Commercial Radio In Wales : A Case Of London Calling?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Let me make it clear I don't listen to Jagger and Woody on Heart radio Wales in the morning. Indeed I don't listen to Matt and Polly in Capital FM Wales in the morning either. It's one of those things where personally given I'm a fifty five year old curmudgeon these shows have many factors that don't attract me listening to them. One of them being they're just too young and bright for my ageing soul.

However daughter is a fan of Jagger and Woody and she was horrified to hear the news that these shows were coming to an end. Along with the one for Smooth radio. The idea (apparently approved by the authorities)  by their parent company Global radio is that all across Britain there will be a one show from London interspersed with local weather and traffic.

Now I'm going to focus on the Welsh perspective and not the British one because obviously I don't know the latter but the decision seems stunning to me given that we're talking about popular breakfast shows. My brain is obviously too old to understand how programmes which are popular can be closed down.

Ah say the people from Global radio look at the threat from the likes of Spotify. Well yes. But cancelling programmes is not going to keep people to a particular station. If anything it will drive people away from it. Indeed if there is one type of radio music programme people will listen to it's the breakfast show (the second being the drive time show which though revamped is according to reports still going to be local - making this decision even more odd).

And you could also make the argument that this decision, intentional or not, is anti-Welsh. As I've said before I don't listen to the above shows being as I am ancient. But I would guess that the Monday programme would have been full of Wales' victory over England in the six nations on Saturday. Radio stations in Wales happy with a Welsh victory. I'd be comfortable with that.

However a London produced programme would have mentioned the match probably in passing if at all. It would also have probably been neutral as to not offend the largely English audience. Advertisers of a London based show would not be happy to have unhappy listeners. Advertisers of a Welsh based show would be quite comfortable with a show happy with a Welsh victory over the traditional sporting enemy.

So what can be done? Well irony of irony there is the BBC. There are two radio stations at breakfast time in the Welsh language. BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio Cymru Mwy. BBC Radio Cymru broadcasts a radio news type programme and Cymru Mwy broadcasts a breakfast music show. Therefore why can't the English speaking BBC Radio Wales (that just broadcasts a news programme at this time) do exactly the same?

A Welsh based breakfast music show in the morning with news, weather and traffic from BBC Radio Wales. There can be no arguments about "competition" given that commercial radio, supposedly the providers of choice, want to take the choice of  popular Welsh programming away from the listener.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post: Wife's Birthday Special Midweek Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well, though it's too early in the morning, is the wife's birthday. She's asleep. As is daughter. Nothing to do until either of them wake up (or if I did do anything it would be likely I'd wake that I might wake them up). So here I am tapping away.

We are, both of us, not of an age to go out in the evenings normally. So the plan is for us (plus daughter) to have lunch in one of the pleasant pubs in the Vale of Glamorgan countryside. It is dull I'd admit but it is a plan. And let's face it Tuesdays is not the best day for your birthday to fall on.

Yesterday I wrote about the oncoming possibility of a dark hard Brexit making me seriously consider stockpiling food. I mentioned that if there were food shortages there might be civil unrest. Well let's be clearer about it. I see three possible sources of civil unrest. From the hungry, from the far right and from those angered that Brexit has not turned out to be what the Leave campaign promised. To those high profile Brexiteers I say this. Hire security guards. Because trust me you will be hated. I'm not advocating violence. But when you see the possibility of something happening you should not avoid mentioning it either.

Mind you I have a plan for Boris Johnson. Perhaps he should have straight swap with Iran for Nazarin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the journalist imprisoned there whose case he bungled. Win win I'd say. He wouldn't be missed.

By the way with regard to Boris Johnson and David Cameron shouldn't Eton apologise for their education of them given how rubbish to the United Kingdom they've turned out to be?

And according to an article in the Daily Mirror the world's Most Wanted could slip into Britain in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Economic turmoil, food shortages and criminal gangs. Brexit seems to get better and better and better!

For Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales the option of independence is there. Something not available for England. Which is why if a hard Brexit occurs England will be the country at most risk of takeover from the far right.

Listening to France Musique at the moment. Make that what you will Brexiteers. Yesterday whilst of the nation was watching Love Island I was listening to (amongst others) a song called "Reggae Cymraeg" on  Radio Cymru. Make that what you will.

This is the week of the Royal Welsh Show. A few weeks time it'll be the Eisteddford in Cardiff (I'll be going to that). Aside from the Welsh element what's the connection? That they will have a lot of coverage on the Welsh language channel S4C. Now I'm not saying they shouldn't have this coverage but that it illustrates again the need for S4C to have another channel. If you're not interested in agricultural shows (two thumbs pointed at this guy) there is no Welsh language alternative on TV. You have to go on demand instead.

Remember the posts I wrote about the dumping of radioactive mud from the Hinckley Point nuclear power station to Cardiff Bay? Well apparently the Welsh Labour government has offered to take in any nuclear waste from anywhere in the disunited kingdom. Leaving aside the implications of yet again Welsh Labour has allowed bad things to happen to Wales the first real question is Where will this waste go to? We should be told. And I tell you what. I'll be in any demonstration against it (for what my presence is worth).

Well wife's awake now....here we go..."Happy Birthday to you....Happy.." Well you know the tune.

Until the next time.

Another Rambling Post From An Insomniac Morning : Mayday Weekend Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well insomnia has taken grip of this Saturday morning and it's three thirty am. I am awake. Something's wrong. Went to bed at ten only had Bread and jam for dinner. Curious. Very different from me normally.

Twitter is suggesting to me to count sheep (I live in Wales it figures someone will think that's funny). But no insomnia doesn't do that. You are awake. But you're also asleep. That twilight zone of living. that's insomnia. It's where you feel up to reading Twitter but not a book.

Wife is having an uncomfortable sleep but is staying in bed. She's bunged up with the cold. Still none of the easy option for her of getting up and wandering zombie lite. She's fighting to get back to the land of nod.

I look up at the sky. There is a half moon. I'm not sure how to spend the day. Probably helping/nagging my daughter with her homework. This holiday weekend is meant to be hot, very hot. Must be honest not comfortable with extremely hot weather  as I've said before. Probably will hunker down inside, Well until tomorrow anyway, I've something in mind for tomorrow and we'll see whether I can do this. Regular readers will know whether I succeed Monday.

For the moment am listening to the Backlisted Podcast. After it's finished will listen to Classical King FM from Seattle. After five thirty it'll become the turn of BBC Radio Cymru. That is the only planning I have for the day. Let's face it. A day with no plans is not great when you have a day off work.

It's 4:12am Classical King FM is on now. Seattle. Halfway round the world and I'm a listener. The internet can do that.

Four Fifty Seven am. Dawn is beginning to break now. I hear seagulls. Summer is coming. Not saying it'll be bright and hot all the time you understand. But it is coming.

Five Seventeen am. The electric light is switched off.

Five Fifty Eight am. Now I'm listening to BBC Radio Cymru. It's a church service at the moment. Odd given that it's a Saturday morning. Definitely day now.

Six twenty nine. Beginning now to feel tired. Will give sleep another chance despite the sunshine.

Seven thirty eight. Did sleep a bit but it wasn't easy. Awake again. Wife/daughter still asleep.

Until the next time.

In Which House Moving Means Parts Of Life Stands Still

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Of course I should have known this already. I've moved house as a child onwards four times in my life and should my wife die before me one last time up to the Valleys. And yet I've completely forgotten that this twilight moment between the house being SOLD (subject to contract - which is how the sign outside the house is displaying our current the current situation. SOLD in big letters. Subject To Contract in tiny really tiny lettering you need a magnifying glass underneath) and the actual moving means that your life is gradually put into some sort of cryogenic state until you've both moved and settled.

It all came back to me on Thursday. When it took the wife and I all evening to go through the forms the solicitor sent us. I knew then that the slow process of moving will get faster with everyday that passes, so it meant that some of things that I've been doing/planning to do will have to wait until it's finally complete.

On Friday we viewed four houses. All had problems for at least one of us. The biggest cause of a domestic between me and the wife came at house number 3. It needed work but was livable. She wants perfection or as close to it money would allow. That was the argument. Of course she won, if only because I had separate worries about the main road it was on..

Of the remaining three houses one had a lot of work that needed to be done, seemed over priced and was worryingly near a graffitised bus stop. Houses Two and four were good houses well presented but too small. Even though for the area we are going to downsize it was, as I explained to the estate agent in house four, "one room too small"..... that being a dining room.

This coming week is the most awkward work wise for me as if you ignore Sunday I'm working on the afternoon/evening shift Tuesday,Thursday,Friday and Saturday. What that means is that tomorrow (Monday) I'm going to arrange appointments to see four separate houses on Wednesday. The idea being that if I like any of them I'll arrange a viewing for wife/daughter to see it on Saturday. On that evening wife will see another house with brother-in-law's partner (I'll be back home cooking for daughter just from school) if she likes it she'll arrange an appointment for me to see it on one of the following three days. Just making sure that it's an early viewing so I can get some lunch before going off to work.

But as I've said all this activity comes at a price. The first thing that's being put on hold (and it needs to be stressed put on hold rather than abandoned) is my attempt to learn languages. The one exception I'm making is Welsh as it's all around us here in Wales(!) so there is no reason to avoid learning it. Even if I'm packing things up for example can listen to BBC Radio Cymru (as long as it's not playing young people's music. I feel my old man ears being mugged with every teenage shreek).

I do intend to volunteer to help Plaid Cymru fight in this May's local elections in Bridgend. Exactly how much I can do not sure at this stage. After all come late April/May might find myself in the Vale of Glamorgan battling for Plaid there. Time and opportunity will tell.

The above being said will in the next few weeks provide a post concerning Bridgend Town and the way it has been betrayed by the Labour party. The idea is to take the posts concerning the place since I've started the blog and see whether things have changed (spoiler alert:they've got worse).

A quick aside here. You may remember that the Bridgend Town Centre Post Office was going to be closed and transferred to the basement floor of the nearby W H Smith (with a greatly reduced space - another downsize). Well I've been advised on Twitter (@daibog all rights reserved etc) that the proposed move has been abandoned.

Must admit was surprised by this, if only because I felt that because of the dire state of the town centre it would've been something the Post Office could have done without any major opposition. Whilst I'm happy to have been proved wrong it does lead to another question. If W H Smith were happy to have the basement floor become a Post Office they were presumably unhappy with the status quo (it sells DVDs, stationery, games amongst other things and was half the size of the ground floor) then what are their plans for it now? To me it's a worry.

Finally comes the question of my books. All of my Penguins/Pelicans will be moving with me. But in the meantime I'll be packing them soon as they're an easy thing to deal with. Of course that means I'm not going to be reading any Penguins/Pelicans for a while, but again it's not going to be a permanent thing.

As for my non Penguin/Pelican books there will be a cull. Though those I intend to ditch will be sent to a charity shop. Books will never be destroyed by me. Never.

A quick aside part two here. Have finished The Mill On The Floss by George Eliot. Unlike the last book with a reputation I've read (Call Of The Wild by Jack London) this was a book that deserved it's classic status. I was gripped from the beginning. So far it's the best book I've read this year.

All of this does not mean that I'm stopping reading. But yet again when I've had problems with reading a paper book I've had to turn to the Kindle (other e readers are available) to feed my addiction during this period.

Somewhere an Amazon executive is smiling.

Until the next time.

The Welsh Language In The Age Of Jackboot Politics

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Brexit it appears has unleashed many prejudices to those who feel emboldened by the result. For those only slightly above the IQ of a caveman it's in attacking people from Poland for the crime of being Polish. With regard to Wales this has also brought out of the woodwork those who feel that the Welsh language should slowly lay on the ground bleeding through neglect before being led away from view and shot.

You hear the arguments being rattled out again "It's an old language" "No one uses it" "I went into a shop where no one would speak to me because I only spoke English". Another argument I've heard is that Welsh is dying because the Welsh language TV channel S4C or Radio Cymru has very low ratings for some of its programmes.

But behind these arguments there is an instinctive fear. I've written before of how I believe that the Welsh are too nice as a nation and so have allowed governments, organisations and people to take liberties with it that they wouldn't do say, to the Scots. But the language is something that shows that Wales is different. That it should not be considered as a merely adjunct to England. That it shouldn't have the word "and" forever in sentences (as in .....England...... and Wales). For those who criticise the language there is as a consequence a fear of something they don't understand.

I may be an old romantic (I'm certainly old) but if the language was allowed to die then there would be a part of Wales that would die with it. I for one (even though my Welsh is in that annoying Twilight zone of not being fluent but being far better than the cat sat on the mat) will continue to learn and continue to speak it in all the occasions I can.

And you know, Welsh speakers are very patient with the likes of me with my hesitant delivery, limited vocabulary and I'm sure countless mistakes with mutations for the simple reason that I'm making the effort. Welsh is spoken more often than it's critics would suggest. If you look you will find it everywhere and not just in big cities or in the West of the country.

Also if we focus on S4C (but this also applies to an extent with Radio Cymru) the low ratings argument is a misleading one. S4C's biggest problem is not the language but the fact that, if we use BBC as the example, it's meant to be BBC1 (entertainment ,news, sport and drama), BBC2 (as BBC1 plus minority programmes), BBC3 (teenagers , BBC4 (culture), Ceebies (Pre school childrens' programmes) CBBC (School age childrens' programmes) BBC News and BBC Parliament in just one channel.

So taking me as the example whilst I'm a fan of the Welsh language soap opera Pobol Y Cwm I'm not going to watch a farming programme that might be shown afterwards. Unlike other broadcasters S4C would be unable to offer anything else as an alternative, hence it suffers.

Ironically the detractors of S4C would probably have you watching something brain dead like Big Brother. To think so far Orwell was nearly right. Big Brother is not watching us at our homes we are encouraged to watch it.....not me though.

So in this age of jackboot politics. Where I'm sure some of the Welsh language haters out there would like Welsh in the national curriculum replaced by synchronised goose stepping. Remember that learning Welsh marks you out as being different and independent of the way that jackboot politics would like you to live.

Until the next time.

Bridgend To Epping And Back By Car,Radio Roulette and Amnesia

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

When I was about nine or ten although I listened to programmes from other channels my favourite radio station was the BBC World Service. At the time, certainly when listening in Britain anyway, it was a mixture of all other national BBC channels at that time plus some programmes it made itself. So you could listen to drama, comedy,sport, various types of music and of course news all on one channel.

It was that mixture I liked. Unfortunately it has now become a glorified news channel and I rarely listen to it.

Nowadays although generally go for particular type of stations (Classical music) or particular programmes (comedy/sport) can't say there's a consistent first amongst equals with regard to what I listen to.

I'm going on about all of this so you can understand my listening taste. Now I'm going to explain the game I play when travelling from South Wales to where my mother lives near Epping in Essex to relieve any signs of boredom.

There are moments through the year where I travel to Essex to see my mother. A journey which, on a good day, takes about three and a half hours (an hour of which, to be all South East Commutery about it, is on the M25). So it's a long journey and no matter who's travelling with you can get rather dull.

So exactly when I stumbled on this idea I can't remember but it occurred to me that I might liven the journey up by pressing search on the FM search dial on the car every time a junction on the motorway (M4,M25 and M11) is passed. Some I'll like some I'll hate hence radio roulette.

So my daughter is spending a week with my mother wandering around the sights of London. Monday I drove her there. Firing up my Kia Picanto we left at eleven that morning.

It started with that comfy sofa of daytime radio Radio 2, Ken Bruce to be precise. Soon it drifted to Radios 3 and 4 before getting to Heart FM.

I used to have to listen to Heart FM when I was at work. It was, too bright,too happy, too much of the same songs over and over again, too many commercials and too many DJs where you wondered if they had a mental age of just having left junior school (Jason Harrold and Margherita Taylor excepted). Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now is not a song that you would expect on a Heart FM playlist but an adequate description of my emotions when I hear that station.

It's closest commercial competitor is Absolute Radio which is what I listen to at work now. Whilst some of its music is too young for me it's far better than Heart because you feel it's presented by adults.

Heart basically has national programmes intermixed with local programmes, with news and commercials. One of these commercials was for Trade Centre Wales advertising for "Vehicle Technicians". Isn't that otherwise known as "Mechanics"? Now nothing against mechanics, indeed it's an ability I wish I possessed, but I've an old man's irritation when reasonable words are changed at the whim of a branding consultant (Logistics for deliveries and so on). Indeed on the way back there was a new example to annoy me. A lorry proudly displayed the words "Horseshoe Distribution". Why don't you say that you deliver horseshoes?

And to finish off the grumpy old man segment of this post. The back part of a Eddie Stobart lorry in Essex had an ad for London Southend airport which advertises a "new faster terminal". Really? A building that can challenge Mr Bolt for the next olympics? Or perhaps they should have said "new faster check-in?

The radio moves to BBC Radio Cymru. A man is singing. This arouses the attention of my daughter.

"Is that the Go Compare guy?"

I don't know and as we pass through the next junction I still don't. However a few junctions along we get to BBC Radio Wales. The "Go Compare" guy is talking about tourist guides. My daughter cannot believe it. I tell her to go compare the song and the guy speaking now. She's not impressed in that teenage "Dad don't be stupid "manner.

BBC Radio Bristol follows just headlines, BBC Radio Somerset with a temporary presenter who tells us that she might be there and she might be not and BBC Radio Wiltshire with a presenter who advises that there's a series on badges.

A guy like me who collects bookmarks,football shirts and Penguin paperbacks is not going mock collectors of badges. It did occur to me though that I can't recall someone wearing a badge that had nothing to do with their work or a milestone age for a long time now.

Wish I could say that there was any other memorable things going but alas no, So we move to Tuesday. and my journey home.

It begins at around 9:40am with BBC Radio 3 the classical music station, There's a quiz as to guess a particular city, There are three clues. One of which is Inspector Morse deals with his cases there. Who says the BBC is dumbing down? I laugh mockingly as I go to the petrol station and fill up on the journey.

Down the M11 listening to BBC Radio 4 discussing the life of a woman under Chinese rule. As I turn to the M25 that changes to a rap song which has the line which roughly sounded like "In the living room I see you there, standing in your underwear".

That's Capital FM which to be fair like Kiss 100 or BBC Radio 1 has an audience which does not have me in mind and if I play a little game and listen to music far too young for me that's my problem.

And speaking of problems as I begin to crawl along the M25 when it reverts to cliche. For a moment nothing is moving. Perfect time then for someone to knock on my window.

"Your petrol cap is out" the man kindly informs me, For about an hour then the petrol cap has been swaying along with a lead attached to a car and didn't drop out. A tribute to South Korean engineering and my stupidity. The good samiritan putsthe petrol cap back in.To that man this idiot thanks you.

Mind you it didn't affect the traffic at that moment. There were times such as then where the speed limit was 40 Mph and I would have been grateful to have reached that. Noticed a sign to encourage a new Heathrow extension as I was approaching the M4. Does strike me that if you can't sort out the traffic then it really doesn't seem like a good idea.

One final mention of BBC Radio 4. There came a moment where I was listening to a discussion on the Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar and the accusations that he is a misogynist. A woman responded by saying that his female characters were "cooks" and "creative". Went on by arguing that as a particular character in the film develops she "feels herself". The film buff in me would've nodded appreciatively. However the film buff in me does not exist, though the teenage boy in me was laughing his head off.

Early along the M4 I caught BBC Radio Berkshire. The male host, whose name I didn't catch was interviewing a guy who is or perhaps was an army medic. He actually asked his guest whether he's experienced dealing with situations whilst at war. Changed channels at this point. Later the same man asked a different guest whether lifebelts along canal paths were ever used (spoiler alert:yes) and advised as if delivering new information that the Home guard was a serious organisation, Good to know.

IAnd there was Heart FM again. On one occasion the DJ, Toby Stephens said that after the break it would be Toploader. Now even I who is not a music buff as well as lacking in the film buffery department knows Toploader's only hit. Passed through a junction. Thought I'd missed it as was listening to BBC Radio Wiltshire talking about getting a job. However should be so lucky and soon another junction was passed and I was dancing in the moonlight.

By the time the junction to Chippenham was reached I could catch BBC Radio Wales. I like this station and it's Welsh language equivalent BBC Radio Cymru if only because it's programming mixture makes them the closest to what the BBC World Service used to be like. It also meant, much as I will always try to defend London and Essex, that I was near home.

Until the next time.