So I Know An Adulterer....

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I should first begin by saying that this is one of those posts where I'm working through something in my head. So it's going to be rambling.

Secondly when I use the word "adultery" I'm not meaning necessarily talking about married couples. Just two adults in a relationship living together.

So I discover this weekend that someone I know has committed adultery. I wish I could reveal the full background but that would reveal the person's identity. But just take it that it was completely unexpected. The last time adultery occurred in my timeline it was not a surprise to me. The guy's behaviour suggested he was hiding something.

(As a digression when she eventually found out his then wife asked me why I hadn't said anything to her beforehand - I had told my wife of my thoughts before everything was revealed - My answer was simple. For reasons I'll chat about later if I had known for certain I was not honestly sure how I would have acted. But suspicion is not proof and there was no way I was going to say anything on the basis of a hunch)

Anyway back to the current situation. In this day and age you suddenly find yourself in judgement over another. You don't wish to go all pulpitly but it's the shock, the realisation that you don't really know the person you thought you knew for years that makes you have an opinion.

I have never been unfaithful. Not to the wife. Not to West Ham United. That said I don't believe that adultery is wrong in itself. It just depends on the circumstances. For example if a person is abused by the partner and seeks solace in another how can that be considered a sin? Or even if the relationship is in it's last legs anyway?

That said in this particular circumstance the person I know is completely the villain here. I wish I could go into details. But the actions really were the lowest you could do.

So I know an adulterer...

Adultery is not a crime (as Boris Johnson shows you can commit it, have it publicised and still be Prime Minister) and I'm not going to avoid the person I know as if I was in the presence of Typhoid Mary but I'm not sure otherwise how to act. Probably the best thing is to do nothing and just await the eventual outcome.

Until the next time.

Welsh Independence, A Dead Welsh Pub And Welsh Rugby League

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday was the first Saturday I've had off work for a while. And probably the only one for the next month as well. So what was I going to do?

What I had wanted to do, and where personal circumstances stopped me, was to go the Welsh Independence march held in Caernarfon. At least eight thousand people went there and from what I hear it could have been as much as ten thousand.

And why? Well it all boils down to what I've said in this blog. There is a battle slowly brewing in Wales between those who advocate independence and whatever the right wing turns out to be. People know the current Unionist model has failed and these two routes seem to be the only ones worth taking. Indeed the only options that are left.

Yesterday then for the second time this year the independence movement has shown itself to be a force in the Welsh political landscape. No longer will the dinosaur Unionist parties dismiss it. Indeed the greatest irony of this growing surge is that it's their failure that's fuelled it.

So what did I do instead? Well I chatted last year about watching a Welsh Rugby League game and received a kind offer from the coach of the Valley Cougars to watch a training schedule and then a game this season. Work commitments made me decline. But as this was the only opportunity I had to watch a game this season I decided that was how my afternoon was going to be spent.

The game was between the Cardiff Blue Dragons A and the Rhondda Outlaws (who were the other team in the match I saw last year) and was to be held in the Glamorgan Wanderers Rugby Ground in Ely.

Ely is an interesting place in the sense that depending exactly where traditional working class housing slowly merges into middle class "new" builds. I know the place quite well given we had friends (now divorced and both moved away) and wife's brother-in-law and his partner living there (until they moved to Penarth). When we visited the brother-in-law the journey always involved passing The Cavalier pub which in weather like yesterday's would full of people sitting outside enjoying a pint.

Not anymore....

A Pub Behind Bars

I don't know why it closed down. Or indeed why it's got to this state. It is though always a shock to see something you haven't seen for a long while change so much.

It had changed it's name to The Michaelstone

Truly it was pub as ghost town.

Extremely Sad

After I'd finished taking the pictures it was time to go to the (well hidden) Memorial Ground, home of the Glamorgan Wanderers Rugby Union Club and this fixture. I paid my £3 (same as last year) and got in.

I knew exactly where I was going. The stand on the other side of the main clubhouse. The one where I could plonk my backside on and watch the game. As I was walking the Cardiff side were doing some pre match training. The man giving the orders was clearly tough. He was after all not just playing rugby league he was the only one in the training session playing without a shirt.

The Pre Match Calm

Their opponents were also doing some pre-match training. "Move the leg" shouted a guy I presumed to be the coach. Of course moving the other leg would I assume help too.

And of course I brought a book with me to read during the pre match and half time break. So let me claim to be the first person to do so in a Welsh Rugby League game with a Djuna Barnes book.

History is secured

A quick mention of a women's game which proceeded this one (and which I couldn't attend) between the same teams and which was the first open aged female rugby league game in Wales. A player from the Outlaws walked towards a woman in the stand, who I presumed to be her mother and said she got a "cheeky mention" in the post match briefing. They both then hugged each other.

That is what sport can do.

Two supporters of the Outlaws were watching the game. Two kids (presumably grandchildren) were playing.

"Stay where I can see you" said the grandfather. The boy immediately went round the corner of the stand (He came back)

So the match started and about fifteen minutes in the Outlaws ploughed through their opponents and scored a try and then a conversion. Then quick movement and speed meant that they scored a second try (no conversion)

The Dragons score a penalty but the Outlaws hit back with another try and another.

By then I'd completely lost track of the score. But it was obvious who was winning. And easily. Too easily indeed.

And you could tell it was affecting the home team. Wayward kicks. Balls being dropped. And another try and another for the Outlaws.

Half time then. I went to get a hot dog and a coke.

And it was nice

As I was walking back to the stand the match had already started. And the Outlaws scored another try before I could take my seat...and then another.

Please excuse the finger

Cardiff did score a few tries before the game was over but it really was too late. The Rhonndda Outlaws won emphatically scoring more tries in the process. They knew when to barge like a bowling ball when needed. They knew when to turn on the speed or sell the dummy to their opponents when needed. Ultimately, contrary to Welsh cliché, the Valleys team were just too sophisticated for their metropolitan opponents.

And why? Well I suspect the title of the team "Cardiff Blue Dragons A" is a clue. I'm  presuming that the main team plays in the Southern Conference League against English teams (they're not the only ones - so do the Valley Cougars I mentioned earlier).

Now personally my gut instinct is that in any sport Welsh teams competing with English teams is a mistake for the development of the Welsh game. But I temper that judgement with my ignorance of the structure of particular sports, rugby league being one of them.

But though I enjoyed the game I didn't enjoy it as much as last year. And it was because it was so one sided. I note that the two "A" sides in this WRL competition are bottom of the league.

The WRL Premier league is a great and affordable competition for families to visit during the summer. But it needs expansion and a few more teams (at least two, possibly four) might make all the difference.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post : The Day After The Heatwave Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well day after the hottest day of the year so far. And it was hot. Basically wife, daughter and me did practically nothing but indulge in the (is it illegal in this Disunited Kingdom of Brexit?) go strictly continental and buy cold drinks and have siestas.

I made the biggest journey by going down the road to Penarth in the afternoon. And let me tell you it was so hot I could feel the heat beat down the back of my neck as I was walking along the street.

And lets not forget climate change deniers. This is Wales.

Well today we're going into the centre of Cardiff by train. A good practice as a station is not far away from the new house. Haven't been into the centre of the Welsh capital city for a while. Cannot stay long but am wondering what it'll be like. Particularly the homeless issue.

A quick postscript on Alun "Chucky" Cairns still being the Secretary of state for Wales and surviving the Cabinet cull new Prime Minister Baboon Boris actioned yesterday.

He was described, I think by the ITV Wales news as "the great survivor". Great ? There is nothing great about moulding your opinions to match the leader of the day.

Entertainment news: You may remember a few posts back that I mentioned that because of streaming services and DVDs television ( and we're talking series here) has turned into books in that you can come to them years after the event.

Well daughter and I have started to watch on DVD Arrow just before the last (eighth) season is about to be aired (timing is everything). Like most of these shows I approach them on the grounds of the nostalgia of the past when I read the comics and that is actually tenuous here. Stephen Amell does not sport a blonde goatee for example.

However if (on episode eleven I think) series one is an example for the whole show it does have a comic book feel to it and it's plotting does make you want to continue watching.

This thing about the fiftieth anniversary of putting a man on the moon. I was underwhelmed by all of it (unlike the wife who was fascinated). I cannot remember watching it at the time. She can remember her and the family huddled round the TV.

Now I'm not saying this is the case (I've no idea) but I do understand the logic for the conspiracy theories as to whether the moon landings were fake or not. You have to ask why were these moon landings suddenly stopped when people at the time were talking about colonising it? Why invest so much money to boldly go where no man has gone before and then just close it all down? Makes no sense.

I woke up at three. It's six thirty now. Will have a quick extra half hour then time to prepare for Cardiff.

Until the next time.

The Battle For Wales : A Baboon As Prime Minister, Chucky Cairns Still His Welsh Man And The Welsh Labour Leader Too Timid To Fight For Wales

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday personally speaking the big event was that it was the wife's birthday. We has a meal then at her wish wandered round Penarth Pier (a place, like all piers I loathe. For the simple fear of looking down at the water and my glasses fall in) and finally wishing her a happy birthday with a cake with in candles the number 21 on it (without going into detail let's just confirm its not!)

Meanwhile the world and in this case Westminster would move on without us (how dare they!). This case being the formal appointment of Baboon Boris Johnson as the next Prime Minister. His first action as Prime Minster was to chose a minsters for his team that was so right wing his cabinet looks like an Avengers of villainy.

I mean Priti Patel as Home Secretary? An appointment that fills my heart with loathing and the nearest bowl with sick.

( Speaking of the Avengers a quick aside - Twitter suggested that Spider-Man would have been a Brexiteer. I pointed out that living in a America meant that he was used to states joining in a Union making state and interstate laws as well as a common currency. If a Marvel character was close to a Brexiteer running a country then it would be Doctor Doom)

But in Wales in Wales there is no change with Alun "Chucky" Cairns retaining the job as Secretary of State and you really knew he would. His whole tactics in this Conservative party election suggested a hobgoblin who worked out where the mood was going and jumped on that bandwagon as quickly as possible.

And it's a strategy that apparently worked, His equivalents in both Northern Ireland and Scotland were sacked from their posts by the baboon. There are many, many faults with Chucky. But he's no fool.

However even more so than when under Theresa May Chucky will be beholden to Boris. To put it another way whilst I am a Londoner by birth, Chucky is London's man.

As for the Welsh First Minister Labour's Mark Drakeford he gave a cloudy statement of nothing regarding the new Prime Minister and the consequences for Wales. As I've said before he is not a leader but a disciple...of Jeremy. To come back to the Avengers analogy again Drakeford is not Captain America. He would be unable to shout "Wales assemble!" and people follow him because they'd say "Who are you"?

He is no Nicola Sturgeon.

And so Plaid Cymru as I've argued before comes into this with increased vigour as this crisis continues. With independence it has as I've said before the vision and the hope to counter whatever the right wing turns eventually to be. But it still needs to grow stronger. For the battle has now  entered a new phase.

Until the next time.

Hunting For John Cheever In Vale Of Glamorgan Libraries

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

A few posts back I mentioned listening to a New Yorker podcast of the author Richard Ford reading a short story from John Cheever and being so stunned by it vowing to take out a book of his from the library.

Well in the past days I've been going through a few of the libraries in the Vale of Glamorgan near me and near where I'll live once we move.

I started with the one near where I live now. Sully. I went in there very quickly to bring back and get a new book before going to work in the afternoon. I had a peek. John Cheever wasn't there. Unsurprised (it's a very small library) I go to work.

Late last week I'm in Penarth. It's a big library.. Again not much time. I look at the shelves. Cheever wasn't there.

Yesterday I'm in the Barry Town library. It's the biggest one in the borough by far. I also have the time so after noticing Cheever's not on the shelves either I go on their computer to look up where in the borough is there a Cheever to borrow.

Imagine my surprise to find there is just one in the entire borough. And it's an audiobook at that. It's his collected short stories. I can use the Borrowbox library app to get it.

Now a few things before I go on. Firstly I'm limiting my book buying purchases for a while. Partly because once we move I've many physical books to be reunited with from storage to sort out  and partly because even on my Kindle I've over 800 on the E unread pile to read (mainly out of copyright free books) so the library becomes even more important to me than it is already.

Secondly the fact that the only book available is not a physical one but an audiobook bothers me. Libraries should cater for all tastes. Those of us that prefer to read and not listen seem to have been discriminated against.....by a library!!

Also I'm not sure how comfortable you can be listening to an audiobook of collected short stories anyway. If it was a novel you can dip in and out. But in this case is it so easy for your mind to adjust?

(And before you say anything listening to a single podcast is not the same as a full audiobook)

Of course I'm going to borrow it. I want Cheever. But I'll have to listen when I prefer the quiet pleasure of turning a page, and it will have to be at a time when I have full peace from any of life's distractions (trust me when I say that reading allows you more resistance than listening). So it's not ideal.

But here's something else as well. It may be from the false lense of those rose tinted glasses, but what it seems to me is that when talking about fiction the ratio in a library of popular bestseller books to books by writers like John Cheever seemed to be just right when I was a teenager in the nineteen seventies. Now however it seems to have gone too far towards cementing the work of [insert bestseller writer here]. That's a worry. Regular readers to this blog will know that I'm not snobby towards the bestseller book. However libraries should always be the gateway drug to the unwary to pick up a Cheever, or a V S Pritchett. Cutting the ability of a reader to have access to a wide variety of writers might be in the long term just as damaging to a library as closing it.

Until the next time.

The Battle For Wales : With Independence Plaid Cymru Is Offering Not Just A Vision But Hope

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers will be aware this particular thread on the blog is where I chat about aspects of my belief that Wales is entering into a particular battle between whatever the right wing turns out to be and Plaid Cymru. As the main Dinosaur Unionist parties have been riven by civil war and incompetence people are looking at alternatives and essentially it comes between an even more radical right and independence (which is what I support).

So I say all of this as background to yesterday (Sunday) afternoon when I'm driving to work. As I've explained before for roughly the forty or so minutes of my journey I listen to a podcast. And if it's a new podcast to me I tend to go through it's history (which might be years old).

All of this is a long way round to explaining that I was listening to the Welsh political podcast Golau (A lot more interesting than that statement suggests) and in particular a lecture from Professor Tom Devine of Edinburgh university who gave a lecture in Cardiff late 2016 on the success of the SNP and the relative collapse of Labour in Scotland.

It's an interesting podcast, and whilst there are obvious differences you can see belated parallels between Scotland and Wales forming. Obviously Wales are many laps back with regard to reaching the independence finishing line, mainly I've argued due to the mistakes of the previous Plaid Cymru leader but one Ieuan Wynne Jones. But it's clear that the focus that gave rise to the independence movement and the SNP are occurring here as well.

Now I'm not going to spoil things by going through the professor's speech, you should just go through the Golau archive and listen, but I am going to touch on one thing he said which I've alluded to many times but it took him to truly bring it to my head.

The power of hope.

I've written about "the Vision thing" that Plaid Cymru brings to the voter through it's aim for Wales to be independent before. It offers an alternative to the despair, anger and resentment that is the premium fuel for the right wing. But what independence also brings is hope. Yes (cliché time here folks)  the hope of a better tomorrow.

It is of course linked to vision. But what independence says to the people living in Wales is that things can be better. Where decisions are made with you in mind and not Westminster, Where there is an alternative to having to accept Serf nation mentality. An alternative to whatever crumbs of infrastructure investment is given to you by the current dinosaur Unionist parties. An alternative to rising costs and the lowering of living standards. An alternative to a declining manufacturing base and a truly troubling future

Being free is that alternative.

I have said before and will say again here. I'm not a Brexiteer. I will never say that Wales will instantly become a land of milk and honey. And yes (and I'll emphasis this again) mistakes will be made. No independent nation has ever found it's early years to be smooth.

But being tied to an abusive partner has not helped Wales . Being free is scary, but it also offers hope, a purpose that in building a new nation your life and that of your loved ones will be improved from it's current state.

Until the next time.

Bridgend Town : The Welsh Labour Failure Continues

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Regular readers to this blog will know I've chatted constantly about the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town. A tragedy that I've argued was caused by the arrogant incompetence of the local Labour council.

Well yesterday (Saturday) was the first chance I've had to wander round the town since Ford's announcement to close the nearby Bridgend Engine plant a few month's back. You would have thought that the council would make an effort to make it more attractive for potential investors in the area. Well you might have done....but as the blog would have explained I didn't...it's Bridgend Labour Council.

As I've always say before I start on these type of posts what I'm going to chat about will have no scientific method to it. It's just what I saw.

When I was there the weather had lost it's brightness of the past few days. It was a bit cooler but barring one brief shower it was dry.

Now firstly I need to mention this.

This the Cofiwch Dryweryn sign which I've mentioned on the blog previously. Having seen it the council's actions subsequently seem even more pathetic than I first thought.

But as I said. No point me going on about it when the Twitter account of the owner of the sweet shop whose side this has been painted on (with her approval) can give you first hand info. Her Twitter account is @FreyaSykes and I'd recommend it.

Quick news on the old McDonald's building. Demolished after being closed down for seventeen years and now being rebuilt. That's taken well over a year already.

And I thought the men doing work on my house are slow

Why are they taking so long? This is not a skyscraper.

The travel agent to the right of this building? Closed.

Good news I was wrong about the Phones4U being unoccupied after about five years. It's been occupied now. Bad news. It's by the same travel agent I mentioned above. So no loss but no gain either. Which I'd argue in Bridgend Town terms is a loss.

Went to Bridgend indoor Market. There seemed to be no new stalls and a relatively high level of closed ones. And of course...

The Christmas Decorations are still up

I've asked the council when they'll (as promised - if only temporarily) take them down. After all as town images go it's really pathetic and embarrassing.

The bunting was still up as well. Have lost track for how long. At least a year. Possibly two.

As was the case this time last year the was the Bridgend Classic Car Show. Not as popular this time when I was there but still attracted the largest crowd of anywhere I went in the town.

My taste is still the seemingly seventies mundane that shows itself as a classic when it's no longer in production. Hence the Ford.

Now another Ford. Begging the question. Whatever happened to estate cars?

I did this last year at the show. This was the side of the street where part of the show was:

The Hillman Avenger is next. Though trust me any connection with Iron Man or Captain America is purely coincidental.

And now for the Fiat 126. Went on this car once in Italy and hated it. But don't laugh. If Brexit does go belly up it will be considered luxury.

The future?

And this was the other side.

And don't forget. Saturday morning. Almost midday

If you look at the first picture you see a boarded up building. This used to be a café and has been closed for years (I think, but I'm not sure, that it's fate was sealed when the Bridgend Central library next door was moved away from Bridgend Town - another urban planning success for the council there).

Anyway why has it been boarded up now? Is it an attempt to hide decay like the boarding up of the entrances to the Nolton Street Arcade? Those of us with memories will not forget. This seems not so much window dressing as a window covering up.

One of the most telling scenes that day was when I walked down the basement floor of the local W H Smith to have a glance at the latest bargain books. No one else was there except for a woman vacuuming. It was about 11:45 on a Saturday morning, the time where you would have thought it would have been busy and yet she was vacuuming. Says everything you need to know.

So Bridgend Town. The tragedy continues when what is needed from the Labour council is hope. The closed shops are still closed. The sense of decay is palpable. I've written about Bridgend Town as I've said almost from when I've started this blog. And things have gotten worse by virtue of the fact that a damaged town will be further damaged when Ford close the nearby plant.

Of course there were people in the town. But it seemed to that for a Saturday morning it was only slightly more busier than a weekday.

Symbolism to end on. This is one of the many empty shops in the town. What was the Coop Travel Centre.

If Only This Was The Exception

The sign on the window is that for a meeting to fight the Ford Closure. Bad. Potentially even worse.

Until the next time.

I Didn't See The Connah's Quay Nomads Victory Over Kilmarnock (Blame My Mother And the New House) But I Understand It's Importance For Welsh Football

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Mother's eh? I mean normally having a birthday on July 18th, going out to dinner and then showing her how the new house is progressing before we move in (slower than expected but moving) would not have affected any football match I'd have wanted to watch. But this time, looking at the BBC News headlines at 10pm (the UK headlines please note) imagine my surprise to see the result of the Europa League game game between Kilmarnock and Connah's Quay Nomads there. And imagine my surprise and pleasure to discover that the Welsh side won.

Let's not play down their achievement. 1) They won (against a team that came third in the Scottish Premier League last season) 2) They did so in Kilmarnock 3) They did so after losing in the first leg in Wales.4) They have achieved a memorable victory in Welsh football history without being called Cardiff, Swansea or Wrexham. 5) They are a team of part-timers who have beaten a fully professional side in Kilmarnock - and yes it needs to be repeated - a team that came third in the Scottish Premier League last season

Only once before that can I recall have a League of Wales doing something similar when the earlier guise of Barry Town beat a Hungarian team in the nineties only to then lose to Dynamo Kiev in the following round. So it's difficult to generalise about that victory......but I'm going to anyway.

No one is saying that in terms of  European competitions the League of Wales is now an equal with regard to Europe the Premiership or Serie A (after all they have to move into the main rounds) but you get a sense that they are no longer whipping boys for bigger sides. They seem to have generally moved into the "plucky loser" category. If they can generally move further in these competitions then perceptions will change further. Perhaps Connah's Quay (and you know that Partizan Belgrade, their next opponents, are looking at a map of Wales as I'm writing this) are the vanguard for the League to have moved into the "Don't underestimate us" phase.

And it's a League whose matches are on free to air TV as well.

Until the next time

I've Chatted About Gardening...So Let's Chat About Cleaning The New House Too.

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So when we eventually move into the house (builders say almost done apparently - am beginning to get irritated I must admit) then there are tasks which I need to reacquante or increase. I've chatted before about gardening so as the title leads into let's crack on with cleaning.

I will plead guilty to not doing that much cleaning in the apartment during a workday because of afternoon/evening shift work. Once I awake the time really is a countdown clock and once you factor in winding yourself into the day, breakfast, showering, an early lunch, any emergency groceries then the cleaning of the window of opportunity is small.

But once we move in that will have to increase. Partly because it's a house and it involves more work. Partly because as I've said earlier the wife is on a waiting list for an operation. And once it's done and she is recovering it's not just the case that I'll have to increase my housework workload, I'll have to do everything.

That I'm actually fine with. Other than the wife is one of those obsessive compulsive types who seem to view life through the lense of a rubbish tip. What would be perfectly adequate for most people she would see as filthy. That I'm not looking forward to.

So let's be clear. Cleaning is a chore. Anyone who tells you otherwise needs treatment. I'm not saying it should not be done just that there are far greater things that you should derive pleasure from than putting your gloved hand in a toilet and wiping.

And cleaning is different from organising your house. Organising say a bedroom is just one task which actually as long as you keep up with it saves other tasks. Cleaning's moment of stepping back and saying "job done" is brief even compared with gardening (and I don't like that either).

Of course I will do it. I'll just have the tablet on hand to listen to [insert podcast here] and off I go. But I won't need a book on what to do. Oh no what use is a book or Instagram account to a husband cleaning [insert room here] when you have the married audio version constantly with you?

This current idea of glamorising cleaning is I suspect propaganda. Promote something most people can do whilst things that we took for granted are being taken away for the cause of "austerity" by the people who helped cause it, are least affected by it and probably employ cleaners anyway.

What of vacuuming? All these ultra slim vacuums that look attractive as it's inventor promotes it until it's cost is revealed and you say "How much?!!" It's just sucking up dust and making your back hurt by having to move furniture along the way.

So I will do more in the new house. But don't expect perfection. Don't expect a round of applause from people entering a cleaned room. Don't expect cleaning prizes.

Just expect adequacy.

Until the next time.

Let's Go Back To England In A State Of Denmark Again. Will Wales/Scotland And The EU Have To Deal With A Refugee Crisis?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

When you look across the Atlantic Ocean at America's tactics for dealing with refugees trying to cross the border to Mexico you are appalled. To me the greatest hypocrisy is that refugees are being held in camp that belie America's claim to the world's moral guradians and yet it's leaders seemingly follow a religion whose symbol was the son of a refugee mother by a different father.

But looking at the Welsh/Scottish situation we come again to A State of Denmark. Derek Raymond's dystopian novel of an England in a totalitarian regime (Wales and Scotland are independent nations). The question popped into my brain (which is why I'm mentioning it here).

In such a scenario how would Wales and Scotland deal with refugees from England in such a circumstance?

Whether it will happen is not the point. The point is just like Scottish/Welsh independence the idea of an England under dictatorship is no longer beyond the bounds of possibility (I should mention that in the novel potential refugess are dealt with East German style by the regime).

So we come back to the question.

Let's start by two facts. No one wants to be a refugee. Circumstances have pushed people a particular way. The second fact is this. If such a circumstance arose then Wales would be making a mistake dealing with it alone. Indeed it should possibly quietly plan for such an event with Scotland the EU and the United Nations. After all refuges from the West of England would go to Wales, the North to Scotland and from the East and the South to EU nations. The English could become the new Syrians.

If we stick to Wales for the example then if the independent nation planned for this possibility then decent humane conditions can be arranged. The consequences of not doing anything, or doing things badly, would be detrimental to the emerging nation as a whole.

And if these refugees want to assimilate and help with the bedding in of a new nation then why not? Every nation, whther America or this cureent Disunited Kingdom has found immigration has helped the economy thrive when managed well. If these people decide to citizens of a newly independent Wales then it will help Wales in the same way that America was helped for example.

After all if Wales is considered a beacon then how can this be of detrimental effect? I've chatted before of the many infrastructural tasks Wales needs to do to bed itself in the more the workforce the better it would be for everyone.

Of course the effect on England of this scenario is even more difficult to work out. As I've said earlier, I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it's no longer beyond the bounds of possibility. And that's probably the most frightening thing of all.

Until the next time.

In Which Wales Won At Cricket.....Though Most People Would Not Have Noticed....And Which Is A Metaphor For The Country's Position

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday (Sunday) I could have watched four sporting events on free to air TV.

I could have seen the latest stage of the Tour De France. But to be honest cycling bores me.

I could have seen the men's Tennis final at Wimbledon. But see the comments above.

I could have seen the British Grand Prix. The only one being shown live on free to air TV, But to be honest have gone out of love with the sport. Indeed as an aside unless there is clear British successor I suspect it's popularity in this Disunited Kingdom will take a tumble because of the Pay TV dominance.

I could have seen the Cricket World Cup Final but to be honest given that all of the other games were on Pay TV didn't really notice.

So eventually the choice was made. We went to IKEA to look for beds.

But it appears that I should have watched the Cricket. Given that Wales won the World Cup final in what was apparently an extremely exciting game in the last ball of a "Super Over" against New Zealand. Thing is of course no one would have noticed. For despite the fact that it's the England and Wales cricket board as I've mentioned before they play as England.

Indeed before the final began there was a Twitter hashtag #ComeOnEngland. Come On England and Wales whilst being technically correct was avoided.

And so "England's victory" makes the news headlines.

Now given that I didn't see it I'm not going to chat about the quality of the game. But the reaction to this game and the metaphor that it gives Wales as a whole needs to be repeated. For Wales is ignored. The odd game may be played in Sophia Gardens Cardiff (Home of Glamorgan - we'll come to back to them later) but Cricket as I've mentioned before is the only sport where England can play as a home nation in Wales.

In it's top level then Wales is ignored as an identity and only tolerated as a venue. Ah you say but there's Glamorgan. But Glamorgan plays their home games mainly in Cardiff.  Glamorgan represents Wales in the same way that Middlesex represents England. Of course the English fan at the top level has other options. Wales has only the one top county club. If somebody from North Wales said they supported Lancashire would you really blame them?

So it's Welshness is ignored. It's name is ignored. It's won a World Cup and yet it's presence is ignored. The only bit tolerated is in the relatively prosperous South East. For cricket to be read as a metaphor of Wales as a whole is not a big stretch.

Note for example the "Western Powerhouse" agreement instigated by Secretary Of State for Wales and Right Honourable Hobgoblin Alun "Chucky" Cairns I've chatted about recently linking towns in the South West of England and South Wales stopping in Cardiff. Where is the element that is truly helping the Welsh economy? Where is the part that is really Welsh? Cardiff might benefit. But as discussed before this is not helping Wales or it's image as Serf nation.

So of course as in Cricket then as in nationhood. As Wales is being ignored then the only way you are no longer ignored is to set yourself free and become independent. Cricket and the World would notice Wales then.

Until the next time.

On A Not So Marvellous Comic Book...Verily

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yes I bought a comic book, (on Kindle anyway) actually an eight issue limited edition series because it intrigued me, Marvel 1602 written by Neil Gaiman (he of American Gods and now Good Omens fame) basically has characters from the Marvel universe transposed into medieval times battling a mysterious force threatening the future of the world.

As regular readers will know I like "What If" stories and this one intrigued me. However ultimately I didn't like it.

The main reason was this. It has Peter Parker, Doctor Strange and the X-Men in it and I haven't even started. There were too many Marvelworld characters. It needed to have been cut down to give the reader focus on the story. To me so many characters made things messy.

So really it could have just focused on X-Men and Doctor Strange leaving the rest for another day. But no Mr Gaiman decides to go practically for Ye Olde Avengers and it doesn't work. For every character you needed an Elizabethan backstory. It just wasted time.

And that's a disappointment because there are some surprising twists. But also I could not shake the feeling that constantly we were being led up one road and all of a sudden making a sharp turning into another.

When I chatted about the Aquaman comic book I read last year, I mentioned that I didn't like the artwork because it struck me that it was as if the artist was picturing his work to be hung up in a gallery rather than being looked at by teenagers and occasional ageing teenagers like me. Well this applies here as well. It spoils the flow of the storyline.

(And as an aside why did Gaiman and the artist Andy Kubert put a small cameo of themselves in the story? I didn't get that at all and it was irritating)

As I said there are surprises. There's a big reveal at the end which I should have got but to be honest was so waylaid by treacle of too much Marvel being thrown at me I missed. Still the background to the reveal is so out of kilter to the rest of the story (we really would have had no idea of it's presence) your first reaction is "What?"

So ultimately a disappointment. Perhaps the only thing you truly learn from this is that if writers want to create a "What If...?" situation with regular characters, then perhaps they should contain themselves first.

Until the next time.

Sports On A Budget : On Being A Sports Fan On Brexit Eve

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Whilst sport has been a feature of this blog from time to time moving to the apartment has made it feature less than it should be. Hard to take any interest in participating in sport when most of the stuff is in storage.

There have been other reasons that hinder me from being a fan as well. Obviously working a lot during the weekend doesn't help. Nor well the sheer effort involved in actually going to [insert venue here] seems to be greater the older you get. And that's not even participating.

You'd think the forthcoming move would fire me back to being more involved? Well no. the job/age issue is still there. Also being in the town of Penarth would mean that buying a bike has become a no-no. After all what's the point of cycling when you have to dress as if motorway maintenance and American football has been mixed up just to protect yourself? And that doesn't include what fumes from [insert vehicle here] you're actually breathing from.

There are obvious other sports that my age precludes me from considering because off the physical effort. Or marathon running, where my fear of dogs leads me to think they'll be looking at me and thinking meals on legs. Others, like tennis, are one of the few that I find just dull to watch let alone play. So obviously I'll need to adapt.

But on the horizon is also, like most things in this Disunited Kingdom now, Brexit. What effect is it going to have in the short/long term? Who knows? Are costs going to skyrocket? Will watching let alone participating become another elite activity? More than it already is already?

Hence Sports on a budget.

So as an experiment from next month will start more on sport. But with a limit of £5 a month on everything except the transport cost of going to a venue. It will be mainly in the Vale of Glamorgan and neighbouring Cardiff. But if I can get to any area in South Wales using the train I'll do it.

Obviously it's all unlikely to be glossy, No whhooosh or Whaarr like Sky Sports. But perhaps in this age of uncertainty that's a good thing. Sport as it was meant to be played. Warts and all.

Until the next time.

Becoming A Welsh Nationalist....Or Just The Way My Mind Works

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Ten years ago I was not right wing but otherwise wayward in my vote. I owned shares (actually still do - guilty of laziness not hypocrisy - will deal with that when we eventually move). I strove for happy boredom. Content in domesticity, family, football and reading.

Now I'm a committed Welsh nationalist. I look back and wonder how this has come about. After all the easy option would have just to have said "I'm English as long as I'm comfortable fine".

Recently someone asked me how is it I've changed. It's a good question. After all in many ways I haven't I still the fifty five year old football/reading curmudgeon I was when I was fourteen. This I will admit rambling post attempts in baby steps to answer that point.

One thing I do know is that I'm comfortable with supporting the underdog. Even though it's a premier league team for example supporting West Ham is not the easy option. I chose as explained before because it was the closest team to where I was born but nonetheless I'm comfortable with it. I could have gone the simpler route of supporting Arsenal like most of my family do. But no. For when West Ham wins the league, the cup, all European World and Galactic competitions I know I was there when but just the right thing to do.

Similarly Welsh independence. In a week when Welsh Labour for the first time acknowledged the possibility of independence I supported it when it seemed fanciful. Not saying that it still needs a push to get it over the line but independence as an option for Wales' future is no longer laughed at.

(Now let me stress I'm claiming no credit for the popular change in mood  - Just explaining that my mind is willing to consider options which would seem odd at the time)

Here's another example I have a preference for Barry Town over Penarth and Harlow in Essex over Epping.

"You like the dumps" said my mother.

No my mother is wrong. But I do have an instinctive liking for places which whilst no one would call them fashion capitals are nonetheless better than their reputations.

I suspect my Welsh nationalism starts from a few factors then. My inclination towards the underdog. My dislike for the arrogant incompetence of Welsh Labour and the sheer evil of the Westminster equivalents. And whilst the proposed (not actioned) closure of the Tata steel plant in 2016 was the catalyst I think now it was something bubbling within me anyway.

I don't sound like an Eastender (though I am) just Southern English. Yet here I am willing to campaign for a nation to wrench itself from the Serf Nation mentality Westminster has set for it and make itself free.

So I neither look nor speak like a cliché Welsh Nationalist. What unionists don't understand is that I'm led to my position of today simply because it's the right thing to do.

Would I have felt the same if I hadn't met my wife (who incidentally is not a member of any political party but votes Plaid) and still lived in Essex? Regular readers will know I'm a fan of the parallel Earth "What If".

To be honest I don't know for sure. My guess is that I'd have accepted a majority vote for independence without paying it much attention. If there is one thing I've learnt since I've moved here it's that unless it's factory closures or Rugby Wales rarely gets the same attention from the Disunited Kingdom option than even Scotland.

Where would I have been politically in England? Probably whoever would have the most effective non Right wing candidate. After all the Nationalist option is not available and it would appear anyway that England is turning into a country where anything to the left of the Conservatives is now categorised as a dangerous Communist reactionary to the English way of life.

But of course that's probably me in a parallel universe. I'm in this one. In a Disunited Kingdom that is getting more insane by the second and the supporter of a cause which upon looking and hearing me speak you'd have thought I'd be diametrically opposed to.

Perhaps ultimately moving to Wales has changed me in ways that I'm still not fully understanding. Perhaps it has opened certain doors in mind that would have remained forever shut had I stayed in London.

Freedom of movement does that.

Until the next time.

Is Cardiff City Welsh Labour Council Betraying Wales For Blog Villain Chucky Cairns?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So Secretary of State's vision for a "Great Western Powerhouse" to a step closer this week by a plan from major cities in the west of England and South East Wales to link up.

They would combine for improvements and investment in this M4/M5 type link-up. Plans include for example more trains between Bristol and Cardiff and even a third Severn Bridge (you wonder which member of the Royal family it'll be named after).

There was a picture of the local representatives of a this group. In the middle was the happiest goblin you will ever see. Alun "Chucky" Cairns.

Now whilst Newport is amongst the mix of cities here the key one from a Welsh context is Cardiff. It is after all the capital city. So let's focus on it and ask the question of the title. Is the Welsh Labour council betraying Wales? Indeed rather like Carwyn Jones and the renaming of the second Severn Crossing have they been played by Chucky?

If we hypothesise for a moment. Let's assume that it's a success. I doubt it but let's make that assumption. Then the money and the investment will stop at Cardiff. West of Cardiff, the South Wales Valleys, Bridgend, Port Talbot, Swansea they will get nothing but watching decline in action. Cardiff on the other hand will watch more (unfilled) student accommodation grow or proposed skyscrapers go on the sky and (when a technical glitch is sorted out) they will get electrified intercity trains before the stabilisers are installed for onward westward journey.

"What about the South Wales Metro?" Cardiff council will say. Well when it's actually built. That will rather like the London Underground be used for journeys into the centre of Cardiff mainly. Only in the weekends will people venture to explore. For the purposes of this discussion it's a red herring for it doesn't help or invest in the economy west of Cardiff.

What it needs to be asked are the infrastructure plans West of Cardiff? What are the incentives for investment west of Cardiff? Why being west of Cardiff suddenly means that you're cast out into a wilderness?

Wales, and let's focus on South and West Wales here needs proper investment within the nation. I'm not actually against links to English towns and cities but the priority has to be for inter Welsh investment first. In the long term both for social and economic reasons this annexation of the more wealthy South East part will not help Wales.

So why have Cardiff Labour council done this? Why the "I'm All Right Jack" attitude? Well of course I'm guessing. I admit that. But here goes...

If there is one thing that Welsh Labour councils appear to have is an arrogant incompetence. But Cardiff Labour council does appear to have an extra sprinkling of arrogance on top. Let's not forget that it was a Cardiff Labour councillor who queried the purpose of nearby Barry Town.

So I suspect it's open to flattery. The idea of involvement in an "exclusive" group probably appealed.

I suspect it was seduced by Alun Cairns.

Being seduced by Chucky. If I'm right I hope they're proud of themselves.

Until the next time.

Hedging It

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday (Tuesday) evening I actually made a plan to do something on a weekend where I'm not working and it doesn't involve sport......I'm going to cut a hedge.

I've mentioned it before. It's the front hedge of the house we've bought and waiting to move into once the builders have finished. It was going to be one of the first things I was going to do once we've moved in. However unluckily for me summer, or rather the lack of a cliché Welsh summer has meant that it's overgrown literally to the street.

So unless it's raining Sunday (First available non-work day from today) will be spent trimming a hedge. Where's cliché Welsh weather when you want it?

As I made clear when I previously chatted about gardening no one should expect expertise here. I don't even care if it looks wonky. Essentially I'll just make sure that no one will need to walk into the road before passing the house and that's it.

Further to my fears I've decided not to use the electric hedge trimmer. I'm going manual. Thus the women (and men as well) can admire the tone physique for longer that day. Or wonder who's the sweaty rotund guy do a rubbish job on the hedge. One of the two.

And that is of course the point. Unlike the wife if will be the first time that most of the neighbours will have seen me. So first impressions and all that. As long as I don't make a fool of myself than that's fine with me.

So what do I need. Shears, a roll of black bags, gardening gloves (wife says she's got some given the gardening stuff is in storage - I dread to think what they look like), a stool (it's a big fence....to me anyway) and a bottle of Lucozade.

Will it be passable or a disaster? Will the Welsh cliché weather save me for a week? We will see...

Until the next time.

The Battle For Wales: The Welsh Independence Baby Steps Of First Minister Mark Drakeford

Hello there. Hope you're feeling today.

Sometimes in life you don't turn on or just baby skim the news. All I was aware of was that the Disunited Kingdom ambassador to the US thinks Trump is an imbecile, barring major disaster the Coronation of Baboon Boris as the next Prime Minister continues and Wimbledon is still on (I'm not one for gender stereotyping on this blog but there is a rule of thumb which states that the same women who would moan at men for watching constant football during the Men's World Cup for a month are the same females who go excited at Wimbledon which runs for two boring weeks every year - but I digress).

What did I do yesterday? To be honest nothing much. Except agreeing to watch the original Ant Man movie during the evening with daughter, which, for the record, is better than it's sequel which I chatted about last year.

So imagine my surprise to find out on the Welsh news late in the evening that First Minister Mark Drakeford has said something that "Jeremy" would disagree with. And quite substantial at that. He said that Wales' support for the union was "not unconditional".

Now there is a caveat here. He is talking about a scenario where Scotland obtained independence (thus he's leaving the hard work to the Scots).

But no matter how many caveats he wishes to throw Drakeford said what he said. He and indeed Welsh Labour can no longer disparage Plaid Cymru over this given that it's no longer for them beyond the bounds of possibility.

I assume Drakeford has seen the riding support for Welsh Independence and the decline in support for Labour in Wales. When powerful establishment monolths feel threatened they try to make concessions to the popular mood. Let's be clear here. This is a concession.

Baboon Boris and current Secretary of State for Wales Alun "Chucky" Cairns will portray themselves as the only true defenders of the Union. This unequivocal support will be disastrous for the Welsh Conservatives. They will be seen as London's party and it will mean destruction come [insert election here]. Good.

Of course the question is what sort of right wing grouping would emerge should this occur. But you fight your opponents when they occur. You don't do a Tommy Robinson and try to run away.

And so now Welsh politics is slowly moving towards a direction which I've predicted earlier in this thread. Between Plaid Cymru and whatever the right wing turns out to be. A dinosaur like Welsh Labour will find that it's too late to adapt to the new and changing environment around it. But the fact that, ever so slightly, it's changed it's position is significant for Wales as a whole.

Until the next time.

What If Anne Widdecombe's "Slavery" Speech Was As A Plaid Cymru MP In Westminster?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yes I know it's a stretch but regular readers will know that I like parallel universes and "What if...?" scenarios and it seemed to me that batty Anne's speech to the EU parliament saying that going out of the EU would mean Britain would be freed from the slavery of Brussels is a good example of that.

For what if Anne Widdecombe gave that speech in Westminster as a Plaid Cymru MP? What if she accused Westminster of putting Wales into slavery?

I have in this blog accused Westminster of treating Wales like Serf nation before. But perhaps it needs to be chatted about again. Slavery is not just casting someone in chains. There is a mental slavery as well, or the lack of infrastructure over the centuries resulting in a dependence of the abusive partner that is England.

Let's take the second point first. Wales doesn't have a railway system that connects it from the North to the South of the country. It's only planned electrification of the mainline train from London will stop at Cardiff. Renewable energy projects have been stopped by Westminster. I could go on but you get the drift. These fundamental infrastructure points would have helped Wales.

Instead Westminster in one form or another stops them. It only seems that infrastructure projects are only Cymru centric if it involves transporting Wales' natural resources across the border.

Mental slavery argument then. I've chatted about this too. Let's start with this "Wales is too poor to be independent" argument. It deliberately misses out on the fact that Wales' infrastructure problems are as a result of decsions made by Westminster through the centuries. It is Unionism in the form of Westminster that has created Wales' problems being the abusive partner in the relationship and whilst independence will not create an instant solution by being free decisions will be made without looking over it's shoulder and asking "What will London think?"

Or indeed the notion that uniquely in this day and age only the Welsh are expected to bear insults from the likes of so called comedian Omid Djalili and are expected to accept it. Just in the same way the master would have expected for slaves to accept derogatory comments against them.

Ah you say what about the Welsh Labour government in Cardiff Bay? Well what about them? In current First Minister Mark Drakeford we have not a leader but a disciple of "Jeremy" and in previous First Minister Carwyn Jones we have a man who surrendered Welsh powers to Theresa May. Where was the battle? Where was/is the sense of fight for Welsh interests? They acquiesce towards London not to the interests of the Welsh people.

So where does this leave us? Well the only answer to slavery in Wales is freedom. The consequences of freedom are never smooth. But only freedom will enable those of us living in Wales to build a nation.

In a parallel universe then Plaid Cymru  MP Anne Widdecombe would have been applauded for having such attitudes towards Wales. As it's this universe though, she's just Batty Annie.

Until the next time.

The Plaid Cymru Brecon And Radnor Experiment

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The biggest political story in Wales today is that Plaid Cymru (with the agreement of the local party) have agreed not to put up a candidate in the forthcoming Brecon and Radnor by-election to Westmnister. The Green party have made the same decision. Both parties have done this to give as clear a run as possible to the LibDems who they've urged their supporters to vote for.

The logic is simple. The European elections in Wales showed that whilst votes for Remain/Leave EU  parties were roughly even. The Brexit party won the most seats specifically because the Remain vote was split. This is trying to make sure that does not happen again.

Labour are fielding a candidate. But let's be clear here their position on Brexit shifts daily.

The LibDems have the best chance of winning the seat from the right wing. They held it from 1997 until 2015 and have been second ever since.

The by-election was called when the previous Tory MP was convicted over a false expenses claim and was forced out by a recall petition where 19% of the voters said there should be a by-election. That very same Conservative is their candidate this time round....yes I know.

So is it the right thing for Plaid Cymru to have done? To be honest I don't know. Success would mean that the LibDems would have to do similar in other seats in South Wales for Plaid and there would be more of them which would mean that they would have a chance in increasing it's representation.

However experiments are worth doing once in confided conditions, which is exactly what Brecon and Radnor is. But if an experiment fails you don't repeat it.

So whilst I'm not sure how Plaid Cymru should proceed if the LibDems win the seat, should they fail then this experiment should not be repeated. It would alienate the Plaid membership and voters. who would feel that they are propping up tired old parties with no chance of winning. It would serve no purpose to repeat failure.

Until the next time.

Discovering John Cheever Through The Medium Of Twitter, The New Yorker And The A48 Between Cardiff and Bridgend

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As a reader discovering a writer, any writer, is not easy. Led to your own devices any reader being completely honest will tell you that they've either not been aware of, or have not read, thousands of writers simply because of the principle of so many books and so little time. So a writer, especially one now deceased, has difficulty reaching every reader and needs help.

For those not in the know (and I think I've mentioned this before in the blog) this part of  the A48 is mainly a quiet road between Cardiff and Bridgend (though there is a new housing development roughly half way near Cowbridge and roads are being built that will increase the traffic in that part). It is basically a pleasant journey through the Welsh countryside during the day and a quiet one at night. Perfect for when you do shift work like me.

I've also mentioned that for these journeys I keep my mind occupied by listening to podcasts. So it was yesterday afternoon when I made my forty minute trip to work by listening to the New Yorker magazine Fiction podcast.

Can't recall exactly how but it was Twitter that brought the New Yorker's whole slew of podcasts to my attention and I've started on them. As always I don't begin with the latest podcast but instead from the earliest available. Which turned out to be Richard Ford (author of The Sportswriter, really can't recommend it highly enough) reading The Reunion by John Cheever.

Now I've heard of John Cheever, but as mentioned above through the principle of so many books so little time have never got round to reading/or as in this case listening to him. So this was new to me.

And I was stunned.

I wish I could explain the plot to you. Really I do. But being that it was a short story anything I say really would spoil things. But it did what the short story does best. Takes us on a particular brief moment in time and explains everything you need to know without needing to waffle on further.

The story, style and characterisation were deceptively simple and simply brilliant.

And yes I am hooked. First available opportunity will go to the main library in the borough to borrow one of his works, if that's impossible to go to a bookshop in Cardiff, if that's impossible to go Kindle. I want to read more Cheever and I want it now.

It is certainly funny how a writer gets your undivided attention.

Until the next time.

Soon I Shall Be Internet Impaired....For A While...So Time For Digital Cold Turkey

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've not hidden the fact that regarding the house we're shortly going to move into I've absolutely no interest in it's décor other than I don't want to live somewhere as if designed by Coco the clown. This whole moving away from Bridgend is what the wife/daughter wanted and whilst as I said before I've never fought against this as I feel that I owe her one for being with me through unemployment and depression my gratefulness  does not extent to interior design.

In other words, as long as it doesn't look stupid the wife deals with it.

But of course being the man of the household, albeit the man with a bad back, when it comes to technology I am the caveman here me roar (well not loud enough that the neighbours hear of course) and this leads to the question of the internet.

The house was abandoned. It doesn't even have a phone socket (ripped out) and even if it did we will need to change the supplier. Currently it's linked to Virgin Media which makes it a no-no in my book given the callous way they closed down their Swansea Call Centre.

So the first question is actually should I use the opportunity to change provider? I don't like Talk Talk but now it's Murdoch free SKY becomes a consideration. Worth looking into though probably I'll stick with BT.

Of course if that was my only tech problem I'd be fine. But no. Let's assume I'll stick with BT. To install phone/internet sockets will take at least three weeks to arrange because I'm changing the phone company in the new house. Three weeks?!! In internet terms that's an eternity. Using the internet in one form or another constantly rather like the forthcoming attraction that is Brexit I feel as if I'm moving back to the seventies.

The wife astonishingly mentions I could do things whilst we're in the process of literally bedding into the house. Things like gardening or shifting boxes. Or talking as a family. I know how selfish can you get?

I'll have to arrange an alternative. That I've done. Will get a PAYG intenet mobile modem. Will link up to five contraptions. Cost £50 to set up and I think the guy said £11 a month. However there is a catch (you knew it was coming didn't you?) the gigabytes are restrictive. Perfect for tap, tap, tapping away on blogs like this. Perfect for looking at websites. But anything that requires watching things move. Or asking machines with female voices what's the capital of Cambodia and the gigabytes will be gobbled up.

So that means no Netflix, no Alexa or no YouTube for let's call it a month. It also means (to the horror of daughter who is unsurprisingly generally supportive of my plan) no facetiming through the internet either. What I've suggested to daughter is how I'm slowly dealing with this. By going digital cold turkey.

Me and Alexa are going through a separation at the moment. Am not watching any series on Netflix just films. YouTube is actually the hardest to shake. Because aside from the odd live sporting event I watch it in bits anyway.

So I'll have to start making more recordings from the TV. Getting out those DVDs (remember them?) and start listening to radio stations......from a radio.

It's tough going on digital cold turkey. But when full internet comes back it won't be so much bells and whistles as the full jazz orchestra. Just waiting for the addiction to go full blast again

Until the next time.

Homelessness In Wales : Let's Chat About Barry Town, The Windsor and the Windsors

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday I had to go quickly to Barry Town to do a couple of things in the morning before in the afternoon seeing Spiderman Far From Home with daughter (for the record - not awful but not as good as Spiderman Homecoming which I chatted about in this blog a few years back).

Now whilst Barry Town is not the urban tragedy Bridgend Town currently is, it doesn't mean that it doesn't have blots on it's landscape. Notably two large disused buildings. Let's focus on the older disused of the two which I have chatted about before.

As I've said before the saddest disused buildings are those which seemed to have had fun when younger

Now look at the entrance to the building. That white thing by the front? It's a sleeping bag. That means somebody has slept there all night.

Homelessness used to be an issue for the city centres of Cardiff and Swansea. But as I've mentioned  in my last chat about Bridgend it's now moved into towns as well. Barry Town as this example showed is not immune from the issue. And it's likely to get worse. Indeed because no one knows the true final effects of Brexit the point is not whether it will get worse but how bad will it get?

Let's go into a bit of a detour. But trust me when I say there's method in my madness. You may remember that Welsh Secretary of State Alun "Chucky" Cairns changed the name of the Severn Bridge to the Prince of Wales bridge for no apparent reason other to kiss royal backside? Well this morning comes the news that it cost two hundred thousand pounds to change the roadsigns!!! I thought Conservatives were supposed to be saving money. But obviously not when it comes to royalty.

Alun Chucky Cairns in action folks.

But the point is this. Revolution begins when there is a period of perceived injustice. We have a situation of rising homelessness which two hundred thousand pounds could have helped deal with but instead has been spent toadying up to a rich family subsidised by the state. That is the scenario that causes resentment and social unrest.

But back to the specific Barry Town example of the homeless person sleeping in front of what was a hotel . May be sunny and warm at the moment. But that doesn't last. Soon it will be raining. Soon it will be autumn. Soon it will be winter. Soon it will be cold.

So what's to be done? Well perhaps the example of The Windsor should be the tenplate. It used to be a hotel why not open it up for the homeless? Even temporarily? I have of course no idea as to it's structural integrity but that building has been closed for at least two years and if looks are anything to go by it seems to be holding up well. So let's assume on that level it's viable.

Even if it was just a case of opening the doors so that the homeless had some protection from the elements and nothing else it would be a better situation than exists for them now. Though I'm sure charities would provide other help. Why can't the relevant authorities force whoever owns (and so far unable to sell) the property to let them have it until a buyer is found? Pop-up homeless shelters as you will.

And to those who would baulk at such a move I would say this. What would make you feel safer? The homeless in one place or scattered across the town?

It's not a solution. It's sticking plaster. But it's still better than leaving the open wound which is what's currently happening.

So Vale of Glamorgan Council (or whoever has control of this issue) why don't you stop your petty council squabbling and do something beneficial for the social fabric of the area instead? Perhaps then other councils could follow your example.

Until the next time.

Why A Team GB Football Team Will Increase The Chances Of Welsh Independence

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Two things with regard to Welsh football happened in the past few days. Firstly the Welsh language channel S4C broadcast in full (as it was the third anniversary) the Euro 2016 quarter final between Wales and Belgium.

You can understand why they did it. After all it was the greatest night in Welsh football history. Beating the overwhelming pre match favourites conclusively (after having gone a goal down) 3-1 to reach the semi-finals.

It was also though bittersweet. The Welsh team of today has not reached those heights. And to say the least the future of Ryan Giggs as manager is up for debate.

Which leads us to the other news. Apparently England's success in the Women's World Cup (qualifying it should be noted by beating Wales) means that there will be a Team GB team in the next Olympics. Theoretically then Welsh players can play in this Team GB. It raises the questions then "Should they?" and "What would be the consequences?"

Now a quick aside the BBC Sports Wales Twitter feed brought the news by tweeting this: "Which Welsh Players deserve to be selected for Team GB?".

Deserve? From the organisation that brought you "Are we all English now?" in reaction to England's good performance in the World Cup last year that use of the word "deserve" really betrays a tug your forelock attitude. The state broadcaster (certainly with regard to English language broadcasts) seems to act with a certain amount of deference to England unless the ball is egg shaped. Anecdotally people's general attitude to the BBC has declined in recent years. And this doesn't help.

So back to the questions. Should Welsh players participate in a Team GB Women's team? The answer is of course no. Wales is a nation. Allowing this to happen might damage it's very status within FIFA (to move on to question two).

However there is another set of consequences that need to be noted. Unionists would obviously be happy with such an outcome. You can see Alun "Chucky" Cairns wetting himself at such a prospect.

But as I've discussed before Wales is a different nation now. If anything such a loss of nationhood would be felt by most Welsh people (whether unionist or not) to be a bad thing. Sport has the ability to unify and if that's taken away then it will be another substantial example of the destruction to the Welsh way of life Unionism has brought.

Consequently this will increase the already rising tide for Welsh independence. For whilst independence can never promise sporting success it will always promise that it's teams will be Welsh.

Until the next time.

The Welsh Being The Butt Of All Jokes Again.....Though This Time From An Unexpected Source

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've written before about the Welsh people and their culture becoming the butt of all jokes from people who assume they're "safe" in making fun of them when it would be considered unacceptable if directed to any other race.

Well it has come again from an unexpected source comedian Omid Djalili , a Londoner born of Iranian parents, tweeted a "joke" about the Welsh language. I won't repeat it. But let's say it's predictability contrasted with the person who tweeted it out.

What's actually worse than the original tweet appears to be the response to the backlash against him. Which roughly summarised seems to be of the old "you can't take a joke" previously used against women, people of colour and, Mr Djalili, Muslims.

And yes let's focus on Muslims. There are Muslim comedians, they make jokes about their faith, but they instinctively know where the line is when humour becomes offensive. With the Welsh however the attitude seems to be "Who cares"?

So why did Mr Djalili do this?  Well of  course I don't know. What I'm going to say now is merely conjecture. But speaking generally the Welsh people have become the last nation to be the butt of this sort of "humour" from English comedians. Whether it's that subconsciously they feel safe because the Welsh voted for Brexit in the EU Referendum is debatable. My guess is that's a factor. But not the only one.

My suspicion, as I've written about before, is that taken as a whole the Welsh are just too nice. Consequently they've been taken advantage of. Or that jokes can be made against them and their culture because they just accept it. Which makes Mr Djalili's response all the more interesting. Because what it made clear was that he hadn't expected the backlash.

I've written before that Wales is a changing nation. Certainties that used to exist have gone. Independence is no longer a concept for the political fringes. With that change comes a change in attitude. If you cause offence you have to accept anger and not acquiescence in return.

This is the most encouraging thing. Perhaps what it shows is that no longer can English comedians make jokes about the Welsh people and their culture for granted. Perhaps English comedians will use the line between humour and offence that they would put on any other [insert nationality here] on Wales and the Welsh people.

Perhaps. We live in hope.

Until the next time.