A Short Note About Barry Town and The Homeless

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

You may recall I've spoken about the Windsor Hotel in Barry Town before. I've mentioned how it's especially sad when a building closes down when you can tell it once led a happy life.

You may also recall that I mentioned the small alcove before you actually get inside and used by the homeless as a partial shelter from the elements.

Well no more.

And you have to say what a petty pathetic thing to do. Especially this weekend with Storm Jorge, the third storm to batter South Wales in four weeks, due to come.

A tiny tiny shelter for a homeless person has been taken away. Presumably the person who made the decision lives in a nice warm place in contrast to the cold heart within.

Until the next time.

French Film Night Part One: Le Havre

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The story so far: This blog has within it an occasional series where I chat about films pre 2013 just to get through the twenty three thousand movies on the Radio Times guide bought in Harlow for the knock-down price of two pounds fifty pence in 2018.

Now normally they have been near midnight meanderings as I've returned from shift work in the evening. This time was different though. Daughter who is studying French for her A levels wanted to watch something with her old man during my days off. Since sport was out of the question for her and reality TV was a no-no for me there wasn't a lot to choose from. Until that it is she hit upon the idea of with the wife having a French film night once a week. As long as English subtitles were present I had no objection to this. And of course if it meant another movie could be crossed off the guide so much the better

So yesterday it began with this.

Le Havre is a story of an elderley shoe shine man who stumbles across a boy who has escaped the clutches of the French authorities in order to fulfil his target of illegally emigrating from the Gabon to London where his mother is. The shoe shiner, who is having worries of his own due to his wife going into hospital with a serious illness, decides to help this boy as best he can despite the French police also seeking the boy, who was part of group discovered in a cargo hold in the port,on their way to Britain

Daughter it has to be said did not like it. Her big objection is the way bits from different periods seem to coalse. Critics who from the DVD cover seem to have liked the movie appear to consider that this mixture can be excused if you consider it "a fairy tale". But a fairy tale it isn't as there's no magic. Instead I see it as a parallel universe. Where whilst there is contemporary talk of The Jungle refugee camp in Calais and people use Euros there is no internet or mobile phones, the police detective drives a seventies Renault and the women dress as if they're from the nineteen thirties or forties and wished the film was consequently in black and white. Only viewed like this does the style make any degree of sense. I've never been to Le Havre but I have  suspect if a local citizen took this seriously they would burnt the cinema down.

It's a sytilsed film by the Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki and I liked it. But only just. For even stylised movies need plots that hold up to scrutiny. This however has holes. For example without saying whether the teenage boy goes to Britain or not there6 no discussion as to what he does should be reach British shores. Also why would  a group of people from  French speaking Gabon want to go to Britain? Wouldn't they be happier staying  in La France?

And these plot holes of colander like proportions continue. But what saves the film is the acting from the cast led by Andre Wilms as the shoe shiner. They make you believe in parallel Le Havre full of idiosyncratic characters. That's what good acting can do foks. Entwine you  Into a world where otherwise you would say "Now hold on a minute".

So I enjoyed it. But daughter was right too. This is not the sort of movie you should watch for study purposes. It'll drive you up the wall.

Until the next time.

The Abandoned Armchair and the Homeless Of Penarth

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Penarth town centre is relatively small and for the most part it has shops best described as @fashionable@. So for example it has coffee shops, a bookshop, a sweet shop and a number of gift shops. It is, as I've said before the urban version of a comfy pair of slippers.

So as I went there this morning imagine my surprise to see something completely out of place against the public toilets (Bridgend council please note)

Well that was unexpected

Now to be honest my first thought was how people were able to fly tip in so public a place. My second thought was that the homeless had a place to rest their weary legs for a while.

For homeless,or at very least people begging for trivial pennies from disinterested people, is something that even quiet Penarth town centre is not immune from. There was in fact three. One by the little Tesco, one by the little Sainsbury and one by the local Greggs. The last one was a guy seemingly ravaged by both life and the elements.

He was just sitting on the floor with a travel bag for comfort He didn't ask for money. Just stared at the clothed knees of the people passing by.

And yes I bought him a sausage roll to warm him up. Only later did I realise I did not get him a drink to wash it down (something essential with a sausage roll). to be honest it didn't occur to me given that I didn't buy a drink for myself either as I was having my sauage rolls at home with a cup of tea I'd make there.

So what does this all mean? Even in a comfotable place like Penarth town centre the poor are with us.

And it's getting worse.

Until the next time.

So Walking Crash Helmeted Guy In Bridgend Was Right

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So the Corona virus is spreading rapidly across the globe with the speed as fast as I can type this sentence. Here in Wales it is at this moment one step away from frightening in a direct way. Indirectly however we are now in the situation of watching the situation and wondering when, rather than if, it will come here.

The great irony of all of this is that the best thing about the storms and floods that have ravaged this country in the past few months is that it has drawn our attention from the virus, being the most direct problem to deal with. However though the weather is still an issue the virus is beginning to make an effect.

Work has given me and the wife instructions about it. So have daughter's school. No doubt soon we will be covering our faces with something as presumably face masks will be sold out. The Crash helmeted guy strolling around Bridgend may have been premature, but no longer is he considered stupid.

The virus has spread to such an extent that it won't be long before everybody will know of an area affected. I'm there already. The government has said anybody returning to Britain from anywhere north of Pisa in Italy should self isolate themselves.

North of Pisa.....where my Italian relatives live.

The wife also has a cousin living in Thailand. So again we know people directly affected.

One thing I do wonder is that whether in this post- Brexit Britain the fact that I have an Italian name will mean I'll be the subject of abuse even though I've never visited there in twelve years (we were actually considering taking a holiday there this year. Do you want to know what our first option was going to be? Vietnam. Timing is everything). It's not improbable. People with an Asian face even if they are not of Chinese extraction have been abused. In circumstances as in the world and Britain we live in now people are bound to turn a trifle primitive.

Oh for the age of innocence where when people of my generation heard the word Corona they instantly thought of a soft drink of the same name.Now no longer with us.

First storms...now a virus...who knows what's next.  But as things are developing so far we are all about to walk with a crash helmet on.

Until the next time.

Random Thoughts On South Walian Storms and Floods

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have thankfully been lucky when it comes to flooding. The closest I've ever been to it was in 1997 when I had only recently moved to Wales. The wife and I were watching pictures of flooding near Epping Forest in Essex and she turned to me and asked for

"Doesn't your cousin live near there?"

And indeed she did. I rang up and her husband responded. It was in that sort of tone where things were not alright with the world. For they were indeed flooded. Not to the extent that water invaded their house, but they were trapped from going out.
Last Sunday in the second of two storms to have hit South Wales in a fortnight the River Taff burst it's banks and flooded the town of Pontypridd in the South Wales Valleys. Other towns and villages  in that area were also affected but Ponty was probably the one that received the most attention.

Things were so bad we rang friends living in a village in the area just to make sure they were OK. Thankfully they weren't directly affected.

One of the reasons was that it was so unexpected. A month's rain threw itself onto he town in a single night. It was cliche biblical. Overnight residents and businesses have found themselves realising that their whole perception of Pontypridd has changed. The river Taff is no longer something to look at. It's become something to fear.

Secondly I know the town and have written about it from time to time. I like the place and know it will bounce back. Still it is a shock to see places you have physically walked through on TV covered waist high in water and assorted waste.

Welsh First minister Mark Drakeford has pledged money for the affected areas. Yet presumably this money could have been used to prevent some of the damage happening in the first place. Shutting the flood doors after the waters have bolted if you ask me.

Since last Sunday there have been assorted weather warnings in South Wales. I cannot recall a more persistent strain of winds and rain in South Wales since I moved here.

And it has affected me in the decisions I've been making. I know and realise that it's not the same as actually being flooded but your mindset does change. On my route home after work I have been taking the M4 and not the one I'd normally prefer for fear of flooding. I've stopped temporarily listening to podcasts adjust stick to local radio.Also there are no diversions to go to a particular shop for example. You go where you have go and that's it. Fear of wind and rain has created a self imposed quarantine. Not a corona virus level but not far off it.

And even now writing this the Saturday after Storm Dennis (and what bright mind thought up  Dennis to describe a storm that was more destructive than the suburban sitcom the name suggested?) l  find myself looking up at the skies, down at the puddles and all manner of things swaying in between reminds me with more of the bad stuff still to come with a weather warning in place for tomorrow morning.

I don't think people round here will forget the past few weeks in a long while. Climate change has in some unfortunate cases literally hit home. Perhaps these past weeks have (leaving aside the lives lost) been a good thing if it makes people right for a planet and a way of life that's in danger of radically changing for the worse.

Until the next time.

The Battle For The Future Of The BBC. Who Cares? For Welsh Nationalism The Battle Is For S4C/Radio Cymru

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Before I begin properly I will be repeating in this post a few things I have mentioned before about S4C. I make no apologies for this as it would appear that whilst the battle still continues the battleground has shifted.

Also for those who will say "Typical nationalist. Only thinking about the Welsh language and not English language programming in Wales" just remember that come independence the BBC as an organisation will not exist anyway. What the Welsh media picture as a whole should be post independence  is a discussion for another day.

So back to the BBC, whose current funding model is under threat from this Conservative Westminster administration. Many options have been put in it's place, the most talked about is a subscription service.

Now to be honest I'm not certain whether I would be interested in subscribing. Taken as a whole the BBC seems to be rather like Welsh Labour. An organisation with a glorius past that hides a reltively inglorius present. Leaving aside S4C/Radio Cymru for a moment I cannot say I watch/listen to a lot of BBC content anymore. Of course partly that's because the choice is a lot wider than when I was a child. But still there are less and less programmes now where I say to myself "I must watch that".

Nationalists of whatever celtic part of the country are no friends of the BBC believing it to have an anti independence agenda taking things as a whole.

Yet it's important that S4C and Radio Cymru (part financed by the BBC and advertising in S4C's case) is taken out of any subscription model that the BBC might eventually find itself in. It is a unique service providing information and entertainment in the Welsh language. It's also important to the cultural wellbeing of the nation.

Ah you say but S4C has low ratings. True. But as I've written about before the biggest problem S4C faces is not the langiage but the fact that it's just one channel. It has to be BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, BBC Parliament, BBC News Channel, Ceebies and CBBC in just one stream. As a consequence it cannot offer the same options as other media outlets can. It's why S4C needs, even if crammed full of repeats, a second TV channel so it can offer choice.

How can it be funded? Well why should decisions on the financing of a Welsh language channel be controlled by Westminster? Why can't it control be in the Senedd? Proper devolution of what is clearly a Welsh resource is not an unreasonable aim. A Welsh government would understand the dangers to the language of these channels going subscription.

So whatever the future holds for the BBC let it fight it's own battles. Let us just fight to protect what is clearly Welsh.

Until the next time.

Why Mamma Mia (and it's sequel) Are Dangerous Films

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

This train of thought first came up yesterday when daughter asked me whether I'd blocked Mamma Mia songs on Spotify.
"If only" was my response.

My first thought was to congratulate myself on such a droll remark (I'm like that). Later on though I wondered why it was so popular.

Two thirds of this household have seen the stage play and the movie several times. One third (obviously me) hates it. Now this was a slow burn hate. When forced to watch it the first time I was neutral. The second time it began to grate. The third time I hated it so much I pretended to nod off in front of the TV.

So why? The fact that it's a musical is not the reason why it inspires hatred in me. No it's because it's too bright, too sunny, too happy,people getting along,Perhaps I'm just a misery guts?
It is escapism. Sometimes though escapism is a bad thing. After all since the original film was released in 2008 there has been the financial crash (including please note the Greek crisis), Brexit, the rise of the far right, Trump. Viewed in that regard Mamma Mia and it's sequel represents a world that does not exist any more even if it truly existed in the first place.

People should not want escapism if it hides a reality of worrying reality. Truly reality does bite. The rise of foodbanks and an underclass in Britain is testament to that.

So perhaps if we smelled the coffee we might ignore an escapist fantasy and start making it reality instead.

Until the next time.

Why Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price Need To Be More Populist

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It's been a while since I've chatted about Welsh politics on this blog yet things almost appear to have reached my prediction that things are moving towards a battle between the right wing and Plaid Cymru for the future of Wales.

Certainly the Conservative party has never been stronger in Wales. Leading in the latest polls and in the last election gaining seats in places like Bridgend.

At the same time  support for Welsh independence is on the rise (up 5% in the latest poll). And when the consequences of Brexit truly hit then it will I'm sure be even greater.

Yet despite of all there has been no great increase in Plaid Cymru's position. Polls whether actual or opinion suggests that there is no great momentum for it either.

So why is this? I would suggest that one of the reasons, not the only one but the one I'm focusing on today, is the Plaid leader Adam Price. After all when he was elected a few years back starting from what I would argue was a whispering campaign against the previous leader Leanne Wood, one of the arguments used against her was Plaid's supposed lack of progress (which I've discussed previously in this blog). But nothing really has appeared to have changed and especially in terms of Adam Price's contribution.

He is I think popular with the party membership but as Jeremy Corbyn has shown popularity in your party does not equate to electoral success.

So what does he need to do? Well as I've suggested previously Adam Price is too much of an ideas man. That's fine for internal Plaid planning but what the man or woman in the street wants to hear is the stirring broad strokes of a plan to lead them away from the misery of their current situation. That there is an alternative to the arrogant incomptence of Welsh Labour and it's Mr Magoo leader Mark Drakeford. Leaders lead from the front. they need to explain issues invited clear strokes. They may be involved in the detail but that's for others to explain to the media. In Plaid's case basically it's the creation of a fair and just society through independence for Wales. That is the message it should banging again and again. That may be populism, but when used correctly it's not the quasi fascist populism of other nations. It does not mean either though that Plaid and indeed Adam Price should not use it's methods.The

Donald Trump and Nigel Farage were succesful against the odds. They appealed to the electorate and so could Plaid. Adam Price needs to be less beuratratic and more bloody when dealing with his opponents. He needs to show that not only does he believe in an independent Wales, he would be a streetfighter for the cause too.

And therein lies his second problem. He is just too polite. In this regard he reminds me of the worst Plaid leader in my lifetime and the one who is the reason why it's progress always seems miles away from other nationalist movements like Sein Fein or the SNP, Iuean Wynne Jones. He too was too polite with dealing with opponents. Why be respectful to these people? They are helping to destroy Wales and yet meaphorically he is opening the door to them when he should be slamming it in their faces.

He has over a year until the elections to the Welsh Parliament the Senedd to sort it out. Specifically he needs to target the Welsh Labour voter who I would argue is hungry for change and would be willing to listen to Plaid. But should Plaid not be succesful then either a return to Leanne Wood or the other clear Plaid politician Rhun Ap Iowerth would need to be swiftly implemented.

Until the next time

The Helmet and The Tie. Two Tales About Clothing

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today

So yesterday I'm working in Bridgend. A man suddenly enters and asks us whether we've just seen another guy walking along the street outside.

Well as it happens I did. He was dressed in casual clothes (rather less than he should have been wearing in this cold February afternoon). He wasn't really walking. He was strutting. Peacock fashion. Or perhaps reminiscent of the John Travolta stride along the pavement in Saturday Night Fever.

But that was not the odd thing about him. What was odd was that the walker had a motorcycle helmet on his head. The impression he gave was of a Star Wars stormtrooper on his day off.

There was we assumed only one reason why he was doing this. Despite the fact that it's Bridgend Wales and not Beijing China  fear of contracting the cornavirus brought him to this "avoid the plague" response.

The conversation moved towards stories that people have heard. Of British Chinese nationals being shunned. Of someone who was only paying for most of her goods through contactless payment so that as far as possible she wouldn't have to press the numbered buttons on a card machine to avoid catching germs. I don't know whether these stories were true but in one sense that didn't matter. They were not beyond the bounds of possibility.

And that I suspect is actually the frightening thing. For though this is Bridgend and not Beijing the calm is actually quite fragile. The helmeted  man and the  local tales suggest that If there was an outbreak closer to home then society might collapse quicker than the supposed British stuff upper lip would have you believe.

And so to the next story. And to lighten the mood it's about a funeral.

Nowadays the most Conservative thing about me is my taste in clothes. I'm not the sort of person who goes towards bright colours, or something that "makes a statement" . The duller,and preferably the darker the better.

That's why for me the best thing about funerals is what you need to wear as a man. Black suit,black shoes, black socks,black tie. The only thing that's not black is the white shirt.

Last Friday we went to a funeral  and unexpectedly for me (though the wife is telling me it's becoming more common -  regularly attending funerals is not a hobby of mine) it was  sartorially an issue. Because the person whose life we were remembering did not like black and wanted people to wear at least one item of bright clothing. Ties were specifically mentioned.

Now I have few ties. None of which fall in the "bright" section of life. Indeed I have a particular hatred of loud ties or those with cartoon characters in them. As if to say " I may work in IT but I have a sense of humour " ( trust me you don't).

Eventually I settled on one that had three shades of purple on it. Not exactly the tie equivalent of neon lighting but as bright as I was prepared to go.

And you know what? At the funeral I noticed that most men went for variations on a purpley theme as well. I was delighted and relieved. I would suspect their thought patterns were the same as mine. Pick a colour the was different.......but not that different.
So in probably the only piece of fashion advice I will ever give in this blog I will declare that when it comes to ties for a funeral...

Purple is the new black.

Until the next time.
Until the next time.

The Near Midnight Meanderings On A Movie With A Microwave Meal Part 23: Short Circuit (1986)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today

Short Circuit is the sort of movie that whilst popular at the time of first screening (1986) almost begins to have it's credibility fragmented soon afterwards. Watching it with 2020 vision the first thing that strikes you is how dated it is' From the title sequence onwards to the tech, the music to the presence of Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy.

And then there's Fisher Stevens playing an Indian scientist. An American actor deliberately darkening his face. Again with year 2020 vision I think we can agree that it's very rare that such an action can be justified now. Especially when it used for comic effect and even more especially given that he not only gets his face darkened but uses "comedy ethnic" voice as well.

And what remarks comes out of his mouth? He mentions his family is from Pittsburgh.

(To Ally Sheedy) " I enjoyed repeatedly throwing you on the ground"

And yes "Goodness gracious"

Arguably the worse kind of racist and sexist attitudes comes from something supposedly liberal. And yes sexist as well. The Ally Sheedy character supposedly tough just eventually goes girlie as the film goes on. And when No 5 sees her in the bath he describes her as having "Nice software".

The plot then is of a Robot Number 5 which whilst being promoted as a new style military machine gets struck by lightening. Now lightening is something used by lazy writers as an excuse for many things to be created whereas as we all know it does nothing more than create damage. In this case it gives the robot the ability to think and feel like a human being. It wants information about all aspects of life (and one of it's means of information? Encyclopedias. Wonder if kids today know what these books did). Lightening then with a degree in electronics. Even an audience of young kids today, being more tech savvy nowadays, would find too incredible to be believed.

A freakish character then is chased by the company's security because it escaped it's headquarters. In essence then it's ET with metal. Tough metal at that. Bashed around yet rarely affected.

So we have a movie that's dated with a laughable premise and questionable attitudes. Promoted let's not forget as a family film.

Steve Guttenberg gives his stock eighties performance as your regular average good guy. He might be a scientist with the company but he wanted the robot (which he invented) to be used for peaceful purposes. Yet don't forget he stayed in the company so not as principled as the film would have us believe.

Ally Sheedy has animals roaming her house yet runs a snack van. Really wouldn't want to buy any merchandise from her.

Also let's mention the robot design. Nowadays robots are portrayed to look like humans. Here they have cartoon faces and tank tracks.

Number 5 can defend itself being designed also for military use. Cue the use of lasers (big thing then) followed by "funny" remarks it learnt from watching television.

So as I've said this is ET with metal. And really there is nothing to commend this film. Racist,sexist,predictable,dated but also popular. It had a sequel which I suspect was even worse. That fact alone fills me with dread.

Until the next time.