised? That is surrendering to crime. A tactic apparently now being considered on this issue by Bridgend LABOUR council.

Furthermore when they suggest that "...we focus more on spending money to improve the more popular areas..." you know that it will less than the amount that would be saved from surrendering some play areas to vandals.

Also how does the council know what is a popular children's play area? Do they check up using officials on tablets (surely the creepiest job in local government if so) ? And surely you cannot anyway judge the popularity of a play area by the volume of kids playing in it. After all a play area situated in a town will obviously be more used than one in a village. But judged as a percenatge of the kids living there the village play area could be equally as popular.

And even if an area is not popular surely the council should be more proactive in encouraging it's use. Saving the NHS money in both the short and long term.

So Bridgend LABOUR Council. Tough on public toilets, murals and children's play areas. I hope they're proud of themselves.

Until the next time.

Why Pre-School Story Books Are Over Rated And Why Comic Books Are Underrated

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Now I should make it clear before I go on that this post is not saying that pre school storybooks aren't important. Far from it. But the issue is I'm chatting about whether these books have the power to propel children into lifelong readers or not.

I am, as I hope regulars to this blog will know by now, a lifelong reader. But from two sources there has been the notion of the pre-school book that has been remembered by the adult. The first was in the podcast Books To Live By introduced by Mariella Frostrop and the second was an article in the Sunday Times by India Knight.

Both made me think. Firstly that I could vaguely remember books as a pre-schooler, but secondly these books that did still hung around my ancient fifty five year old memory were few and far between.

I can remember Rip Van Winkle. Solely because that particular edition had levers to them which would make the arms and legs move. There was also The Three Little Pigs remembered as I crayoned over the illustrations.

Don't remember my parents reading to me before I went to sleep. Not saying they didn't, but that the memory hasn't lived with me.

I also noticed that parents go on about the illustrations in such books. But do pre-school children really care beyond them making sense. I can't recall I ever raved about them. Indeed as an adult I'm suspicious of involved artwork in a children's book. As if the illustrator is hoping that their ultimate destination is in a gallery.

When you reach junior school age then there are writers like Roald Dahl and J K Rowling who have the power of making you want to read (though funnily enough I've only ever read one Roald Dahl children's book - Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, which I liked - but even in the nineteen seventies I understood that there were so many books and so little time).

I'm not saying that I've been a successful parent in converting daughter to bookwormism. She does like books don't get me wrong but her leisure time has so many suitors. The internet of course, the many TV channels when as a child there were just three. Books are there, but they have to fight for her attention.

I believe that the key to whether or not reading is a passion that stays with you forever starts at the age of about five. There you begin to understand the power of comics. Starting with the likes of The Beano and The Dandy and then progressing to the American comics. In the seventies the American comics, particularly Marvel were exactly what you wanted, They were in colour. They had exciting superheroes. They made you want to read.

I cannot give you the name of any illustrator of a book I read as a pre-schooler. I do though remember Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby and John Buscema. And of course the writers Roy Thomas, Steve Gerber and the great Stan Lee.

I'm sure I'm not the only child who moved into books through reading comics.

Other than when I did the Aquaman experiment last year I've not read a comic book in years and don't intend to start now. So I'm not going to claim expertise. But it does bother me that these comics seem to have moved from their pre teenage audience for a more older crowd. Hence the description change to "graphic novels". They really should not forget their original audience.

The future of reading might depend on them.

Until the next time.

The M4 Relief Road Decision : The Welsh Tories Hypocrisy

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So the decision (subject to a three month appeal stage process) with regard to the building of an M4 Relief Road around Newport has been made by Welsh First Minister Mark "Jeremy's Disciple" Drakeford. And he gives it the thumbs down for cost and environmental reasons.

I've mentioned in this blog before that I've no real final opinion on the proposed road itself, other than it (along with the removal of the toll on the Geraint Thomas bridge) might raise the possibility of anti English sentiment along the route as people buy cheaper housing in the Monmouth/Newport area whilst commuting to England for work.

Also a lot is made of the traffic around the area. But those of us who have driven through the M11/M25 in the South East can only but laugh at that. It is let me tell you a country lane ride in the summer in comparison

The decision by Drakeford seems to me (for the moment) to have been the right one. But rather like that proposed motor racing circuit near Ebbw Vale it also seems to have taken too long and cost too much to reach. Why? The cynic might suggest Drakeford's predecessor as First Minister Carwyn Jones didn't want to deal with it whilst he did the last lap of being the top Welsh politician (as if).

But it's the reaction of the Welsh Conservatives that shows political hypocrisy at it's worse. I've seen tweets from former Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies, stirred again from whatever meal he was having and David Davies MP describing the decision as disastrous for Wales.

And let's not forget Secretary of State for Wales and blog villain Alun "Chucky" Cairns who stated that the decision would have "a major negative impact" on the Welsh economy.

Firstly all three of them suggests that what is essentially a South Walian (and let's be even more precise a South East Walian issue) as a countrywide issue suggests a level of Welsh regional snobbishness which is as revealing as it is unsurprising

Of course the fact Chucky can say this with a straight face is probably the only real political skill that he has. After all the party he represents are the ones who stopped the Swansea Bay Lagoon project and stopped electrification of the South Wales railway line west of Cardiff. Or indeed his is the party that has negotiated Brexit with the EU so badly the economic and social consequences for communities across Wales are incalculable. I could go on but you get the picture.

But of course Chucky and his chums won't mention that. You know from now on should there be any bad news on the Welsh economic front there will be [insert Welsh Conservative spokesperson here] mentioning Drakeford's decision as if it's the sole cause. You know they will try to use it as a scapegoat.

Welsh Labour are of course guilty of many things regarding the Welsh economy. But so are the Conservatives.

Dinosaurs you see do damage.

Until the next time.

On Driving Past A Crime Scene

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Today I had to go into Barry Town. Why is unimportant as what happened didn't occur in the town itself but in a nearby road towards it.

There is, I learn now, a surgery towards the town. Never noticed it before. Never needed to. However this time it drew it's attention to itself given that there was a police car, a "CSI type van" and two officers outside. As well as ( and this needs to be mentioned) a blue and white police DO NOT CROSS tape wrapped around the surgery's boundaries.

Did I rubber-neck? Of course I did. Rubber necking is an instinctive reaction to something unusual from the norm. Something different.

When I came back the scene was still there. And yes I looked again.

The surgery I noticed was connected to a pharmacy (which I don't like - they really should be separate) and it wasn't clear therefore whether the crime (I'm assuming) committed was burglary or something more gruesome. I did look online but nothing was mentioned on the local news at time of writing.

If I have to guess I would say that it was a burglary even though it's on a pretty busy street. If only because on the times I saw it there was no ambulance and also that the two police officers were smiling second time around. But of course I don't know.

So why have chatted about it? Beyond the fact that thankfully it's not something I've experienced in my day to day life.

Because I suspect as Britain lurches from crisis to crisis it will not become the exception but the norm. It's symbolic of how things will become. Which is a frightening thought. But Britain of 2016 is different to the Britain of now.

Until the next time.

Welsh Labour : Paying the Price For Being A Branch Office

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It is now a week since the results of the European elections in Wales were known. The Brexit party of Farage having won and Plaid Cymru leading the split pro-Remain parties in second place. And a clear second place as well to Labour.

I've stated before my view that Wales is leading towards a political battle between Plaid and whatever the right wing turns out to be. I won't bore you by repeating myself here. But it is important I'd argue to focus on Welsh  Labour's troubles. After all a party with bedrock support has been humiliated and it's important to try and explain why.

Let's start then with the issue of Europe/Brexit itself. Whatever you think of Jeremy Corbyn I think that no one can deny that on most issues his views are unambiguous. On Brexit/Europe however Labaour has been as clear as mud. And trust me we're not talking about beauty treatment mud here. No one turns around and says how beautiful Labour is afterwards. No in this case it's as if pigs or hippos have been wallowing in it. So it's still mud.

The Brexit Party and Plaid Cymru's positions were clear. No one needed to go on the Crystal Maze and puzzle it out.

Also there was criticism that the campaign was London centric. I've read an interview with the Scottish Labour leader post their disastrous showing in the election and one of the things that was mentioned that Jeremy Corbyn's face was on the cover of their election leaflet. Apparently Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford was of the same view.

But whilst it might be an issue for Scotland having Drakeford's face on the Welsh Labour's leaflet would have not helped the party at all. Firstly, and I can't stress this strongly enough for the top Welsh politician, few people know him. Carwyn Jones and certainly his predecessor Rhodri Morgan had name recognition which so far at least Mark "Jeremy's Disciple" Drakeford would envy.

And let's stress here that's what Drakeford is. A disciple. Rhodri Morgan advocated clear red water between him and London. As I've said before whatever you thought of him Morgan had independence of spirit. But Drakeford wants to be a bridge over that red water between Cardiff Bay and Westminster. So rather like the renamed Severn Bridge Drakeford looks outwards obsequiously to London.

This results in a Welsh government without fresh ideas. It's a tired administration. Perhaps for the first time the tactic of living off past glories has failed for Labour, and there are no obvious new ones to come.

I remember reading a piece where former First Minister Carwyn Jones was asked how it was that Welsh Nationalists did not have the same success as their Scottish equivalents. He stated that Welsh Labour never let the Nationalists control the flag. Whilst I would argue that things were more complex than that Drakeford's bank manager Branch office approach has revealed Welsh Labour for the sham it is.

And the thing about being a branch office in this day and age is this.

Eventually it gets closed down.

Until the next time.