Back To The Seventies/Eighties In Wales? Nuance And The English Owned Holiday Home

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

 "Nuance" is not a word that you often hear in political debate. Particularly now.That you advocate one policy does not necessarily mean that you automatically support methods used to obtain it. Or that you might disapprove of an action but understand the motives behind it. The mainstream media just wants you to pigeon hole you into a set of views and that's it.

When I was much younger, less left wing and more politically neutral. I still looked at a map of Ireland and knew then by sheer geography that it should be one nation. That did not mean however I supported IRA bombings. Nuance you see.

Now I say all this because I've read an article in the Daily Post which suggests a rise in second homes in Wales bought by English people who (I presume) are unable to buy such homes in [insert EU country here] because of Brexit.

The consequences to the local communities of people from England coming down for the holiday seasons and then leaving homes otherwise empty would be immense. Young people in particular would be unable to start on the property ladder as prices rise.The Welsh language could in some places also suffer.

Here again let me point out that there is a fundamental difference between those people who move to Wales and those who buy a second home here (as I mentioned in an earlier post). If you move into a community then your intention is to be there for life not just for Christmas (Easter, Summer etc).

Now the article has an estate agent giving the contrary argument. Stating that bars etc spring up specifically because of the money the second home dwellers could provide. Point is however that's only during the holiday season. Outside the holiday season what then? Have you ever seen a seaside town in the off season? I rest my case.

Clearly what is needed is a combination of higher council tax for holiday homes (which some councils are doing) coupled with the replenishment of the housing stock for local people. Unless this happens there will be a social timebomb awaiting Wales.

Which brings me to the seventies and eighties. When faced with a similar issue some Welsh nationalists set fire to (uninhabited - that fact cannot be stressed enough) English owned second homes. Which led to the rather amusing joke "Come home to a real fire....Buy a holiday home in Wales".

Should no action be taken for the local communities affected then I can see history repeating itself. I personally wouldn't approve (Violence will not help and the mainstream media would smear the whole nationalist movement with a "violent" brush) I find myself remembering the words of then Hibernian manager Alan Stubbs on being asked to condemn a pitch invasion during the game by Hibs fans celebrating their likely (and eventual) victory in the 2016 Scottish Cup.

The Hibernian manager said he did not condone....but he understood.

Now there's a man who understands nuance.

Until the next time.

The Near Midnight Meanderings On A Movie With A Microwave Meal Part 1: Yes Man (2008)

Hello there.Hope you're feeling well today.

So it begins the "just a bit of fun I've no idea how this will pan it" idea of me coming home late at night from work and passing the time by watching a movie in about two/three days.

Wednesday at eleven. This was what I pinged from the microwave.

Mini Mega Meaty Pizza - I know you're impressed

In fact I know you'd be really impressed when I told you that it was the second pizza I had.

I must admit to have approached Yes Man starring Jim Carrey wearily, if only because I had read the original book by Danny Wallace and felt that after a good start it waned towards the end. Must admit that there is not much of the book I actually remember. But I scraping through my mind I think I'm safe in saying that though films say things are "based on a true story" this one took the true idea and then ran away from the book as quickly as possible.

The story is essentially this. A depressed man with a dead end job and whose girlfriend has left him gets persuaded to say "YES" to every offer he receives by a self help guru. Imagine if you will a less manic Liar, Liar and you'll get the drift.

It is a comedy. But what impresses about this film (and it's not a spoiler to say this) is that there is a sort of wistful sadness about a lot of it as well.

But of course being free to air television let's pause chatting about the movie and go to a commercial break. There are mad stupid ads out there I tell you.

Let's leave aside the car ad without a traffic jam. There's never a car ad with a traffic jam in it!!

Sheba Cat food: A man stops proposing to his girlfriend because his cat wants Sheba Cat food. I mean can't the cat wait? What sort of malign moggy makes it's owner do this? And what sort of weak willed owner actually accepts this? (There is another ad where a guy doesn't go into bed with a woman for exactly the same reason....I know.

Halifax Bank: Where some weird guy from the bank tells the Wizard Of Oz characters (other than Dorothy - she's too young) that he can get them mortgages. Point is....none of them have an actual job except for the scarecrow and he does it for free. And yet the Halifax bank can give them mortgages. Does not inspire confidence.

There's also an ad for Tempura mattresses. Which was interesting because in Yes Man there's a product placement for exactly the same company.

Back to the movie. It also stars Zoey Deschanel as the oddball love interest and Terence Stamp as the stylish English self help guru. Hardly a strain for both of them although Stamp does steal every scene he's in.

Perhaps if you split Carrey's films as a star (ignoring his children's movies) as serious and low brow then this could be considered middle brow. Not heavy but not Dumb and Dumber either.

I liked this film. And (sorry Danny...or as I'd better say Mr Wallace) I preferred it to the book because I know my reaction to it was better.

So when Jim Carrey was asked whether he wanted to do this movie. It was a good thing he said yes.

Until the next time.

I Support England In The World Cup. I Do Not Expect Welsh People To Do the Same

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well as I'm writing this England are in the quarter finals of the World Cup having beaten Colombia on penalties. Yipppee!!! The weather is still hot. England win in a penalty shoot out and you still don't think anything has changed in the world?

England now face Sweden. Who let's not forget defeated Italy to get to the World Cup in the first place. They look like a team who battles for each other. Not unlike England under Gareth Southgate. It will be a tough game I suspect.

Now I've explained in a previous post that I've no problem with supporting Welsh Independence and supporting England in the World Cup. For the simple reason that football is different. I'm not going to repeat myself here but something has happened this morning which deserves a chat. Following England's victory last night a BBC Radio Wales morning phone-in has asked the question now that England are through to the quarter finals of the World Cup "Are We All English Now"?

There is one response (well polite one anyway) to this question

Why?

Fans of Wales should not be expected to follow England. It doesn't mean that you should be condemned if you do. But what's wrong is the expectation here promulgated by the national Radio broadcaster that if England is in a competition and Wales are not then Welsh fans should like good little serfs move to the side across the bridge (yes that bridge).

Trust me also when I say that English fans will have no respect for Welsh fans who do this. And why should they? It's not their team.

Let's take the question to it's logical conclusion. If Wales are out of the six nations rugby championship and England are not should Wales rugby fans support their nearest neighbour? Or if Cardiff City are out of the FA cup but Swansea City are not should bluebird fans suddenly go all Jack? Of course not. It's a stupid, stupid, question for the BBC to broadcast. You have your own team which defines your nation's identity. It's who you are.

This though leads us into a different question.

Why did BBC Radio Wales broadcast it in the first place?

The national radio broadcaster should be representing the nation. Not discussing how it can be a lapdog of English success. Wales will not be respected as a country if it looks East in how it should think or act. For BBC Radio Wales to do this is a national disgrace from the national broadcaster.

If Welsh fans want to follow a team I'd suggest a nation that has relatively recently achieved independence in Europe. Probably the closest nation I'd suggest to Wales.

Croatia it is then.

Until the next time.

Could It Be That The Renaming Of The Severn Bridge Is Actually A Good Thing?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well Blog villain and Secretary Of State for Wales and Poison Dwarf wannabe Alun Cairns has got his wish. Yesterday the Severn Bridge was officially changed to the Prince Of Wales Bridge by the bridge's namesake. You wouldn't have notice it mind. For Chucky Cairns has perfected the art of the secret ceremony (he must surely be a Mason).

No screaming schoolchildren at the sight of royalty waving flags and giving flowers on the Royal "annual week in Wales" (that's from the govt's Twitter feed). No just a visit to the "plaza office" by the royalty. An unveiling of the design for the bridge signage (more of that later) a couple of speeches by the royal Charlie, Chucky Cairns and First Minister Carwyn Jones (who I bet didn't think this was going to happen when he said he wanted to be invited to the ceremony).

And that basically was it. No publicity. Very little fuss. Hardly any media that was that.

Let's quickly chat about the signage design. A basic looking red dragon with what seems to be a white chain along it's neck (which to some, including me, symbolising England). It would not surprise me at all if it was designed outside of Wales. Typical Cairns not caring about the detail just the image.

So to the question why was the opening so cliché Masons in it's secrecy? Especially as when Chucky announced it a few weeks back it was in a in your face glitterball manner?

Well the answer is simple. Despite Chucky having said that he spoke for the "silent majority" polls revealed widespread disapproval across Wales at the name change (thus showing Cairns lacks the mystical powers he previously suggested he had).

People, whatever their political beliefs otherwise felt railroaded about this. Demonstrations were planned. What Cairns didn't want was any kind of trouble in front of royalty. Chucky was....in other words...scared.

And that is why I would suggest the the renaming of the Severn Bridge is actually a good thing. For it stirred people in a way that would have been unexpected a few years ago. They wanted a say in this which was denied them by Chucky.

Let me explain one thing. I am a Londoner. But unlike Cairns I am not London's man.

People will not forget this. No matter how much Westminster would like them to.

So perhaps if it has stirred an anger no matter how small in the hearts of the people living in Wales against the diktats of Westminster then the renaming of the Severn Bridge has in a weird way helped in the cause of Welsh Nationalism (though I'd still wouldn't thank Cairns). And when the time comes to rename the bridge I still hope that my suggestion pulls through.

Ponty.

Until he next time.

Introducing The Near Midnight Meanderings Of A Movie With A Microwave Meal Series

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have in this blog explained my return to work routine before. I'd come home at around 10:40pm and after doing the bits and pieces you need to do am ready to ping whatever microwave meal comes my way.

The meal itself would not be anything too exotic. The lateness of time and my belly would exclude that. Mainly I go for microwave Italian. Spaghetti, Lasagne you know the drill.

Anyway at about eleven I have a tray with the meal, a cup of tea and my backside is plonked onto the sofa and I watch the TV before my body says "That's it. Time for sleep. Record this now or else you'll be missing this as you nod off"

But the question now is what do I watch? Previously at this time have been happy to watch episodes of Castle or Bones but I've watched them all now so what next? Which is where I remembered this....

Radio Times Film Guide 2013

I bought it Jan/Feb this year in Harlow whilst I was wandering the town centre before visiting my mother in hospital. I don't know why I bought it. Well actually I do. As the picture shows it cost me £2.50. The original price was £25.

So here's the plan I'm going to watch films on the TV taking this book as the guide. There are two simple rules.

1) The film must be mentioned in the guide.

2) The film is shown on a free to air channel. That way everyone has the chance to watch it.

So for most movies we're talking about two sittings,two microwave meals and more than two cups of tea.

And then I'll chat about it.

Do I think I'll complete the book? Of course not. It's just a bit of fun.

So if you were thinking that what the world needed most of all was a fifty something man rambling about films over a microwave meal...then I've got it covered.

Until the next time.

Plaid Cymru: Co Leadership Or Coup?

I really didn't want to write about Politics today. Really I didn't. In fact if I was going to write anything today it would have been about how my voice has suddenly gone all croaky overnight. So deep it could touch gravel. I reckon it's the weather. After all I've lived in Wales since 1997 and I cannot recall a time when it has been so hot for such a long time.

But there we go. The first item on the Welsh news today was an article written by leading Plaid Cymru AM Adam Price suggesting that Plaid Cymru should have a joint leadership. This, on top of the gradual criticism of current leader Leanne Wood, seems to building to a possible challenge to her for the position which has to be done by Wednesday.

The article in the Nation website is worth reading but whether his reading of the situation is correct. (And I've dealt with some of these issues in this blog previously) what I want to focus on here on his proposed solution and  it's timing. After all you have to ask the question why is he doing this now? Why not months if not years before?

So let's deal with Mr Price's "joint leadership" idea. Well to me it's a non starter. After all if the SNP and Sein Fein don't need a joint leadership then why should Plaid? Also to the electorate it just gives a muddled picture of the party. After all the Greens have a joint leadership and until Caroline Lucas leaves she's one of the leaders. Now name me the other one. Unless you're a Green Party member I bet you can't without going online.

A leader is the focus of the party to the electorate and in that Ms Wood has succeeded. We all know that even in a scenario of joint leadership that Mr Price has proposed she will be damaged. And that is assuming she'd accept such a humiliation of her position. She'd every right to walk away.

So the Price is wrong.

I have no idea of Mr Price's motives, let me stress that, but let me tell you the impression that it and all the recent attacks on Leanne Wood gives. It gives the impression of middle aged men trying to put the upstart woman in her place. That's the impression it gives me and I suspect I'm not the only member of Plaid who thinks that.

(And as I've said in my recent post on Ms Wood's leadership a lot of the people attacking Leanne Wood now could have help shorten the disaster that was the leadership of Iuean Wynne Jones but failed to do so)

The best position for Plaid Cymru is that there is no leadership contest. As she has acknowledged the time to truly judge her is after the next Assembly elections. But for what it's worth she'll have my vote if a contest is called this week.

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 Insomnia Ramblings Post: Welsh Heatwave Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well at time of writing it's 4:28am and I'm awake. Normally I'd blame insomnia for these rambling posts on an early morning and I still do. But this time it could be the Mediterranean weather that's hit Wales which I mentioned on Monday and is still going strong. That last sentence by the way is one I never, ever, thought I would write.

But remember this. Wales has quantities of water. England hasn't. And as I've written about in the past even a Corbyn government and the British Trades Union Movement could get colonial over it.

And still people don't believe in climate change. Perhaps this question can change their minds.

When was the last time you could remember spring?

Big decision on the losing weight front. From tomorrow 1st July will stop eating crisps. Was going to do the farewell tour of the crisp flavours but I thought no, why add to Gary Lineker's wages? So that's it. No more crisps. And I tell you that will be a far tougher to stop than when I finished eating takeaway fast food.

The anti Welsh comments from the UKIP supporting chairman of Trago Mills is still making the headlines here in Wales. First quick update is this. They've changed the Twitter bio to include the fact that they now have a Merthyr Tydfil store (I'll claim at least some of the credit for that. Sunstroke is making me immodest). Don't give them a round of applause for this. The store was open in April!

I was wondering whether Trago Mills had some sort of Welsh government assistance  (whether local of national) in building the Merthyr store. I didn't see it. Though it may be worth investigating further. After all they actually had planning permission fifteen years ago to build it. And it does seem to be well outside Trago's comfort zone in the South West of England.

And yet again there has been silence from the cowardly streak of that is Welsh Labour. Here is a man who has opinions about Welsh culture that shows his utter contempt for the nation and yet they say and do nothing. Perhaps the Welsh National Health is in trouble when it cannot provide the party that runs the Welsh government  a transplant so that they have a new backbone?

Come to think of it. Why as I suggested in this blog before the Welsh Rugby Union hasn't banned English coach Eddie Jones from attending next year's six nations in Cardiff when the two teams meet for calling the nation "a s****y little country". He insults the nation and yet the organisation that should take a stand has done nothing? Rugby is supposed to be a rough, tough sport but the WRU seem to have a difficulty in growing a pair on this issue.

Sun is out now. Crows are crowing...….Why can't they learn to shut up?

Until the next time.

Trago Mills In Merthyr Tydfill : Don't Loudly Boycott It. Loudly Support It's Rivals Instead

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Many years ago the wife and I went to the South West for our summer break and out of curiosity went to one of the Trago Mills there. Now I've no problem with bargain outlets. But even for me tacky seemed the word of the visit and we came out having bought nothing.

Now many years later Trago Mills has an outlet in Merthyr Tydfill (though you wouldn't know it from it's twitter account that doesn't mention it in it's bio) and it's chairman, former UKIP supporting chairman has criticised the Welsh language signage as visual clutter", condemned Welsh medium education and basically told the Welsh to surrender to the English language and have done with it.

I have spoken before of the dangers the Welsh Language faces post Brexit from this type of attitude. After all he mentions an employee who couldn't spell (in English) furniture (he spelt it fernicher instead).Yet how does he know that the employee wasn't dyslexic? And if the employee is so bad how is it that they employed him? The Chairman thought fernicher was the Welsh word for it....didn't bother to check...mind you that might be because of his eyesight.....speaking of which....

He moaned about the roadsigns being bilingual mentioning his poor eyesight. Which of course brings the question What is he doing driving in the first place?

So all of this shows the chairman's ignorance and that his Mr Magoo like shortsightedness is not just physical it's also mental. Bilingualism is a blessing not a curse and the idea that a nation should use it's language in the twenty first century should not be stopped by the likes of him.

But what to do. I've heard people on Twitter suggest that there should be a public boycott of Trago Mills. I think that would be a mistake. You don't have to be an expert in public relations to know that the Chairman and his cronies will play it as an attack by Welsh language extremists, and risking the jobs of the people who work there.

Now I should stress that I don't know the Merthyr area that well. But on that understanding what I would suggest is to ignore Trago Mills and instead on Twitter, Facebook , Instagram etc people should just loudly and constantly support it's rivals instead. Reputation is everything and gradually Trago will find it's custom dwindling as people move to a store that serves them and doesn't judge them.

And if these other stores do greater business then they could employ people who worked in Trago Mills thus the job losses there would be considerably less.

Just a thought.

Until the next time.

Even On Public Conviniences Bridgend Labour Council Lets Bridgend Town Get Caught Short

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have mentioned that blog villain and all round muppet (since it seems to be puppet week in this blog) Bridgend Labour council have embarked on a series of public spending cuts which despite what was promised do indeed affect the venerable.

Well the latest cuts announced by the council in a very curiously smug statement I saw revolves around the public conveniences in the area. I won't go into in depth detail of the plans in Maesteg or Porthcawl but at first glance I suspect they will probably get away with it. (if you are interested let me again mention the dedicated blog to politics in the borough Oggy Bloggy Ogwr. Here is the site https://oggybloggyogwr.com/2018/06/future-of-public-toilets-in-bridgend-to-be-decided-next-week/).

However yet again the plans with regard to Bridgend Town suggests yet again it's flushed down the pan of the council's thoughts. And this needs to be examined.

The council has two public conveniences in the town. One is by the bus station. Modern. Clean. The council proposes in it's wisdom that people will need to spend more than a penny to use it in the future.

On the other side of the town. In the unfortunately named "Cheapside" the proposal is that unless they could do some sort of deal with a nearby shopping development they will close it down.

Now as it happens I have a picture of this building though as you will see what I was taking was the object in front.

The Worse Statue I Know - So Bad I Love It

Even that photo I think shows that we are not talking about a building that will win architectural lavatorial awards. Still it serves a purpose.

Now Bridgend Labour Council say that they have consulted with the public on this. But as I suggested previously I wondered whether it was some PR trick. After all if you were given a choice of death by hanging or firing squad, wouldn't you rather have the extra option of not being killed at all?

Anyway the proposal is that should anyone around the area feel the call of nature they would go to local businesses nearby. Specifically the ASDA opposite.

If you live in the area or like me know it well then it seems fair enough. However if you are elderly or infirm or just a visitor this is not so simple. Unlike other large supermarkets I know, where the facilities are on the ground floor here you have to go up the escalators and walk across the first floor until you reach your destination. So you see not so easy.

I don't know whether the Cheapside convenience is open through the night but neither is the ASDA. And on a Sunday it's hours are 10am to 4pm. There are other places you could go to nearby but crucially whether they would be available would depend on the time they are required.

So you see this has not been thought through.

Now in itself it seems like a trivial gripe. But the point is that it's just another thing people will remember about the time. Another reason possibly not to visit and go somewhere else instead for their business. Another line in the ever growing list of issues that has caused the town to be the urban tragedy I believe it has become and why the Bridgend Labour Council seems to run it like a crisis management situation with no discernible strategy for it's future.

Bridgend Labour Council should be ashamed....I doubt it though.

Until the next time,

As The No Confidence Motion in Alun Cairns Shows, For Welsh Labour The People's Flag is Deepest Yellow

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So you might think that the after the failure to support the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project which I chatted about a few posts ago, or the failure to provide rail electrification West of Cardiff, or the failure to understand what a renaming of a bridge to please a pensionable member of a privileged family means as an image of Wales, or the failure to understand that mega prisons in Wales housing English prisoners is not a good thing or the....but you get the drift.

So you might think that such a man as current Secretary of State, political slimeball,blog villain and stunt glove puppet for UK Conservatism  Alun Cairns would not survive a no confidence motion put by Plaid Cymru against him for the reasons given above.

But no...and I'll explain why in a moment.

The motion would have only been symbolic. The Senedd would not have been able to have rid him from his post (to be preferably replaced by the more popular glove puppet Sooty - again mentioned in an earlier post this week). But the signal it would have sent would have been simple. The Welsh Parliament telling the London Parliament that it had no confidence in London's man.

But not only did the Tories (expected) vote against. And UKIP (expected) ….but so did Welsh Labour.

Instead Welsh Labour went for a motion saying that Cairns failed Wales but did not go further. Their argument basically was that young parliament asserting itself against a person whose actions seem contrary was "gesture politics". But was that really the reason?

My first theory when I heard about the failure to pass the No confidence motion was that the Conservatives were able to blackmail some Welsh Labour Assembly Members. Farmyard animals perhaps....or Satanic rituals...who knows? Although judging by the inept performance of some Labour AMs only devilish influence would really explain how they keep their jobs.

My mind though moved to a more simpler explanation. Welsh Labour do not if they can help it want to cause trouble with Westminster. They want to comfort themselves in their Cardiff Cabal and that's it. They are simply scared of causing any trouble.

They are cowards.

Off the top of my head the last time the Welsh parliament asserted itself was in the rise of Rhodri Morgan to First Minster. Carwyn Jones may make a good moan when attacking conservatism but he has never taken a stand and fought for Wales' case against Westminster. As his Brexit surrender to the pathetic Theresa May shows. When push comes to shove it's Jones and his Welsh Labour cronies who are pushovers.

And if I ever hear a Welsh Labour person go on about the people's flag being deepest red perhaps I should throw some yellow onto it.....all in the spirit of realism.

Until the next time.

Why Plaid Cymru Should Not Panic Part 3: Leanne Wood's Leadership

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

If you placed a bet about ten months ago on which Welsh political party would be having a leadership contest then Plaid Cymru would have been the bookies favourite. All of this starting it should be noted when Welsh Plaid Cymru AM said that he would like to stand for the leadership of the party should Leanne Wood resign ( As I noted at the time a nuance that was tucked well into the BBC Wales online article).

But no. Labour, UKIP (though less of a party more a comedy combo) and now the Welsh Conservatives will be holding elections for party leader now that Andrew RT Davies has announced his intention to quit to spend more time with his food.

Leanne Wood though is still standing.

And yet through these months there have been chip, chip, chipping away at her leadership by I suspect people who should know better. The latest being former Plaid Cymru MP Elfyn Llwyd. It's time then to step back a little and examine Leanne Wood's leadership.

As I think I've mentioned in this blog before. There is I suspect a parallel universe where Dafydd Wigley did not resign because of ill health and became the Welsh Alex Salmond figure leading the party in the National Assembly and planning for a Welsh referendum. However we live in this universe. Mr Wigley did resign. And was replaced by the disastrous Iuean Wynne Jones. A man who went into coalition with Labour which did not help Plaid at all (the tenplate for Nick Clegg) and crucially muddied the waters about Plaid's attitude to independence. As I've also said in this blog before if Plaid Cymru is not the party of independence for Wales then it is nothing.

Since she took over as leader the party has stabilised, it is not in freefall. It's critics may want a speedier turnaround but let's face it slow progress is better than no progress at all. Also a lot of it's critics did not try to turn the party around between the leadership of Wigley and Wood fast enough and yet it is they who are criticising the steady progress she has made.

And the real, key question is would any other leader have made any difference to Plaid's popularity at that time. I suspect not. Leanne Wood's success has been to push the party back into a place where it is no longer ignored by Welsh Labour. It is feared by Welsh Labour. Because only Plaid can produce a realistic alternative for voters in Wales that most of the people could relate to.

Name recognition by the Welsh public of Assembly Members is of course disturbingly low but I would suspect she would come second to Carwyn Jones.

I know I'm repeating myself here yet again. But if the next general election is held before the elections for the National Assembly for Wales then Plaid may have problems because many Welsh people might vote for Labour to get the Tories out. If this happens it's not Ms Wood's or indeed the party's fault. That would be just circumstance. The real test for her (as she has acknowledged) is the next Welsh Assembly and local elections. Here is where Plaid must use it's resources to show Wales that it is the party of alternative to the arrogant incompetence to Welsh Labour.

But in the meantime, with Welsh Labour having surrendered itself to Westminster. The Welsh Conservatives being run as a glorified glove puppets to London  and UKIP producing stand up comedy in the Assembly it is not the time for the attacks on a leader who has being doing a good job. Especially by people who did not help the party's position when it was at it's lowest ebb before she took over.

Until the next time.

Why Alun Cairns Should Be Replaced As Secretary Of State For Wales ........By Sooty

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well yesterday was not the greatest one for blog villain and general political slimeball Alun Cairns. because of the cancellation of the Swansea Bay Lagoon Project. A decision that has been condemned by parties across the political spectrum in Wales. There have been calls for Mr Cairns to resign which he has so far resisted because there is a perception that he has represented Westminster to Wales and not Wales to Westminster. There are various examples of him seemingly cheerleading for Conservatism rather than Cymru but this latest one seemingly has galvanised the opposition against him.

In the spirit of goodwill and reconciliation, and because I hate his guts for calling Italians "greasy wops". Let me help Theresa May in finding a successor as Secretary of State. And as the title of this post obviously shows I am suggesting Sooty.

You may think this fanciful. But Sooty has four advantages over Cairns.

1) He's quiet. So no one needs to listen to his opinions as he'll be unable to give them. The cabinet had to presumably hear Cairns prattle on with his opinions before subsequently ignoring them. None of that with Sooty.

And because he's quiet he won't suggest stupid ideas like, renaming an already built bridge after a member of the monarchy just to toady up to them.

2) He's small. Possibly not as small as Cairns but still small enough to be unnoticed.

3) He's a glove puppet. No longer will the people of Wales fall for the pretence that the Secretary of State is fighting for their interests. Instead in the spirit of openness people will see that Sooty is controlled by a hand inside his body which makes him do what Westminster wants. No more pretence. The people will know that Wales is being run by a puppet minster.

4) And let's not deny the importance of this. He may be quiet, small and a puppet subservient to the rulings of others...…
But he'll still be more popular than Alun Cairns.

There you are Theresa. The problem of the next Secretary of State for Wales is sorted. You can sack Cairns now.

Until the next time.

Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon Project : Rejected By Conservative Evil / Moaned At By Welsh Labour Meek

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well as I am writing this the news has come up. The Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon. Utilising modern and environmentally friendly energy for the years to come has been thrown out by the UK govt. They say the numbers are too expensive. And yet they were happy to throw money at the building of the nuclear power plant in Hinckley Point in Somerset or the third runway at Heathrow which as I've discussed are based on out of date economic figures as to it's benefits to Wales.

Jobs in England yes. Jobs in Wales no.

Any sort of meaningful investment like the electrification of the rail line West of Cardiff is stopped by this government. What is Wales good for? Mega prisons, turning itself into some sort of royal theme park and storing mud from the nuclear power station in the aforesaid Hinckley Point apparently.

Even the Conservatives Party in Wales supported the building of the lagoon. Except it appears the Secretary of State for Wales and blog villain Alun Cairns. A man who despite the fact that he speaks Welsh fluently cannot shake off the impression that he wished he was English.....and taller.

But Westminster didn't want it....and therefore Wales suffers again.

And let's be clear here. The UK Conservative government are not the only ones to blame here. Welsh Labour are as we speak advocating themselves as the party of protest for Wales over this. Carwyn "It's a crushing blow for Wales" Jones is trying to make people forget the emasculating deal he did with London over the Welsh powers post Brexit. I suspect he's desperately trying to protect whatever "legacy" he's got left before leaving the post of First Minster. But rather like Blair legacy is largely driven by events and so far at least it will leave him as the First Minster who surrendered Wales.

Welsh Government Finance Minister and favourite to take over Carwyn Jones as First Minister Mark Drakeford had the temerity to say "Wales has not had an effective voice in the cabinet table". Well that's true of course, after all Alun Cairns is so small I'd be surprised if he could put his head above the cabinet table.

But that doesn't hide the fact that Wales does not have an effective voice from Cardiff either. The Conservative government in Westminster may not like Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP government, but they listen to them. Welsh Labour government however they feel confident to ignore. And let's not forget that this is the weakest and most pathetic UK government in decades.

Carolyn Harris, deputy leader of Welsh Labour and also an MP condemned the decision. But what use is she? Have the 800 call centre jobs soon to be lost by the closure of the Virgin Media base there benefited from her position? No.

Towards the end of December last year I put in a post which suggested that the way things were going Wales was  becoming a "lost world". A sort of backwater even compared solely to the rest of the UK. This decision heightens it. The only thing that can rescue Wales from this disaster is to move to the new world of independence. For as things stand the "Union" is that of a serf to it's master.

Until the next time.

Contrary To Cliche There Are Hot Days In Wales.....Unfortunately

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

When Wales is on the television in the United Kingdom there is usually a cliché Welsh weather. The sky's grey, there's a mild drizzle of rain in the air and often a moody detective is walking through the depressed mist as he (as it normally is - remember we're talking cliché here) is trying to solve a murder in a community where sunlight is seen as often as an eclipse.

Well today, a Monday in June, things could not be less Welsh cliché unless a group of Walian rugby fans suddenly started to sing "Swing low, Sweet Chariot".

For it is hot. Weather forecasts suggests very hot. 26 degrees where I live. Now I know that should you be reading this say in Spain you'd be laughing your head off and putting thermal underwear on if it reached that level as it would just be arctic like for you. But here in Wales that's hot. Indeed it's forecast to get even hotter than that.

Not only is it hot. It's also bright. The Welsh always struck me as optimistic when it comes to the weather but this time wearing sunglasses, shorts and (if it wasn't for the fact that it's a Monday....and there's the World Cup) holding a barbecue does not seem inappropriate. I've walked passed people sunbathing without a care in the world. Indeed the description of Wales being "Italy with rain" holds true in this weather because it's acting Mediterranean they're in fact becoming Italians

The thing is this though. In this sort of weather there will always be those who will stick out like a sore thumb. So for today two sore thumbs pointed at this guy.

I am writing this inside with a window open and no intention to go out until I pick my daughter from school. The only connession fashion wise I've made to the weather is a short sleeved shirt where when I'm out the ladies can marvel at my blotchy arms (this is what the hot sun does to me folks). As for shorts...well you can forget about that...not sure the last time my legs have been exposed to sunshine but it's not starting now.

Apparently this "tropical" weather is going to last for the rest of the week. And I cannot wait. (hope you caught the sarcasm). Sweltering is the new me. Or rather perhaps hiding.

At least for the moment I can use the World Cup as an excuse for not going out. But as the games reduces it won't last long.

Roll on tomorrow. And work. And air conditioning.

Until the next time.

In Which, Thanks Partly To Mr Ed (Sheeran), I Watch Three World Cup Matches In Peace

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So this was the last day where you could watch three matches in that period in this World Cup. Only been able to do that one other day during this entire term. Something always stopped me otherwise. Whether it was work or even picking up my daughter from school.

Today (Sunday) was different for two reasons. One I could watch the games and two I could watch the games in relative quiet given that daughter was doing her thing and so was the wife having gone with "the girls" to watch Mr Ed (Sheeran) do his stuff in his Cardiff concert in the (shouldn't be this name) Principality stadium.

A quick aside. I'm of an age where I know who Mr Ed is but I couldn't tell you any of his songs if you paid me. What I didn't realise was that it was probably a male thing. But no matter. I am a caring and compassionate husband so there were no arguments from me....given I could watch three World Cup matches in peace.

The first, of course was England Panama which as the whole of the English media will tell you was a 6-1 victory for England. It was a very weird England game where given the first half was 5-0 you felt comfortable at the break or in the second half where with thirty minutes to go Harry Kane and Jesse Lindgard (whose goal was stunning) were substituted and you thought "Oh Ok then".

Of course Belgium is the real test. And you know full well that the Sieg Heil sections of the media will turn it into a "Brussels vs Brexit" thing which of course is the way the country is being informed now. Domestically (and I mean as in the wife) the crunch game will follow that one. England/Belgium having already qualified from their group the only issue being in what order. The teams they would face from Group H were unclear and still unclear after the next game Japan Senegal.

The Senegalese scored first. A team Phil Neville described as organised unlike other African teams (I wonder whether as England Women's manager he reminisces out loud about Benny Hill). The Japanese equalised. I wish I could discuss their goal but, well.....I fell asleep.

I'm of an age now....don't judge me.

Still I saw the full second half where both sides scored a goal a piece. 2-2 then. Entertaining game....the bits I saw anyway.

As the final match. Poland Columbia which really only got moving when Columbia scored late in the first half. Two more emphatic goals followed. The only certain thing in the group was that Poland were out. Columbia played some bright football. Though not as bright as the pink and white shirt summariser Ian Wright was wearing. If Putin instigated a fashion police squad Wright would have been locked up for wearing it. The good news was that it was the shirt that caused the problems on screen and not the TV on the blink.

Senegal then could qualify from Group H. The wife, a Cardiff girl, has Senegal on her workplace sweepstake. Senegal could face England in the start of the knockout rounds.

And the Domestics will begin.

Anyway thankyou Mr Ed. And if you want to visit Cardiff again please make it for June 2020...in time for the Euros.

Until the next time.

Where Wales Is Forgotten Next Instalment : This Time Scotland

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Odd things running a blog. I actually had some posts in mind today. Like how I can actually watch three World Cup matches in peace because wife is off with other girlfriends to see Ed Sheeran in concert in Cardiff (Thankyou Mr Ed).  Or how I intend like my stopping of fast food to gradually reduce my consumption of my true drug crisps thus hopefully finally dealing with my wide waistline once and for all.

And yes I'll be writing about both of them eventually (I know you can't wait). But this morning as it occasionally does Twitter derails me. One of my followers included an article by Fidelma Cook from the Scottish Herald Newspaper which was entitled "Brexit Will Mean England Will Stand Alone. Ireland Will Be United and Scotland will be a nation again"

(The link is here:  www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/columnists/16297399.Fidelma_Cook__Brexit_means_England_will_stand_alone__Ireland_will_be_united_and_Scotland_will_be_a_nation_again/?ref=twtrec)

Let me be clear here. The article is worth reading. It's vision of the future you really cannot argue with the way things seem to be going. But in it's vision of how the United Kingdom will pan out post Brexit there is one part that's absent....Wales.

Now I don't think this is deliberate on Ms Cook's part. If I'm right I reckon she subconsciously put Wales within England in a post-Brexit scenario. And why not? Wales as a whole voted for Brexit, the Welsh Labour devolved administration meekly surrendered some of it's powers for seven years (and let's remind ourselves here that they meekly surrendered to the weakest of Conservative administrations) and the UK government seem to wish Wales to be part of a Greater England.

Still, as I've written in the past, I believe that Irish reunification and/or Scottish independence can be catalysts to lead Wales to independence as well (though obviously on a longer timescale). And indeed if Brexit is not the Land of milk and honey it's proponents would have us believe then more people in Wales will ask what are the benefits of staying within the Union with England?

But the warning for those of us who believe in Welsh independence is clear. Following England could mean a gradual withering of the collective memory of Wales other than sport (and even then I would refer you to my post on cricket). Wales will consequently be forgotten as an entity by those around it.

Consciously or not. this article might be a shape of things to come.

Until the next time.

The Brexit Cliff Edge Is Fast Approaching For Wales...And Welsh Labour Need To Take Their Share Of The Blame

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Today has brought the news that Airbus has threatened pulling out of the UK, and essentially Wales should Brexit turn out to be the hardman option it's fanatics support. Consequently causing thousands of redundancies. Mainly in it's factory in Broughton North Wales.

Trust me when Wales makes the UK headline news it's rarely for anything pleasant. We have the all too common sight now of a Labour politico standing outside the factory bemoaning the actions of the Conservative govt. Ditto tweets sent by Welsh Labour officials blaming the Conservatives/Brexiteers for this situation.

Now of course if Brexit turns out to be as disastrous as those of us who voted Remain feared or (as I suspect) it won't be as bad as feared but worse than before then the Conservative government/Brexiteers are the first in the queue with regard to blame. However in terms of Wales Welsh Labour cannot wash it's hands from position the country finds itself in.

Wales voted for Brexit as I've chatted about before. But I believe people didn't vote to throw themselves off a cliff. That Labour MP I spoke about? He voted against the UK going into the single market earlier in the week. Following the edict of his colonial master Corbyn. Bet he's not going to remind people of that now is he? Blame the Tories, Blame the Brexiteers but don't blame me as I go back into my relatively secure job.

And the Welsh Labour government in the Assembly has been noticeably quiet unless goaded into action by such headlines. What has the Welsh government done since Brexit apart from meekly allow powers that should go straight to Cardiff from Brussels to stay in Westminster for seven years/ Nothing really. Do you see them battle in the way the SNP are doing for Scotland?  You do that comparison and you realise how pathetic they truly are.

Carwyn Jones was described to me on Twitter today as "demob happy". Thing is his "legacy" will partly depend the result of the Carl Sargeant enquiry but also on the state of Wales when he leaves. He knows that should Wales become an industrial wasteland part of the attack will stick with him and Welsh Labour. No amount of blame shifting could hide this.

So as the cliff edge approaches Welsh Labour have left control with a driver blindfolded from the consequences of the route taken. They will not be thanked for the consequences.

Until the next time.

Why Plaid Cymru Should Go On The Attack To Defend Jobs In Wales

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

What does Tesco, Virgin Media and now Barclays Bank have in common? All three have made or are to make major job losses within Wales. 180 jobs are to be gone from their Mortgage centre in Llanishen in Cardiff. So instead of mortgages being dealt with in Wales they will be dealt with in Leeds and Liverpool instead.

Now Barclays have said that their aim is to redeploy the people affected to other parts of the bank. What Plaid Cymru should do is monitor this and keep them to their word. Because when these situations have occurred recently there seems to be a tenplate as to what occurs.

1) [Insert company here] decides Wales is an easy touch and makes redundancies.

2) [Insert Labour Politician] complains about the decision outside the firm involved. Then proceeds to do hardly anything and returns to their relatively secure job unlike the people involved.

3) Redundancies occur.

What Plaid should do is protest from day one. As I suggested with regard to Virgin Media in a previous post (and it's not too late yet) Plaid should actively campaign for people to cancel their contracts once expired and new customers not to choose them for their custom. In the case of Barclays Plaid should encourage people living in Wales to avoid them when picking mortgages if redundancies do occur.

What Plaid will gain from such direct action is that the people living in Wales will know that they,and not Welsh Labour are on their side. People may be apathetic to politics but they are not apathetic to job losses. They will see the Party of Wales battling for Wales It will show companies that Wales is not a soft touch. It will also make companies think again about inflicting Wales with job losses disproportionately (It's always the bottom line folks).

Campaigning for Wales Fighting for Wales like this will galvanise the party and I would hope the people living here.

Until the next time.

On Books: Including Letting Off Steam And Indulging In Archery

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I haven't it must be said been reading much in the past few weeks. Life, Work the Universe and of course the World Cup have conspired to hamper me. Well that's my excuse anyway.

But I've read a couple of books recently so it's time to chat about them. This was the first from the library.

Watt's Perfect Engine - Ben Marsden

What did I know of James Watt? Well that he saw steam coming out of a kettle and thought "aha! A steam engine!" Well obviously more to it than that and that's what Mr Marsden's book explains. There are two sides to this book. One is the business side and the various types of steam engines. The business side is the interesting side of this book. It made me realise that the steam power was the IT technology of it's day.

The scientific stuff bored me. But, then again, that could be my ignorance.

The other book was this.

Ross MacDonald - The Moving Target

When I was much younger in the nineteen seventies and eighties the Lew Archer private eye books had developed a reputation as being the sort of private eye stories for those who wanted to be different from the likes of Chandler or Hammett but not too different. What I vaguely remember are critics from the time praising the style of the writing.

I also remember that Paul Newman starred in a film of one of his books (which I haven't seen). So it added to the sort of super cool aura of the series.

I bought this book in 1983 (first published in 1949) and only now have gone round to reading it. So let me start with the style. At no stage did I read it and thought "well the style is different". Which doesn't really matter.

What matters is the plot. Something I would argue is fundamental in a crime novel. Where this book disappointed was the simple fact that I had worked out what the big reveal was many chapters beforehand. Practically waving to me as the book drew to a close.

It was not an awful book. Far from it. It was however not special either. But given the reputation it had before I started reading I've got to say that it's probably the most disappointing book I've read this year.

Until the next time.

The Latest Bridgend Town Wandering

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well yesterday I was able to spend sometime in Bridgend Town. Which regular readers will know I like to visit from time to time even though I don't live there anymore (though I still work in the area).

Let's start with some well, not bad news. As far as I could see it there were no new shop closures (leaving aside the indoor market, which I'll chat about in a moment) though I couldn't see any new shops either. That survey of course being as unscientific as can be.

There are four regular spots I use to chat about Bridgend Town. Beginning with the McDonald's. That's the shop that was closed down in 2000. Left to rot for seventeen years. Demolished last December and seemingly nothing happening since well....

Machinery!!!

(Note the Apathy graffiti. I'll come back to that later).

The Nolton Street Arcade. Where aside from the two shops that lead onto the street every other retail outlet is empty. Well I'm afraid no change there.

The Bridgend Indoor Market: Well I'm not going to talk about that today as there has been a proposed plan to deal with it as explained by the blog which deals specifically with Bridgend Council issues Oggy Bloggy Ogwr (specific post https://oggybloggyogwr.com/2018/06/rent-cut-and-indoor-square-part-of-bridgend-market-turnaround-plan/) and therefore more detailed than I could explain. Also I'm not the type of person who piggybacks on the work of another blogger. So I won't comment on it until September when I plan to visit again to see whether the plan has made any difference.

Mind you I do need to mention that the Christmas decorations I chatted about last week are still up there.

And finally for all you Phones4U fans out there.

Your mobile nostalgia is still there

Recently Bridgend Town was in the UK news because of a picture of young men allegedly high on the drug Spice in broad daylight. This was where they allegedly "did the deed"

The most famous benches in Bridgend

Now what I'm going to say is pure speculation. Let me stress that. But the building behind these benches is the local job centre. I wondered whether there's a link here. Whether they just allegedly felt that drugs was the only thing they had left. Or perhaps I'm just a bleeding heart Nationalist?

Another Apathy Graffiti

Whatever the reason yesterday the police were nearby in case there was a repeat.

On Duty

So unless anything unexpected occurs I'll be back in September.

Until the next time.

The Principality Building Society: Time For A Name Change?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Sometimes in this blog a topic comes up completely at random. So random in fact that  it occurs to me a few minutes before I go to bed! That's what happened to me yesterday.

I'd watched Brazil draw 1-1 with Switzerland in the World Cup. Aside from their goal Brazil was just ordinary and their supposed star player Neymar though fouled constantly throughout the game reacted as if being attacked by an army of Ninjas.

When the match finished I just so happened to glance at Twitter and noticed a complaint that there were some people in Wales that still described it as a Principality, or like Welsh culture minister Dafydd Ellis-Thomas advocate Wales be described like this to the outside world to attract tourism.

So, to be clear, Wales  has not been a Principality (ie ruled by a Prince) since the Sixteenth century. And yet the word sticks to the nation like a leech.

This led my brain (Yes that's how my brain works) to the Principality Building Society.

The Principality Building Society, founded in 1860 is the largest Welsh building society and the eighth largest in the the UK. It's also a very dull institution,and long may that continue. It has the air of old fashioned reliability that used to be the trademark of British financial institutions. A rule of thumb is that the sexier the  financial organisation the more  cautious you should approach it. So let me say it now.

I have a savings account there, as does my daughter. Long before I had any idea of the connotations of the word. So let me suggest it here.

The Principality Building Society should change it's name.

The society currently has the naming rights to the Millennium Stadium where Wales plays it's rugby internationals. It is therefore a showcase to the world for Wales. So what's the name of the stadium? The Principality stadium. A nation playing on the stadium that suggests it was mainly the plaything of the heir to the British monarchy. Not even you would note worth the attention of the monarch.

It would not be a quick and cheap process. It would of course need the approval of it's members (it's a mutual society) But you know what sometimes principles should come first for the Principality rather than cost

And the other issue would be the new name. Obviously it couldn't be the Prince Of Wales Building Society (defeating the whole object of a name change). So perhaps I could suggest something out of the box....or perhaps well and truly in it....

....Wales Building Society. Says everything you need to know.

Until the next time.

The Ramblings Of Insomnia Post : Father's Day Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It is as I'm writing this 5:16am in the morning. I've nothing to do until about eight. So it's another wander around everything and anything post because I can't sleep.

It's also Father's Day. Which I will be spending in the traditional manner of sitting on the sofa and watching football. There will be three matches on today thanks to the World Cup in Russia. Perhaps then I should thank Vladimir Putin for this Father's Day present (and they say he's a power hungry dictator!). I'm sure wife/daughter would also want to thank him for me watching football whilst they twiddle their thumbs for the day.

Mind you don't feel too sorry for them. I mean...Love Island for goodness sake!

Watched just two matches so far in the World Cup because of work so am looking forward to seeing them. Though with my luck I'll probably doze off and find myself awake to Poldark.

Here is the one piece of Father's Day advice I'll ever give. So pay attention. If your child gives you a DVD of Daddy Daycare starring Eddie Murphy watch it. It's a funny and entertaining movie. If however your offspring also gives you Daddy Daycare 2 (starring Cuba Gooding Junior!!) do your level best to avoid seeing it and then throw it away when no one will notice. One of the worst films I've ever seen. I still carry the mental scars.

It's so bad I'd happily watch Love Island instead.

I've told my daughter to just get me a £15 Amazon gift voucher and I'd be happy enough thank you very much. But I've noticed a multi-pack of Marmite Crisps badly hidden. For the record Marmite Crisps is the drug I can't resist. Not since they stopped doing Bovril crisps anyway. I loved Bovril Crisps. Ate them by the ton....hated Bovril though.

I note with interest Penguin Paperbacks decision to create a book catalogue which is more diverse to modern day Britain and the controversy that has arisen because of it. Personally I think of this as a publicity stunt given that they derecognised trade unions (I mentioned this in a previous post. It caused me to change the parameters of my Penguin/Pelican paperback collection. I know...First World Problems!).

How can you advocate diversity but not trade union rights I ask myself?

Chief news is apparently there will be a "Brexit Dividend" for the NHS which will be partly taken from tax increases. Hold on a minute. I thought that all of the money was going to be taken by the money previously spent on the EU.

That's what the bus said.

Right now things to do. Don't want anything to interrupt the footy later.

Until the next time.

Let's Chat Again About Disappearing Wales In Cricket Starring Royal London insurance And Henry Blofield.

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have spoken before that of all sports it's cricket where Wales has all but disappeared from view and is instead incorporated into England and is subsequently almost forgotten. It's example is probably one of the reasons why a sport like football deliberately asserts it's independence.

No one after all says the English and Wales Cricket Board do they? The acronym is the ECB. What other sport is there in Britain where there is an international game  being played today in Cardiff and the home team is England ?

If you look at the ECB website what do you see when you look at the fixtures but a batsman with the slogan "WE ARE ENGLAND CRICKET" not as it technically should be "WE ARE ENGLAND AND WALES CRICKET" (not as punchy a slogan but, you know, factually correct)

There have been attempts at a Welsh cricket team but it always fails due I would suspect from establishment pressure. Currently one of the people against such an idea of a country actually having it's own team is the chief executive of Glamorgan Huw Morris. Perhaps if he stepped back and wondered how it is that one South Walian county that plays mainly in Cardiff is meant to represent an entire nation at top county cricket level he'd think again.

Royal London Cricket, the sponsors of the summers One Day Internationals are offering through a competition tickets to these games (which let's be fair included today's Cardiff match). To advertise these they have used legendary Test Match Special commentator Henry Blofield who begins the ad as follows...

"Cricket fans of England".

And there's the point. People who worry about the Wales losing it's identity through being submerged with it's larger neighbour should look at cricket as the example of it's consequences. I repeat again. In what other sport would England be the home team in a fixture not held in England?

Until the next time.

Books To Inspire You For A Good Staycation? Who Knows? Except That They're On Your Shelf/E Reader Waiting

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Bookriot , as it's name suggests is a website / producer of podcasts which approaches books from a fresh prospective. What you will get our people who are not just knowledgeable but are also fans. It's website is a constant pleasure and whilst the Backlisted Podcast will always be my favourite their product is a good runner-up. Particularly Annotated about a background story to various books.

But....and you know a but it was going to come up..... I found myself reading a post entitled "Books To Inspire You For A Good Staycation" by Laura Maurie. where she recommends a few books to make "the Staycation more meaningful".

However with respect I would disagree. If you are staying at your home the books I would recommend are wide and various. But I don't know what they are. I know however where they are. They will be on your bookshelves and in your ereader.

Look at your bookshelves first. There will be books there that you bought on the spur of the moment. Lovingly placed it in a tidy manner on the shelf only for life, the universe and everything to waylay you from actually reading it. Well the staycation is there for you to actually take that book from the shelf and start using it as what [insert deity here - if you're an atheist ignore this sentence from the word "and"] intended.

Even on my Kindle there is now a metaphorical pile of the great e unread, bought for many reasons (mainly cheapness) where a Staycation just provides you with that asset rarely available to most avid readers. Time.

I'm not currently on any sort of "cation ", whether Stay or Va but at the moment I'm reading a Ross MacDonald Lew Archer book for the first time. It was bought decades ago, hung around bookshelves doing nothing and only now reading it with a distinct feeling of regret that I never got round to reading his work earlier.

So if you are planning a Staycation I have absolutely no books to recommend to you...but you know where your shelves are and where your ereader is.

Until the next time.

The Welsh Rugby Union: Destroying The Sport From Within?

Hello there? Hope you're feeling well today.

When I've chatted about Welsh rugby in this blog I've focused on the club game. That's basically because I've nothing much to say about the national team. I've argued that at a club level rugby is, despite popular cliché, not the most popular sport in the country and part of the reason for that is the club structure they created for what is now the PRO14 which basically disenfranchised people who felt unable to support the top tier regional teams in their catchment area (People in the South Wales Valleys for the Cardiff Blues for example).

But the national team is different. The cliché about the nation watching the Wales team play on every available TV screen is not that far from the truth. On a regular basis the team is the catalyst that makes the people feel the most Welsh no matter what their views on other issues are.

So the news that the Welsh Rugby Union is considering moving the games of the Autumn Internationals, traditionally played with teams from the Southern hemisphere, from the BBC (where it has been shown since the dawn of time) to a pay TV operator is disturbing to say the least.

(A quick aside here - One of the Pay TV companies that is stated to be in the running to purchase the rights for these games is Sky Sports. They held some of the rights for the PRO 14 competition as well though lost that from next season. I've mentioned this before but if the PRO 14 competition was that good don't you think they'd have made every effort to get that? So there's a distinct possibility that Sky didn't think the PRO 14 League was worth it.)

You may think "why the concern?" after all the English autumn internationals are on Pay TV and the English rugby world hasn't collapsed? Well the answer is perfectly simple.

Wales is different.

As I have explained a Welsh rugby international unites the nation in a way few things do on a regular basis. This is definitely not the case in England where although there are obviously passionate fans it's rarely an all encompassing passion for the nation whatever your age, class or religion.

It will, especially as the PRO14 games have moved to Pay TV damage the game. Not instantly, gradually, watching the team will no longer become a national event,as a consequence less people will want to watch the international games  and of course less children will want play as that bond between the nation and the team reduces.

No one is saying that the Welsh Rugby Union should stick with the BBC. It could move to a commercial Free To Air Operator. But moving to the likes of SKY will, in the long term, damage a truly Welsh passion.

Until the next time.

So March 9 Then: The Day I Intend To Be An Undercover West Ham Fan At Cardiff City

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I'm not normally one for looking at football fixtures for the forthcoming season but yesterday was different. I'd decided to prepare and plan as much as I could to watch Cardiff City play the team I follow West Ham.

All the time Swansea City were in the Premiership I'd left it too late. Ready to go only to find work/other issue blocked my way. This time will be different. I now know the date (March 9th) and I will monitor when the tickets will be on sale. I WILL BE THERE.

The Undercover West Ham fan.

Why undercover? Well I don't want to sit in a faraway corner of the Cardiff City Stadium where the away fans normally are. I want a good view thankyou very much. Don't worry I will be polite. I won't suddenly shout out "Come on You Irons!" whilst being surrounded by Bluebirdian fans or cheer when Manuel Pellegrini's men (let's be optimistic here) score a goal. No I'll be polite. I will wear my standard gear now of old man casual. I won't do anything. My parents raised me good.

(And as an aside when Pellegrini was appointed manager for Manchester City he was described as providing a "holistic approach" to management. Presumably then the West Ham backroom staff will include Holland and Barrett)

I have done this before in the City stadium when Sam Allardyce was manager. The person who almost blew my cover was the wife who having dropped me off sang as loudly as possible "I'm forever blowing bubbles" as she was driving past.

(I gave up taking her to football games when many years ago I took her to see Cardiff play then Premiership Aston Villa (how old? Paul Merson was playing that old) in Ninian Park. Cardiff had just been promoted to the old Division One I think (now the Championship) and at end of the match the announcer said something like...

"And we'll see you next season ….in Division One!!"

To which the wife responded "Not for long"

Well I wanted the Earth to swallow me there and then. I vowed never to take her to a game ever. Though of course....full disclosure here....she was proved right as they got relegated the following season!
Also there seems to a certain group of Welsh woman who can say anything and get away with it whereas if I said the exact same thing hands would be warmly shaking me round the neck)

Anyway West Ham won but I was quiet. Indeed I was able to hold a mournful look that suggested disappointment whereas in fact I wanted to shout "YEEESS".

And of course I can't say anything...thus revealing myself to be English....even if it may not be an Eastend accent suspicions will be raised. Hence the silence.

So if you see a silent fan watching Cardiff play West Ham next year that will be me. Sorry Cardiff City...no I'm not sorry really. Tell you what though, I'll see if I can come on September 1st and watch you play Arsenal.

I'd definitely shout for you then.

Until the next time.

In Defence Of Elderly English ImmigrationTo Wales

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

For the reason I will go into as this post develops I have noticed on my Twitter timeline recently criticism of elderly English people who spend their retirement in Wales. Being nearly elderly (I'm in fifties, there's no turning back!), English, a supporter of Welsh independence and a member of Plaid Cymru I feel that these need to be addressed.

Before I go on let me make a few things clear. Firstly as regular readers know my mother lives in Essex. Should she wish to spend her remaining days in Wales with me and my family I have no problems in helping her come here.

Secondly I'm not talking about people who buy a holiday home for their retirement. That's a whole different issue. No I'm talking about those people who move lock stock and barrel away from England and go West.

The main argument is the issue of the strain that these people put on the Welsh NHS. Well, it's no surprise that elderly people generally have more problems with their health, that's I suspect Biology 101. But this criticism seems to make the assumption that the moment the elderly English immigrant crosses the Severn Bridge they will instantly contract some illness/ailment.

In terms of the majority I'm sure that doesn't happen. Do you know what they probably do after entering Wales? They live. They buy things from Welsh shops, they use services from Welsh companies, they go out and watch things in Welsh entertainment venues.

In other words they are contributing to the Welsh economy. The grey pound is being used in Wales. It is of course impossible to prove either way but I would argue that speaking for the group as a whole you need to offset the pressure on the Welsh NHS with the benefits to Welsh businesses and jobs that their spending power provides.

The problems of the Welsh NHS are caused by the lack of funding by the Westminster Government and the typical arrogant incompetence of Welsh Labour in dealing with the money it's given. To target the elderly English in this way does not help Welsh independence. Nationalists need to realise that the mainstream media will seize onto this and would use it to damage the cause.

The road to independence is obviously not easy. But it won't be helped by unnecessary battles. Taken as a group elderly English immigrants are not the enemy of independence but continue to attack them and they might become so.

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.