Is the Vale Of Glamorgan Council Being Snobby? Let's Talk About Barry Island and Penarth Esplanade Car Parking Charges

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So in the midst of nobody knowing what to do and as it looks as if the disunited kingdom is hurtling into a long dark Brexit of the soul I'm going to be talking about car parking charges am I? I certainly know how to keep  my finger on the pulse of a very sick group of nations.

But hey let's crack on because it's in a way a metaphor for Brexit.

I've spoken about the proposals by the Vale of Glamorgan council to impose car parking charges in the area before. Focusing specifically on it's effects on Barry Town. Arguing that it would be the first step turning it into the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town. Well this week the council are going to discuss the proposals.

Now nothing changes in what I said about it's effects on Barry Town. So let's focus instead on Barry Island and Penarth Esplanade. For those who've never been in either place Barry Island is the classic place of your imagination full of golden beaches (depending on the weather) and a funfair and all things seaside. Penarth Esplanade on the other hand is far more upmarket. With upmarket shops and restaurants nearby dominated by the pier (also containing amenities) which I always hesitate to go on for fear of looking down and my glasses falling off my face.

There is a beach. But compared to Barry Island it's really a strip of craggy nothing.

And I think you could work out which of the two is more popular.

So the issue of car parking charges is being discussed this week. And for the traders of Barry Island the focus is on the effect on their winter trade. With people who like the idea of walking along beaches on a cold January night looking at the bracing sea with the sort of mournful bittersweet way seen in movies. Either by themselves, a loved one or a dog (not me I'd have to stress - hypothermia on the beach is not the way I'd like to die and as regular readers will know never with a domesticated wolf by my side).

The argument of the traders is that it will put people off visiting the Island. And they have a point given that there is a reduction in out of season charges for Penarth Esplanade but not for Barry Island.

People who'd prefer to go to Penarth Esplanade would probably be able to afford the car parking charges all season long at the same level anyway. But as I've said Barry Island is more popular as it offers more. Yet it would appear to be this popularity that has made it a cash cow in the eyes of the council. Let ordinary people suffer whilst the privileged take advantage? Who knows? But that is certainly the perception.

I've said before that car parking charges will damage many parts of the borough. Not unlike Brexit what it appears to do as well though is to give some protection to those who can afford it.

Until the next time.

Does Barry In South Wales Need A Rebrand? Perhaps Slightly.......Very Slightly.

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

There is apparently a National Lottery "Great Place" scheme which gives money areas to rebrand and publicise itself to the world out there. Barry in South Wales has apparently received such money.

It posed an interesting question in my head. Does Barry actually need a rebrand? And I think the answer is slightly. Very slightly.

Regular readers may remember that one of my first posts on Barry Town was chatting about a comment made by Cardiff Labour Councillor Russell Goodway who said that Barry Town lacked a purpose (he incidentally lives in the area!). It gives a perception that Barry Town is just....well...there. I suspect Cardiff Labour Council just thinks Barry is there for day trips and a commuting town for people who can't afford the cost of living in the capital.

But I like Barry. No one will ever compare it with Paris or Milan or even Bari (sorry couldn't resist) but it strikes me as having a happy-go-lucky charm and obviously more livelier than it's urban pair of slippers equivalent in nearby Penarth.

Having lived near the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town I can tell you that Barry's problems are small in comparison.

There is I suspect the need to emphasise that there is a difference between what Barry Town and Barry Island have to offer. If you don't know the area (and before I moved to Wales I did this) there is a good chance you'd confuse the two. The Island (not really an island) is the seaside part with all you would expect from such a place.

The town seems drab in comparison. But if you look under the surface it has the ability to surprise. Barry High Street (which I've written about previously) was an absolute revelation to me. I haven't seen this line-up of mainly independent and quirky shops for decades. Really it should become a heritage site it's that unique.

(A quick digression. When my daughter was about two there was a programme on Ceebies called Doodle Do hosted by Welsh comedian Chris Corcoran. In this particular episode I watched with her  he told a story of a guy called Barry who got shipwrecked. One of the first things he did according to Mr Corcoran was to name the place Barry Island.

Well I laughed. My daughter however turned to me with a confused look on her face. As if to say why is Dad laughing at a programme for me?)

So perhaps there is a need to emphasise the differences and qualities the Island and the Town has. As well as keeping the free car parking in the area (Unlike Bridgend Town for example. One of areas I'd argue which has damaged it so severely).

Nowhere is perfect and Barry does have issues. But in terms of branding and promoting itself other than a bit of sprucing up and a lick of paint here and there (both physically and metaphorically) my view is that Barry should be proud at what it is.

Barrybados with hidden gems.

Until the next time

Cardiff Bus: On The Road To Nowhere?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Regular readers may remember a while back I took an Assembly member and the leader of Cardiff Labour council Huw Thomas to task for querying the policy of free car parking in hospitals, specifically the University College Hospital in Cardiff.

Part of the argument Mr Thomas used was the bus service to that hospital. Suggesting that as it was so good people didn't need to use their cars.

I'll return to hospitals later. But Cardiff Bus co. That is the bus service that the council actually own are making cuts and alterations to the service across Cardiff and the neighbouring Vale of Glamorgan at the end of March. Cardiff Council's own special version of Brexit.

Now I won't be a hypocrite. I don't use the bus service as the journeys I need to take (mainly to where I work in Bridgend from the Vale) make it a non starter. Would I use it if I could? Probably not as things stand a journey from where I live to Cardiff would be difficult and involve more than one bus. if I lived in the centre of a town (say Penarth) then I'd consider it.....and would probably say no.

Why? Well cutting the bus services is not a good sell is it? What message does it give for future customers? And more importantly what if I needed to use the service? How can I use the service if it doesn't exist? Or drastically altered?

And when I say doesn't exist Penarth is a good example of this. The town will lose it's direct bus service to Leckwith ( a part of Cardiff) and Llandough hospital.

Losing the direct bus service to Leckwith would mean I presume that any Cardiff City fans (as their ground is in the area) would be more tempted to use the car. If anybody drives around the ground on match days will know, sometimes the cars are parked almost literally anywhere.

But it's the loss of the direct service to the hospital that's more important. Leaving aside Llandough itself it and Leckwith are the closest areas to the hospital. From Penarth the journey is basically straightforward (depending where you live in the town almost literally so). The logic of a direct bus service from a town close to the hospital is there.

Yet Welsh Labour want to cut it.

And don't forget the type of people who would use this service. the venerable and underprivileged in our society. Not forgetting of course the elderly. Groups that the Labour party shout out loudly that they're here to protect. Well not this time.

What should they do? Well act socialist would help. Cut fares and subsidise the service through taxes would help. Trouble is though would the service be attractive to any customer after the council's onslaught whatever the cost? That is the question I really don't know.

And why you ask should I be interested with the Brexit madness swirling around in buses? Well public transport is one of the cornerstones of a decent society for all. When a Labour council is scurrying about to work ways of chipping away at that, then you know it's betrayed it's voters.

So when the Mr Thomas boasts again of the Cardiff bus service. Perhaps the example of Penarth should be rammed down his throat.

Until the next time.

On Penarth Town Catching A Bridgend Cold And Barry Town's Quiet Pleasure

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Penarth is the closest town to where we live. Hopefully we will be moving house in the area in a month. I won't say much more about the moving process until it happens but as the last attempt showed nothing is certain until we actually move in.

I haven't really chatted about the place which has been remiss of me. So let me put it this way the town (as opposed to the nearby pier) is the urban equivalent of a pair of slippers. Comfortable, relaxing, slightly old fashioned but then again so am I.

But had to visit the town this morning and found something very disturbing which was this:

Christmas Decorations

Could have shown more along the main street but I'll spare you.

I probably was the only person who looked at this and thought of Bridgend Town. Specifically the Bridgend town Indoor Market with the Christmas lights that stayed there all last year. You might think that I'm obsessed by unseasonal Xmas lights and possibly I am. But as I've tried to explain regarding Bridgend image is king and lights still hanging on after the season of goodwill has long since gone as we're on Brexit long dark midnight of the soul Eve is not a good look.

Next stop Barry Town.

View From Barry Town Car Park

There didn't appear to be much change in the town since my last look. There seems to be two exceptions. Opposite the Windsor Hotel (still closed by the way) is this.

Another empty elegant looking building

It seems to have been a drop in centre for people suffering from mental health issues, It now has been moved to a nearby hospital.

And close by The Royal Bank Of Scotland branch is now no more.

Death Of A Branch

This was Holton street. I had thought it was High Street Barry until about six months ago. Now I know better but this was my destination today.

It's a bit of a walk from Holton Street to the High Street but not difficult.

High Street Barry is actually misnamed unless it was the steep turn to finally reach it because in between the classic terraced houses there isn't any large department stores. Instead it's a group of small shops and with the exception of the grocery store all of them were independent.

But the key thing is the mixture. For between the hairdressers and the butchers there were also this type of modern gift store.

Arty stuff

Or you could see a Deli, other gift stores or.....

...even a toy shop

Many years since I've seen a small toyshop.

Wandering around the street after I did what I went there for was an unexpected pleasure. I decided to go into a shop to buy something. It turned out to be a gift shop called Annie and Lolo,

I got this

The eponymous "Annie"was in the shop and we chatted. Yes chatted. She was originally from the South Wales Valleys and after a roundabout tour round Britain found the High Street in Barry...as you do.

Oh and why did I buy a recipe journal? Well when I'm called upon to cook for a long while later in the year I'll need meals that are simple and quick. Hence the need of something to write down.

It has been a long time since I have seen a town with a relatively large and mixed group of independent shops in one place. Barry Town's quiet pleasure should be spread far and wide

Until the next time.

The insomniac Meanderings Post : I'm Fifty Five Now Edition

Well as I'm writing this it's 4:37am. I'm not on the early shift at work. I'm not even at work today. But here I am. Awake. As almost always insomnia rules.

I'm not just awake too early. I'm also fifty five. That's actually an important milestone. Because at that age you can see sixty coming over the horizon. There is of course never a turning back when it comes to aging. But even more so now.

So I'm old. People tell me I'm not but I know I am. Doesn't matter that I could live to be a hundred and have a telegram from a monarch (I hope not. Would love Wales to be a republic). Despite what people will tell you fifty is not the new twenty. It's not a half century for nothing.

After all when I was 18-30 I was eligible for the raucous hedonistic Club 18-30 holidays (full disclosure I never did - My mind probably was always 55). Now I'm eligible for Over 50's Life Insurance to pay for funeral plans when I die!

Meanwhile let's not forget about Brexit. As things stand we're about to enter the long dark Brexit of the soul. Whatever the consequences of that will be it won't be good for the majority. Let's be clear here. Apart from the Nationalist parties nobody emerges from British political life with any credit whatsoever.

A shoutout to Tony's in Penarth. A small unassuming Italian restaurant next to the Tesco Express there. Mother, wife, daughter (and me -obviously!) went there last night. When I got the Bolognese I ordered thought that it was slightly bigger than from a microwave meal. But not only was it filling. Not only was it better than the Italian restaurant we went in Cardiff Bay it was the best Italian food I've tasted in a restaurant outside of Italy ever (and I haven't been paid to write that down either!).

Five minutes to seven now. Have had toast for breakfast. When croissants are unavailable it'll have to do.

I'm going to sleep for an hour. See if wife/daughter wake up then.

It's go eight now. Wife's awake. So will be out today to Culverhouse Cross in Cardiff.

Until the next time.

A Christmas Decoration In Penarth Better Than The Town Centre Lights

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

On Tuesday I attempted to break one Christmas tradition. Which is I refuse point blank to buy any presents before December 1st. Now to be fair I was nagged into this by my daughter. She had been to see the turning on of the Christmas lights in Penarth Town Centre (unimpressive apparently - indeed when I saw them hanging limp and forlorn in the daylight they appeared to be the same ones as last year's.....and the year before...but I digress)

Anyway after the lights were done wife, daughter and a friend (I was at work) went to various shops. Including one which had a pomegranate candle (every home should have one) which the wife and her friend expressed approval. Daughter noting this nagged me to go and buy it for the wife for Christmas. Hence the trip on Tuesday.

Remember the word I used at the beginning was "attempted". Daughter told me which shop. Said the candle was not Yankee Candles. Went to the shop. They only sold Yankee candles and there were no pomegranate ones.

So rather than just go away I was aware of another gift shop in the town. Hoopers in Ludlow Street. Outside it's just a small shop next to a butchers and a closed down place. Opposite there's a carpet store and a hairdressers. All seemingly small. All seemingly ordinary.

Hoopers though small has two floors. And whilst searching for these candles I walked up to the first floor where I saw on the ceiling this....

Did not expect this

What the picture does not covey is that it's a roundabout...those deers move. It would've been impressive in a department store (whilst they still exist) but in a relatively small place like this it was stunning.

I wish I could say I bought something there but there were no candles to be seen (I'm only going to stretch traditions so far). But if I'm in Penarth after 1st December I will have a look. After all that effort they deserve it. And if you're in Penarth town have a look at it as well.

Trust me it will be more interesting than the lights.

Until the next time.

An Unexpected Peril Of Collecting

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Since we started living in rented accommodation I haven't been discussing my collections all that much. Given that my main ones, football shirts and Penguin paperbacks are currently in storage. One day we will discover a house that we both like and doesn't reveal itself to be a money pit of faults thankfully before we put pen to paper. But until that comes collecting is on the back burner for the foreseeable future.

However yesterday, in of all places Penarth Tesco, the world of collecting came back along with an unexpected peril.

A word of background first. Companies sell small cheap plastic figure in a particular series, such as footballers for example, in a packet, This small packet will tell you everything you need to know about the figure concerned...expect what the figure within actually is. So there is a good chance you will buy one you have already.

Back then to the action. There was I walking along the aisles of Penarth Tesco when on walking past their small toy section when I noticed a middle aged woman picking up such a packet and starting to feel it.

She saw me and clearly embarrassed explained that this particular set was of Harry Potter characters. Her sons collected it and so the lady admitted she was hooked herself. She had figured that to stop continually buying duplicates she would feel the packet thus would lessening the risk.

From a collecting standpoint it was actually genius. After all unlike say footballers Harry Potter characters presumably had very different shapes to them so it seemed a sensible thing to do.

From all other standpoints however watching a middle aged woman feeling toy packets makes you question her sanity.

And one other thought occurred to me. If her intention was to collect these things for monetary value as well as personal pleasure then presumably she would need two packets per figure. As presumably their value would reduce once they were open.

Until the next time.

When Science Loses To Emotion Part Three: Let's Boycott EDF

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have before in this blog chatted about the plan for radioactive mud from the nuclear power plant at Hinckley Point Somerset to be transported from there to a point between Cardiff Bay and Penarth .

Whilst you should look at my previous posts on the subject essentially I argued that despite apparently science stating that it would be safe. The consequences of the Science being wrong would be too great as that would pause a risk not just to the people in Cardiff Bay but also depending on the movement of the sea to the Penarth and Barry Island, where families go for a day out enjoying the seaside.

Well from Thursday French power giant EDF were about to start doing exactly that. This though has been postponed until sometime in September (see https://penarthnews.wordpress.com/2018/08/12/now-nuclear-mud-dumping-off-penarth-is-postponed-until-september/ for a more detailed analysis on this. Worth a read. Won't chat about it here because as regular readers will know I won't knowingly copy another blogger's work).

It had the apparent approval first of Alun "Chucky" Cairns. (Who let's not forget is a Vale of Glamorgan MP though not of Barry Island I'm sure his constituents work/visit there as it's nearby). Secondly Carwyn Jones, soon to be ex First Minister and political man fat, who represents as a constituency AM Porthcawl which is also a day trip beach area for families and might also be affected re the tide if the science is wrong. Indeed Welsh Labour as a whole seems to have treated this entire issue with an arrogant smugness which typifies the way they run Wales.

Politically these people should be dealt with through the ballot box come election time. But for now the focus needs to be on EDF. I'm sure there are organisations planning protests against the disposal and for what it's worth they have my support. But let's just try something else as well. Let's punish EDF by boycotting them. Showing them that if they hurt the people living in Wales then the people can fight back using the greatest weapon against business....no business.

I have before suggested the same with regard to Virgin Media when they made all of the people in their Swansea Call Centre redundant and the pieces seem similar here. After all they appear to have not taken notice of the opinions of the people living in the area and are acting on something the consequences of which could be disastrous should the science be wrong.

Also a Welsh EDF boycott would damage them both financially and in terms of a company's all important image. There would be alternatives to move to (not saying any of the alternatives are great companies but at time of writing none of the others are dumping nuclear mud in Cardiff Bay) so the impact on families living in Wales would be minimal.

So a simple boycott may not stop the dumping of the radioactive mud, but it would damage EDF's consumer arm. Make them suffer for the way they might cause suffering to Wales.

Until the next time.

Britain 2018: Where You Can Seriously Ask The Question Whether You Should Stock Up On Food And Whether The Jack Monroe Doctrine Is To Be Followed

Hello there.. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well it's Britain 2018. Come March 2019 it leaves the EU and slowly, in drip by drip form the Dark Brexit scenario comes into play as it's predictors have explained.

Now as I've said before I don't belive a Dark Hard Brexit will come. If only because the consequences for the governing Conservative party would be disasterous (doesn't mean life will be better than when were in the EU mind. That I don't believe.).Still when reports come in of a shortage of fuel, factory closures and Amazon suggesting that in a worst case scenario there could be civil unrest then you need to sit up and take notice.

But of all the consequences of a hard Brexit that has made the news recently it's the idea of food shortages that has really made the headlines. The idea that shop shelves will be bare come April next year. Indeed the UK government are building up a stockpile of food in preparedness for a hard Brexit.

This action by the government begs the question. If they can stockpile food. Then why can't I?

I've even worked on the plan. From this month I'd buy five items a week to hoard. For the moment it would be just canned items but as March moves closer other things will be included. That way if Dark Hard Brexit does come then at least for a few weeks myself and the family would be covered.

Also if there is a Dark Hard Brexit then I'd give one fifth of the hoarded stockpile to a foodbank. Because the consequences to the poorest in our society will be disastrous. And if we're talking about civil unrest that's where it will start. Because a hungry people will be an angry people.

(And if the Brexit is soft by the way I'd give all the stockpile to the foodbank)

Now I haven't done this yet. But the fact that I can seriously consider it to the point of planning without being considered a madman tells you all you need to know about Britain today under the Conservatives.

Which leads us to talk about cookery writer Jack Monroe. Whose struggles looking after a young son lead her make imaginative recipes with basic ingredients on the most smallest of budgets. Her first cookery book was called A Girl Called Jack, which I bought and like most of the cookery books I have was promptly put to one side as I succumbed to the seductive charms of ready meals and the microwave.

But the thing is this. Initially Ms Monroe's books appealed to those on low incomes. If however there is a Dark Hard Brexit then she will find a whole new audience in people who might be just about managing but are struggling to find ingredients even if the prices were reasonable.

So there is a good chance that post Brexit Ms Monroe will find herself the go to cookery writer of the moment (after all in a Dark Hard Brexit world few of us could go Nigella). Which then led me to think that perhaps the best thing to do would be to practice.

What I'm going to do is to go through all her recipes and see whether I can get the ingredients in either Penarth or Barry Town (I live between both) and what happens when I cook them. If you expect an ingredient list or a blow by blow account of the recipe then you'll be disappointed as that's her copyrighted work. But what I want to see is in a Dark Hard Brexit world whether the family can adapt to this most different kind of cookbook. Because in that scenario it has to until goodness knows when.

In a Dark Hard Brexit Ms Monroe has the potential of being, not just the most important cookery writer but the most important writer of the moment.

That's why the Jack Monroe doctrine is important.

Until the next time.

Will Alun Cairns And Andrew RT Davies Hold Onto Their 2015 Principles And Possibly Fight Against The Vale Of Glamorgan Council? Let's Discuss...

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have before in this blog discussed the proposed introduction of car parking charges in the Vale Of Glamorgan area specifically Barry Town. I've argued that whilst there were other factors to be taken into consideration car parking charges was one factor in the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town. As a consequence people went to the free out of town shopping facilities with the consequent damage to the town centre business.

Now however there is a proposal for a "parking strategy" that will be put to the Vale of Glamorgan council shortly prepared for them (at their request) by the firm Capita.

I won't go into detail of the proposals across the borough, that would only bore you, (and it would bore me) besides I'm hoping soon to chat about the town of Cowbridge. For now let's focus on Barry Town and nearby Penarth.

The recommendations from Capita are basically as follows. Charge for what was free but do it on a tiered basis. So the first two hours would be free, three hours £1,four hours £2,five hours £5/£4 (depending whether it's a Long or Short stay car park - something they propose to create) and all day £4 and £5 (depending again on Long or Short Stay).

So you ask what's wrong with that? Two hours free relatively cheap rates otherwise who could argue?

Well two thumbs pointed at this guy

Firstly and let's be clear here, those prices will go up. You know it and I know it. Once the principle of free parking is breached then there will nothing to stop the council raising it in the future.

Secondly even as they stand the fees will not encourage regular visits to either town centre. People will just go in, do what they have to do and leave as quickly as possible. It will not be instant, but businesses will start to suffer and some might go to the wall because of the loss of regular custom.

The Bridgend Town rot starts to set in.

Interestingly a similar proposal regarding car parking charges was made in 2015 and had some vocal detractors then. Let's start with blog villain, political glove puppet and wannabee Englishman and tall person Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns who said in his website “Council tax payers in Barry will find it hard to understand how charging up to £5 to park close to our high streets is going to help regenerate Barry"

And although it appeared from the page he wasn't against car park charging in principle (of course he wouldn't be he's Alun Cairns) he also said  "However they must do the right thing to support the people that live and work locally and work to encourage trade that builds a community rather than introduce unimaginative and ill-thought out charges.”

Here's the page. https://www.aluncairns.com/news/car-parking-charges-barry-cowbridge

He wasn't the only Conservative figure who was against this in 2015. Former Conservative leader in Wales and the Welsh answer to the question "Who ate all the pies?" Andrew RT Davies said the proposals were a

“tax on the high street” 

and

" If you charge prohibitively you drive shoppers to out of town shopping centres and it is the businesses on the high street that suffer as a consequence" 

That page is here. http://www.barryanddistrictnews.co.uk/news/10291008.Vale_of_Glamorgan_car_parking_charges__tax_on_the_high_street____AM/

So, to be clear, basically speaking I find myself agreeing with Andrew RT Davies and Alun Cairns!!!

I feel sick.

The thing is though in 2015 the Vale Of Glamorgan council was Labour run. Now it's a Conservative led Council with independent support. Vale voters and Vale businesses are entitled to know whether these high profile Conservative figures will stick to their principles or will they flip flop (in Mr Davies' case roll) their way out of them.

And if you have any doubts on what car parking charges can do Bridgend Town is about forty minutes drive away.

Until the next time

The Case For A Twenty Mile Per Hour Speed Limit In Sully And Beyond

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today....and that especially includes you, Vale of Glamorgan council.

Currently we're renting near Sully, a small village between Penarth and Barry Town. A pleasant place but if the signs I notice driving through are of any guide there are apparently two issues which have caused anger amongst the permanent residents. One are the proposed housing developments for the village. On this issue I'm currently on the fence. If only because I don't know what type of developments are being proposed.

But the other, whose sign I've only just seen today, is trying to persuade you to reduce the speed limit for vehicles that enter the village to twenty miles per hour. On this issue the answer should be obvious. On this you should agree with the people.

Now for the moment let's ignore the main road of the village (South Road) and concentrate on most of the other roads. Because those of us who've driven round the area know full well that there really is no reason to drive around there at thirty mph. These roads are generally relatively short, and a lot of them windy and thin.

It's important to remember that we're talking here about the roads that are in the village and not those that could go to the outside of it (such as Sully Road) so essentially the specific long stretch of road that we would need to speak about is South Road. Home to the convenience store, the library, the post office and the playing fields.

In seemingly empty traffic it's not impossible to reach thirty miles per hour on this road. Whilst there is a set of traffic lights there's not that many other things that I recall would curtail a person's speed behind the wheel along this road. Now if you're driving on the other side of the road to the convenience store and there's a delivery truck on that side it means that the lane the truck is parked in is blocked you won't see until the last minute the teenager suddenly running across the road. I am old enough to remember the ads that explained that you have more chance surviving being hit by a car doing twenty than doing thirty miles per hour.

So Vale Of Glamorgan Council how about reducing the speed limit in the village to twenty miles per hour? It's simple, cheap and effective...and you know full well that if you don't do it then it will take one child/teenager's death to change your mind. So how about doing it now?

And while you're at it (though I can't say I've done the research) I'm sure there are roads in Barry Town and Penarth that this could help as well.

You know it makes sense.

Until the next time.

Ryszard Kapuscinski : Truth or Lies?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Firstly a correction. I said a couple of posts ago that the poetry reading organised by Griffin books in Penarth and featuring Carol Ann Duffy was going to be in May. In fact it's in June. And, work permitting I intend to go, becoming if it occurs the first poetry reading I've ever attended.

Anyway I've finished the Penguin pocket book of Ryszard Kapuscinski's An Advertisement For Toothpaste, a collection of four non fiction essays from the early sixties set mainly in the Polish countryside unlike the work across the globe that he's remembered for.

He was a journalist in when Poland was Communist. And the thing with him is that with his book The Emperor he became to my knowledge the only non fiction Communist writer translated into mainstream fiction in Britain. In that sense he was unique

As I said when I bought this book there is a feeling of trepidation surrounding it. As since I last read one of his works decades ago allegations have surfaced with regard to the veracity of his writings. I'm not sure, in Wales over half a century later, whether I read fiction or non fiction. "Magical journalism" which is how he described his work (and of what I read remember liking) is not really an answer.

(And as a quick aside. If you think I'm saying all of this because he was Polish. I'll have the same fear if I ever read a book by either Norman Lewis or Patrick Leigh Fermor again. Writers who I loved when I was much younger, but who have had similar charges put against them.)

So obviously what I'm going to say next is a guess and should be read as such. To be a reader and to be unsure what you're reading is a true account is a new and unsettling experience for me. Remember we're not talking here about viewpoints, but actual events.

I finished the book thinking that what I had read was probably an exaggeration of the truth, which is of course a lie. But like all really good lies there seemed to be a foundation of honesty.

Let's take a mild example. He is helping in "The Stiff" to transport a body of a dead coal miner with a group of other men across a Polish region where they meet a group of young women, who are of course pretty. Their joie de vivre a counterweight to "the Stiff" of the title. My view was .....really?

Incidentally "magical journalism" seems to be a way of allowing unnecessary long words into a narrative (and yes I'm making assumptions here as this is a translation). Girls view a fight in a dance hall as "metaphysical". Personally I've always assumed they view a fight in a dance hall as something they should move away from . Also he somehow was able to in this very same essay set in a Polish dance hall in the early sixties to include the words "Egyptian hieroglyphics". The question here is.....why?

The Emperor his most famous work about Haile Selassie is considered as an allegory for Communist Poland. After reading this book I have my doubts. For although the picture it presents of early sixties Polish countryside is not a good one on the other hand two of the stories seemed like Communist propaganda to me.

The title essay: An Advertisement For Toothpaste has an assertion that to obtain material possessions people in a Polish village are not buying toothpaste. I mean that's just a load of rubbish. Did not believe that for one second.

The other story where Communist propaganda seemed to be in play was The Taking of Elizabieta. Here the Catholic church is seen as a secretive and sinister organisation. Now I have no love for the Catholic church but at that time it was considered the only real opposition to the Communist authorities. So clearly there's an agenda here.

Magical journalism? The magic has gone for me.

Until the next time.

The Brief Return Of The Bookshop, Penguin Paperbacks and A Quick Word About Greetings Cards

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Wasn't working today (Monday) so the wife had some tasks for me to do.

"Get some ham as long as there are no purple bits in it".

Which I did. Apparently though the look was so white it was inedible so in the bin it went.

"Why did you get me Wholemeal bread?"

"I thought you liked it".

"I like Wholegrain idiot"

Oops...

But the one thing I did do without any argument or comeback was to post a couple of birthday cards the wife bought the day before. I went to Penarth to get some stamps before posting the letters. Job done.

Now a quick aside about cards. My wife is not the only woman I know who takes an interest in cards to such a forensic level it's CSI in it's thoroughness. She particularly takes interest in the verse.

Unless the card is humorous (rarely find them funny) I however have no interest in reading the verse. As long as the event, the picture and to whom it's referring to are OK I'm happy enough. And just for the record, when I receive a card I read what someone has written but the verse could be in Chinese for all I care.

Anyway back to Penarth and I was walking past the local bookshop where I noticed a series of miniature Penguin Paperbacks called Penguin Modern being displayed in a sought of light olive green cover.

The bookshop is called Griffin Books and it's that type of quirky place which is slowly disappearing from the local high street so more power to it's elbow. Unfortunately as we currently live in an apartment in the hunt for a proper home my book buying ways have been curtailed so much as though I would like to as there is no space currently for me to be a regular customer.

Ditto my collection of Penguin paperbacks which is locked in storage as I speak. Held until the moment arrives when I can open them and start reading "properly" again. At the moment the Kindle holds sway. And although as I've explained before the e reader has it's uses, there is something about the quiet pleasure of turning a page the electronic usurper can't match.

But here was a situation where the books were just £1 each and they were pocket book size....so....yes I was tempted......and having succumbed I went in.

Looking at the shelf where these Penguin Modern books were (fifty of them) the shop assistant/manager mentioned that they had been popular and were selling well. I could see why. There were works from authors from many parts of the globe such as Italo Calvino and Chinua Achebe. Eventually though I plumped for these two.

Different

Ryszard Kapuscinski was a Polish journalist who wrote The Emperor about the last days of Haile Selassie in Ethiopia and a collection of journalism called The Soccer War which I have read as well as other works that I haven't. I read once a review of a book that questioned a lot of the veracity of his work but as I haven't got round to reading that book I've no idea how valid that critique was.

Susan Sontag is a writer I've never read (so many books so little time) but I'm looking forward to reading her.

And so I was thinking. You know what I could just collect them. They're only small and wouldn't take that much space. I'd also be supporting my local bookshop.

Then I'd realised I'd made a mistake. I remembered too late that I didn't collect Penguin paperbacks with coloured bindings after 2013, Because their new owners did not recognise trade unions. I was so excited to buy an actual physical book it just slipped my mind.

Obviously I won't buy any more. But I feel I owe a debt to the Griffin Bookshop even though they wouldn't know (or probably care). So this is what I'll do. They are arranging a poetry reading in May (including Carol Ann Duffy). If I can make it I'll go there. If not I'll buy a hardback book from the shop.

Support your local bookshop.

Until the next time.

On A Vain Search For A Jeffrey Archer Novel In W H Smiths Epping

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It seems that on returning from hospital my mother's taste in books has gone as wild as her taste in food. She asked me today as well as groceries to get a novel for her in the Epping branch of W H Smith (she can't remember where her library book is). That novel was Not A Penny More Not A Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer.

This choice, left field though it was, was not an issue for me. Firstly it meant that her taste for reading had returned. Secondly, as I've mentioned before in this blog I have no problems with Jeff's books before A Matter Of Honour judged purely as an entertainment. Indeed I've read Not A Penny More Not A Penny Less and, as a piece of bestsellery fun, liked it.

Now what I'm going to say next is not at all scientific. Obviously the state of selling books has changed since I was a child. The internet has seen to that. Still the percentage of adult books for sale in the shop seemed small for me and if you exclude those being offered as a "Two for £7" offer then really pitiful when you reduce the choice to adult fiction. The time when a small branch of W H Smiths was my childhood book nirvana has long since gone (Ilford many decades ago).

So looking for Archer's books did not take me long. Nor did looking at them either. There were just four. These four were part of the "Cliveden Chronicles" (which I haven't read) and as they were numbers two,four,five and six respectively then buying them instead of the novel she wanted to read was not going to buy them as a consolation prize. Indeed if you were not following the chronicles then no one was going to buy them.

When I was young, so the glasses I'm wearing are obviously rose tinted as well as modelled on Joe 90, then if you were a bestselling writer (I'm not talking about the factory like James Patterson - plus one other) then most of your books were going to be on sale in the local small town bookshop. Not apparently anymore. No Kane and Abel or indeed my favourite Archer novel of all time First Amongst Equals. Nothing. And you can't say that it was because they were written decades ago. Stephen King's Carrie and Misery were in that very same branch.

Jodi Picoult and Stephen King had more books than Archer in this branch. As indeed did Terry Pratchett and Peter James.

So what am I saying? Perhaps it's the case that Jeffrey Archer is not as much of a bestselling writer than he was. No real idea and to be honest I don't care.

Well if you live in a small town and want a particular book that very day then you will probably have to go to a bigger town (for example the W H Smith in nearby Harlow is larger). A small town with a bookshop is unfortunately rare nowadays unless you're watching old movies. Penarth has one. Epping did once but it closed years ago.

The small town bookshop then. Slowly dying due to the internet and supermarkets. And yes I'm just as much of a hypocrite as the rest of us.

Until the next time.

How Edward Marston Helped Me With Another Stage Of Daughter's Growing Up

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I realise there have been no posts for a while. Apologies for that. The explanation is simple. I've been on the early morning shifts at work. As those will tell you the effect of night/early morning shift work is basically jet lag without the wings.

So I'll take you back to Thursday. Thursday afternoon to be precise.

Daughter is, as I've said before, getting older. Where we live is a car journey from her school. She however wanted to walk out of the school with her friends along the way through Penarth. A compromise was reached thanks to her uncle and his partner, who live about fifteen minutes away. She would walk there and, when necessary stay there until we pick her up.She will be....pause for dramatic effect....given keys!!

There were conditions. The day before I'd taken her on the simplest route. She wouldn't be given keys yet until she showed she knew the way. This was Thursday. This was the test. If she got lost she'd ring.

I park near the corner of the street of uncle/partner's house. Not quite on the corner you understand but just enough to get worried when a large truck turns my way and narrowly misses.

I start reading Timetable of Death by Edward Marston. It is the sort of book that takes you away from where you actually are. As entertainment it really cannot be faulted.

Still it doesn't stop me listening to conversations of people passing by.

"....Dinas Powys Princess....." was the words of a middle aged woman talking to her male companion. Always interesting catching part of a tale. Dinas Powys, rather like Penarth, has a reputation for being a bit snobby. But in truth I've never found an area of Wales yet that was snobby, but I do know areas where there were parts that were so (if that makes sense). Of course when a reputation settles then it's difficult to shake off.

It's 3:05. A teenage boy from daughter's school walks past. Young confident. You don't think yet that the problems of the world has hit him.

3:07: I ring daughter. She says she's on her way. Confident and content in tone.

3:08: Another boy walks past. Shirt out, short dark hair dark specs he really was Adrian Mole for the twenty first century. Also it has to be said exactly how I would have looked over forty years ago.

Two teenage boys walk pass. Another conversation caught mid stream.

"Her name was Helga....and she was forty!!"

This line is repeated. Unclear what is interesting him more. The foreign name or her age. Of course when you're a teenage boy women with European names have an allure. Who knows?

Then I see my daughter. She had lied about leaving at 3:07. She'd left earlier. She'd taken a slightly different route and knew where to go.

Nothing makes you feel inadequate as a parent more when your child not only has taken the initiative but has worked out a solution better than the one you gave her.

I feel very old now.

Until the next time.

The Hunt For A New Barber

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well I've held it for long enough. But the time has come when I need to take some action. My hair is wilder. It's become a silver jungle. I have to get it cut.

Regular readers will know that my hair was cut in a barber van....yes I said van ....just outside Bridgend. However though I still work in that area I don't live there. Should I change jobs to somewhere closer where I live now near Penarth then it would be sheer stupidity to continue with this arrangement.

Time to get a new barber.

I have to get it cut.

And please note the word cut not styled I'm a fifty three year old man unlikely ever to get onto the cover of GQ. Cutting my hair would be fine thankyou.

I've had my hair cut by a man or a woman so I'm not bothered by that. Although I was prepared for an answer to the standard barbery if asked (I assume) by a man.

"Something for the weekend sir?"

"Well tickets to Wales Austria would be nice"

Yesterday (Thursday) I had to do other things in Penarth so found myself there. I do intend to chat about the town properly in a future post for now though once my main business was done the hunt for a new barber began.

(Also note the word "barber". I have a fifty three year old man's caution to the word hairdresser and as to hairstylist.......please)

So wandering around the first thing I notice are a number of "unisex" places for your hair to be cut. Personally I find that such establishments should be fined under the trades descriptions act, if only because I've rarely seen male custom there. They are normally ladies with things in the hair. If looks are of any guide as well, they seem to be staffed by people the most affronted by a request to have your hair cut. As if you're not interested in their artistic coiffuring abilities.....(which to be fair I'm not).

Eventually though I discover barbers....where actual people will cut your hair and with patience listen to your vague instructions as to what you want. Traditional looking places. I can wait. I'm armed with a copy of Bruce Chatwin's book In Patagonia and I know how to use it.

But....

Every single one I went to said I needed to make an appointment. Clearly the Bridgend Barbers Van has spoilt me. After all I just needed to walk in, be patient and my hair would be cut. But no. Appointments would need to be made. Worst though was that the earliest appointment that could be made was next week......next week!

So I drove out of Penarth. Hair still not so much a silver fox as fight between ageing Octopussies (or is it Octopai?). I've made no appointment. I'll try to get it cut in Barry Town during the next few days. Otherwise it'll have to be arranged by the preferred Penarth method.

Oh for the simple days........nostalgia........of a few months back.

Until the next time.

Let's Talk About The Regeneration Of An Old Friend.....The Library. Plus Pictures From A Bay

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Bet you thought for a moment I was thinking of Doctor Who. Ha! Just quickly to say not bothered by the gender change one way or another. Except perhaps to mention that the Doctor has probably become the ultimate transsexual.

Anyway yesterday I got a call from Sully library. My library card is now ready and would I collect it? Is the pope Catholic? Yes of course I would.

And so an old friend has been regenerated. Sully Library. Let me remind you of the new form it has taken.

Magnificent No?

So at long last I get a library card.

The Route Of Knowledge

The next is to pick the books. One of the extra quiet pleasures a library produces. As it's a small place I aim to read all the most reasonable books I can. So for example as I'm currently living in rental accommodation no garden or home tomes will be read. Or, as it was the first in the non fiction category travel guidebooks are a no no. Getting a permanent place is a priority.

First book then on the non fiction shelves I could read was this then.

Totally Wired - Andrew Smith

This is about the companies that tried to get onto the internet bandwagon too early and its consequences. Seems like an interesting read.

I could have picked ten books but instead settled for two. So if I've finished the book and Sully library (which remember is just open for three days) is closed then this is the backup.

The Assassination Of Margaret Thatcher - Hilary Mantel

I've never read a Mantel book before so should be interesting.

And in case you're wondering I'll read the library books during daylight and the ebook at night.

During the evening we went out to have a dinner as it was my mother's birthday in Cardiff Bay. When we finished (a nice meal at an Italian restaurant called Bellinis) I took the following pics of Cardiff Bay as the day turned to dusk.

Bay in Action

The subsequent rain and thunderstorms seemed to have had brought the seagulls in when we were there.

No a fan of Seagulls...Avian Bullies

More dusky shots

Plus added rainbow

And finally. Penarth on a Tuesday night. Quiet.

A Pier View

Cliché Seaside Grey

Until the next time.

The Return Of The Library......Not Quite Yet

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I had discovered last week that there were no issues to joining a library near where we now live, even though we were renting. Much as I'm grateful to the Kindle for keeping me sane during the past few months, I'd missed the quiet pleasure of turning a page as opposed to swiping it. I wanted proper books back.

So where I live the nearest library is in the village of Sully, just outside both Penarth and Barry Town. And let's just say the first about it that it's a little on the small side.

And when I say small......

Not only does it make Porthcawl library seem like Wembley Stadium by comparison but when you go inside not all the space is filled with books either. Still, it's a library, and that's the important point. So (trying to state this with a straight face) size doesn't matter.

The other thing that needs to be mentioned here are it's opening hours. Only open on three days, Tuesday,Thursday and Saturday and all that book action commences at eleven o'clock. I'm too new to the area to know why that is, but picking those three days seem odd to me.

Still I had come prepared. My tenacy agreement to show that I lived in an address in the area and my driving licence to show that I am who I say I am. The kindly librarians gave me a form to write and I answered the questions. There it was done, easey peasy  those soon to be expensive because of Brexit lemons squeezey. Grab a couple of books, wish the ladies well and off I go to read by the classic method.

But.....

"I'm afraid we can't let you borrow books yet" said the blonde librarian with what sounded like an East European accent. "We're installing a new computer system and it's not quite ready. You'll need to wait for your card".

And when will my card be ready? Thursday came the response.

The trouble with that is from Thursday until Sunday I'm working the early shift. What that means is that by the time I'm driving home from Bridgend I'd be too tired to stop off and pick up a card and choose these books. I'll have to wait seven days time.

So, let's be clear here. New technology has meant I can't enjoy old technology because it's not ready.

Typical.

Until the next time.

The Post For Athiests,Henry James Doubters and Those Who Remember Alan Gilzein

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Let's start with some housekeeping, or rather housenotgetting news. The search continues. The reason why I haven't blogged for the past few days is that we were close to getting two houses, both which we had seen twice. Ultimately though the doubts that were niggling in our minds, one house for me, the other for the wife, stopped us from making an offer the buyer couldn't refuse.

In my case it was a house at the limits of our budget which still needed work on it and, more crucially, had the feel of needing work that we couldn't see. As for the wife she sees the next house as a final forever home and it was the steps on a tiered garden which was ultimately the dealbreaker. She could not see how it could be dealt with as we become more aged (remember should I outlive my wife this will not be my last house. Which is probably why this didn't enter my brain.Will move to the Rhondda Valley, particularly Treorchy and end my days in this classic example of Italy with rain).

This Easter weekend we are having a househunting binge in the Penarth and surrounding areas, four houses on Saturday, three on Monday. I say "we" because I'll be working on Saturday so a friend might accompany my wife and daughter then. If no house comes into play by the end of next weekend a renting we will go.

And as we're chatting about the Easter weekend (seamless or what?) I'm writing this post at 5:23am on Good Friday morning. I'm working two days on this holiday period, today and tomorrow. Other than not being able to view those four houses on Saturday I'm not bothered by this. I'm not religious, but it goes beyond that.....I'm an atheist.

From Catholicism to atheism in fifty three years, actually much earlier than that really, my forties. I just came to a point in my life when I saw the suffering in the world and thought " A God? Really?".

Do you know what the worst thing about being an atheist is? It's that if we're right and our literal lifetime guarantee expires, we can't gloat to those who believe and say "I told you so" as like an unfixable machine when you're gone you're gone.

Mind you should despite logic and science should those who believe in an afterlife are proved right they will have little time to gloat as given all the religions in the world there can only be one that's actually correct. For all we know people will enter an afterlife and find that all their beliefs have been an elaborate joke by Zeus.

On that basis it was probably a joke by Zeus that has me awake at this time on Good Friday when I'm working the afternoon/evening shift ............or led me to reading a collection of short stories by Henry James.

This was, let me stress again, the first book by Henry James I've ever read. Also,
if you're a regular reader of this blog you'll know that I can dislike one book by a writer and like the next. That said it was the most pointless book I've read this year so far and definitely the most disappointing.

Nothing much happens and I'm including any Katherine Mansfield style nuance in that as well. My one thought as I was reading this was "Is that all there is"?

The next book could not have been more different. In Search Of Alan Gilzean by James Morgan. Gilzean was a footballer who played for Dundee and (how I remember him through the nostalgic prism of childhood) Tottenham in the sixties and seventies. Now I'm West Ham till I die (with no afterlife remember) but I did enjoy watching Spurs in that period. They played with a sort of elan, an enthusiasm which reminded me of how you felt playing football at school....just with a bit more skilll.
Gilzein, along with the likes of Martin Chivers and Steve Perryman was synonymous with that period, and although they were not as successful as their North London rivals Arsenal they're probably (with the exception of Bob Wilson) remembered more fondly to the neutral.

The mystery with Alan Gilzein is what happened to him after he left football. No one apparently knew. He was, as the saying goes, "off the radar".

It's this that makes this book different because essentially it's two stories entwined into one. Firstly it's a football biography and a good one at that as it reveals a complex character that footballing history has seemed to have underrated. Secondly though it's a detective story as we follow the author as he seeks to find out what's happened to his subject. He mixes these strands well. It's a good read and I do recommend it.

So the book I'm now starting to read is Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes. It was chosen randomly though it seems to be a bit current now given the arguments re Spain/Gibraltar. I'm not sure where I stand on Gibraltar. Except to say that given the way Britain is becoming a cold and cruel country particularly post Brexit perhaps they should look again at Spain should the rise of jackboot politics/journalism continue.

Until the next time.

The Hunt For The House Begins

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Half term. A Monday and I have the day off. It was the first time since the sale (subject to contract) that we as a couple could start seriously looking at houses. Wife was working but we had a viewing on a house that afternoon that she arranged on Saturday. I and daughter was going to pick wife up from her work and then drive to the place.

But first the morning.

We had the previous day gone through all the non terraced houses in our budget on a website. I was neutral on the question of terraced but the wife was arguing against it, mainly on the grounds of car parking and what do they do to take out the rubbish (she had visions of the refuse carried through the house on collection days). So for the moment terraced was not a consideration.

Going through the Penarth (for now) list online there were a number of houses that were within our range and my job for the morning was to make some appointments for Wednesday and particularly Friday when we were all going to be available.

So calls to Estate agents were made. Some were irritatingly friendly, wanting me to call them by their first name. Some wanted to suggest a financial adviser as well that they just so happen could offer. And there was one appointment I'd made when I saw a house on a drive through of the Penarth area on Saturday that wasn't on the online list. Only a few streets away from the actual house we were viewing. That particular estate agent seemed excited that I'd called. An appointment was made....only later did I discover that it was ninety five thousand above our budget (in my defence there was no way it looked it).

But appointments have been made. One for Wednesday with the scenario exactly like that for Monday and currently three for Friday though that might increase.

But that is for the future. Speaking for the past. I drove, daughter as passenger (blabbering on about Pretty Little Liars) to wife's work and then onwards we went to Penarth. The area we were going to see would be best described as Cardiff/Vale of Glamorgan suburbia. The particular house seemed at a guess sixties semi detached. Personally as long as all the bits are of working order and doesn't look stupid I'm not particularly bothered (with exceptions) by the exterior of a house.

The estate agent, a tired looking middle aged woman let us in. And well it didn't seem exceptional and it did seem dull which to me was not a problem. As I went through there were issues with the decoration but it seemed fixable. It was a maybe.

Wife however was against it and surprisingly so was my daughter. Wife noticed the cracked wall in the conservatory. Daughter noticed the aged electrical sockets. What it seemed to confirm was two things. One was that for the price being asked it was just not an option as work would need to be done on it beyond the cosmetic and two I needed to be lot more observant.

Later wife revealed to her brother that our house had been sold. His partner suggested to her that it could be that the rubbish on a terraced house is collected from the back. Terraced then is back on the table if the car parking issue could be resolved. Personally I'm happy about that.

And so it begins.

Until the next time.