Does Carwyn Jones Have A Picture Of Bridgend Town In His Attic?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Now before I start properly anybody who has not read/seen the film should know that I'm going to referencing A Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde in this post. So Spoiler alert and all that.

Last week Carwyn Jones, soon to be not First Minister of Wales gave an interview to the local paper where he stated that when he relinquishes the top post and becomes just an Assembly Member he will concentrate on work in the Bridgend area. To which my reaction was about time too.

But it appears not for long. Last Friday it was announced that he won't stand again for the next Assembly elections in 2021. Devotion it appears has a time limit.

However this got me thinking. Until essentially the suicide of Carl Sargeant Carwyn Jones' future seemed secure. In 1999 he got elected as Assembly Member for the Bridgend area. In 2000 he was appointed as  Minister for agriculture. An appointment that seemed to be welcomed on all sides given that the First Minister at that time, Alun Michael, decided that the previous incumbent for the post was of all things a vegetarian. Nothing against the world of the Veggies but even they must have thought that was odd.

It was as if supernatural forces were lined up for him.

In 2007 he was appointed Minister for various things such as culture and the Welsh language but (and I must admit I'd forgotten this) education. Given how bad Wales is in international league tables it's not surprising when asked about his successes as First Minister that wasn't on his list.

And in 2009 he became First Minister. A job which he holds until resigning this autumn. He had as I've explained before one real skill which was as a politician which since Mr Sargeant's death he seemed to have lost.

But during the same period Bridgend Town has declined from a proud hub of the area into an urban tragedy. You will see from my blog countless examples in the last two years alone where the rot has literally set in and the council gives the impression of running the place under crisis management conditions.

Is this his fault? Well exactly where the demarcation line is between the Welsh Labour National Government and the arrogantly incompetent Welsh Labour Council it's not easy to say. But what is clear is the lack of response from Carwyn Jones about the situation the town finds itself in.

I know what you will say. He's First Minister as well as holding other national portfolios. He just hasn't the time. Well firstly he's AM for the area, that's his job. Secondly it's the lack of any relevant criticism or action. That damns him (or more accurately the town). And again, when asked about his successes as First Minister he didn't mention anything Bridgend related.

So perhaps Carwyn jones has a picture of Bridgend Town in his attic and now that his career is on the wane perhaps the town will rise again.  Let's hope so.

Analogies though go so far. Welsh Labour are still in control.

Until the next time.

D H Lawrence,Oscar Wilde and Guisborough Town FC

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Chatting and reminiscing about a couple of towns in my last few posts does mean that I need to go through the books I have and am reading during the past days. Given that the next few posts will revert to the house moving situation which all of a sudden has moved a lot quicker it's better that I deal with it today.

Have finally finished The Rainbow by D H Lawrence. Nothing has changed from my earlier post on the subject. Lawrence is still the literary super villain of this blog and I doubt it will ever change.

When that was finished the next amongst the pile of ebook unread turned out to be Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde.

The best way to describe these stories is this. Imagine you've gone to a fancy restaurant. Having had the main course that you didn't enjoy you're then presented with something relatively light as a dessert. After eating it, you realise that just going home and having some chocolate ice cream would have been more substantial, tastier and cheaper.

That's my view of this book. Though not awful these semi comic stories (so don't expect a laugh a minute) are OK in themselves (though the last one, The Portrait of Mr W H needed some editing) but ultimately too light to be remembered warmly.

So the next ebook, and the one I'm currently halfway through is Far From The Massive Crowds by Mark Cowan. This is a fan's diary of the 2010/11 season of the team he supports, Guisborough Town of the Northern League.

It came with many advantages immediatwely, it's a football book (tick) it's a football book about a team and a league I've little knowledge about but appreciate given the attitude of fans of bigger clubs to the League of Wales (tick), it's a football diary where few people outside the North East will have any idea of what's going to happen next (triple tick and an explanation mark for the excitement of it all).

What it also has now I'm reading it is a genuine sense of humour, a writer who is honest when his team doesn't play well and also has the capacity to like other teams whilst always being faithful to his first love. That I would argue is the sign of a true football fan.

If this was a man you'd be having friendly banter with him down the pub. It's so far the most enjoyable book I've read this year.

D H Lawrence, Oscar Wilde. And yet it's a book by Mark Cowan about Guisborough Town FC that's the best of the three. Who'd have thought it?

Until the next time.