Amazon has taken the view that that Julian from Jewels is defamatory and removed it form its website (some 70 pages of unadulterated nonsense that got itself on my sell by page).

My web page on Amazon is free of such garbage.

Well now, didn’t this Newsnight programme I appeared in cause a bit of a stink? The Media were crawling over me! Not for the first time it must be said, come to that the Welsh language is a cause celebre in any event. And the social medium storm? Well, well. 

I’m not going to apologise for anything, there’s nothing to apologise for. The reason for this is, that I wasn’t rude to anyone or obnoxious. The ranting and raving was all about Nationalism and Wales is for us, no matter what. Both stories I heartily disagree with, but there we are. The Welsh speakers (though not all) did not do their cause any good and why? Newsnight goes out to the rest of the country and the national Media as well. Not good at all.

I said at the beginning of the interview I had no problem with people speaking Welsh. Let anyone sing it, speak it and enjoy it. Not that this was recognised by the Ruck haters. That’s the trouble, they can’t recognise an argument when they see it. I was maintaining that the cost to the tax payer, outweighed the benefits etc

Various bodies were out (the Eisteddfod for one) and giving a Petition to the BBC demanding an apology. Well, they got one but only in part. Journalistic hindsight I’d say, and that’s all there is to it. You try speaking for three quarters of an hour and try getting everything right, Evan Davies did what he thought was correct.

I was told to get back to England (I can’t understand this, I’m Welsh) and so on. Some of the massages were too obscene to mention here but be that as it may. Freedom of speech and everything.

All in all, it gave non-Welsh speakers (the majority) a chance to say what has been on their minds for a long time. BBC Wales is run by 60% Welsh speakers, so there is an agenda for Wales to be all Welsh no matter what. Their news story didn’t mention me by name, so be it, it’s their choice. An unpalatable one but there we are.

The minority Welsh speakers (some) would like another debate, what they can say is beyond me. Their Welsh Language Commissioner, had better start looking at the Welsh Language Society for a job, she knows all about it having been the Chairwoman for a couple of years.

The language has lasted for 2000 years and without Government support. What will a lady say when she is asked to wait  79 days extra from England for an operation – sorry madam, but the Welsh language is costing us £150m a year, so you’ll have to wait.

Minorities rule, don’t they just!

      

 

I have a suggestion: What if all the State Governments around the world, were led by women?

This is a curious statement and one that could guarantee argument around the dining table – if not violent shouting! But there it is, women rule the world and that’s that! We’ve had two women PM’s, one took us to war with the Argentinian’s, the other let upheaval break loose over the European Union. Not war exactly, in the sense of guns and shooting, but war all the same. You can ask any politician this and he would howl, ‘It’s war, war and war again!’

Extremely disconcerting.

Back to my leading of the world by women. In my humble opinion (don’t knock it, humility goes a long way!), the world would be a much better place if women called the shots. They would be less likely to pull the trigger (they’re not as aggressive as men) and they would be more inclined to sit down and talk. Two factors that men have abused for heaven knows how many years and will continue to do so.

Women would be more inclined to reconcile, find reason for their decisions. They would be far better at finding a way out. This is what I believe in and quite honestly if anyone disagrees well, they can ……..lump it. I’m a columnist and entitled to my opinion! If anyone is of a contrary opinion, then by all means write to the editor. You are merely exercising your democratic right, and I’ll hear no argument which says otherwise.

So, women are getting into the Press again. Good luck to them all, it’s about time. I might challenge my wife, I might call her everything in a kitchen spat but I have to admit I wouldn’t swap her – more fool me perhaps! But she’s good at organising and putting everyone in their place – including me, chance would be a fine thing but you get my drift.

All in all, women are good at ‘multi-tasking’ (I’ve never understood what this means but there you are) and managing events – how would we cope with a baby etc? How would we cope with people coming around to the house, how would we deal with the normal domestic issues and grand government decisions?

They do it and do it to the best of their ability, which isn’t bad in fairness.

To conclude then, I would say that women should stop banging on about equal rights (in this country anyway) with men, they’ve got them. They should rise to the challenge and make men think again – not that there’s many out there, particularly in the young generation.

You’ve done it girls and well done!    

   

Leaving the European Union is causing a bit of a stir, particularly on Social Media. In fact its war, not in the guns and bullets sense but war all the same, in the insult and hard words thrown at each other – likewise it is the same in the Media.

This is not good.

We’ve come out of wars in the past, but this one is different. There’s a whole lot of legislation to be seen to and how do we deal with this? A question that must give the negotiators a hard time getting to sleep at night. There’s so much of it, I would want to blub myself into a troubled slumber but there we are: War is war.

Politicians are calling each other everything, people are not speaking with each other (so the Press say, I haven’t seen any of this but there we are) and there are knives drawn at dawn for anyone who has an opinion on whether we should stay in or out.

Simple question if you ask me, and I cannot see any reason to get so bombastic about it – because in  truth, we don’t know anything at the moment. Labour might be going nuts over it (Momentum is causing a political fire storm), the Tories might be eating themselves up over various standpoints and all the rest are in a pickle on what they should do to save the financial well-being of our country– well, getting out of debt might be start but I’ll leave this to another column.

It’s all crazy, why people don’t wait to see what the terms of leaving are I just don’t know. We don’t know how the Government is going to negotiate (fair enough, if you ask me) and we don’t know how the Union is going to react, again fair enough.

Why don’t people just be a little patient? Everything comes to those who wait on the side lines, everything. Assumption is all very well but it isn’t fact is it? We can all make ‘assumptions’ about this and that but it doesn’t get us anywhere.

I’ve never let on how I voted for the European Union, nor will I now. I need to exercise a certain patience with it all and in this respect, I suggest all you readers do the same. We cannot say that’s it with the Single Market, we cannot say that’s it with trade. Nothing has been decided, as yet.

So I say finish off your whisky, give your partner a goodnight kiss and have a sound sleep. There’s nothing much we can do about it, is there?

Well, there’s a protest vote but this hasn’t got the Labour Party anywhere has it?       

Politics is a game. Who wins this and who wins that. It drives the people mad and turns them into shouting loonies. Some would say it’s a tawdry eye opener, but necessary. There’s a lot in this.

The Tories are trying to make us ‘great again’ and Labour is trying to do everything they can to make us a socialist republic. Great in the Leninsky model. All good things and all well intentioned. The Tories will not suffer aggravation (at least, so they say), and Labour suffers in the background with wails of social justice and deliberation from the Tory monsters.

It’s all good stuff.

Now, where are we all going with this? Are you a monster Tory or are you socialist Labourite? Cutting taxes or raising them? It’s a simple choice really, on the surface that is. But what about Vince Cable, the giant of Liberal Democracy, the new Leader of a defunct party. He’s back and with an advanced theory about it all.

A theory that makes one pause to consider.

The gentleman is out for a non-Brexit cause, is out for the centre ground. I’ve read his books and they do impress, unlike some of the other tomes written by politicians. His pausing voice, his grandfather thinking is not far off the mark. He is a heavy politico with all the strength of conviction required.

He is a threat to both Tory and Labour leaderships. Not so say some, but they are living in a political nightmare.

He concentrates his mind on the middle ground (which is an area I agree with!) and goes in gun blazing and hitting all in sundry. Fine politics, depending on which mind you have. He has Government positioning behind him and is used to power. He knows how to wield it, which is far better than his predecessor – well, the less said about Farron the better.

Vince Cable will change the political and angry landscape. He will bring experience and a well thought out timing to it. He will also bring a more dignified approach to political philosophy and its administration. Its fine having these protest marches (which achieve precisely nothing) and calling the other side everything from the side lines but where does it get us?

Nowhere, that’s where.

It’s time for the political environment to take on a more ‘steady as she goes’, a more gentle approach. Insults and name calling are not achieving anything, bring Vince Cable in to calm the war and let’s see what he does. He might not do anything but he might just stir things up to a new political reality.

Give him a chance, heaven knows we give everyone else that!

It is surprising (well, maybe not) what makes the world go around. It’s all about money. Money for this, money for that and just about everything else you can think of. We’re all at it, trying to earn a few quid to keep the family going and so on. Politicians are in it, campaigners, commentators and ne’er do wells.

It’s all about how much you shove into your backside pocket – or purses.

Bearing this in mind, how much do we hate the politicos up there in Parliament? Those people who have champagne lunches and smoked salmon sarnies? Those with MP after their name? Not to mention the bullet proof cars that drive the Ministers around everywhere.

Well, do we really hate them?

I’m going to make myself thoroughly unpopular here (not for the first time!) but I’ve interviewed many politicians, some I’ve liked some I’ve disliked. But I can tell you now, none of them I’ve found to be dishonest crooks – that’s even the ones I have disliked. They’re all hard working and believe it or not, trying to do the best one can in even strained circumstances. As for dishonesty, forget it. We have the oldest democracy in the world and it’s taken some bumps along the way, but on a personal basis, I find Parliament the best place there is to exercise a full blown row about something that is setting the Prime Minister’s nose out of joint – and umpteen other things too.

Left, right and in the centre (what all this means heaven knows), no matter what your political persuasion, at least you can stand up and shout your grief for all it is worth. This is something alone you can be grateful for.

Talking about politicians (I’m not going to get in the popular journo list am I?), I have feeling that whomever May hands down to, Jacob Rees-Mogg is a front runner. Don’t laugh now, I’m being serious here. He might be an Old Etonian (what’s wrong in that) and speak with a mouthful of plums in his mouth but in my view, he’s looking at holding the keys to Number 10 in his hand. He has a sense of humour and a serious outlook on politics, two of the most favourable characteristics of a politician. He is able to laugh at himself too.

Rees-Mogg, that’s a name to keep in your mind, be it belligerent or kind but it’s a name that we’ll be hearing more of as the future beckons and let’s face it, who knows what politics is going to do, even the parties are in a mess over it all!

Politics is an uncertain business. Look at Trump. Not one brick put up to extend the barriers, not one assault on Obama’s health plan. As I say, its an uncertain business.

Why is everybody so quiet about the Welsh language? I have no problem with the speaking of it etc but the cost to the taxpayer, the political silence and the diminution of jobs seems to me something that should be investigated and explored to a proper conclusion.

Wales is English speaking, even Welsh speakers are able to carry on a conversation and write it.

Where is the difficulty?

It seems that my last column has caused a bit of stir amongst the Welsh people – my blog has been overloaded with views etc. It seems that apparently that Welsh Nationalist argument has gone off the rails as it were – sad but true. Education is the cause of it and people feel strongly about it. “Nationalists to instil Welsh terror on our children” seems to be the general cause of complaint. They say that the Welsh language might be the cause of such virulent outrage in the school but when it comes to the school gates it’s all about English on the smart phones, it was ever thus.

There are some thing parents can do. File Freedom of Information requests to the Council on how much this is all costing, translation rights etc. The Council has to have good reason not to react. The Carmarthenshire County Council is trying to make Welsh medium education in all of its schools, this would be a good place to start. Parents have little or no say in what it is trying to do.

It is time you spoke out!

There is so much I have done to explain the Welsh speaking process. I have no objection to the speaking of it but I do object to the cost to the public purse – and this is England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. If the Welsh Government could show that all this money improves the usage of Welsh then fair enough – but it can’t. Its money is down a greedy drain. The last Census proves it, and if you take it on a more accurate basis, English shines through in a blindingly obvious way.

The majority of parents want their children to speak English, a common language for the rest of the world. Have Welsh as a second language but what on earth the children are going to with it heaven knows, they could go on televisions S4C I suppose – although very few actually watch it. The viewing figures go down and down, the same with the Welsh speaking radio.

Why can’t the Welsh Government see the light? Why can’t it do something about the cost of it all? There’s a new advert on now – speak Welsh and the world will be yours. Well, it won’t but that’s propaganda for you.

What world, instead of Patagonia that is.

There needs to some kind of resolution to this, apart from anything as I said in last week’s column, the internet is the biggest threat of all. Time will conclude all this argument and it doesn’t look good for the Welsh language. It will go on, but for how much longer who knows.     

Let’s stir the pot again, shall we?

 “We must protect languages in the light of Brexit.” Sian Gwenllian (Plaid Cymru) is shouting from the rooftops, in a voice that will hold no bars or reasoned debate! Well she’s on about the Welsh language make no mistake. Dear me, this Welsh bit is getting a bit tedious isn’t it? No politician worth his or her salt is going criticise the language for fear of the having the Welsh Language Society or Welsh Government breathing down his or her neck – just like the national Government, only on a different basis!

“Brexit will have an extremely negative effect on the Welsh language……..” The Shadow Cabinet Secretary has written in a letter to the Welsh Language Minister. Yes, it’s got its own Minister now, heaven forbid! It will prove to have a devastating effect upon the 1 million Welsh speakers across Wales apparently – that’s if you call speaking the language in a mixture of English and Welsh that is. 1 million? In your dreams. You’ve spent all this money and have nothing to show for it. Nothing.

The lady goes on to say, “…protecting our nation’s language….” What? English is our nation’s language not Welsh, where is the woman coming from?

I must say that I like Leanne Wood, but the policy of Plaid Cymru does come a bit unstuck, particularly on the Welsh language front. They’d have us all speaking Welsh in no time at all, that would go down well in Swansea wouldn’t it? I can’t speak a word of it, like the vast majority of people. We’re skint, as a country (UK) and since when can we afford all the millions to try and force us to speak a foreign tongue? It’s ridiculous.

If you want to speak it, carry on. No-one is stopping you, but don’t demand public funding to pay for it. This money can be spent on far better resources than a language which is spoken by a minority of people. Apart from anything else, there’s the internet. What is the Welsh language going to do about this? If anything will kill off the language it is this. It’s a pity, but there we are. The internet rules ok – I can’t say I’m happy about this but there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s seizing up conversation, obliterating reasoned argument and apart from all this, turning us into Artificial Intelligence.

It has won – although, there may be a day when we will regret all this. The internet is a threat to the Welsh language and a threat to ourselves. We had better watch out. Knowledge is a great thing, but too much can confuse and drive one to an inescapable full-stop.