Jeremy Corbyn – whatever next!

‘The UK referendum vote to leave the European Union (EU) may have had as much to do with people’s distrust of international organisations as it did fear of immigration.’

Here you have it, according to the University of Kent. Brexit is all about who you trust on immigration. So, let’s leave it there shall we? I’ve had enough of Brexit per se. Well, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party is in a bit of a spot, MP’s leaving right, left and centre. And he’s carrying on as if nothing has happened. What have I been saying about politics?

Now, I was walking around Carmarthen the other day. What’s he doing walking about this town for? Swansea Jacks should stick to Swansea for heaven’s sake! Anyway, I was struck by the cosmopolitan aura of the place. Shops selling all in sundry and superstores waiting to bite the consumer on the backside. All fair game in this day and age. There were coffee shops selling beans of all description and stalls selling you bankrupt stock all at reduced prices.

It was a maze of sell or die amusement.

I couldn’t help but compare it to Swansea City’s pitiful example of a concrete wasteland stuck on the edge of a sharpened knife. Beauty and the unbearable beast that no one can tell me where it has come from – well the War might have had something to do with but who knows? The parking is something out of a horror story and the one-way system makes you wonder if you are going potty!

Swansea is a mess.

Why doesn’t the Council do something about it? Don’t tell me – it’s skint. It always has been. For the past 60 years it has been short of funds and I’m well past that age now. Get your act together and do something. Make Swansea City an attraction, a place to be. Get tourists in to view the delights of a Welsh landscape. Well, fat chance of that but one can at least try!

Swansea City needs a rejuvenation of spirit, a need to go on. Let’s try and make it work, at least in something other than a concrete block or a bland shop front.

It can work, you know. Creativity with a blissful soul is the answer to my prayers – I’m getting all American now, so forgive me!

Kidwelly – Carmarthenshire News

Kid-welly is an old town named after a Welsh cowboy – well, if you believe that you will believe anything! I can’t see a Welsh cowboy running around in a pair of Wellies shooting up cow thieves in in order to maintain his nationalistic independence but there we are.

No really and jokes aside, Kidwelly is a small town in Carmarthenshire, population about 3500. It has some history attached to it, the earliest written form of the name, ‘Cetgueli’, is recorded by the monk, Nennius, writing in the 9th century. One theory of the name is that it comes from the joining of two river beds, Gwendraeth Fawr and Gwendraeth Fach, wherein Cydweli (the Welsh version) lies. The town itself is ancient, established by written records at around the twelfth century. As for its history, it has a castle built in around 1106 and a Norman parish church, both a delight to the eyes and something that attracts tourists into the area – I can’t say that this fills me with joy, it means that there is nowhere to park the car anywhere!

Anyway, that’s Kidwelly for you apart from the Industrial Revolution when brickworks and tinworks were the order of the day.

How did I end up here, you might well ask? Pure chance it must be said, I was working in Birmingham (having spent a large part of my adult life in England) and getting divorced, so I bought a property in Wales and ended up in Kidwelly.

It was a good choice as it turned out.

Gone is the crammed crush of London and cheerio to the mighty swathes of people that hold power in the cities. The life in rural Wales is far gentler, more bespoke to my writing inclinations. Kidwelly is a comfortable place to live. The people are kind and welcoming, it’s certainly a place to be, if one can call it that.

As age creeps up on me and my eyesight tries to catch everything, I cannot thank of a more salubrious place to die. At night the streets are quiet and during the day light hours there is an awakening of activity. The chemist run at full tilt and the coffee shops take the pro-found yells of tea and biscuits. Walking my dog along the estuary gives me a moment to reflect and think of things that may or may not happen. It’s a cherished second of individual thought.

So all I can say, is that the town holds something, it might be the peace, it might be a quiet deliberation but all in all it’s a pleasant way to end the journey of a lifetime.

Bernard Shaw and Nationalism – Evening Post

Bernard Shaw wrote many years ago, ‘As the advance of Socialism from doctrine and theory to practice extend the activities and powers of the State it extends also the opportunities for corruption and the mass of the plunder.’ Well, he could be right on this (he could be also right in his polemic that Swift threw off the mark of a king in his name of Yahoos for men!) This is a Socialist doctrine no doubt but a nationalist one. He wrote in sincere favour of a right or left dictatorship – a hint of indecision here? Stalin and Mussolini were his favourites.

I am reminded of the fact that Russia has fallen foul of the Communist agenda and that many other Socialist States are falling too – China is an exception, but what do you do about execution and hold your tongue whatever you do? Nothing, that’s what.

Nationalisation is on the political books at the moment. Marxist and Trotskyist delusion is all the rage, at least if you are far left Labour. It has been tried many times in the past and the result? Non- profit making and strikes. Remember the 1970’s? All about inflation running at 30% and the UK going to the IMF for a loan. Makes you wonder what all this Brexit is all about doesn’t it. This is the nature of politics, doom and gloom for everybody.

They should have taken a hard look at nationalisation. The railways, the car industry etc etc It was all a right mess. As I say, doom and gloom for everybody

We now have a Jeremy Corbyn – a reincarnation of Michael Foot. He is all about nationalisation and the State owning everything. No harm in this but is it not a little old fashioned? A tired reincarnation of something that has been around for the past 100 years? Globalisation is the front man for the politics of the left – and right come to that. But is there anything we can do? We are able to stop it in its tracks (that would mean bankruptcy for all) or control it. The latter would seem to be an outright winner, depending on you point of view of course.

It all comes down to a vote, and when this happens on General Election day, look out. We shall, as the politicians say, ‘ Wait and see.’

Kidwelly

Kid-welly is an old town named after a Welsh cowboy – well, if you believe that you will believe anything! I can’t see a Welsh cowboy running around in a pair of Wellies shooting up cow thieves in in order to maintain his nationalistic independence but there we are.

No really and jokes aside, Kidwelly is a small town in Carmarthenshire, population about 3500. It has some history attached to it, the earliest written form of the name, ‘Cetgueli’, is recorded by the monk, Nennius, writing in the 9th century. One theory of the name is that it comes from the joining of two river beds, Gwendraeth Fawr and Gwendraeth Fach, wherein Cydweli (the Welsh version) lies. The town itself is ancient, established by written records at around the twelfth century. As for its history, it has a castle built in around 1106 and a Norman parish church, both a delight to the eyes and something that attracts tourists into the area – I can’t say that this fills me with joy, it means that there is nowhere to park the car anywhere!

Anyway, that’s Kidwelly for you apart from the Industrial Revolution when brickworks and tinworks were the order of the day.

How did I end up here, you might well ask? Pure chance it must be said, I was working in Birmingham (having spent a large part of my adult life in England) and getting divorced, so I bought a property in Wales and ended up in Kidwelly.

It was a good choice as it turned out.

Gone is the crammed crush of London and cheerio to the mighty swathes of people that hold power in the cities. The life in rural Wales is far gentler, more bespoke to my writing inclinations. Kidwelly is a comfortable place to live. The people are kind and welcoming, it’s certainly a place to be, if one can call it that.

As age creeps up on me and my eyesight tries to catch everything, I cannot thank of a more salubrious place to die. At night the streets are quiet and during the day light hours there is an awakening of activity. The chemist run at full tilt and the coffee shops take the pro-found yells of tea and biscuits. Walking my dog along the estuary gives me a moment to reflect and think of things that may or may not happen. It’s a cherished second of individual thought.

So all I can say, is that the town holds something, it might be the peace, it might be a quiet deliberation but all in all it’s a pleasant way to end the journey of a lifetime.

No more shuffling around!

Jeremy Corbyn is in a mixture of detachment and general indecision. One cannot blame him in this. He neither knows which way his party will vote or what they want – a political nightmare on anybody’s scale. It might have something to do with his back slapping and his hugging of far left politicians eg Chavez (now deceased) of Venezuela, Hamas, Hezbollah etc. But this is not the point, at the moment.

A firmness is needed, just as in the Tory party. We are all fed up with the machinations that are going on politically. The nation has voted for out of the EU and this is what that means – out. When are we going to have someone who will say, ‘We’re off now, we’re out’, but just remember your own European industrial empire will suffer just as much as ours and no amount of cocktails and fine food will alter this.

So go to blue blazes to all you in the European Union, we’ve stood on our own and for a good few years and we will manage it again! And come to that, we no longer want to be in a European state taking trade deals ruled by you. Enough is enough.

Well, that’s enough of Brexit for now, heavens knows how much argument and back stabbing will continue to subsist as long as there are politicians embroiled in a momentous fight to win the last scalp!

On a lighter note, have you noticed all the bacterial and antiseptic wipes mothers use now? It’s all mind bending stuff I can tell you. What happened to children being allowed to play in the woods and coming back home in a right royal filthy mess. I was one of these misdemeanant louts. And we were  told to your wash your hands before we ate. That’s it. Look at what we’ve got now? Children who can’t handle any colds for fear being enclosed in an oxygen tent!

It’s all going mad. The nanny state? Gone are the good old days of playing and childish acts of valour. We’re missing something here and I think it’s the computerisation of our young. You may laugh but I think it’s a problem we shall have to conjure up some detailed response to, mark my words

That’s a depressing column for you, but let’s just say, hope, is all we’ve got!

Let’s see

The playwright John Osborne (now deceased) wrote in the 70’s, the politicians’ ‘ritual incantation of phrases – like “Inflation”, “National Unity”, “Priorities” and “Social Contracts” only concealed ‘the nasty reality of the awful brutishness of most of English life today’.

Well, he has something here. What with Northern Ireland, strikes, financial ruin and two Governments brought down by the Unions etc in the 1970’s. Has anything changed? People talk about Brexit being the last decision of great importance that the Government has reached since the Second World War. Well, commentators had better look back into their history books – me included! Turmoil and crisis is the way of political endeavour, it always has been. We British like a good scrap! And if it’s the French or Germans, good luck to all in sundry!

Really, when one comes to think of it, Brexit is all about fighting with the European Union – nothing new here, again look at our history. And whatever the outcome is, it’s all as nothing when compared to our noble history. Frankly, I’m fed up with writing the word ‘Brexit’, no doubt many of you feel the same way.

So, nothing more about this impasse, Brexit that is – whenever that will happen.

It’s a New Year and all the political shenanigans that go with it. The back stabbing, the self-righteous howls of me, me, me and how much can I make out of it, goes on. All politicians are the same, good and bad. The well-being of the planet, the destruction of our education system, the annihilation of the Health Service and so on, all prevail as if nothing much has happened.

All I can say, is nothing has changed but here’s the thing, I still feel quite happy to be born in the British Isles. We are as a nation strong and deliberate and with an intent that cannot be compared with any other nation.

Its time now to put all the arguments aside. We must come together for the good of British nationality, for the good of ourselves.

It is time to say, enough – well, hope would be a fine thing!  

Bollocks to Christmas!

It’s a Christmas cheer to you all and thank God it’s out the way! I hate Christmas but there we are. My wife goes potty about it but we all have to put up with the Xmas cheers of it all – well, I don’t mind Christmas but don’t tell anybody that!

I wonder if the next year will be as changeable and chaotic as this year? What will happen to the education, the NHS, Social Services etc and not to mention that biggy, Brexit? Heaven knows. I’ll be sitting in my armchair and ever so hopeful with a glass of whisky letting it all pass me by in a drunken slur – not if my wife is around but I’ll try anyway!

More seriously, it comes down to being British. Despite all the nonsense that goes on, it seems to me that you’re extremely lucky to be born here. The great British Isles. We have so many faults but when you add it all up it’s not a country that I am ashamed of. We are the oldest Parliament in history and a democratic one. Compassion has ruled our waves, kindness is the order of the day and not many countries can say this.

We like to rule ourselves, without any interference from another country.

We are British.

All of us should celebrate our antecedents. All of us. Black, brown and white. We should all remember the good and the bad and possibly came out of it all with a reasonable feeling that it’s good to be British and stand alone.

All I can say is be merry (and don’t pop too many corks!), be kind to your neighbour and spread that happiness around to all in sundry. To hell with what’s on the TV and newspapers, ignore it. Stand up, grip your friend and be counted, it’s all we have left.

We are all British and don’t you forget it! 

Chaos!

The University of Kent’s Professor Richard Whitman has commented on the current political turmoil in the UK by saying that the EU will need clarity about what the UK wants in these unprecedented times as ‘without the Withdrawal Agreement the UK leaves the EU. This is the real backstop agreement.’

He continues: ‘Attention has, rightly, cantered on the Government’s problems in Parliament. And even the most experienced commentators cannot confidently predict the direction for the UK’s politics in the next fortnight. Will there be a new Prime Minister, a new Government or will a General Election be called?

There you have it. The commentators don’t know, the politicians don’t know and the people’s journalists don’t know either. We voted in a referendum and that’s all there is to it. You know my opinions on the chaos and that’s where I’ll leave it. I don’t want to bore with any more supposition and lack of clarity – vote with the PM and let’s leave it at that.

What about education in Wales? I know what I would do if I have any little ones – get out of Wales. It’s the lowest in the PISA results, and the Welsh language is causing more destruction to our little ones. Bi-lingual is all very well but try speaking Welsh in Paris, it’s a no-go area, isn’t it just and I know! The Welsh Labour administration has caused the health service to implode and education along with it. Twenty years of complete annihilation, that’s devolution for you.

Politicians had better watch out, the people are beginning to explode. And remember, they are there to serve, not dictate. They carry out our wishes, come hell or high water and they had better do well to remember this. I have interviewed a good few in my time and I can tell you now that I am going right off this. I’m tired of all the lies, tired of all the self-reliance and tired of all the bluster.

It’s time to say enough. Do your job or get out of it, because if you don’t the people may take the law into our own hands and make this decision for you.

The Welsh NHS and all who sail in her!- EP Dec 2018

Six out of seven NHS hospitals in Wales are not reaching their targets – well, no surprises there then! The NHS is in a right mess and Wales is one of the biggest offenders. You can blame the cutbacks etc (there’s no point in blaming this because the Government has committed to more money being spent on it!) and there is no point in saying how great the NHS is – I’m getting fed up with hearing this old swan song.

It’s not ‘great’ and far from it. Emergency care is first class, but as for anything else forget it and believe me I know. Having been involved in an argument with a car and the resulting brain surgery, I was shoved from pillar to post and ended up in ward that had nothing to do with the injuries I had suffered. Job done as the NHS would have you believe – if you ignore the fact that it took seven weeks to take the stitches out, and I had to ask for this. There were a couple of stitches left in when I had to have a brain scan done a year later. Give me strength!

Let’s have a proper debate on the NHS and the Labour administration that has been running it, Welsh Labour that is. We have a NHS system that is failing. The worse in the country (that’s the UK). It’s skint and will need more and more money being pushed into it. People are getting older and living a lot longer. I have a 96 years old father in law living me and the Council are making a total hash up of its legal duty of care. Councils? Why bother with them, one might well ask?

Like everything else that the politicians do, it’s all ending up in a fandango of illiterate chaos.

Take the Brexit argument. Why don’t the politicos get together and support Theresa May?? We’ve tried every debating notion under the sun and we finally have a deal. They have gone on and on about this and that, every trick in the book has been tried and where have they got? Nowhere, that’s where. There’s no other deal available. So, why don’t the people just get them out. They are our servants, despite all the popular shenanigans they come up with.

Get the self-serving, self-interested maniacs out! And let’s go with Theresa May –and this includes some of the Assembly members.

 

Welsh language maniacs!

These people really do get right up my nose. They are dangerous and destructive to common sense and the right to express an opinion. The other day I rang Carmarthenshire County Council – what a joke! I nearly slammed down the bloody phone. All Welsh with a smidgen of English. English is the first language of Wales, Welsh is only spoken by about 18% of the people living here. It is a fine exposition of language nationalism.

Stop wasting public money on a dead language!

PS They have had fake and defamatory pamphlets on my Amazon ‘sell by’ page, the nonsense reviews are appalling and every chance they get they insult ad infinitum. They are indeed ‘maniacs’.