My Most Embarrassing Work Moment Ever

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday I saw a man with a metal leg from where the knee area to the foot. I knew he had a metal leg because he was wearing shorts (now that was the style choice to be laughed at, given that the weather was chucking down not so funsize variety packs of rain, hail and I was told in nearby Maesteg, snow).

But seeing him reminded me of my most embarrassing moment at work ever. So if I get even older and forgetful than I am at the moment I'll be reminded of it now I've informed the entire internet world.

Many decades ago and seemingly now in a different universe I used to work in an office block in London's Docklands. I remember that I had to speak to a particular colleague and on going to his particular desk (now called "work stations" - but let's be clear - it's a desk) noticed other people around it. Concerned looking men, some women in tears.

I'd assumed, being a glass half empty kind of guy, that my colleague had died. As it turned out the story was only a little bit better than that. For he was a cyclist. And on commuting London's streets his bike was knocked over and one of  his legs was run over by an oncoming truck.

He spent months in hospital but was eventually discharged. He was able to use the artificial leg we chatted about earlier and whilst obviously things would never quite be the same again he was able to return to some semblance of his life before the accident including returning to work.

So then it's months later from his return. I needed some documents to photocopy and went to where the machine was. He was there already photocopying.

I asked him how he was.

"Nervous" came the response. Apparently he'd a meeting to go to and was worried about it.

"Don't worry...." I said in my most seemingly confident voice ever ".....you'll walk it"

It's one of those moments that you wished the ground would cover you over forever. I knew what I meant. If I said the same words to most people it would've been at worse patronising.

But to him....

Either he didn't hear or just didn't want to be near me. For he collected the photocopies and went away.

It was a foot in mouth moment. And whether the foot was artificial or not the mouth was definitely mine.

Until the next time.

Why Public Toilets In Bridgend County Could Force Carwyn Jones To Resign As An Assembly Member

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have in this blog previously discussed both the proposed cuts in public toilets by the Bridgend Labour council and the Hobson's Choice facing ex First Minister Carwyn Jones whilst he is still an Assembly Member in the Welsh Senedd. Well today these issues combine.

Because the cuts have happened. Public toilets in Bridgend Town, Maesteg and Porthcawl have closed down. I'll come back to the one in Porthcawl in a moment and I don't know the one in Maesteg but the closure of the Bridgend Town convenience (which I discussed in a previous post) is just another knock for the urban tragedy caused by Welsh Labour incompetence.

The toilets in Porthcawl might reopen. The county council are currently in negotiation with the Town council. But for the moment they are closed. And so let's assume the worst. In cold January weather it probably isn't really a problem. But Porthcawl is a seaside town. In warm weather people come down to the place for day trips and longer. The place is thronging. The public toilets are just not only used. They are needed.

For now though, they are just history (and the Porthcawl public toilets were built in a time when public services were treated by government as important. I hope to visit the town next Thursday and you will see what I mean by history).

As I've explained previously in this blog, Bridgend council have instigated these cuts following the reduction in the local government grant from the Welsh National government, who have in turn blamed a reduction in monies from the UK government in Westminster. Exactly where the blame lies I do not know. But as I've said before if one part of Welsh Labour blames another part of Welsh Labour then surely Welsh Labour is responsible. Also I've read similar complaints from councils across Wales. The most notable being Caerphilly.

These cuts to local government grants were instigated when Carwyn Jones was First Minister. His Hobson's Choice is simple. If he doesn't even try to call for more money for Bridgend County in the Welsh Assembly he will have failed in his responsibilities to his constituency electorate. If he does his past actions as First Minister will mean he's just be slapped down by the Welsh Government.

(It's interesting to remind ourselves that there was a minister in Carwyn Jones' cabinet who said that local councils who asked for more money from the Welsh government were like Oliver Twist from the Charles Dickens novel. That's the sympathy Jones will get if he asks for more money for Bridgend county)

Bridgend County needs an Assembly Member not tied down by his/her past to effectively represent Bridgend County voters today.

Carwyn Jones is not that person.

Which is why he should resign now.

Until the next time.

On Books: Letters With Ludwig And Reading With Ruth

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Beethoven's Letters 1790-1826 Volume One was taken out of curiosity (and it was free) online. As I think I've said before the reader in his or her choice of books does play a certain type of Russian roulette as to how it well end up. In this regard I'm afraid the bullet was triggered.

For the general reader the problem with these letters are that they're mundane. Not so much the processes into how [insert Beethoven work here] was created. More can I have payment for the work, or how it's doing.

The one exception worth noting to the above are in the couple of letters where he discusses his deafness. They were truly moving. I forgot he suffered with this affliction when relatively young and yet despite this he would probably be one of the names anyone would mention when asked to name three classical composers.

For the most part though it's a book for scholars of the man's life. They'd be interested. Most people wouldn't be.

Now for the second book:

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Heat and Dust

I had forgotten when I bought a Penguin paperback version of his book in Maesteg a few years back that I'd already purchased it many years before when I was nineteen. Annoying when that happens.

In many ways it was an unusual book for me to have bought at that time. It's relatively small and the blurb for the this novel has a quote from The Times review "It is a jewel to be treasured". Words like "delicate" and "jewel" in this regard would have a male reader running to the hills. For it envisages something well, wimpy.

But I'd seen a couple of films where she was the scriptwriter and was a fan. This was not a wimpy writer. I could trust her. Was not aware though until I'd bought it that she was also a novelist.

So now decades later, when I'd bought the book again without remembering I'd got it in the first place have actually read it. And am happy to say that I'm still a fan.

This is the sort of novel where the plot is of secondary importance. Two British women in India in different periods. One in 1923 and the second in the present day (the novel was first published in 1975). I won't spoil it by going further but let's say there are no major surprises here.

No this is a novel where the key are the characters. You are absorbed into their lives and that includes the character of India itself.

It's a book that doesn't waste words on the atomosphere but those that it uses are effective enough.

Yes I'm still a fan.

Until the next time.

So Blog Villain Bridgend Labour Council Get Their Way On Maesteg Town Hall...Let's Discuss

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well after about a year and a half Bridgend Labour Council have got their way with regard to Maesteg Town Hall and have received lottery funding to turn it into a "cultural hub" (oh how I hate that term).

To explain the background to new readers the town hall was used as centre for performances and the basement as an indoor market (which had been around for 135 years). When however the council discovered that the repairs needed for the town hall were just too much they decided to turn it into the aforementioned "hub" and apply for funding. They had fancy grandiose ideas with all modern glass and also merging two libraries in the area and placing them where the market was. They wasted no time and effort in destroying it and although some stallholders fought and some moved to places nearby the council relatively quickly got most of what they wanted and the 135 year old market was no more (one stallholder stayed until April I understand - but by then it was all over).

Thing was though there was the issue of financing. They first went (via the Welsh office) to get it from the European Union (yes I know). That was turned down. Then they tried the National lottery. That was turned down and only after a revised,cheaper less grandiose plan is put is it given the go-ahead. A year and half's struggle and that's before actual hard work is done.

Personally I feel genuinely conflicted by all of this. One part of me wishes it well, as should it work then there would be a knock-on benefit to the town, and we can all approve of that.

On the other however. I cannot forget the brutal way the council treated the stallholders in the indoor market. Should there be problems in the refurbishment or it doesn't live up to expectations when completed (Bridgend council preferring remember the grandiose than using all the money it spent on these bids on the services that it intends to cut in the next few years) then the period of goodwill will be extremely short.

But as I've said before, whatever people think of what has happened, and whether successful or not  you cannot deny it's a strategy for Maesteg. Which again leads us to the question what is the council's strategy for the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town?

Until the next time.

The Return Of Original Blog Villiain Bridgend Labour Council: Using Political Spin To Defend The Indefensible?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It has been a while since I've chatted about blog villain Bridgend Labour Council directly. As opposed to the effects of what it caused in Bridgend Town. But I saw something in the local paper yesterday which has brought it back to my attention and is worth commenting upon.

In it the council leader stated that they were going to make cuts of thirty million pounds in the next four years. He said that whilst these cuts would be "unpopular" it was essential so that the council would be financially stable in a tough economic environment and that they were going to protect services to the venerable.

Now let's for a moment ignore the fact that it probably means that Bridgend Town will remain the urban tragedy that it has become. Or that if they don't get the lottery funding then Maesteg Town Hall might have to close down providing a knock on downward effect there too given nothing to alleviate it (both circumstances the fault I'd argue of the council - previous posts refers).

No instead we'll focus on what the Welsh Labour leader of the council said. That despite making "unpopular" cuts services to the venerable in the community would be maintained.

The thing is that statement if you think about it carefully makes no sense (and that's ignoring the words "unpopular cuts" - who has ever heard of a popular cut) because all cuts will affect the venerable in the community the most.

For example. Let's say for the sake of argument that the council intends to close a library in the borough. They would probably say that whilst it's an unpopular decision it would not affect on their services to the venerable. However...

If a library is closed then a source of entertainment to the elderly in our community goes. Children from low income families would not have instant access to books. The unemployed would not be able to go online in search of a job using the free internet service the local library would provide.

So you see any cut will affect them proportionately harder.

I don't know whether the Bridgend Council leader indulged in Welsh Labour spin or genuinely believed what he said.

To be honest I'd be more worried if it was the latter.

Until the next time.

Blog Villain Bridgend Welsh Labour Council: When Even Offering Something For Free Is For The Most Part Worthless

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Last time I spoke about Bridgend Welsh Labour Council, I enquired whether they had reached a situation where the consequences of years of their urban mismanagement of Bridgend Town had meant that they just quite simply lost control. Whether they had no strategy for it's future. Whether essentially it was being run on a crisis management basis.

Well I noticed on their Twitter account yesterday that they, along with a group which are trying to regenerate Bridgend Town were offering that the first hour of the relatively newly built (November) Rhiw car park would be free.

Now my instant reaction was to say "well that's encouraging". But when I said instant I meant instant. For what I soon realised was that they were indulging in media spin.

The car parking charges are one of the issues that have so damaged the town and discouraged people from visiting with a consequent damage to local shops and amenities. The nearby outlet centre's Macarthur Glen's car park is free, as are those in Maesteg. Of the other main town in the area Porthcawl, whilst there are charges there are also many places to park for nothing.

What the tweet did not offer was a similar deal for the other car parks in the town run by the council. Why? Why focus on one car park in the town and not the others? It lacks a coherent strategy. Especially as most people would just park in the nearby ASDA's anyway. A car park with a three hour free parking limit.

And how exactly does a "first hour free" car parking encourage people to wander around the town? Relax with a coffee or marvel at the empty retail wrecks with which talking generally the council should bare some responsibility for? What a "first hour free" car parking charge will do is to make people drive to the car park, do one quick targeted shop, and drive out again. Hardly something that will bring urban renewal to the town.

Incidentally as a quick aside the council's Twitter account also revealed that it's also on Instagram. Spoiler alert: You won't find pictures of the many empty shops in Bridgend Town on that account.

What Bridgend Labour Council should do is make all of it's car parks free for at least a three hour period. That way the town could benefit a lot more from it's visitors. It would not be a quick fix to the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town thanks to Labour.

But it would be a start.

Until the next time.

In Which A Day Trip To Porthcawl Makes Me Think About Blog Villian's Welsh Labour Council's Management Of Bridgend Town

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

On Friday wife daughter and myself had one of those rare days where we had the day together when one of us were not working and we all of a mood to go out. However as it was midday the decision as to where to go was not easy. The morning (it was about eleven) was bright so the obvious choice, nearby Barry Island, wasn't really a starter as being on a school break it was likely to be packed.

So I suggested Porthcawl. We would know side streets to park and then wander round a town and a seafront that we all liked. As no obvious alternatives presented itself it won the day.

Well I can't say it was the most enjoyable trip. Largely because the weather decided to be occasionally showery and permanently grey from the moment we arrived. We had clearly displeased the Bridgend weather gods by moving away from the area.

Porthcawl Town Centre

The town looked a bit weary that day and noticeably lacking in the numbers of people you would expect in an Easter bank holiday school break. However it was not the moment to properly judge the place. Partly as I said the weather was not a "Come to Porthcawl!" invitation (apart to idiots like me)  but also there was work being carried out along the seafront that also might have affected visitor numbers.

Some of this work was to bolster the town's flood defences but the other, advertised by a sign and partly financed by the National Lottery (of which I'll come back to later) was a forthcoming Porthcawl Maritime Centre.

Now exactly what this will provide we don't really know until this built but clearly this is designed to attract new tourists to the area as well as regular visitors whether the weather is sunny or stormy. And you know what? Building something like this in a seaside area is not unreasonable. There is a strategy at work.

And it got me thinking. There is something similar (though as I've argued in this blog before flawed) going on in Maesteg with the proposal to turn the town hall into a "cultural hub" (whatever that means). "Renovate it and they will come" seems to be the motto here. Thus boosting the economy of the town.

But as I've said there are problems. Not least because at time of writing financing is not secured as the council are waiting (longer than anticipated) for the result of their proposal to the National lottery. This being the third proposal. A refusal here could mean that the iconic building is abandoned. Something that would be a disaster for the town and the council will have only themselves to blame having badly mismanaged the originals proposals in the first place.

However when it comes to mismanagement that pales into insignificance when compared to the Welsh Labour Council's action regarding Bridgend Town. I've gone through in this blog how their arrogant incompetence have turned what I understood to be a once proud place into an urban tragedy.

When I looked around the town as I did a few weeks back it did not occur to me then of the possibility that the Labour council now realise the consequences of years of  their inept rule but do not have a strategy of how to deal with it because the problem has got so bad. Why is it that the only recent building/renovations of any significance in the town involve social housing (a good thing) over shops (why given the vast swathes of empty retail outlets do this?).

This is not strategy. This is town planning on the hoof

I mentioned before that there is "a taskforce" in Bridgend council that is dealing with the issue of empty retail space. According to the local paper they have sent a questionnaire to shop owners asking how they can improve the situation. A move that strikes me as shutting the shop door after the customers have bolted.

There is nothing in Bridgend Town that would attract the regular casual visitor and seemingly nothing planned. This would presumably mean that the Welsh Labour council are running the town in crisis management mode. If I'm right. This is just unacceptable. If I'm wrong then perhaps the people of Bridgend Town should be told what vision the council has for it's future.

Until the next time.

Wandering Again Through The Welsh Labour Shame That Is Bridgend Town.

Hello there. hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers will know I have chronicled the decline of Bridgend Town since I began this blog a few years back in view I would argue of the rule of arrogant incompetence by the Labour council.

I haven't done this for a while. Partly because I've moved from the area (though I still work there) but of course for the main reason that as I've been in Essex exile looking after my mother I haven't been in Wales let alone Bridgend for the past few months.

(A quick aside. I'm writing this from Essex at my mother's home after her week's recuperation with me and my wife/daughter in Wales. But tomorrow will be leaving her to return the Vale of Glamorgan, She is not 100% but well enough that I can leave her alone with a clear conscience. Barring a disaster Essex exile will be over. I'll chat about that tomorrow)

But yesterday for reasons I won't bore you with I had before work the chance of wandering around the town and decided to do just that. Now before going on need to say that it was just two hours including grabbing a carton of chips and trying to eat it on the go without dropping them for lunch, a sort of potato jenga. So this was no scientific survey, just a wander.

So let's start with good news.

This store closed down last year but has now reopened. Never seen this in Bridgend Town before but worth mentioning. However for the most part nothing seemed have changed. A few new shops cannot hide the many empty ones.

The Latest Example

I wanted to see whether there are any changes from some particular examples I've previously mentioned. Let's start with the case of the Mcdonalds. Closed down in 2000 and left to rot for seventeen years until demolished late last year to be replaced by social housing and, incredibly given the aforesaid many empty shops in the town, retail units.

Anyway three to four months have passed since I last saw it so let's see how the building work is going on.

Err....

So at this moment it's the closest Bridgend Town shoppers will ever see a gap there. Let's hope that this is not going to take as long as the resolution of what to do with the Mcdonalds.

And what about the Nolton Arcade? Where aside from the two shops that back onto Nolton street every single shop has closed down?

Unchanged

And the Bridgend Indoor Market where there are many empty stalls. Well that was unchanged as well. Personally if I was a stall holder I would think that the council didn't really care for me. Little things you understand such as this.

It's March But The Christmas Decorations Are Still Up

Even when work is done to improve the town there seems to be potential problems, One of the buildings being renovated was First minister and local Assembly Member Carwyn Jones' old office (yes even he left Bridgend Town). All very well you might think, except whilst the work is being done there is a sign TO LET on it. The question is why do this when there are empty units in the very same street and those nearby. What purpose does this serve?

There was a particular shop closure that caught my eye. The business (a florist) didn't close down but said in a notice that it wasn't able to operate in Bridgend Town and was moving to nearby Porthcawl. Now what I'm going to say is off the top of my head and I might be wrong but I think that there are no florists in Bridgend Town.

It used to have two not that long ago.

Porthcawl has two.

It occurred to me that in any region what should be the biggest town should be the one that has more to offer than the other towns in the region. In the Bridgend borough though there is more of a debate in comparing Bridgend Town with Porthcawl or Maesteg.

Bridgend Town deserves better.

Until the next time.

Remember Bridgend Council. Hiding Behind Christmas Will Not Stop January

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It had been my intention to visit Bridgend and Maesteg town centres this past week. If only because a lot of this blog was originally about the state of these towns and how (particularly Bridgend) was being disastrously mishandled by the arrogant incompetence of the local Labour council and I wanted to see if anything had changed. I might not live in the area any more but I still work there. And I still care.

But a combination of things, work, the weather, dentistry, not wanting to drive my courtesy car anywhere outside of the barest minimum meant that I had to put it off, certainly for this week at least

Nonetheless I wanted to put in a short post about these town centres and Christmas. Because I've noticed on Twitter that Bridgend Labour Council have been going full throttle on advertising Christmas activities.

In Bridgend it appears that Santa himself is around with a purpose built grotto. Well far be it for me to criticise the arrival of the great man himself to the town. But when he's gone (and we all know he needs a rest after Xmas has finished) the problems of the town centre with its vast swathes of empty shops will still be there. Let me tell you that should Santa be able to deal with that well then that's truly a Christmas miracle.

Let's though get on to Maesteg. Yesterday the council tweeted that there was a £50 Maesteg Market gift voucher to be won in a competition there. All very well, except that there is less of a market than there was last year because the indoor market was closed down. and who closed down the indoor market? Well none other than the council. Because they wanted to renovate the town hall (the market was in the basement in case you're new to this but I've written about the background previously) and turn it to a cultural hub which, at the time of writing they still don't have the finance for.

So to advertise the market when they have shrunken it is an act of such bare faced cheek not only does it leave the mouth open but it stays there for a long while.

But remember Bridgend Council no amount of tinsel can hide the fact that the reality of January is just around the corner......and it bites.

Until the next time

Maesteg Town Hall Renovation Update: So What Bridgend Council Is Plan D?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

For over a year I have written about the proposed renovation of Maesteg Town Hall. To recap for new readers it was used as a theatre with the basement being an indoor market (the market being around for one hundred and thirty five years).

However apparently urgent repairs were needed to this iconic building in the town. And Bridgend Labour Council decided that they wanted not to simply renovate the building but to create a grandiose "cultural hub" (the phrase alone makes me sick) with fancy glass everywhere.

This new "Cultural hub" is to include a library...in the basement. What that meant was that Bridgend Labour Council wanted the indoor market, the market remember that served the town for one hundred and thirty five years, to close.

Despite protests from the stallholders which I discussed in the previous posts Bridgend Council basically got it's way with regard to the market. Indeed my last post on this was about sadly walking around the place last month where I could only see one stall opened, and that was going to be relocated.

So it appeared the council had got their way. But there was a problem for them. That was to start creating the "cultural hub" they needed EU money (in a system administered by the Welsh office). It begged the questions if the EU money was not forthcoming did the Labour council have a Plan B? And why did no one know what the Plan B was? Indeed whether Plan B existed at all?

Now read on...as according to rumours published by the local newspaper the results are in.

Plan A: It's nil points for the EU money. According to the report the council asked for four million ponds. Four million pounds?! Just think of all the immediate things that could be done in the Bridgend area with four million pounds. Anyway that thought is academic as it was rejected.

And then we at last discover what Plan B was if Plan A was rejected.

Plan B: Apply to the Heritage Lottery Fund with basically the same application but at a cheaper cost (presumably less fancy glass). So to repeat Bridgend Council's Plan B was to apply for money from a different organisation for a cheaper version of Plan A.

Genius.....if it wasn't for the fact (according to the report) that it was rejected.

But wait for it, Bridgend Council have the foresight for a.....

Plan C: Which is according to reports a resubmission to the Heritage Lottery Fund. We don't know what the differences to Plan B are but I suspect a tinkering of the edges.

But if Plan C doesn't work then we have to talk about...

Plan D: It appears that Bridgend Labour council's alternate plans were basically that people would be wowed by the greatness of Plan A subject to minor changes. But the questions that were asked of Plan B needs to be asked here. If everybody is blind to the sheer loveliness of Plan A,B and C does the council have an alternative to the "cultural hub"? And if not why not? After all people's businesses and lives of those who worked in the market have been ruthlessly changed by the council in this entire process. If there is no alternative plan for the town hall then that is sheer arrogant incompetence at the very least.

Let me make a suggestion. Throw out the idea of a cultural hub and instead just renovate a fine building and use it for performances with the basement being a multifaceted retail facility that would protect customers and stallholders from the elements.

In other words an indoor market.

I suspect the cost would be a lot less as well.

Until the next time.

Bridgend Town: The Decline Continues

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today,

As regular readers will know, before I moved away from the area a lot of the posts on this blog were about Bridgend Town and it's decline due I would argue for the most part by the arrogant incompetence of the local Labour council.

Well yesterday (Tuesday) for reasons will not bore you with I had to leave the apartment we're renting early and decided (as I was working in the area later on that day) to visit the town, mainly to honour (belatedly) a promise I'd made in a recent post.

First then let's say hello again to a couple of Bridgend Town friends, the town centre statues that I love for different reasons. Firstly The Reader.

Come Rain Or Shine He's Reading

And statue number two. A statue so bad it's riveting and I wouldn't it to be taken away.



Why is it so bad? Because if you look closely it's physically impossible to have your legs in the position they're in here or be able to turn your head as our friend can.

Anyway to the town properly. Apparently there is an organisation called CF31 Bridgend Bid which is trying to revitalise the area. Good luck with that. However it does seem tactless to say the least to put up posters on a shop that has closed down for a number of months now.



And now to that (belated) promise. I'd mentioned in an earlier post that the McDonald's in the town. The one that has been closed down and left to rot for seventeen years has been demolished. Well here it is.

The end of an era

I've been told by two sources that it's going to be replaced by flats where retail units will be at the bottom. Are the council mad? It's no spoiler alert to say that in my admittedly unscientific wander round the town centre I saw two buildings being renovated and one new shop opened (a "Dessert Bar". A concept I'm probably too old to understand but seemed popular) and that was it. There are vast swathes of empty shops but the council thinks that adding new units is going to help the situation? Even if these units are filled it will not help the problems the town centre is facing?

(As a quick aside given Halloween is coming soon you don't think that the tenants of these flats are going to be haunted by the smell of Big Macs from time to time? Just a thought)

And there seems to be no solution to specific issues. Regular readers might remember the Nolton Street arcade. The small shopping arcade where aside from the two that backs onto the street every single shop has closed down.

Well nothing has changed.



I also went into Bridgend Indoor Market. Not completely sure but I think that an extra stall has closed since I was there last.



Certainly doesn't appear to be any new stalls there. Anyway I spoke to a stall holder and he said to me that the decline was due to the council and the rents they charge.

And to add insult to injury I give you this.



Seems like nothing I haven't mentioned before? Look at what's hanging on the wall. It's a Christmas decoration. It's October and Christmas decorations are being put up? I've made it clear in this blog that I'm not one of life's Christmas people anymore. But even so given how depressing the situation is the stallholders I doubt are feeling the Christmas spirit at the moment.

Bridgend Town Yesterday

After lunch. Which was rather nice.....



I walked along Wyndham Street. Where I saw this.

Can't remember what it was before. Clearly dead now.

The biggest shock though came as I was walking back to my car when I noticed this.

The town centre Argos has closed. Apparently it's moved to to join the Sainsburys in Macarthur Glen retail outlet centre. Now the area has three Argos stores. No longer however does it have one in the town (unlike nearby Maesteg that a quick search on the internet suggests is open). So one more major retail outlet has left the town centre.

And what is the Labour council currently doing? Well apparently it's partly depedestrianising what it pedestrianised in the first place and it's attention is also being held by what cuts it's going to make to public services. It seems they will be "consulting" on the issue with the public. If you want my views on this consultation I would refer you to my post 

http://sopralalunawithpenguinsintherain.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/perhaps-maesteg-is-not-only-indoor.html

(where incidentally I first discovered that Bridgend Indoor Market had problems)

Why this post? Because roughly this time last year Bridgend Council did exactly the same thing.

And as I've said previously. The town is in this position now but it could be in an even worse state if anything happens to the Ford engine plant. The council, like the Welsh government, needs to plan now for a worse case scenario.

I doubt it will though.

Until the next time.

Why Bridgend Labour Council Should Call Alistair Campbell To Teach It To Spin: Maesteg Market

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yes I know. Maesteg Market yet again. You thought I'd left it after my last post. Well so did I. But yet again Twitter makes me put finger to keyboard.

So it's Tuesday. The sun is shining unusually for a day in October. This fact is noticed not just by me but also whoever is in charge of the Twitter account for Maesteg Market @MaestegMarket (which is controlled by Bridgend Council). At 10:32am this person tweeted

"Good morning all! We are loving the sunshine here at Maesteg Market so why not come and join us today and shop"

All very true. But how about when the weather is not so good. Perhaps then people can shop and wander around in an indoor market without having to dart from shop to shop or stall to stall and avoid the occasional rain Wales can get?

But of course they can't. Because as regular readers would know the indoor market which was situated in the old Maesteg Town Hall building is to all intents and purposes dead. Killed by Bridgend Labour council's wish to create a "cultural hub" in the building it was in using EU money that it's not certain it will have and not making any indication that it has a plan B should it not be forthcoming.

Bad and mad.

If you were a trader in that market forced to move out and looking at the tweet you would have probably gone ballistic and quite rightly so. The sheer insenseitivity is breathtaking.

And it gets worse.

Because perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps Maesteg Indoor Market is still going to be open despite all evidence to the contrary? After all I have official confirmation that stalls 6B,10,11,24A and 24B are still available. How do I know this? Well it's all there in Bridgend's councils own website last updated in July 2016!!

(Here's the site before they take it off - http://www.bridgend.gov.uk/services/property/markets/maesteg-market.aspx)

Bad,Mad and incompetent.

So Mr Campbell if you want to relive the old times and give a tired Labour administration some tips on presenting itself better an opportunity awaits.

Until the next time

Whilst Welsh Labour Are Not To Blame For The Situation At Ford Bridgend Failure To Act Will Not Leave it Blameless To Its Consequences

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I will say first before going on that you will find I've repeated a few things from earlier posts here. No apologies for that, as the situation regarding Ford's engine plant has moved from serious to critical.

Though no longer living in Bridgend I still work there and was about to get ready yesterday for the afternoon/evening shift when I saw an item as breaking news on Twitter. Jaguar Land Rover's contract to build engines in the plant will end three months earlier than planned at September 2020. Instantly that news was across tweetworld in various languages as well. It was considered that important and serious.

Now of course September 2020 is three years ahead. We all hope that in the meantime Ford can negotiate a contract that will replace the one that will be lost. But since March the mood music from the American car giant has not been good regarding the plant, mainly citing the consequences of the Brexit vote. Since that vote to leave the EU, and despite what the mainly right and far right wingers misled the people with, Britain has not "taken back control" from Brussels. In the case of the Bridgend engine plant control has moved across the Atlantic to Detroit.

Now the situation that the Welsh Labour government is facing is not of it's doing. However it needs to act now to deal with its consequences or it will not be blameless.

With the proposed closure of Tata Steel just over a year ago and the actual future closure of a major Tesco call centre in Cardiff the Welsh Labour government has shown itself reactive rather than proactive with regard to such events. It needs to offer even more incentives now to keep Ford in Bridgend. Of course it will cost. But the economic and social consequences of Ford leaving Bridgend will be far greater.

(As an aside local Labour AMs has suggested that the engine work that Jaguar's engines will be produced in a their own factory in Wolverhampton following a "sweetheart deal" with the Westminster government. If this is true then they are right to state that the Westminster Tory government should team up with the Welsh Labour administration so that such a deal could be offered to Ford as well. If there is a sense that England has profited at Wales' expense with the help of Westminster then the resentment it will cause will be palpable. It would be an industrial Tryweryn.

If  that did happen people will realise that Independence is the only way that the people who are born or have chosen to live in Wales can be confident that their wellbeing is considered more important than middle England.

Not even the most ardent nationalist (like me) would actually want independence because of this scenario. We do not want to glory in the misery of good people. But if the Labour AMs are correct as a long term consequence it cannot be ignored)

No one wants the engine plant to close down. The ripple out effect to people and their families as well as the South Wales economy would be on a level not seen since the nineteen eighties. But there is another factor to consider. Until moving away from the area in May one of the constant running themes of this blog was the decline of various parts of the Bridgend area, particularly Bridgend Town, because of the incompentence of the Welsh Labour council (indeed it was one of the reasons that drew me to Plaid Cymru).If Ford did close down the plant then it would be a body blow not just for the people,their families and the surrounding community but also on the area itself as it's already in decline.

Welsh Labour, in either national or local government mode, need to make a strong investment in the Bridgend area now. And I don't mean the sort of grandiose projects that for some reason they're attracted to (like killing the 135 year old Maesteg indoor market to install a library as part of a "cultural hub") more like investment in renewing what's already there.

Rather like their UK counterparts Welsh Labour should indulge in a bit of wargaming. They should ask themselves the consequences for the Bridgend area of a closure of the plant. No one wants it. But no one will forgive the Welsh Labour government either if they did not plan for this should it occur.

Carwyn Jones the First Minister must surely realise the importance of acting now with regard to Ford's engine plant in Bridgend, after all he's the assembly member for the area. Should he fail to act now and the worst case scenario occurs then he should accept Welsh Labour's share of the blame and resign.

Until the next time.

Last Chance To See....Probably....Maesteg Indoor Market

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well I had planned to do this last week, but events sort of took over. This time however I was ready. Dropped daughter off school and then drove to Maesteg to properly say goodbye to the indoor market in the town.

To recap for those who have not previously read my posts on the issue (which started about twelve months ago). Bridgend Labour council announced that they had intended to apply for EU money(!) to pay for repairs to the old Maesteg Town Hall (of which the market is at the basement) and to transform it into a "cultural hub" (whatever that actually means beyond the mind of a marketing consultant).

Part of that transformation was that two libraries in Maesteg were going to close and were to be moved to where the indoor market is at present (which I should remind people is exactly the opposite of what they used EU money for regarding Bridgend Town centre - There the town centre library was moved away from the town centre).

Essentially then they were going to close a 135 year old market. Using partially a library as a weapon against it.

Despite opposition from the traders and customers the villains won. Mainly because as I understand it people in the town assumed that the decision could not be reversed. Consequently business suffered. Most stalls have either closed or have moved to other premises. So in effect. subject to an event of such biblical proportions it might make me reconsider my atheism, Maesteg Indoor Market is going to die relatively soon.

So today I entered the market for the last time.

If markets could cry this would be weeping buckets right now

This stall sold food and as I remember it clothes from one time and another.

The other thing that struck you as you walk in is how in these scenes of utter desolation stall after stall empty but for it's memories, stood in contrast to the happy go lucky sounds of Ken Bruce and BBC Radio 2 from the tannoy. I kid you not.

To the left of the entrance was a café (which has apparently moved to new premises)

You could just wander through

Apologies for the blurring

I've had an all day breakfast in this café, I've met Leanne Wood in this café when she was campaigning for the Welsh Assembly elections for Plaid Cymru. All just things to reminisce about now.

And of course the MAWS bookstall. They too have moved to new premises. Meaning what was once full of books is now......

....empty

There was one stall that I could see open. Not the one I was expecting though.

The stall at the centre left selling meats etc

But even this stall had a sign saying that it was going to move sometime around September.

And one other thing to note here. I read an column about the market in the local paper from Conservative Assembly Member Suzy Davies (and yes I'm about to give a Tory credit here). For whilst there were points in the article I would argue with (it's really too late and too academic to bore you with here) she made one point that I've mentioned on this blog before.

It's this. Everything that the Welsh Labour Council is planning assumes that they will get the EU money. But what if they don't? She (as have I) notes the lack of a Plan B. Is there a Plan B? If not why not? And if there is a Plan B, would it have required the closure of the market?

Ms Davies has said she will confront Bridgend Labour Council on this. I hope she does. I'm assuming that Plaid Cymru will support her specifically regarding this.

But as I've said. The chances of Maesteg Indoor Market surviving are slim. So thankyou Maesteg Indoor Market for the memories. I'm sorry that it's apparently ending this way.

Until the next time.

If I Lived In Maesteg This Is The One Question I Would Ask To The TalkValleys Meeting

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I, as you're all aware am a fan of Twitter and one of the organisations I follow is Bridgend County Borough Council (Labour). Along with Welsh Labour generally, Arsenal football club and D H Lawrence one of the regular villains of this blog.

Well yesterday they tweeted a forthcoming meeting of #Talkvalleys a Welsh government initiative asking South Wales Valleys communities through a series of meetings what can be done to improve current facilities where they live such as creating more jobs, childcare, transport and so on

On Thursday there will be a meeting in Maesteg at six o'clock. I was tempted to go. But then felt no. I've never lived in the town, and I no longer live in the area. It just wasn't right.

Still this is my blog......

So if I lived in Maesteg and attended the meeting this is the one question I would have asked.....

Why are you here?

For Maesteg as a town and Bridgend as an area are awaiting two decisions. Both will affect what will happen to the area for many years to come.

The first involves the Town Hall. A focal point for the town. I've mentioned before that Bridgend Labour Council have all but won their battle to get rid of Maesteg Indoor Market for the apparently necessary repairs that have to be done. I wont go into full details here but the key point is that the creation of the "cultural hub" the council want to build depends on EU(!) funding. They have bet the farm on this. There seemingly is no plan B. So what if the council doesn't get the funding? What then?

If there is no Plan B then it will affect the town in the way that a large rotting abandoned building can do. Imposing a sort of unwanted misery on the people and businesses surrounding it.

One final thought. Maesteg Town Hall is apparently in need of urgent repairs.....and yet this meeting is being held there!

And then there is the Ford engine plant.

For if Ford even lessen production it will affect everything in the whole Bridgend area and Maesteg will not be immune from this. The council, the Welsh Government, the UK government will receive less income if there is any reduction in the workforce Control because of Brexit having moved from Brussels to Detroit.

Once these two decisions have been made then the meeting should be held. For then the Maestegians will know what the town will be facing. For the moment this meeting seems just seems like central governmental gloss.

Until the next time.

Welsh Labour Arrogance: Maesteg Update

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Leaving aside the fact that I still work there, I've been finding that, despite the fact that I live in the Vale of Glamorgan and wish possibly in the future to move to Treorchy, that Bridgend still seems to be calling me back in one way or another in an unexpected manner.

On Thursday I received on Twitter a rumour with regard to Bridgend. Won't say what that rumour was because I couldn't substantiate it (except that it's nothing to do with Ford) but whilst looking into this I stumbled on the latest news regarding Maesteg Indoor market.

I originally chatted about this on a post in October last year. But to summarise briefly Maesteg Town hall is used amongst other things as a stage venue with an indoor market at the basement. Apparently it needs substantial repairs. Bridgend Labour council's proposal is to create a "cultural hub" (you can see the dead hand of a marketing consultant there) with the merger of two current libraries in the area to be situated where the indoor market is currently situated.

In summary. After 135 years of service to the Maesteg community Bridgend Labour Council were going to close down the market.

Since then and despite a valiant effort to save their site. The stall holders and the workers there have been hampered by a perception from the people in the town that the closure could not be stopped, when this was not necessarily the case. Consequently business reduced and profits tumbled. Most businesses have either relocated or closed down. Amongst those relocating are the Maesteg Animal Welfare Society (MAWS) stall where as I've mentioned before I've bought a wide range of books at great value .

There will, according to the report I read,  be one stallholder left by the end of next month. So unless a miracle of biblical proportions occurs Bridgend Labour Council would have won.

In terms of villains winning it's on a par with Brexit and President Trump.

And this vision of a "cultural hub" is, as I've mentioned before, typical Welsh Labour and very typical Bridgend Labour Council. Concentrate on some grandiose plan and seemingly do hardly anything towards the fundamental problems the area has. I would bet that if they were asked whether they just wanted repairs done to the site but nothing fancy otherwise actioned (which I suspect would cost less) and any extra money improving say, education, then the people of Maesteg would be happy enough. But no, Bridgend Labour council knows best. They want a "cultural hub" and a "cultural hub" it will be. And if Bridgend LABOUR has to be cruel and ruthless in a very Tory manner to small businesses to get their wish then so be it.

Potentially though this (I will assume) victory could be hollow. The council wish to use EU money that they have applied for but are not certain they will get. Throughout this whole issue I've not read anywhere of a "Plan B" should their application be rejected. There seems to have been an arrogant assumption that it would be accepted and they'll get the cash.

But what if their application is refused? What then? Let's assume that Plan B doesn't exist. What will happen to the town hall? Is it just going to rot to death? Will it be the first in Maesteg to follow a downhill spiral like the urban mess the council have made to Bridgend Town?

If there is no Plan B then Bridgend Labour Council have acted as if they have just made an agreed offer on a house and then discovered they can't afford a mortgage. For arrogance, cruelty, ruthlessness add incompetence as well.

Until the next time.

The Bridgend Town,Porthcawl and Maesteg Farewell Tour....Probably

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Today I wasn't at work and had to go to the solicitors with regard to do various things about the house. Both the one we'd sold and the one we're hoping to buy. But once all of that was finished, and given I'd nothing left to do for the day. I decided to do a quick trip around the three towns I've been blogging about since this all started. As although I'm still working in the area I'm unlikely to visit them for a while.

So let's start with Bridgend Town, and two quick asides. I had to make a trip to the local ASDA. Noticed this.

Magazines are in trouble

The rack on the right has reduced even further since I last posted about it. The shelves on the left have reduced as well. Magazines really are in trouble.

If you recoil from tacky gifts...look away now.

There is tacky...and then there's this

These are bride and groom garden gnomes......yes I know.

So let's talk about the latest shops to close down in Bridgend Town

If you look at the block at the centre of the street and the shop on the right. That was a barber's cum tattooist. Unfortunately no more.

Wife asked me to get something from the local Poundstretcher. I didn't get it.

That tagline is ironic now

Now for the Shopping Centre. What I didn't know was that it was actually under administration and a property company has taken it over today promising new investment and stores. I never thought I'd ever wish a property company well. But I do today.

There is a new clothing store in the centre. But a shop has also closed since I was last there.

Greggless

Now there is another Greggs in Bridgend Town but they've both coexisted for years. Now though it seems that even in the hot food market austerity bites.

And finally let's just remember the Mcdonalds in the town. Closed for seventeen years and with no sign of anything being done to it.

Next I went to Porthcawl. I tell you it must have known that I wasn't going to be visiting for a while. It gave me a view of the sea I hadn't seen in a while.

Excuse the finger

After lunch (sausage sandwich and a cappuchino) tradition mixed with the modern. Went to Maesteg.

Still the winner of the best view from a car park.

You know I think if I have to pick something from these three towns I'll miss the most. I think it's just the selection of breathtaking views from Maesteg and the surrounding villages that make me just want to stop the car and take it all in. This is all from today.

Having written all of the above. I'll probably find out I've got to go back to one of them again tomorrow. But anyway I'll remember them with affection though regarding Bridgend Town added concern.

Until the next time.

In Which Now I Take More Than One Tablet Plus More On Maesteg,Penguins and The White Stuff

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I start the post by the admission that, at time of writing, I'm the owner of two tablets. One is the Samsung (yes that type of tablet) I've had for a few years now. Works fine for me, though I'm sure if I let my daughter get her hands on it then things might improve....but I'm not.

Now I have another. An Amazon Fire (yes I know you're impressed). Why? Well as always with these things it's a combination of money and opportunity. Work gave out a £25 shopping voucher as a Christmas gift. Trouble was the shops involved tended to be specialised (I have no intention of going camping when central heating is available at home) or places that I wasn't sure what I'd wanted for the money.

But then I noticed Argos was on the list, and having known that they were flogging a 7" tablet for £49.99 (add £10 for the case) thought that if I'd use the vouchers then the cost would be cheaper. My other thought (and yes the brain does hurt) that post brexit these sort of things might be considerably more expensive in the future in case the Samsung went down. So the Fire was bought.

So  how do I use them? Well not wishing either to be offended basically it's 9-5 for the Samsung and 5 until sleep time for the Amazon (remember I do shifts so this isn't work related). I find that the Samsung is for more serious matters, the Amazon is far more for fun at present. There are some apps (Pinterest, Twitter, Podcast Manager) that are on both machines but as I mainly use Facebook in the evening I've deleted it from the Samsung. Exactly the same with Netflix, although Amazon keep on trying to tempt me with Prime Video until we as a family no longer have Netflix on the TV they might as well not bother.

(That said I can buy things on Amazon Video and put it on the cloud. You may think the best Revenge is eaten cold but it actually was season one - it went downhill after that)

My music collection, small that it is, has been moved to the fire. Always found it better than Spotify anyway. And of course I can use it as a Kindle ereader

As they work on different systems the contact and diary parts have to be written separately. Which may seem stupid now. But come the day when one of them falters then you'd understand.

Does all this make me an internet junkie? Well I don't know. Perhaps if you see me rushed into hospital for an emergency operation to extract either tablet from my hand...perhaps then.

Today (Friday) is the last day of my two week stint as chauffeur to my daughter to and from school. Although by no means perfect her knee is far better than it was before Christmas so from Monday she will be using the bus. After having dropped her off decided to go onwards to Maesteg for some grocery shopping. Noticing as I did that although the snow didn't appear to have hit the town it reached the surrounding hills.

So Maesteg. Best view from a town centre car park in Britain anyway, now with added icing.

Does make you stop....at least for a little while

And again

I will return to more views of the area in a moment. But first having also gone to the indoor market there which I've mentioned previously, two Penguin paperbacks were bought for 50p each (remaining budget now £2.57).

This was the first.

Helen Dunmore - A Spell Of Winter

Should perhaps mention here that when I revealed it on Twitter there were a number of positive responses. Seems encouraging then.

The other was:

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Heat and Dust

As promised two more pictures before I leave you today. This was taken just outside Maesteg.

A quiet beauty

And this was from the village of Cwmfelin

If it wasn't for the cold I'd have been gazing for quite a while

This is exactly how I like snow......picturesque and from a distance.

Until the next time.

Morning In Maesteg With Michael Palin

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well, although decorations are still up for a few more days, this is the moment when the world returns from the Christmas/New Year stuff and faces reality in the face. For my daughter that meant the return to school.

As I mentioned in an earlier post a problem with strained ligaments in her knee and amongst other things what that meant was that for the first few weeks of this year I, as part of the Dad service, becomes her school bus driver. That's in the sense that I'll drive her as much as possible to and from school in the Kia so that she could put the seat backwards and extend her leg.

Her school is a half an hour drive away from where we live, and it's not that far away from Maesteg. This was important because, as it turned out, there was a viewing on the house at the (to me) odd time of 10:30am. So what I decided was to drop her off and then spend my time around the town before returning home.

Surely winner of the Best View From A Town Centre Car Park In Britain Competition?

And Again

It was an icy morning. So much so that the I couldn't get into my Kia on the drivers side the lock had been frozen up! But once the mighty Picanto  got going the journey was fine. Once at Maesteg the first stop was to the 135 year old Indoor market that has been cruelly threatened with closure by the Labour, and yes I'm going to repeat that,Labour, council (if you're interested I have written a post about that late last year - click on Maesteg in the labels).

The original By laws - Hung proudly in the market

You may remember that when in the market I buy books from the stall there. But what you may not know is that you can buy the books from the market café if the stallholder is not present (as she wasn't when I was there eight thirty in the morning). This was convenient in more ways than one because I'd decided to while away some of the time by having breakfast there.

So with a budget for Penguin books of £4.57 two books were bought from the stall. The first one was:

Jane Austen - Emma

Now I must admit to have never read a Jane Austen book before. When I was (much) younger I just saw her as a writer "for girls", an upmarket Mills and Boon. Nowadays it's simply that her books have not been next to read amongst the great unread (they are all on my Kindle).

This was the other one:

D H Lawrence - Women In Love

Now those regular readers of my blog know that, based on the books of his that I've read. I'm not a Lawrence fan. Let's see whether this can change my mind. It's not impossible for me to change my general view of a writer, as I will explain later.

Those two books cost me £1. Good value. And something that would be lost if the Labour council had their way and closed the market.

So I paid for them at the café whilst also ordering a big breakfast. I chatted to the lady about the threat by the council. She told me that the council had underestimated the reaction against the proposal to close the market and turn it into a library (that doesn't surprise me). She also said that the decision as to whether they would get the EU money (yes I know) for this renovation of the town hall would not be made until November. One other thing that didn't occur to me in my stupidity but she pointed out. The council want to use EU money to create a big town centre library in Maesteg when they used EU money to take the library out of the town centre in Bridgend.

This is typical Welsh labour, ignore the basics, try and force the big idea not thought through instead.

Anyway time for breakfast

Not Continental Today - Mind you the drink was a Cappuchino

It was delicious. Note that Bridgend Council. Something yet again that would be missed.

You may notice the book on top of the pile. The Michael Palin novel Hemingway's Chair. I took it with me to read whilst I was waiting for the breakfast. I won't chat about it properly until I've finished but let's just say that I'm loving this as much as his diaries were a disappointment. So you see, I can revise my views on a writer.

I went to a few other charity shops in Bridgend and bought one more Penguin book. It was this for a pound (so budget now £2.57).

Philadelphia - Christopher Davis

What's interesting about this book is that it's a novel based on the screenplay for the film. Presumably after VHS and DVDs this was one of the last to be made.

On my way home (having done a little grocery shopping) I stopped from time to time to take in some of the views.

Just outside Maesteg Town Centre

And I think my favourite view of the day. From the nearby village of Cwmfelin.

Stunning

As for the viewing? Don't think it went well. Came home at Eleven and whoever came were gone.

Until the next time.