They Call It “A
Glitch” . . .
. . . but I think there are better
words to describe it.
On the very first day of this week’s
Royal Welsh Show, the shuttle-service of buses taking people from the car-parks
to the Show Ground failed lamentable.
Potential bus-users were left hanging around for ages and ages.
Those who “organised” the event could
not have really understood that a fair few folk would use the bus-service. They did not allow for the numbers which the
Show constantly attracts, year after year.
The people left to hang around were,
quite rightly, peeved by the “glitch”.
We go to the Royal Welsh to have a happy time, meet old friends, and
general enjoy ourselves. Many of us
will wonder whether it’s worth visiting next year.
And some of us will wonder if next
year’s organisers will be acquainted with the procedures necessary to run a
celebratory event in a beer-producing plant – for this year’s lot certainly
couldn’t even manage that!
The Health Of The
Nation
Can someone tell me what "well
behind the curve compared to areas of England"
actually means? It appears to be some
sort of ‘Newspeak’ – see Orwell’s “1984”.
Health
Minister Edwina Hart has revealed to our nation that our land Wales will not be
part of the National Pandemic Flu
Service which kicks-off in Mother England next week. That’s because – though you and I know that
the danger of the pandemic is as great in Wales as in our Eastern neighbour – such a measure
would put more stress on the NHS.
Wonderful news, then. If our Westminster masters decide to start a war somewhere, the
money will be found. If our NHS needs
cash . . . well . . . that seems to be an unnecessary expense.
Nevertheless, I must add that the
people working up at the sharp end of our Health Service do a good and decent
job. Maybe it’s they who should
organise how the Service is run.
How Kind!
The crowds stayed away in their
thousands as the London government sent its Cabinet to Cardiff.
It was an historic day. Gordon
Brown showed how desperate he is to gain credibility in this part of the
English Empire by finding his way here.
Our own Assembly Government is run by
members of the party which Mr. Brown leads.
Therefore, does it not make sense to you and me that our land – though
seeming to have some form of devolution – is neatly controlled from London?
And don’t be fooled by the “first
time” tag: did not the Kings of England
take their courts to various parts of “their” land in medieval times?
Racism
I’ve had a few e-mails recently
purporting to be in support of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They have been Anglicised to make them look as if they originate from
these Isles. But they contain racist
propaganda, cunningly disguised as “patriotism”, and they’re started by White
Supremists in the Home of the Brave and the Land of the Free.
And, only this week, I have
encountered people who have moved into Welsh-speaking parts of our land who are
not only anti-black, anti-Muslim, anti-any-form-of-immigration – but are
also members of The Anti-Welsh Language Society!
In a very rural part of Welsh-speaking
Wales, one of these people said to me: “It’s
a good job we English are coming to this part of the world. If it was left to Welsh-speakers, it would
be in a right old mess.”
I am what you would call “dysgwr” and
what I
would call “a struggler”. But,
surely, if one is in a Welsh-speaking part of our land, one should make the
attempt. How much more important is the
making of that attempt if one comes to live in a Welsh-speaking area?
The Anti-Welsh Language Society
thrives because there are many English Supremacists buying homes in Wales:
ones who have not the least intention of recognising the language,
history and culture of where they live, and who are adding precious little to
our communities.
And it also thrives because we, the
people of Wales, allow it to!
Archie Lowe
archie.lowe@laughingdragons.co.uk
WEEKEND WALES WATCH 