The Insomniac Meanderings Post:I'm Going At Last To The Eisteddford Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As I write this it's 4:25am on a Saturday. Later than I've woken up in the past couple of days but still of course too early.

Today then, after unforeseen and unwelcome delays I'm going to the Eisteddford. On a day which will apparently worsen in the afternoon. Timing is everything. Still I am going which is the important point.

Anyway for the moment it's dark out there. Premiership football season is about to start. It's one of those signs that the high point of summer is beginning to turn. You know what? I think because I've spent the first two months of this year looking after my mother when she was unwell I think my brain is still in June mode.

I actually have, weather permitting a plan for tomorrow. To see the Welsh Rugby League Cup Final in Sardis Road Pontypridd. One of the teams competing will be the Valley Cougars who kindly offered to take round their ground but work issues eventually prevented me from doing so. What it does mean though is that there's a team I can support.

5:31am. Daylight peeking through. Electric light switched off.

6:02am. Breakfast. I'm in a porridge state of mind (with a dollop of jam of course). Meanwhile very sunny out there now. Not fooled though. The weather forecaster said this was going to be like this early on.

Just found out that McDonald's are opening their first "luxury restaurant" with knives and forks and a string quartet with the meal. Baring in mind I don't eat McDonald's anymore my first thoughts were:

1) Just like a Wimpey's used to do.

2) This will be every McDonald's if there is a hard Brexit

Friends is apparently the most popular streamed show in Britain this year (not Black Lightning? A disgrace).I've written about Literary Switzerland when you're neutral about a writer. Ditto Cinematic Switzerland re films. Now comes Televisual Switzerland with Friends. I don't dislike it. Just don't understand the passion for it. Wife/daughter love it. Must be me. Have the exact same view of The Simpsons.

Anyway time to get ready for the Maes.

Until the next time.

The Future Of The Welsh Language Shop

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Today I caught up with some disturbing news on Twitter. The Siop Y Bont, the Welsh language magazine and bookshop in the Pontypridd arcade is to close down next month.

Now I don't know the background to the closure, and I do feel guilty having avoided it in my last visit to the town, when my time was limited before watching a rugby game, but it is a great shop. Like all classic stores of it's type it seemed disorganised. But then as you went through the place you discovered treasure after treasure. As a retail experience it was truly a pleasure. Here were people who loved the Welsh language and loved showing that love to you the customer.

It's future closure though set me thinking. Obviously this is the most unscientific of surveys. Still since I came to Wales in 1997 there were four Welsh language shops that I was aware of. Now all these years later there is just one left in Whitchurch (Cardiff).

Now the enemies of the Welsh language will say this decline is just another example of that the native tongue is dying. It's an easy argument, and of course wrong. It's just part of the general shake-up of the high street mainly due to the internet. After all does all the store closures in Mothercare mean that childbirth is on the decline?

But the question does need to be asked what is the future of the Welsh language shop in this webby universe? Well in truth I don't really know what the answer is because what no one knows what the future is going to bring to the world of shops as a whole. At the moment things just seem febrile with once mighty names going to the wall. The only certainty is the uncertainty.

For the moment two off the top of my head thoughts enter my brain. Probably people with more knowledge of the subject will shoot me down, and so they should. But here they are anyway.

1) The four Welsh language shops I mentioned were/are individual small businesses. Perhaps if remaining shops joined together as a cooperative it might help with economies of scale etc.

2) Perhaps in towns without a Welsh Language shop large supermarkets should be made to stock a small proportion of Welsh language books, CDs DVDs and magazines. Now note the italicised small in that suggestion, say a shelf or two. And it should be reviewed in say three years. But at least there would be a regular supply of Welsh language stock in mainstream outlets.

Putting the Welsh language in high streets is the easy statement. How is a much more difficult.

Until the next time.

Bridgend Indoor Market, A Blog Villain And the Christmas Decorations In June

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

In life, whether justified or not, sometimes image is everything. Indeed it can be seen to symbolise what is happening to a place, an organisation or indeed a person.

Yesterday, Tuesday June 12, I had a little time to go to Bridgend Town. Not enough though to write a post about it (that hopefully will be next week). So instead I decided to focus on the indoor market.

Now I've written about the market before (and it needs to pointed out long before the troubles UK wide in the high street) pointing out the many empty stalls it has. Also that the stallholders I've spoken to basically blame the rates for their particular problem.

Well I'm not going to focus on that at the moment (although I will mention it later). Instead I'm going to chat about something I have mentioned in passing in the past. And the question I was curious to see answered.

Given that it's June will there still be Christmas decorations around the market?

And the answer.....

Oh No It's Noel

And there's more...

Snowman

And more...

Let's Not Forget A Christmas Star

And more...

Snowman Again. Behind Him Stars

And there were more than that. But you get the picture(s). It's June. Christmas decorations have been left up in market and it's now June.

I asked a stallholder why? Her weary answer was: "Because the council can't be bothered". That's right blog villain Bridgend Labour Council run the market.

All this might appear funny. But as I said in the top of the post sometimes image is everything. Especially in retail. So if you were a stranger who walked into the place to find swathes of empty stalls and Christmas decorations in June what exactly do you think that person's view of the market would be?

Now whatever their response would be Bridgend Labour Council must surely realise that the impression the Christmas decorations still being up in June is that they cannot be bothered with the presentation to the customer of this market. Also that it holds the stallholders and the people employed there in contempt.

We live in a country now where you cannot work in Poundworld and be assured of a stable job. Aren't the stallholders and their employees therefore  entitled to expect the council to help them as much as they can? Starting with removing Christmas decorations given that it's June.

As I said in the beginning of the posts there seemed to be more empty stalls than when I was there last.

This was the market bookshop

This was the stall that sold pre-owned books in the market. Compare that to the bookstall which I eulogised about when I went to the market in Pontypridd last Saturday. With a wonderful range and books overflowing.

As They Say Compare And Contrast

Now you could almost argue that the state of the bookstalls in the relative markets is almost symbolic to the state of the markets themselves. It's up to Bridgend Labour Council to make sure that doesn't happen.

And removing the Christmas Decorations...now it's June....would be a start.

Until the next time.

In Which I Chat About Bad Santa, Pontypridd, Buying Penguins and A Welsh Rugby League Game....As you Do

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well at long last have finished The BeeKeeper's Daughter By Santa Montefiore. Whatever hope I had of finding a female writer whose quality (for male readers) was hidden by the chocolate box cover and blurb well it was not to be. The book did exactly what you thought  after looking at the cover.

There were no surprises, no shocks, really it ran on romance fiction cliché. Definitely a case of bad Santa.

Saturday was unusual as I wasn't working. And as it happens in the afternoon I'd nothing special to do I decided to go and visit a Welsh Rugby League game. Now there are better people than me that can go through the tragi-comic history of rugby league in Wales but for the moment just be aware that, though on a very small scale, there is a Welsh Rugby Premier League.

I have been to some games before when I lived in Bridgend there were the odd occasions when I'd travel to Pyle RFC, stand on a touchline and watch the Bridgend Bulldogs play whoever. This time though it would be different. For I would be going to watch the Rhondda Outlaws play the Valley Cougars and the match was going to be in Sardis Road....the legendary House Of Pain of the local rugby union club...I would be going to Pontypridd.

When I reached there about one thirty I had just enough time to grab a meal from the local Tesco and go to a particular place which I'll explain about in a moment.

I Call This "View From Sardis Road Car Park

As I didn't have enough time to wander let me say this. I've not been in Pontypridd for about two years. But there did not appear to be any major changes since I was last there. That's to it's credit. As was the £1 car charge until 6pm. Cheaper than Bridgend Town, with more to offer.

But since I was in Ponty there was one place I had to go to. The bookstall in the town market. Thankfully it's still there.

Truly,Truly Wonderful

It's the kind of classic bookshop I adore. Every space on every shelf is filled. A gem on every corner. I cannot  (as I'm sure you realise by now) recommend it highly enough.

The only regret was that I didn't have enough time to look around properly. In the event I picked two classic Penguin Paperbacks which were as follows:

C2158 - Ernest Bramah -Max Carrados Mysteries

And the other was:

Paul Bailey - Gabriel's Lament

And I should say with regard to Paul Bailey's book when I put this out on Twitter a number of people came back to say it's a great novel.

I could have stayed there forever. But I'd a rugby League match to watch (which as an aside is just four pounds including the programme...four pounds!! Cheaper than some meals at MacDonald's.

So then there I was in the House Of Pain. As I entered loud music was blasting, including the Dexy's Midnight Runners classic Come On Eileen. Not sure why that was being played unless Eileen is a Valley Cougar.

I won't lie and say that the crowd was massive and it was difficult to work out who like me was the casual supporter. Still I've seen crowds in certain Glamorgan Cricket matches that seemed just as sparse.

A quick note about their shirts. The Valleys Cougars play in pink. You'd like to think that it was to due to breast cancer awareness but still, real men play in pink.

The Cougars

Their opponents strip seemed the most odd to me. Looking like scrunched up posh chocolate wrapping paper.

Outlaws

The match then began. And what the early stages suggested was that the home side operated a charge at your opponents at whatever cost to your health strategy. it soon paid off and they scored a try.

Outlaws Attack

On the next drive however the Cougars showed they were more nimble than their opponents. Dodging tackles to equalise.

Apparently then it was brute strength over speed.

Attack Of The Cougars

The Outlaws charged then charged again. A sort of charge of the not so light brigade. The Cougars were resolute in their defence. Until an up and under kick was misjudged by a Cougar player, caught by an Outlaw for try number two.

But again as nimble as their namesake the Cougars responded with another try showing again how fast they were. With every try the announcer gave the score. And I noticed how depressed he sounded when the Cougars put extra points on the board. So when the visitors scored a third try you wondered whether you should call the Samaritans.

Outlaws tried to pressurise but mistakes began to show. One ball bounced off the chest of a cougar player straight into the arms of an Cougar player. Needless to say there wasn't a round of applause from the home bench.

On the away bench someone shouted at a baseball hatted guy behind me how many unforced errors there were. "Three plus two bad cheques" is what the answer sounded like to me. (Perhaps that means bodychecks...I've no idea)

Speaking of the benches they seemed a bit small to me.

Very Small Actually

Perhaps the Friends Of Pontypridd RFC can put up more money for a wider bench.

The first half finished 12-24 to the visitors. The second half seemed to begin as the first ended with another Cougar try. 12-30. Outlaws though responded. 16-30.

For reasons I couldn't see and understand less the Cougar number 17 was then yellow carded. As he left the pitch the Outlaws bench patted him in pity on the back. I say in pity, perhaps it was a pat of thanks, for the those Rhondda guys soon scored again. 22-30...and then again...28-30.

Things were getting close.

As the cliché goes...end to end stuff

The announcer sounded happy again....but not for long...the Cougars got their wind back and scored again 28-36.

And as the second half went on I noticed that the away team too had their share of men prepared to charge at their opponents. For the Outlaws being hit by the team played in pink must have been like having been attacked by an iron fist wrapped in candy floss.

Not A Dull Moment In The Game

All Action Stuff

The Cougars scored again...it was clearly all over...and then again ….it was definitely all over. 28-46. The announcer seemed really depressed now.

Rugby League in Wales provides an affordable day out for the family during the summer months. With a bit more marketing this league could establish a popular niche for itself in the Welsh sporting calendar. I'd like to think so.

Thankyou Rhondda Outlaws and Valley Cougars. It was fun.

Until the next time.

A Trip To Ponty, Which Of Course Includes A Small But Quietly Wonderful Second Hand Bookshop, Penguins And A Museum

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Though often in this blog I've made it clear that I've always admired Pontypridd when compared to Bridgend Town I hadn't been there,other to watch a rugby game in over a year and quite fancied going on Thursday if only because...well I'll come back to that later.

Unusually this week there were no issues with the weather. So no matter when wife/daughter woke up we could spend a part of the day there. Thus the Kia Picanto was fired up and the three of us arrived there just before twelve.

High Noon At Ponty

After lunch we started to wander around the town centre. In terms of comparison with Bridgend Town nothing has changed. It's still better. There is no sense of decay here. There did not appear to be many shop closures since I last visited with a noticeable exception. The Marks and Spencer was closed roughly a year ago. As far as I can work out an outlet store aside there is only one Marks and Spencer store now between Cardiff and Swansea and that's in Neath. I'll confirm that if I ever go there.

Generally though to a visitor's eye this is a town centre at ease with itself.

Are you watching Bridgend Council?

One of the highlights for me was in Pontypridd Market.

Pontypridd Market

And specifically to the bookstall selling pre owned books.

Inter Books

The ladies went off to do some shopping by themselves. I had an half an hour.

This is a small but quietly wonderful place. Even more so given the decline of bookshops, There is the sense that you as a reader have the chance of the thrill of discovery which the internet for all it's wonders can't match. If you're a reader and you're in Pontypridd give it a visit. For remember, it's sort is dying.

This is how I like a bookshop to be

I could have bought between eighteen and eighty books that afternoon. But I controlled my Penguin book addiction and just bought eight.Starting with...

1440 - John Wyndham - The Midwich Cuckoos

I am a fan of John Wyndham books. I reckon because he was able to write science fiction in the style of an ordinary novel. Thus making it relatable to his readers. 

442 - Graham Greene - Brighton Rock

It's rather surprising that this is the first Graham Greene book I've got for the collection since I've started it. I am a fan. The Heart Of The Matter is one of my most favourite books of all time.

765 - The Innocence Of Father Brown

Confession time. I've never read a G K Chesterton book. Solely because of having so many books and so little time (aka life).This also applies to this next novel.

2535 - Colette - My Mother's House

1425 - Honor Tracey -The Straight And Narrow Path

I've never heard of this writer before. So to be honest I really can't say anything yet.

There was a series of books called Penguin Specials which were about the issues of the day. I bought two of them. Firstly.

S222 - John Mander - Great Britain Or Little England

This is a book about Britain's place in the world post Empire. I bought it because it might be timely post Brexit.

S182 - Edward Crankshaw - Khrushchev's Russia

I bought this because it appeared interesting.

And finally.

Francoise Sagan - La Chamade

I think I've mentioned before how surprisingly emotionally affected I was by Bonjour Tristesse. So any chance I get to buy another book by Ms Sagan will always be taken.

Before leaving for home we visited Pontypridd Museum.

Pontypridd Museum....with added finger

This is a small place. On the ground floor there are exhibitions which this time was an art one. I won't lie this is not to my taste but each to their own. It is a converted chapel which explains this showpiece.

Impressive

Upstairs shows us more with regard to history of Ponty. It also has this which if you put an old style 10p (which they will give you in exchange for a current one) one of the trains will move around the place.

For the child in us all

As long as you don't go in expecting the British museum. I reckon you'll like what you'll see.

We left having enjoyed ourselves. It was a good afternoon,

Until the next time.