What's The Connection Between Me And Old London Underground Trains? We Both Emigrated To Wales

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Many, many, unfortunately too many years ago I started my working life using the London Underground for my working commute. In the beginning it all seemed rather exciting to be part of the throng entering the capital city for the day but in the end it was tiring and rather soul destroying. Of which more later.

I say all of this because yesterday we learnt the news that the new Welsh railway franchise holder Vivarail (a name that instantly makes you think of Welsh travel) will be using old (and I mean so old that they could have been trains I used in the eighties) London underground trains along Welsh railway lines from next summer.

So yet again Wales have been given what is probably the cheapest and laughing rolling stock option to deal with a situation without taking the interests of customers (ie the people who actually use and pay for the service) into account. Other than Plaid Welsh politicians have apparently just turned a blind eye to this. I assume when Welsh Labour talk about "For the Many" it's is just the misery that is shared equally amongst the passengers. These politicos are assuming that the Welsh voter will just accept what is given and is too nice to complain.

Now apparently these trains will be "gutted and updated". Let me make it clear here. That's no reason to be cheerful. I could have a heart attack tomorrow and have a new one fitted in. But the shell is still going to be over fifty years old. Also with regard to the servicing of these trains they will need to be cared for to the nth degree precisely because the body is so old.

The thing is. When I was commuting on these trains they broke down when they were supposed to be young and fresh. The eighties were the decade when a supposed general reputation in the reliability of London underground trains broke down with the same frequency the machines did.

Coming soon to Wales folks.

There's something else too. They are probably the worst trains to be stuck in if packed. they are also the worst if it's broken down in the middle of nowhere (and they will) being the most stuffy and uncomfortable I've experienced.

Coming soon to Wales folks.

Who cares if they will have wi-fi installed? Do you know what else has wi-fi installed? New trains.

No amount of refurbishment and glossing up the train company does can hide the fact Wales have got the worst possible option...yet again....and Welsh Labour allowed it....yet again.

Shameful.

Until the next time.

On Welsh Water: The First Sign A Jeremy Corbyn Government Might Be As Colonial As The Theresa May One

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have written on this blog before about a Jeremy Corbyn government for Wales. I have suggested that Plaid Cymru supporters would have to brace themselves for losses in whenever the next general election should be as Welsh people might further vote for the Labour party in the hope of getting the Tories out and then to flex ourselves into action as on seeing an unsuccessful Labour and Conservative administrations turn to Plaid to run Wales.

What I did not expect was the possibility that a Corbyn government might be as overtly colonial as the current one. But the first sign of this has occurred is that the GMB union has called for Welsh water to be supplied to London and the South East in case of drought "for the national interest".

Let's be clear here. It's not the national interest, it's a regional one. The proposal suggests that should the South East need it Wales should willingly provide it with a national resource. Wales should not be made to use it's resources to cover the problems of the privatised Thames Water. It's their equivalent of North Sea oil. For a Trades Union not to realise how colonial that proposal sounds beggars belief. It would be interesting to wonder by the way how the GMB Welsh branch responded.

Wales has authority with regard to these matters along with Westminster. But we have seen from recent events the Welsh Labour administration surrendered to this laughable current Conservative UK government so presumably it would be a lapdog to a future Socialist one.

It's not that Welsh water shouldn't be transferred to London and the South East in the event of drought, but there would be a need to make sure that the needs of the people living in Wales were catered to first, that there would be no possibility of a Tryweryn style action by the Water companies, that the South East would pay Wales for the product and that all profits would come to and be invested in Wales.

Anything less than that would be surrender by the Welsh administration.

Anything less than that would show Corbyn and the British Trade Union movement treating Wales as the last colony.

And who would have thought that possible?

Until the next time.

Is Cardiff City Council Slightly Responsible For The Closure Of The House Of Fraser / Howells Branch In The City? Possibly

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

It may be an odd way to start this post. But bare with me. It's always been my belief that most men do not buy clothes on impulse but on perceived need or, as in my case being nagged at by wife, teenage daughter and mother. What occurred to me on hearing the news of the widespread store closure programme being proposed by the House Of Fraser group is that in terms of both genders you can make that logic on visiting a city centre.

House Of Fraser currently have two stores in all of Wales. Both are scheduled for closure. The point about the Cardiff store (which from now on I'll call by it's name, Howell's)was that it is a massive Department store and one of the key retail landmarks of the city centre for 153 years. However if the store cutting proposals come to pass it will be 154 and out.

The thing though is this. House Of Fraser are still keeping a number of it's stores. So you ask why Cardiff was unable to be amongst them? Well of course their troubles have been well documented in the past twenty four hours. The internet, failure to modernise, out of town shopping, the decline in the "department store" concept generally (To think in a couple of years the Sit Com Are You Being Served might be used as a historical record) it's all been rammed down our throats.

But to focus specifically on the Howells store it struck me that if you don't actually work there how many people from South Wales visit Cardiff on a whim? The last time I visited it was going to Cardiff Castle during Easter because my daughter hadn't been before. The last time wife/daughter went was to see Disney On Ice (no idea why..both of them are old enough to know better). The time we visited before that was Christmas shopping, once during that period, looking for ideas and it was generally a wasted trip.

The point comes back though to the fact that we don't go the city centre on impulse. Car parking charges/getting a space is one reason. But the other, as I've explained before, is that the centre of the capital city of Wales (including St Mary Street) is becoming tired looking with closed down shops, homeless people wandering in more numbers than I've seen them before and despite whatever gloss the St David's Shopping Centres might seek to show a general look of quiet despair.

The closure of such a large store like Howells will make that situation worse. Especially if there is nobody able to replace it. As I've said before especially with regard to Bridgend Town few things blights a town more than an empty shop which will still show you memories of what it once was in happier times.

And it is here the council could have acted to attract more people to the city centre. Cut the carparking fees. Spruce up the area. Make people want to come to, let's not forget it, the capital city of Wales. More people would bring the centre more money and that would have included Howells. But no this didn't happen. And whilst I've no idea as to whether being more proactive in revitalising the City Centre would have saved Howells. It wouldn't have done any harm

Cardiff City Centre is not yet the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town. But the decline of a community doesn't start dramatically. Only when a big shock emerges do people step back, see the bigger picture and realise the problem in front of them. You would like to think that for Cardiff Council this might be that shock that moves them into action.

Cardiff Council I've written before have been trying to lord it over their Vale Of Glmorgan counterpart. In particular the statement by Labour Councillor Russell Goodway that Barry Town was a town without a purpose. If the problems continue councillor Goodway might be receiving calls from Barry Town councillors asking whether aside from the tourist season and sports fixtures in the Principality Stadium the centre of Cardiff has a purpose.

Those would be conversations I'd like to listen to.

Until the next time.

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

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until the next time.

So According To The Welsh Conservative Leader The Expansion Of Heathrow Airport Benefits Wales....Really?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well yesterday the UK transport minister Chris Grayling, a man responsible for the nation's space programme, which surprised me as I thought that was solely between the man's ears (he really is the London Planetarium of politicians, bald, expensive and pointless) announced that the government was going to press ahead with the building of a third runway at Heathrow airport.

Now if I still lived in London the decision would have bothered me because a) the environmental impact b) the feeling that too much is being placed on Heathrow c) whether given Brexit it's actually needed at all.

However I don't live in London I live in South Wales. And from this standpoint all I can see is a decision that will benefit further London and the South East but nowhere else.

Apparently though I'm wrong. So says Welsh Conservative Leader Andrew RT Davies. A man who has the look of someone who takes politics between meals so that it doesn't spoil his appetite. He said that the expansion of the airport was vital and deliver huge benefits to the Welsh economy.

To which my response is.....really?

The distance between Heathrow airport and Cardiff is just over two and three quarter hours by car. In moderate traffic it's actually quicker to drive to Birmingham from Heathrow. Of course in a lot of cases that wouldn't matter. Why? Because Birmingham has an international airport of it's own. I've never been there, but I understand it's a much bigger operation than the Cardiff equivalent. It's very difficult therefore to believe that despite Welsh taxpayer's money being thrown into this Wales is going to have any benefit whatsoever.

And the phrase "huge benefits to the Welsh economy" comes straight out of Mr Davies' tweet. Of course if there is any benefit (And he doesn't back this up with any detail) it's probably just the South Eastern part. You know, the part blog villain Alun Cairns gives the impression of wishing to see twinned with Bristol.

Now to boost his argument Mr Davies encloses a link to Heathrowexpansion.com (so not unbiased though to be fair neither am I) which quoted the independent airports commissions conclusions stating that there would be jobs and economic growth for Wales (and again it says Wales not South Wales - How would all of Wales benefit?

I have not the time to go through the report (I will admit that) but do I really need to? Given that the report it quotes is dated July 2015. In other words before the EU referendum And therefore wouldn't any economic data have to be reevaluated in the light of Brexit? I mean at time of writing nobody, not even the UK government knows what the consequences are and the type of Brexit that will appear.

Furthermore the Heathrow Expansion link mentions the train links to Wales. That's the Intercity train link where stabilisers have to be put on west of Cardiff because the UK government wouldn't pay the pittance to do this yet is happy to put welsh taxpayer's money on essentially a vanity project for London and the South-East?

Is this fair? I don't think so.

Until the next time.

Waiting For The Washing Repair Man

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The most first world of problems has affected my day today. For you find me patiently waiting for the Washing Machine Repair guy.

He has been here before. To make the background clear the wife was complaining the smell after each wash but then we noticed what appeared to be smoke coming out of the machine. That was clearly that. The washing machine was on shutdown (especially as we currently live in an apartment with all the connotations that now applies post Grenfell).

Anyway the man came and it turned out that there was a problem with the pump. It apparently was, in the guy's words "red hot" after just a few minutes, something that just shouldn't happen. So he replaced the part, we shook hands and that was it.

Immediately wife started to do some laundry. Women, let's face it being for more concerned that clothes are cleaned as quickly as possible than men are. Men really only bring themselves to wash clothes unprompted when there's a few [insert type of clothes] left. After the third wash there was a smell that was best described by daughter as "burnt popcorn". So the guy was called again.

Which is why I'm here alone in a state of limbo. Cannot go out and explore some new part of South Wales, or, as I'd intended to do go out and do some shopping. Can't even make a phone call in case washing machine guy is trying to get through.

No I have to wait.

The sound of silence is weird. Have not turned the television or radio on. Do not want to miss him. All I can hear currently is the sound of the occasional aeroplane. When you are conscious of the silence, well that is a bit off putting.

Outside it's cloudy and grey. A contrast from the brightness of yesterday.

I started writing this (coming and going from time to time) at 9:30am. Now as I'm writing this paragraph it's just gone 12:30! I've had my lunch. The question now is, will he come before 2:20 this afternoon. Otherwise I'm off to pick up daughter from school.

Leaving aside the anger if he doesn't turn up after today a time that either me/wife will be available will not be easy to arrange for a while. At the moment the wife will be washing some of her clothes at her brother in law's house in nearby Penarth. It is though of course not ideal.

I'm hearing voices outside. I know it's not the Repair Guy. Must admit I'm curious to know what's being said but they are fleeting murmurs to my ears.

It's 2:05pm now and I hear a buzzing. Is the guy here at last?....No. Now my mind is playing mind games.

It's 2:14pm I get a call from the wife. The guy is going to come later on. In other words AFTER I've picked daughter up. In other words....I'VE WASTED A DAY!!!!

And that is of course assuming he''ll be coming at all.

Until the next time.

I May Be An Englishman Who Supports Welsh Independence. But I'm Still Going To Support England in The World Cup

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Last Saturday there was a Yes For Independence march held in Dumfries. And amongst the groups marching was one called English For Yes. What Twitter noticed and commented upon was a guy in that particular demonstration who wore an England football shirt. Basically the comments that were mocking him were in essence that here was a guy with split loyalties.

So let me be clear here. I'm with that guy. And the reason I'm with that guy is quite simple.

Football is different.

As anybody who supports a football team will tell you that supporting a team is not the same as supporting your local supermarket. When you ally yourself to a team you do so for life, not just for Christmas. So should you move away from that team you don't say, "well I might as well support the nearest club now". No you stick with the team that you have invested blood, sweat, tears and some money following.

After all I currently live near Cardiff City who will be playing in the Premier League next season and whilst (like Swansea and Newport) I genuinely wish them well I'm not going to suddenly start wearing a blue shirt, doing the Ayatollah and shouting "Bluebirds! Bluebirds!" all over the place. No the one time I intend to go to the City Stadium is to watch (quietly, I live nearby!) West ham beating them.

And that is equally the same nationally. I've supported England all my life and nothing changes now. I believe that Wales should be an independent nation and have no problem proclaiming my support for that. But as any fan will tell you the first rule of sports fandom is that once you have committed to a team that's it. You change your allegiance then you've broken the law.....it's a fact.

In fact my problem for this World Cup is going to be quite different. Normally due to my family background I would support England until they get knocked out after which I'd follow Italy. But this time Italy failed to qualify for the tournament in the first place.

Now that is a problem.

Until the next time.

Why Nationalists (Including Welsh Ones) Should Prepare For The Doomsday Brexit Scenario

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday we became aware that the UK government had prepared a series of scenarios post Brexit. And of particular note was the one that made all the headlines. "The Doomsday Scenario" as it was headlined.

What this particular scenario stated was that in a matter of weeks if Britain left the EU with the hardest of hard Brexits then there would be empty supermarket shelves and a lack of medicine for the sick. Petrol will also be in short supply. In other words the long forecast jump from the cliff edge would have arrived.

Now personally I don't think the Doomsday scenario will occur. Partly because the Conservatives have always been a ruthless organisation when they can see electoral defeat on the horizon by doing everything they can to stop it, even if it meant jettisoning their principles. But mainly I can see the old trick that was previously played by companies seeking to reduce staff.

Step One: Threaten 2,000 Job Losses

Step Two: Take in the protests

Step three: Say that there will only be 1,000 Job Losses. People are relieved. Only for them to realise later  that although it's not as bad as the original estimate the situation will still be worse than before.

But if government departments can do these scenarios then so will I. Specifically if this scenario comes true what will be the effect on the causes of independence for Scotland, Wales and the reunification of Ireland?

Well clearly that would be the push that would lead Northern Ireland to the Republic. For no matter what religion you are if you have no food on the table when your near neighbour is stocked up then that really is the final incentive you need.

In Scotland too. The idea that Westminster knows best will finally be laid to rest. There could be no clear argument for keeping with the Union and so they would go their own way.

Which leaves Wales. And no matter how apathetic politically the majority of the people are, no matter as I've said before that they are too nice a people that consequentially allow liberties to be taken against them, if the Doomsday scenario is proved accurate people will be moved to seek political alternatives outside the status quo. And the only credible alternative would be independence. Then Wales could sought out the mess with Wales and not Westminster in mind.

There is an irony here. For no nationalist actually would seek independence under these circumstances. Simply because of the agonies families will face as the scenario plays out. But that's no reason why nationalist parties (including Plaid Cymru) shouldn't prepare for it.

Until the next time.

The Latest Insomniac Awake Too Early Sunday Morning Rambling Post

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well again I'm awake too early. At time of writing it's seven minutes past five, but I've been awake half an hour earlier than that. Yet again insomnia rules.

Outside it's bright. It's also Sunday. I'm also working. Unbothered by that. Whatever Sunday is for me it's not a day of rest.

Late last night something rare was happening. There was a live Wales Rugby match on the television. Wales vs South Africa but held in America for whatever reason.  Wife was (for the late hour) surprisingly awake (I'd recorded the game for her). I, eventually after a microwave meal of LIDL's spaghetti with added grated cheese was not by the fact I nodded off well before the end.

First Minister Carwyn Jones tweeted yesterday that he was consulting with the British embassy in America concerning the Trump steel tariffs which could have a major effect on the steel plant in Port Talbot. Originally I'd assumed he'd flown there specially but could not understands why he was speaking to the embassy in a way that suggested top level discussions when he wasn't speaking to anyone in the American administration. Only later did the penny drop (thanks to Twitter, @ceribethlehem to be precise) that he was there because of the rugby game. Reality forcing him to put South Walian families on his list of things to do. You cannot help but think that yet again with regard to the Tata steelworks the First Minister has been caught on the hop without having any preparation for this scenario (which surprising with regard to it's timing was not unforeseen)

If anything did happen to the Port Talbot steelworks (and let's hope it doesn't) you know that Carwyn Jones is going to give interviews blaming Trump. And whilst that would be true he cannot escape yet again the charge that he was unprepared for events.

Well reality bites doesn't it your First Ministership? Perhaps whilst you are there in the fag end of your uninspiring leadership you can put a word in for Bridgend Ford as well? You representing Bridgend in the Assembly and all that? It would make (as I've said before in this blog) a change to do something Bridgend centric.

The birds are beginning to sing. Why do birds sing? Who knows? Conjoined of course with the question Why do fools fall in love?

Sun is very much coming out now. But I can also see the moon. I'm fifty four and those things still get to me. That and why people vote Conservative.

Six O'clock: Time for Breakfast.

Quasi Continental

I must admit that for the past few years my breakfast choice has gone continental with the croissants (though full disclosure here this is from Lidl's - with added jam - Oh I've mentioned them twice. Well don't be surprised. Reckon Lidl's or Aldi will be the supermarket of choice after Brexit). Mind you there's no orange juice (ran out) and the the default mechanism hot drink wise at home for most people this side of the channel is still tea.

If croissants are not available I go for porridge (with added jam) instead. Only in emergencies now do I go for throwing milk at a bowl filled with [insert cereal here]. Perhaps it's an age thing. I don't honestly know.

There's a fly I notice in the room. The windows are for the moment closed but the fly's still there. Moving in that sort of jagged jolted movements they do. Can't really go for it for the moment until it finds itself clinging to a wall....then I'll strike.....and probably miss.

There's a picture I've seen on Twitter about a rally for Scottish Independence in Dumfries. Amongst a group of people with the Banner English Scots for Yes. There's a guy with an England football shirt.

As I've explained before people should not be surprised by this. You may believe as I do that Wales should be independent from England for various reasons but let's just start with one (it's a country in it's own right) but football is different. If you're a football fan you'd understand.

The fly was by the table....missed.

Ah well.

Until the next time.

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

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So you see any cut will affect them proportionately harder.

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

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

Until the next time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You know it makes sense.

Until the next time.

In A New Dawn Let's Chat About the Age Of Innocence By Edith Wharton

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As I'm writing this it's 4:53am on a Thursday morning. The alarm had been set for six. Insomnia is a cruel mistress.

Outside a new dawn is slowly beginning to emerge. It looks for the moment kike it will be a grey one and it's certainly wet. The weather forecast indeed suggests that the rain will be much, much worse as this day continues. Of course as is always the way I have a few journeys to make today.

Normally with insomnia I would have probably spent the time the time nowadays wandering the web. An internet hobo from site to site. This morning however was different. For I had according to my Kindle less than half an hour of Age Of Innocence by Edith Wharton to go. So decided to finish that.

Now this book had been split into two sections, literally Book one and Book Two. This seemed somehow appropriate. For if any novel could be described as a book of two halves in my opinion of it this is it. So let's chat about Book One first.

Book One was, for the most part, a dull trudge. I was wondering when I read this exactly why it's the classic that it is. The characters for the most part are as limp as the wettest of lettuce (and that includes the leading male in this story). And as for the denouement well it was so obvious it might as well have been covered in neon and sponsored by the city of Las Vegas.

What saves Book One, just, are two central characters. Firstly Madame Olenska, the central woman here. Beautiful, different, mysterious and for Nineteenth Century New York Society a woman with issues.

The other central character is Nineteenth Century New York Society itself. Outwardly polite it nonetheless is a very powerful force seeking to control the emotions of those it rules no matter how much certain people try to resist.

And so I approach Book Two in a depressed frame of mind. The sort of mind a reader has when he/she is halfway through a book, feels as a sense of duty as a book lover to finish it but knowing full well that their mind will be turned to mush at the end.

Well....was wrong about that.

Book Two is everything Book One isn't. Characters become fully rounded (though the two main ones from Book One are as strong as ever), the plot moves in a way that you did not expect and the ending was as subtle as it was strong. It was brilliant. You have to read Book One I'm afraid to get to Book Two. But trust me it's worth it.

No question the most surprising book I've read so far this year.

Until the next time.

Apathy Doesn't Help The Drive For Welsh Independence But It Might Not Last For Much Longer...

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

When I find myself chatting about independence for Wales on Twitter I get different reactions. Some of the main ones is that the Welsh don't want it or why does organisations like Plaid Cymru or Yes Cymru seek a goal without planning the consequences through.

What these people don't seem to realise is that all political parties and movements have goals which may not be popular in it's creation. These goals may lack line by line detail. That does not matter. A political party/movement is created to change the mind of the people and show people that there is another way.

I have written before that there will come a time when the Welsh non-Tory voter will seek a different political party to the rule of arrogant incompetence provided by Welsh Labour at national and local level. These people will look at Plaid Cymru for their vote. It happened in Scotland and it could happen here.

And let's like we always have to do here look at Scotland. When they got elected as a minority administration in the Scottish government the SNP didn't say "Right folks let's have a referendum". No for the lifetime of their first term they let certain people within their party plan independence for Scotland whilst they showed the nation that they could govern. That Scots could have confidence in them running the country. They may have lost the subsequent referendum for independence (because of Westminster lies but let's not dwell on that here) but the point remains that it was the closest in my lifetime that any of the four home nations got to obtaining it. There is no reason why Plaid Cymru should not follow the same approach, which whilst ultimately unsuccessful was close.

People in Scotland might be for or against independence. But the point is that since the SNP obtained power no one considers it impossible. 

We also need again to consider the consequences of Brexit. If it creates further economic austerity for Britain then that would be the final push for Scottish independence. Indeed there is a possibility that it would cause the reunification of Ireland. People living in Wales would look at this and say "why not us?"

And so planning for independence is important. But there could be a scenario where the best option (through a referendum) is just to leave rule from Westminster with the barest structure in place. That would be if the situation in the UK was so bad that a messy divorce was preferable to staying in the union. If the Remain side's post Brexit scenario proves correct that just might happen.

So Plaid Cymru needs to be ready. Events might soon prove momentous.

Until the next time.

In Which I Combine A Very English Scandal, The TV Effects Of Old Age And Why An Elderly Dubliner Could Be Angry At Bridgend Town

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So it's Bank Holiday Monday as normal nothing I want to watch. Until that is the wife suddenly said:

"Shall we watch A Very English Scandal"? (She had recorded both episodes currently shown)

Now I've posted before that wife and I find it very difficult to find things that we could watch together, but this Russell T Davies drama based on the true life events between then Liberal party (now the Liberal Democrats after mergers and acquisitions) leader Jeremy Thorpe and his lover Norman Scott fitted the bill.

Why? Because wife and I are old enough (as children) to remember the moment all of this culminated in a trial. So we could recall when all of this was made public.

What this means of course is that we have come to an age where figures real to us at the time have now become historical actors in TV dramas. We are that old. Before the only TV effects of our age were the digital channels showing programmes we remembered when younger. With a few exceptions they were always disappointing. Starsky and Hutch for example. Two detectives fighting crime with the inconspicuous sports car with a white lightening strike and a loud wheels. Loved it at the time. Laughable now.This however took our geriocracy to a whole new depth.

I'm not normally one to write about TV dramas in this blog. And after seeing the first episode we are going to view episode two sometime. But the thing that makes me want to chat about it are the scenes where the friend of Thorpe goes to Dublin in an attempt to stop Scott blackmailing the leader of the Liberals.

Because apparently the place in Britain that could pass for Dublin in the nineteen sixties was Bridgend Town. That's right the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town was considered as the perfect substitute for the Irish capital!

Now I have never been to Dublin (I'd like to one day) and I have no idea what it was like in the sixties. But I'd be willing to guess that anybody who's lived there at that time would have been insulted. Or perhaps will be. Because those of us aware about the state of Bridgend Town in the present day will know that whilst television "Irished up" the scenery (phonebox for example) there was no real attempt to hide the closed down shops that blight the place arguably more than any town in South Wales.

Consequently in terms of the scenery (as opposed to what happens to Norman Scott there. Which I won't spoil) Dublin is shown as a rather dull and dreary place. Whereas what it's actually showing is the Bridgend Town of today.

Of course the odds of someone knowing Dublin in the sixties and Bridgend Town of today are extremely thin. But if you know of an Irish person angry after seeing this episode that's why. Trust me.

Until the next time.

In Defence Of The Male Reader

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

One of the great advantages of Twitter is the way it will lead you to things that even the normal internet would not. Yesterday, quite randomly it led me to a post by the writer David Hayden with regard to men and their reading choices. It suggested that male readers would normally see writing as the canon with women hardly getting a look in.

The article is here https://lithub.com/david-hayden-men-still-too-often-see-their-writing-as-the-canon/

It referred to readers surveys which stated that male readers almost exclusively and deliberately read fictional books by other men and not women. This surprised me. I personally wonder how these surveys were phrased. Most male readers I'm aware of don't discriminate by gender at least not as consciously as Mr Hayden's article implied. That said, as I've mentioned in this blog in the past, there have been some female writers who I have avoided specifically because the cover and the blurb suggests not that it will be too female, but rather too gushingly romantic, too girly or too delicate for my male DNA.

As readers of this blog will also know I have tried to go beyond the covers recently (too varying degrees of success as I will explain later) but I don't blame myself for not looking at books that were not designed to attract me the male reader.

These covers need to be discussed individually. There were four particular types:

a) The "Mills and Boon" Cover: We are all aware of that cover that suggests whirlwind romance through a [insert historical period here]. Avoided Georgette Heyer (only read her for the first time a couple of years and Norah Lofts (I've a book of hers have not got round to reading yet).

b) The Chick Lit Cover: Bright Colours, Swirly lettering, Cartoon figures. They were literary warning lights for men to avoid. But if circumstances were different, I wouldn't have realised that (as I've explained in previous posts) Marian Keyes is a far more important writer than her covers would suggest.

c) The Chocolate Box Cover: Which interestingly I have an example in one of the two books I'm reading at the moment.

Santa Montefiore - The Beekeeper's Daughter

(The other book I'm reading incidentally is The Age Of Innocence by Edith Wharton)

So you're looking at that cover and would instantly see a sweeping romance style book. I won't chat about the novel until I've properly finished it. Though let's say that for the moment it's a case of Bad Santa.

4) The Delicate Cover: This tends to be a relatively thin book with a painting/photo and a blurb that suggests something arty and dull. Anita Brookner comes to mind here (though I have got a few of her books now though amongst the great unread at the moment).

There was also one other thing about Mr Hayden's piece (whose books incidentally I haven't read either - so many books - so little time ) that sprang to mind. His concentration on general literature ignored the genre where women writers have had critical and popular (including men) acclaim through the decades and that's crime.

From Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers through to Liza Cody, P D James, Sarah Paretsky, Ruth Rendell  with now Lynda La Plante and Val McDermid female writers have shown that if you write in a subject men are interested in they are happy to read you without any issues of gender. And, it should be stressed that often the people doing the detecting are women as well.

I'm not saying that men (including myself) shouldn't read more books by women authors. But I am saying that the reasons we haven't are probably less obvious than Mr Hayden's article would suggest.

Until the next time.

Cliche Ireland Is Apparently Over. Let's Try To Remove Cliche Wales

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

At time of writing (5:48 am on a Saturday morning - Woke up at 4:50am - Welcome To Insomnia) it appears that the exit poll in the Irish Referendum will mean that the Ireland will be able to abolish their extremely strict abortion laws.

But to spread the effects of the referendum out still more it will also mean that the power of Catholic Church has gone to terminal decline (which is of course their fault over how they handled the abuse scandals) and that cliché Ireland is no more.

Ireland can now truly say that it's a modern nation not tied up to it's past and not gagged by the undemocratic religious forces that so dominated it's life. It knows that once the immediate Brexit hurdles have been overcome it can look forward to a bright future within the EU whereas we in Britain will soon be looking in from the rainy shop window.

So outside of the touristy stuff there will be no more images of Ireland of "sure and begorrah" leprechauns, green hills, farming and living lives and following laws essentially set by the Vatican. That outside if Dublin there isn't anywhere that can be called sophisticated.

Cliché Ireland is no more....which led me to think about Cliché Wales.

After all Wales, it's language and people are still the butt of jokes from people who know they can't talk about the Irish in the same way as they used to.

(And that's another cliché - the stupid Irish - that was something that was commonplace on comedy shows in British TV in the seventies. Thankfully gone now. Partly because it wouldn't be acceptable but also because it wouldn't be believed).

There are many clichés about the Welsh. From the absolute love of rugby (which I've argued in this blog is not true anymore on a club level), to the weather (Ok it's not the Mediterranean but it doesn't permanently rain), to the language being either just an English word with an accent or just throw up scrabble letters in the air and create a word from it.

There are others of course. The Welsh are farmers and rugby players now that coal mining is no more or are on the dole. There is nowhere remotely sophisticated in Wales aside from Cardiff. And don't get me started on the sheep....

But possibly the biggest cliché about the Welsh people is that they are servile and will just accept anything Westminster throws at it. From the naming of a bridge after royalty, to having no rail electrification West of Cardiff, to taking nuclear waste generated in Somerset. All of this stems from the cliche that Wales is essentially there to serve England.

And of course the actions of the Welsh National Labour Government in surrendering Brexit powers whilst the Scots are Braveheartedly (another cliché I know. Couldn't resist) fighting them should not be ignored. But a country's politicians are not necessarily representative of it
(This is why journalist Rod Liddle can make comments about Wales and get away with it or England rugby coach Eddie Jones can call it a "s****y little country" and be unpunished)

But this apparent servility is partly there because as I've said before the cliché, which is true, is that the Welsh people as a whole are too nice.

So what can be done to remove cliché Wales? Well ultimately independence. But in the meantime independence of action from Westminster will help. It's why whilst not yet independent cliché Scotland is kilts and bagpipes and nothing useful except for it's oil is fast disappearing from the landscape.

Of course it's difficult to see that happening with a Welsh Labour administration as independent of thought as a train track. Which is why Plaid Cymru (the party I support) needs to be there and ready for the moment (which will come) when the people of Wales will know that change from the status quo is needed to make their lives better.

And should Labour be defeated here. Then Cliché Wales will start to crack.

Until the next time.

On Books: Particularly on the Plante in the Quick Reads Garden

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well read a number of books since the last post, so let's begin.

All Hell Breaks Loose - Max Hastings: What I said about the book previously is unchanged now I've finished it. The best non-fiction book I've read so far this year.

1227 QI Facts - John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, James Harkin: A bought it because it was a) cheap and b) I'm a fan of the TV programme. This was though a mistake, though it could be personal to me. I'm not a fan of books that you can "dip into" finding them difficult to concentrate on if you're trying to read from cover to cover. It does have Quite Interesting facts (Cardiff has more sunshine than Milan caught my eye) but I thought my view of it would be different to those similar books given I liked the TV show it was based on. I was wrong.

The Essays Of Arthur Schopenhauer ; Studies In Pessimism: Philosophers eh? They get paid to write down what they're thinking in long words and everyone thinks they're a deity? Well it's the first time I read Arthur's stuff and I wasn't impressed.

You get for example stupid ideas like "We should forgive a man his folly" and you think "Really Arthur? If I went and killed someone close to you would you really forgive me? Really?

Aside from one really interesting essay on suicide (which when he wrote it was a crime) this was mainly long words wrapped around the bleeding obvious. The real odious essay was that on Women. If you're female I'd suggest you check your blood pressure before proceeding.

And speaking of females....

Lynda La Plante - The Little One

This was the latest library book I'd read.

What perhaps is first worth discussing is that it came out of the QuickReads stable. These are slim books written by established writers either to attract people who have gone off reading or readers eager for that quick fix. Essentially literary espresso. By getting people to read more following reading a Quick Read book then it has performed a service for us all.

I had never read a Lynda La Plante book before, purely a case of so many books so little time, but I feel having finished it that clearly I've been missing out. The story of the relationship between a struggling journalist and an ex Soap star leads you one way and then twists and turns. You assume that things are moving in one direction and then seamlessly your preconceptions are subverted. Only towards the end did I begin to understand what was happening.

Ms La Plante clearly has a skill in plot then. But also in character. Your views seem to shift with every page. Things are not as they seem.

I really enjoyed this book. Clearly it's my loss I've not read her before.

Until the next time.

A Quick Wander Around Bridgend Town

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers will be aware the urban tragedy due to the arrogant incompetence of the Labour council that is Bridgend Town is a feature of this blog, though less frequent now I no longer live in the area (though I still work there).

I do plan to do a more measured post on the state of the town sometime in June. However unexpectedly I had to go in there yesterday so this is a snapshot of what I saw.I should stress that I only had (including grabbing lunch) about forty five minutes to play with.

And because of the relative rush I missed snapping a few things. A new nail bar is there. As is a gym (though with another one just a few blocks away I really wonder how both can survive).

I also forgot to snap the situation regarding the "McDonald's" area. The McDonald's, closed down in 2000 and left to rot for seventeen years before finally demolished in December last year. Well as I left the situation nothing had been done in March. And as we approach June nothing has changed. What it has become is an eyesore gap.

If you approached the eyesore gap from the car park on a wall nearby someone wrote "Apathy". Which was interesting as perhaps that person was trying to convey what the town has become. And whoever wrote that is educated, after all he/she didn't scrawl "can't be bothered".

I mention this because that person didn't just graffiti it there. I noticed this.

The Bridgend V For Vendetta Slogan?

Now having been fair and mentioning the places that had just opened since my last visit that I'd noticed I need now to mention the places that have closed down. Starting with this:

No Longer Cooperative

This was the Cooperative Travel agents. Now gone. Here's an interesting fact. Whilst there are Cooperative food stores in the Bridgend area, with the closure of the bank branch last year and now this, it's only presence in the town is the funeralcare. Symbolic or what?

And opposite there's this:

A Chainstore Outlet

This used to be Ethel Austin and then it became this. Now even a chainstore outlet can't sustain business in the town.

Now since I moved I have four regular features I look at regarding the town. I've dealt with the McDonald's Eyesore gap and the places that have opened and closed down. So let's have a look at Bridgend Indoor Market. Well I'm afraid nothing has changed. Many stalls are empty including apparently this one now.

All Very Sad

But if a picture can illustrate the contempt the council apparently shows for the stall holders it's this one.

Look Up

For what you see are Christmas decorations.....and it's nearly June!!!

And, (and I forgot to photo this as well) with regard to the Nolton Street Shopping Arcade it's still the case that aside from the two shops that go onto the aforementioned street every single shop in that place empty.

So then Bridgend Town. Nothing has really changed since the last time I was here. All very,very sad really.

Until the next time.

Until the next time.

How I Avoided The Royal Wedding With The Help Of Work,A Classical Music Radio Station, Heavy Rock And The Second World War

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well then Saturday was Royal Wedding Day and I was working. And a good thing too. Even if I hadn't worked I'd have avoided it. Essentially the reasons boil down to two.

Firstly I'm a Republican. A nation should not be obsessed by a fairytale idea of a King, Queen and the rest of what is a privileged elite. Why in events such as these the television stations for example will be broadcasting through the medium of curtsy is beyond me.

Take for example the reporting of Meghan Markle's father. Yet those of us old enough to remember the issues surrounding the divorce Of Charles and Diana know that he didn't cover himself with glory. And yet apparently all is now forgotten.

For a lot of people the Royal family is a fairy story that hides the true state of Britain where the tale is Grimm

Secondly I have no interest in watching a wedding on television and I suspect that most men (other than those who will dress in union jack clothing for the day - when at any other moment they'd be considered weird) feel the same whatever their views on the monarchy otherwise. As I think I've mentioned before the process of getting married in a church, as opposed to getting married is a distinctly female event. Men, I would guess, would rather watch the sport on another channel.

Wife and daughter went to an event organised by a (female) friend where they and more female fans watched the event...yes I know. And you know what? She's also recorded it!

As it happens I also missed the FA Cup Final today as well. But to be honest I don't care about that either (though I'd admit I'd would've watched it if I wasn't working). Mainly because the final does not this year hold out any interest for the neutral.

So where did I start avoiding this wedding whilst I'm wasn't working? Well a classical music radio station, so the wedding would probably only be mentioned in the news headlines (and as it happens the wedding was the second item on their news at 12:30). Not Classical King FM as Ms Markle is American so the choice was (taken as a whole) my favourite classical radio station RTE Lyric FM of the Irish Republic.

I was listening to an aimiable programme called The Hamilton Scores. Where George Hamilton leads through a range of easy listening classical scores perfect for a Saturday morning. The title? Well I'm assuming that refers to his work as a football commentator. I mean? A football commentator on a classical music station? Where else but RTE Lyric FM would be comfortable with that? It is, as I've said before the most unpretentious classical music station I know.

Heavy rock? Well this was the latest library book I read.

Ian Vince - The Lie Of The Land

This book was trying I think to make geology accessible for the masses as he chatted about the subject whilst going round Britain.

Now Mr Vince can write, when he was chatting about his travels you were interested (indeed as an aside he mentioned another book he wrote about travelling around Britain in a milk float - I do want to read that). But....when the book chatted about the specifics geology then it got ...well...rocky (apologies but I couldn't resist).

It was dull.

In essence if your interest in rocks doesn't go beyond the views it produces or avoiding them in the case of an avalanche then it really isn't the book for you.

Continued then reading Max Hastings book All Hell Let Loose about the Second World War mainly through the eyes of ordinary people caught up in it. I haven't finished it yet, but I suspect it will be the best non-fiction book I've read so far this year. Mr Hastings handles the large remit with ease and aplomb. Also, a key test of any history book is that it tells something you didn't already know. It worked on that basis as well. I thought I knew enough on the Second World War. Mr Hastings proved me wrong.

So a Conservative historian helped me avoid a most conservative of events. I should thank him.

Thank you Mr Hastings.

Until the next time.

The Farewell Tour Of The McDonald's Menu Part 11: It's A Wrap

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well it is done. I've completed the medium regular meal tour of the McDonald's menu. That is it. No more McDonald's,Burger King and the like. I know you don't believe me. Temptation you think will come my way. But I am genuinely resolute. This is the first step in reducing the more than a pound of flesh on my belly.

This was the last meal then. A Bacon and Chicken One Wrap.

The End Of An Era

It was tasty but forgettable.

So what have I learnt from this experience? Well...

1) I won't miss it. Honestly I won't. The food ranged from tastily forgettable to absolute rubbish.

2) The names of McDonald's meals make for the most part no sense. Since when has a chicken been a Legend?

3)Taking the food out of the packaging onto the plate has shown how relatively small a lot of these meals actually are. We've been taken for mugs.

And that's it...it's a wrap.

Until the next time.

Wanderings In Barry Town And Whitchurch (Cardiff)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

For reasons I won't bore you with yesterday I found myself with time to wander around two different places in South Wales yesterday. I've already dealt with Barry Town a bit in this blog so won't dwell on it that much but Whitchurch (a suburb of Cardiff) is new.

So let's start then with Barry Town.

I call this "View From Barry Town Car Park"

Now I like Barry Town, and it doesn't have the death spiral feel of Bridgend Town, but (referring to the high street) it must be careful not to fall in the same trap it's near neighbour did. It's not easy to work out the extent, partly because a number of outlets are being renovated and some (closed when I was there) were sort of takeaways/restaurants open in the evening, but it's not immune to shops closures.

I still feel though that what happens to this place (which I mentioned in my last post) is a bell weather to what will happen to the town as a whole if no one is careful.

Still Closed

As I mentioned in the previous post this is the Filco convenience store which has been closed since December last year. All retail closures are obviously bad news for the town, but like Bridgend Town with it's McDonald's or Phones4U there is something particularly depressing when the shell of the previous owners is still there after a particular length of time.

You may remember that I had a go at Cardiff Councillor Russell Goodway for suggesting that Barry Town did not have a purpose. In it I mentioned that by his logic (which I didn't agree with) you could make the same argument for most parts of Cardiff.

Whitchurch is a case in point. By Councillor Goodway's argument it's just a purposeless suburb that should just be called "something on the outside of the important bits of the capital" and forgotten about. But places evolve into a character of it's own. And Whitchurch is no exception. Circumstances meant I had an hour to wander round the place so here we go.

The main high street in Whitchurch is a delightful throwback to the Seventies with amongst the established names there are also the quirky shops. Unfortunately some shops so embrace the seventies they actually closed at 1pm on a Wednesday afternoon. Including annoyingly the Welsh Language shop.

A settled place I think

And of course amidst the coffee shops, bars, delis, gift shops there are a few charity shops. This from The Cancer Society Shop is worth a mention.

Is it just me or does Tracey seem a bit demonic?

It does have an impressive looking church, even for an atheist like me.

St Mary's

No need to wear a watch here

What bothered me about this church was that there were some parts of the cemetery outside where the grass had been cut and some which were not. Have no idea as to why but surely this should done equally just to respect the dead?

Example One

Example Two

As I've said the church was impressive looking. This spoilt it.

Walked past the local High School when I saw this sign.

Thing Is...

What's wrong with this sign? Well it's the following year. So no pressure on the class of 2018 then.

Sometimes you know you turn a street not specifically looking for anything and you are caught by surprise. St Mary's Church didn't give me that feeling. This did.

As Unexpected As It Was Impressive

I have no idea whether it was a planned thing or not. But that was unquestionably the best bit of graffiti art I have ever witnessed personally.

Whitchurch then. Settled. Relaxed. At ease with itself.

Perhaps that should it's motto.

Until the next time.

The Farewell Tour Of The McDonald's Menu Part 10: The Peri Peri Chicken One Wrap

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well I'm on the final stage of going through the medium meal menus of McDonald's before I stop eating fast food anymore. No more burgers though this time it's a wrap.

Literally

I remember when McDonald's introduced these wraps as a response to Morgan Spurlock's film about them Supersize Me. As if they were saying "We can produce healthy food as well". Like they're now saying "We can produce coffee like Starbucks" (In fact they can't).

You can see from this that the wrap was, well, not really wrapped properly. Looking at it it just seemed to be an undercover chicken burger. The Peri Peri sauce inside was just unimpressive.

It was, well, rubbish.

I had thought I'd got three meals left to do. But then I saw two of them were exactly the same as this and just the sauce was different. Only one meal really then to go where bacon is added to the chicken.

Then it's literally a wrap in every meaning.

Until the next time.

From A Jack To Still A King..Just A Sadder One. Swansea City Today

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

About two and a half months ago Swansea City fans I knew were not exactly gloating but were smiling to me, probably the only West Ham fan they knew at the fact that their team had won 4-1. At that time, the way the football mood was melding it appeared that the Swans were going, like last season, to escape relegation by the skin of their teeth whilst the hammers looked as if they were on the way down to the Championship.

Fast forward to today the thirteenth of May. West Ham play Everton knowing that they secured another Premiership season a week ago. Swansea City however were relegated. Their extremely slim chances were cut to non existence by losing 2-1 to already relegated Stoke City.

And with that relegation there's the example of how fairy stories don't always have a happy ending. Or if they do unexpected bumps occur. Their rise from Division Two and the brink of bankruptcy to the Premiership and their first ever cup competition win is the stuff of legend. They were the team people admired and yet now they are relegated. Of course to add insult to injury their bitter local rivals Cardiff City are taking their place amougst the elite.

(A quick aside here. I've not met that many Cardiff fans gloating about Swansea's fate. If only because they would have wanted to have seen the return of the South Wales derby)

So how has it come to this? Well their American owners have to take a vast amount of blame for their fate. But probably with hindsight their decline truly began in November 2015 when the Chief executive Huw Jenkins sacked club stalwart and then manager Garry Monk (I chatted about his autobiography (written whilst still with the club) in this blog. Read with hindsight it's probably the most bittersweet football book you will ever read. Just as the film about their rise to the Premiership, From A Jack To A King, will be probably the most bittersweet football film you'll see for a while.

Whether the firing of Garry Monk was justified or not is not the point here. The point is that by sacking him in an attempt to stay in the Premiership Swansea City lost their innocence. That certain somethng that made them different from other clubs was gone. They were like all the rest.

And then we come to the American owners. I suspect that they felt that the Swans were going to be a sort of Premiership cash cow. Because when Huw Jenkins and the previous group of businessmen took over the club from the brink of bankruptcy they seemed to have the knack for the most part of picking the right manager. People like Roberto Martinez or Brendon Rodgers seemed to be left of centre managers capable of finding inexpensive but talented players from across Europe (I chatted about the book Spanish Swans by Pablo Gomez which went into this).

However when the American owners took over that knack was already eluding the Swans. They had just survived staying up last season. There was I remember a tweet by a Conservative Welsh councillor that mentioned that Swansea City like Theresa May was "strong and stable" (this was during the election) forgetting as I reminded him that last season they had three managers so not so strong and stable (he blocked me since).

So if the club were unable to find cheap bargains like Michu anymore they needed the owners to put up much more money to provide players that would keep them up. This they didn't do and despite the false dawn of  manager Carlos Carvalhal's early results (including the West Ham one) gradually the growing problems came to damn them to relegation.

The future? Who knows. But as club legend Leon Britton said. It would be better that they were out of the top flight for years if it meant that when they did return they were ready for life again in the Premiership.

As a West Ham fan I hope they do.

Until the next time.

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

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until the next time.

And Another Book By this author in Matthew Quick,Quick Time

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Late last month regular readers to this blog may remember I chatted about Matthew Quick's novel The Reason You're Alive. Essentially I didn't like it. Feeling for reasons that the post chatted about that it was too American Republican for my taste and best avoided.

Well in the random way I pick books from the library I'd taken out The Good Luck Of Right Now by the same author, which I'd mentioned last week in passing in my post on the American football match in Llanharan I saw last week.

So I've never read a book by this writer and like London buses two come along in Matthew Quick succession.

Now I've finished the novel let me say this.....I loved it.

Essentially it's about a thirty nine year old man who lived with his mother who had to adjust to life since her death. He is clever but not emotionally attuned rather like a younger version of  Zachary Addy in Bones.

It's a quirky novel filled with quirky characters trying to cope with the quirky things that life brings. I won't say that the plot points will surprise you. There's one particular twist that's not so much telegraphed as lit up Las Vegas style. But that doesn't matter. It's watching different individuals deal with things that makes this book readable and indeed recommended.

Now the fact that I've read two novels by the same writer and have had two different reactions to them made me think. Of course I have favourite authors. But the chances of such a different response seems to occur more in books than in films or television. Why? Well I suspect we readers invest more in the book, we immerse ourselves in it. More than say TV for example where you know you're not in an island looking for treasure or trying to get around the world in eighty days. As a consequence the writer has more of a chance that the reader will consider a different work in a different light.

Also writers for the printed page are more likely to experiment with different genres/forms. So if your taste is not for a comedy then a Science Fiction novel set in a parallel universe might help you like a writer instead.

Random from the top of my head without doing any research I know. But interesting nonetheless.

Until the next time.

On Books: Including Not Really Liking Jane Austen

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well what can I say? Regular readers will know that I've read Jane Austen books with an open mind. Until the last book Lady Susan my view was neutral.

And of course I'm a fifty four year old man, so not her natural audience. Also everything I'm going to say is on the understanding that I haven't read all of her novels including the biggie Pride and Prejudice.

But I've finished Northanger Abbey, and well, I was bored.

It actually started so well. I got the fish out of water theme it seemed interesting enough. But then my mind was rather dulled by it all and then it started to wander until at the very end I really couldn't care less if all of the characters jumped off a cliff in mass suicide (spoiler alert:they don't).

So why don't I like her now? Well not being her audience is clearly a factor but not the only one. I think possibly because her male and female characters seem like clichés to me. Perhaps this "comedy of manners" thing is not for me. We shall see when I read her next time.

The next book was Letters Of George Borrow to the British and Foreign Bible Society. I enjoyed reading this, having taken a bit of an interest since he was mentioned in Robert Macfarlane's Tracks. But if you don't know George Borrow from George and the Dragon this will have no interest for you whatsoever and best avoided.

The Death of Balder a short play was the next thing. I don't like reading plays as a rule. I didn't like this one.

The next book is All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings about the second World War. I've read his book about the D-day landings and liked it and so am looking forward to reading this.

Jane Austen it is not.

Until the next time.

The Farewell Tour Of The McDonald's Menu Part 9: The Chicken McNuggetts

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers will be aware before I abandon fast food for good I'm going on one final tour of the normal medium meals in the McDonald's menu. A few days back it was the turn of the Chicken Mcnuggetts.

And here is the meal:

Yes I Know

I'll say this. Unlike most other meals I've had in this exercise the name makes sense. They do look like nuggets. These chicken pieces which are according to the ads carefully reared and yet not good enough chickens to be called "Select" or "Legend".

Of course it was tasty. but like most McDonald's meals quickly forgettable.

One thing that did occur to me whilst eating this, but it doesn't just refer to it, is whether McDonald's meals are actually getting smaller so that they can hold down the price rather like chocolate or packets inside multipack crisps. Of course what I'm saying is completely on memory and might be wrong. But a lot of their meals just seemed somehow bigger in the past.

There is a nine McNuggett meal (I had the standard six) but I'm going to ignore it. If only because my comments would just be times three of this one. That means there's actually just four standard medium meals to go. All wraps.

I can't wait.

Until the next time.

So Let's Talk Again About Radioactive Mud Coming To Cardiff Bay and Virgin Media

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Sometimes issues return when you least expect them. But there you go. However I didn't expect to talk about the fact that mud from the Hinckley Point nuclear plant will be deposited in Cardiff Bay for a while. But there we go.

I argued that it did not matter that science said it was safe. Science can be wrong. And the consequences of it being wrong here, being dumped not just on the Welsh capital city but also depending on the tide the seaside resorts of Barry Town and Porthcawl would be devastating.

But I find yet again I'm being accused of being "anti science" or "anti progress" or wanting to live in the dark ages or I assume wishing Wales was some large Amish community. What I've learnt is that for some Science is the new religion. Question it in any way and you're a heretic, a disbeliever. As a general term this could be called the "cure for cancer" argument. In that if you don't believe in science you don't believe in the people who are trying to make lives better.

The trouble with that argument is this. Again if we are talking generally medicines are tested first. If they fail then nothing changes to the status quo. With regard to anything nuclear however then if the science is wrong then the results could be a disaster. And that's why Wales, and specifically here Cardiff Bay, should not be used as Westminster's dumping ground for this radioactive mud.

And so back to Virgin Media.

You may remember last week I chatted about the announcement by Virgin Media that it was to close next year their call centre in Swansea. Eight hundred people were going to lose their jobs.

You know when a company lays off workers or closes a factory there is normally a sense of regret by that firm. Whether it's true or just for publicity purposes depends on the case by case basis. But here you just don't get that vibe. The feeling you get is that Virgin want you to ignore this. "800 jobs? Don't worry about that just look at our flashy new superfast superfast broadband". And who might you get if you enquire about this by phone? Why possibly some of those eight hundred whose futures have been cast aside by the Virginites. Imagine how you would feel being one of these people, trying to be professional whilst Virgin have done this to you?

And so, for the reasons I explained in my earlier post but even more now. I feel Wales should just boycott Virgin Media. There wouldn't be major job losses as I explained previously and Wales can live without Virgin Media now that Virgin Media has decided to live without Wales.

I don't believe they would be missed.

Until the next time.

On Cardiff City, American Football In Wales, and The South Wales Valleys....As You Do.

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As I'm writing this the biggest sporting news is that Cardiff City have won promotion to the Premier League after four years. This time they'll be managed by Neil Warnock (author of The Gaffer which I've discussed in this blog and is a good read)..

More than Swansea City it'll be very easy for me to go and watch them play West Ham. I've done it before. All I need to do is to pretend to be a Bluebird and look dejected when West ham win whilst keeping a monk-like silence so no one will suspect that inside I'll be happy as Larry...whoever he was.

Aside from that though I genuinely wish them well (along with Swansea City, Newport and Leyton Orient). I suspect for Cardiff City next season. A dull but stable season will suit most people fine.

But whilst they were getting promotion I was watching a different sport. American Football in fact from the British National Football League. The Welsh team, the South Wales Warriors were playing and I kid you not The Jurassic Coast Raptors from Dorset. Arguably the most stupid name in American Football history.

I like American football, with it's combination of violence and chess and as it was free to watch and wife/daughter didn't have anything better to counter it with I decided to go to Llanharan Rugby Club where the game was being held by myself (they don't like the sport).

As I took my spot the Welsh team were doing their pre match training. There was eventually a fair crowd for this game, given that the players were mainly doing this for the love of the sport and not for multi-million pound contracts. Still rules are rules. A bearded man with a clipboard asked a player whether he had a Warrior strip. Given that the player was wearing the strip he was not impressed.

Next the coach introduced the team to the team to wops and cheers from the team.

The Green Army

After that he told the players he expected a high score from them. He needn't have worried as it soon became clear that this game was going to get one sided as once the Warriors scored a touchdown they soon scored another one."They're not pushing" was a comment I heard one of the Warrior players make on their opponents. And it was true. I'd put more effort in opening a Jam jar than the Raptors did on the pitch.

After touchdown two

In all honesty the Raptors were an awful team. I could only recall one significant drive they had. And they didn't score from that.

After the third touchdown you knew it was going to be the sort of victory where the opposition had neither the energy, talent or resolve to beat the Warriors.

Half time. Time for food. A Hot Dog and a Pepsi. Wouldn't have been more American at that moment unless singing a Country and Western tune.

After I had the hot dog I was reading one of the two books I'd borrowed from the library. It was this:

Matthew Quick - The Good Luck Of Right Now

Regular readers will know I didn't like the last book of his I read. I won't chat about this properly until I've finished but so far so good.

The Warriors Half Time Warm-Up

Soon after the second half started the Welsh side scored again. I'd lost count by this time.

And then they scored again. and again. Come the last quarter I knew I was going to leave early. Why? Because you could tell that the Warriors Jurassic performance had like their Dinosaur namesake rolled over and died. There was a sort of surrender in their performance which meant it was pointless to stay on. And I left with about five minutes remaining.

"The game's not over" said the offensive coach to his men as I was walking passed them. Trust me it was over a long while before that.

I decided to drive around the South Wales Valleys before I went home. It was a spur of the moment thing. So I didn't stop until I reached somewhere near Treherbert. Still the views were stunning. Here they are.











And let me repeat. If my wife dies before me I'm moving to Treorchy. No matter what my wife or her Cardiff friends and family think. And this is the reason why. Let's face it. If I didn't tell you where I was you'd think France or Tuscany.

Until the next time.