DutchEnery

The question of Brexit has yet another high profile critic. Perhaps I might be allowed to ask a question? These people who are elected representatives of the British people, what are they to represent? Yes, the will of the people. Hmmmm, pretty easy to deduct that I would say. Unfortunately, the reality seems to be that everyone of these elected representatives just follows their own ideas and desires! Now I have just listened to Lord Adonis, interesting chap but completely wrong. First of all he suddenly feels that we are going the wrong way. Well, maybe but is it not his job to see to it that the will of the people is carried out to the best of his ability? No, we now have just another sniper who is mumbling all sorts of untruths about the whole process. Secondly he was part of the government as an adviser.  Possibly his advice was not accepted because it simply wasn't good enough? So, another MP who is throwing his toys out of the pram? Oh Westminster is deluged by all theses ...

I do receive the posts of 'Unlocking Democracy', a pressure group. Sometimes they say what I can agree with and sometimes I do not. That's what democracy is all about. But as I have been saying in the past on another blog about politicians taking on outside jobs to pay for things like second even third homes, duck-ponds and more it was galling to read about the erstwhile Chancellor, puppy-eyed George Osborne having seven paid positions? One is apparently paying him £600,000 plus per annum for one day a week's work! Makes one wonder when in politics they already started to lay the foundations for their future. Is it not strange then that they are working for precisely these companies and organisations they benefitted from laws and rules they made during their Westminster Palace tenure? Just wondering. And he is not the only one of course, David Cameron also acquired a lucrative position. Perhaps it is high time to investigate these practices. Be aware though that it is n...

One of the things about making decisions is the ability to enforce them. In the matter of the Brexit question - for those who do not know what that is ‘ the decision through a referendum made by the British people to leave the European Union’ - it seems that the decision was made but no-one really knew how to implement it or enforce it. Nor what the implications would be. To any sane observer a decision to leave means, open the door, exit, and close the door. No questions about how to open the door, how long to be spent crossing the threshold and no questions whether to close the door softly or give it a good shove. But of course politics is just that. Endless arguments over the ‘fine’ details. As a result the UK is in an almighty morass. To be fair so is the EU. If we took a good look at the judiciary I would say the UK is quite capable of law-giving and enforcement. For that we do not need the European Court. Also do not forget there was a time before the EU. Personally for me th...

What amazes me is the inability of politicians to think about financial affairs. There is a simple truth. You cannot spend more than you ‘earn’. In government parlance that means you cannot spend more than you get in tax income. If you do, there is only one way to alleviate the shortage, you borrow. In the case of the UK the government(s) have borrowed close to £2trillion. By all accounts the debt stands at some 85% of GDP! All talk of reducing the deficit is just total idiotic and simply means just one thing, we keep on increasing the debt. The deficit talk just underpins the inability to reduce our spending. It also means any government, past, present, future has build up a society that vastly lives beyond its means. Who is to blame? We all are! Simply too many of us are walking along with closed eyes and cotton-wool in our ears. It is worrying to hear on the various news channels the continuing clamour for ever more money. NHS, Social Security. It must be obvious to all except it i...

Looking at the various news broadcasts makes you think we are in a theatre much like the Apollo in London town watching a few comedians. Except these comedians are leaders of countries. Hearing interesting exclamations about mutual destruction, small nuclear warheads on rockets and possibly more. You might even think it sounds like a game of ping-pong. ‘I’ll fire a rocket at you just because I don’t like you’. ‘Oh yeah? I’ll flatten you with fire’. It could be laughable but it involves the most powerful nation on earth. We should be sure they have the capabilities to completely destroy a whole nation. But what is the reality? An impoverished smallish nation possibly backed with military hardware from China seems to have got it into its head it should take on the US. Much like Andorra having a go at Spain or France or even both! To me it just smells of another player pulling the strings. Publicly saying nice calming words and promising to be a middle man (peace broker) but inwardl...

As I live in Wales (UK) I am rather interested in education. But I am worried the way the devolved government and its subsidiaries deal with it all. Being a governor also means I am a bit more in touch with the way inspections are carried out, the pressure being put on the whole system all in the name of increasing standards. Whilst I applaud the need for academic education, that is to say need for scientists of all kinds, I do not subscribe to the idea that everyone has to follow that path. First of all what you see in university studies is a numbers game. Pack ‘m in and fill it to the rafters. As a result we get an enormous number of students with ‘mickey mouse degrees’. A fact borne out by industry bosses. An accompanying problem is the degree person having expectations of earning capacity way beyond their knowledge and capability. All resulting in very unhappy bosses and indeed very unhappy students as they find their employability being virtually nil. This country is bedev...

One of the questions nagging at the back of my mind is – is there no end ever to the stupidity of governments? Stupidity being a big word but let’s call it a lack of sensibility then. Suddenly without much warning we are told all petrol and diesel cars are banned from 2040. It is an interesting thought which will without any doubt generate billions of words, written and spoken. One might wonder why this bombshell now? Ah, now we are talking politics. Does it make anyone wonder what is this supposed to take the steam off? Just guess, it is not too hard! In any case as usual, these ideas are badly thought out, badly presented without any idea as to how it could be implemented or even work! Think of all the lorries, can anyone see how these are to be converted besides the cost of it? How will the National Grid be able to cope? Every house with a car will need a charging pole outside. In places like where I live (The Rhondda in Wales) with no other parking than outside next to the nar...

Something strange happening in UK society – the BBC being accused of being biased. NOOOOH, please not another accusation! Not Auntie BBC? Yet it is funny but I have been getting hot under the collar for a while. It is the fact that the BBC seems to have become aggressive in its reporting. Ms Maitliss in particular. But there are others. When you look at the news we can see Mr Corbyn being portrayed as Saint Corbyn, smiling, waving the microphone. So, yes thanks BBC you’re doing a grand job. There is however a nasty side to all this – I am an avid history addict and it is rather disconcerting to note that all these things have happened before. The propaganda, the appearances of a political leader at large rallies, selected public adulation, exposure by the media. When, you ask? In the early thirties, in Germany. Now, we know how all that ended. I am not bothered about proper politics, leaders have to have media exposure, and yes a strong opposition is paramount. But here we see...

Ah, election over, austerity over. Problem is, what exactly IS austerity? We hear a lot about balancing the books and yes, that seems to make sense. Sense at least for ordinary people like myself. I certainly try not to spend more than I bring into the home budget! Is that making sense? Austerity meant mostly cutting public spending by the government in the name of ‘balancing the books’. Admirable in one way but very problematic in other ways. But governments are on a different level. For a start they control the issue of money. That is to say the amount of money that is in circulation. They can and do print more. Called quantitative easing. We noted this action when billions were spent to bail-out the failing banks. So national economics is not quite the same as home economics. So, was the Labour party wrong in calling for billions to be spent on so-called public projects such as nationalising the railways, and possible other industries, water, power etc. Dropping university ...

I always enjoy election campaigns and listening to all the interesting promises candidates, especially the party leaders, make. The first thing that is important to remember is they are promises, not actual intentions to incorporate into policy. The second thing is the finance details or rather lack of it, are widely inaccurate or simply based on approximations about present standards. Meaning they have no idea of how these promises will possibly be worked out. I suspect we will hear that after the election these promises were well liked ideas and hopefully would be carried out but that at the present time and in the uncertainty of the political world, they are not affordable. In other words, no change. Although Mr Corbyn is gaining ground, possibly because of his appearances in strong Labour areas only and filmed by pro-Labour BBC newscasters his ideas are basically and completely unaffordable. Even if he had the intention of actually carrying them out! I just cannot believe...

I am an avid watcher of political programs, especially now with a General Election looming.From time to time I can assure you these programs are worthwhile watching as they are comparable if not better than Live at the Apollo (a comedy program worthy of the name). You will see well dressed, well-fed people in tuxedos or evening dresses spouting all sorts of rubbish. Reality just being circumcised and mudslinging the norm. Now I don’t mind the mudslinging I can do a bit of that myself. But when I hear Jeremy Corbyn’s ideas of how to put things ‘right’, his inability to add up, I begin to wonder of how much of his ideas will actually be carried out if he was elected as PM? I am sorry but can the UK actually afford him? We already have a £1.7 trillion debt hanging around our necks and by all accounts this could reach £2.5 trillion by 2025. Don’t make a mistake, Theresa May also has to borrow at least till 2020 if elected as PM. This country needs to wake up fast, we need to take hold...

How interesting it is to see the Labour party’s attempt to win over voters. It is quite evident they have taken the way of big, very big promises. We are talking billions! Well, I suppose, talk a big lie often enough and people will believe you. Funnily though this time they have taken some effort to make the figures fit. But how in all good sense can you seriously think that to borrow so much money and spend, spend, spend, is a prudent way to govern? It is just cloud-cuckoo land. People just do not seem to grasp you cannot keep going on like that. In fact this is the big problem of the western world. We are all living on borrowed money. It is like the big party before the Titanic sinks. Reality is reality, truth is still truth, it will not go away. The youngsters today are fed up with austerity. In reality there is no austerity but simply a desire to fit the expenditure to income. I had always been of the opinion that politicians are there to govern the nation for the benefit ...

The latest news is full of reports of a massive ransomware attack on the NHS computer systems (and many others as well). Now this is not a new phenomenon, actually this type of cyber attack has been with us a while. It seems the process itself is quite simple. Due to inadequate safety/security, old software, no backup systems or even plain carelessness it is too easy to scan a whole range of IP addresses, looking for open gates to walk through (gates=ports). The choice is over 64,000 ports, take your pick. So, too easy to install a bit of software that encrypts the hard drives and stops access. Hey, I am doing that myself as well! I encrypt my own hard drives! To decrypt you will need a 256bit password. Now why do businesses and the NHS which is in charge of some highly sensitive data (medical records) not think more about how they set up systems? Ditch Windows altogether and use Linux? Have proper back-up systems, possibly using NAS (Network Attached Storage). Even a simpleton ...

I read a very interesting book by Scott Mariani. Writing high-octane action novels . But what interests me is some of the plots and chat accompanying. In this paperback story ‘The Babylon Idol’ (his latest) whilst settling down after a fearsome encounter in Olympia, Greece the main character Ben Hope comments on the shoes of his companion he just saved from a grisly death. His interesting dialogue centres on the history of female footwear. In fact he thinks it is a sign of female oppression. Quoting from the footbinding of the Chinese women to the 6 inch stilettos today. The lady with him says ‘So you think it is a male conspiracy?’ His answer to that ‘Do you know of any female footwear designers?’ It is a good point thinking about it. Why do women wear these type of shoes, shoes which are not incredibly healthy for the feet and legs. Most women would say, we do it to look pretty. Yes, but for whom? Well, not for donkeys I suppose. It has to be MEN! So, it IS a conspiracy. And I...

Well, the local council (RhonddaCynonTaf – RCT) elections are over. In my neck of the woods although it is not how I wanted it, Labour still has one seat and unfortunately the Independent seat has gone to Plaid Cymru. The one thing that is observable is the elected councillors are brand-new! Eudine has now been put to grass and Independent Paul will have to try again. Perhaps the Community Council beckons as an experienced councillor (ret). They sure need people like Paul. Congratulations to Alexandra in Tonyrefail West. Another young person. Good, at least she has some acumen. It is overall pretty much the same picture, Labour still holds sway over the 'Daddy voted Labour and so do I' mentality so prevalent in the South Wales valleys. On the whole in my opinion Labour has not performed as a large party should. This is quite noticeable in the UK sense. However, what is disconcerting is the UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) collapse. Hopefully this will not be repe...

One of my favourite journos (journalists to you) is Rod Liddle. Usually writing hilarious accounts on the funny antics of our ‘betters’, who do not afterwards seem so much better at all! In fact, they may well turn out having a nasty, unpleasant side to their sickly-sweet smiles showing dazzling white teeth. Politicians are a favourite subject, now why would that be you think? Simply because they set themselves up as persons who are super intelligent, know-alls and squeaky clean moral human beings. Yes, you read that here. But then hold the printing press please, we read another story, In fact on this particular occasion all of us watching the telly heard and saw it for ourselves. The Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott’s incomprehensible, laughable, completely stupid replies to a simple question. In fact a question she as Shadow Home Secretary should know the answer to moreover should even give an account on how she would ‘improve’ the present situation. Did we get that, No? Oh de...

I have often asked myself this question – if all payments were stopped for being a local councillor, how many would come forward to stand? Please, don’t answer that, I already know the answer. It is a terrible shame that we have become a money orientated society. With those who have the power enriching themselves beyond avarice! Just thinking of bankers makes me retch uncontrollably. I read in a Dutch newspaper column that cities like Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are now vying to prise away those London based investment bankers. Remember these are the guys and guyettes who bet billions on commodity and share prices, so-called futures. I say they are welcome to them and their million pound bonuses. Let’s get back to a bit more sensible outlook and standards. Then let’s talk about local councillors. I live in Wales, basically the poorer part of the UK. Councillors ‘earn’ some £15,000 including expenses but Committee officials can claim and almost all do, another £8,000 for Special...

As I am still able to speak and understand the Dutch language I noticed quite a few interesting things during my Easter-time visit to family. Reading the ‘Telegraaf’ newspaper quickly disbanded any notice that everything was peace and tranquility insofar the European Union was concerned. Questions about money, the power of Brussels, the inability to form a government in Holland, due to the PVV - Geert Wilders’ party being the second largest in the last election but not wanted to be part of the government (stupid, what does democracy mean again?). Just as an aside the Dutch Labour party was seventh! Frankly there are loads of problems, demonstrations amongst other happenings. The Dutch press highlighted the recent Turkish referendum in which ‘Nedturks’ (Turks working and living in Holland) voted overwhelmingly to allow the Turkish president to acquire more powers. You might ask if these ‘Nedturks’ feel so strongly why did they leave in the first place? An argument that concerns ev...

Despite the lamentable record of the RCT Labour party as has been reported many times it just seems that people just do not care. How much more money will be wasted? Even the national Labour party in Wales simply has lost touch with its base. The Communities First project, it had many weaknesses but at least it changed quite a number of lives for the better, is to be cut completely by early 2018. A very deprived area like Gilfach Goch (of the How Green was my Valley fame) will be one of the biggest losers. And what will the local council (RCT) do? Make a lot of people, poor people by any accounts, lose their job and also lose the facilities to teach people about employment, lose a sports facility and lose a few small businesses as well. Certainly not a political record to cherish I’d say? When the local male Labour prospective candidate (there are two candidates) came round to make me a Labour voter – citing how he was his own man and not tied to Labour party rules blah-di-blah ...

Coming from a continental background and having experienced the different mental attitudes prevalent, I sometimes despair at the shallowness of British society. Especially the Welsh attitude to life. It seems rooted in the dirt and disease ridden Victorian era which allowed an extreme difference between rich and poor. I was watching a programme about gardens (Monty Don) where he visited many European and North African gardens. But it also allowed some glimpses of normal society. The train stations, the neatness, the modernity of it all. Compared to the grime stations in the UK, the aged rolling stock, the high prices, we are still far removed from being a modern, 21 st century nation. Something within me thinks, why don’t we break everything down and start again? Looking around my own locality here in the lower reaches of the Rhondda Valleys, the hills once green now festooned with ugly and useless power generators turning when not broken down in the daily wind, its terraced cr...

I think I have mentioned something about borrowing before. Borrowing by local authorities in particular. One of the poorest local authorities in Wales, RhonddaCynonTaf (RCT) is in debt to the tune of some £250million! There are indications the real figure is actually £500million plus! At any rate this is a scandal! This Labour run council is not fit to be in power and it is more than time to send these incompetent charlatans to the bin. I understand that debt is a huge problem all over the UK, personal debt as well as government debt. How can probably sane people think that this is a good way to provide services? For a start this idea of get it now and pay later involves something called interest. Even on £250million that would be something of the order of £10million plus annually. Money wasted. Just compare that with the income of personal council tax in an area where too many are on benefits (not all their own fault) and a goodly chunk has gone down the Swanee river.  But ...

Having a liking for science programs like The Universe and in particular those from the PBS station on Freeview (PBS America that is) I watched a programme called ‘Hunting the Edge of Space’. It showed some incredible shots of galaxies too numerous to count. But the question posed was – does the universe slow down eventually? Answer - apparently not, it is speeding up. It set me thinking about the usual analogies, explosions and how they expand. If we can assume for now it is universal, an exact sphere like a round ball, it seems a bit strange to assume that the original explosion can actually increase in force after the original conflagration. So how did they come to that conclusion? Apparently through measurement of very distant supernovae within far away galaxies. I thought, how then has this an impact upon our situation? Would it not depend where within the ball of space the original Big Bang was created, and we are situated? If the universe is still expanding as they say, we...

Social care, in particular care for the elderly is a subject high on the agenda. But it seems not so in the hallowed halls of local government. In particular my local area, RhonddaCynonTaf the two-bit South Wales valleys area that put their servants dealing with social care on zero-hour contracts! You might think, good, work when there is work and have a rest at the other times. But it is not so simple as the social impact can be severe. Banks and Building societies do for the most part not grant mortgages to persons on zero-hour contracts. So, people on zero-hour contracts tend to be in rented accommodation and on benefits as well. In the town I live more and more are on benefits as they just cannot get on the housing ladder, are in rented accommodation and on housing benefit. Perhaps the government has not worked out yet that allowing zero-hour contracts put a strain on the benefits budget? I suppose there is more to it – the future of work seems to be a bleak one. More and mor...

Always I have my ears (and eyes) open to happenings around, especially the rumours that abound. One of these rumours is about a jail. The rumours say that the Welsh Government had written to all Welsh local authorities to find out possible locations etc. The only Authority replied was Rhondda Cynon Taf. Interesting? Of course it is because now my brain begins to tick over. I am sure that the Home Office and as a representative, the Welsh government would want easy access to the motorway system. Here comes the M4! Not too far from the conurbation (Cardiff/Newport/Swansea). So that means Central Eastern South Wales. Next would be land ready for building. Guess what? Tonyrefail has a few sites already in that category. The best being the Coedely Mine (cleared) site. Why? It is not particularly near to housing. So, could it be Tonyrefail being the prime candidate? It could well be. I am sure the tight-lipped Council is playing a carefully laid -out plan and would in all likelihood den...

Bearing in mind that I believe all decisions made by politicians, especially those in government, are thought out well beforehand. All pro’s and con’s are endlessly discussed and possible ramifications calculated to the last penny. This is why I am looking at the latest storm, the one called ‘White Van Man Scam’. Obviously, when looking at previous promises, now broken, it defies belief any party could just make such a blunder. But is it a blunder? Firstly it is not making the government particularly richer. A few millions and for the most part it does not seem to be much of a loss for the white van chaps either. But looking at the system, it does seem overly complicated, seven grades and a few different percentages. Employees pay nothing on the first £155 earned (weekly) that is up to £672 a month, anything over that and up to £827 a week will be charged at 12%. Anything over £827 is charged at 2%. These are the figures for category A. But self-employed people are paying differe...

With only two months and a few days to go, it is eerily quiet on the local election front here in South Wales. You would have thought that with the ruling Labour party’s record, its deplorable management especially on education and social care for the elderly the opposition Plaid Cymru party and yes UKIP as well, would be jumping up and down shouting for all to hear! Obviously this silence is just what the Labour party wants and needs. The Rhondda County Borough on its own has a quite sizable debt hanging around its neck so I suspect a hefty increase in council tax. This Labour run borough is one of the poorest if not the poorest, local government areas in the UK. It is an terrible example of how very poor people can be wrung dry by fat politicians. Even the last penny is not safe. The legacy of just closing mines and related industries at the stroke of the pen but without making sufficient plans for what to do with the thousands of unemployed is still hanging around the whole a...

A really good question to ask is – What is REALLY important in this life? In our society today? Is it to bring African nations up to standard? Water, better infrastructure? Is it to manage money more equitably? More even-handed? Perhaps curtail the banks and greedy businesses and insist on proper management? Take better care of employees? There are many more questions but they all point to - bad management of resources. The greedy still play havoc with the needs of the poor. As a result the poorer parts of our society pay a far greater deal than the rich, proportionally. The politicians are too afraid to have a good look at the unbridled greed expansion in fear of a drop in tax. Frankly, it has proved counter-productive looking at the multitude of schemes to avoid tax. Obviously we need businesses but we need businesses with a social aptitude. Businesses who care about the environment. Because let’s be fair, it has been known for years that cars, yes petrol and diesel, are damagi...

Finally, Theresa May is going to tell Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland what is important and what is not. About time too. My personal opinion is that Ms Sturgeon is in olden terms, no more than a traitor. To try to divide and rule. It is the old way of seeking personal power. The next thing we might hear is a SNP demand for her to be made the Queen of Scotland. Yes, we are in interesting times. But surely it is high time to tell Ms Sturgeon to shut it. Looking back on this devolution experiment, I'd say it is an abject failure. Yes, in Wales also. There is a never ending demand for more and more powers. Despite the fact both devolved governments haven't a clue what to do with the powers they have already received. Both their NHS organisations are in a heck of a mess. In fact, the whole NHS is in a mess. One might wonder where they get all these top administrators from. An out-and-downer living in a cardboard box under a bridge could do better. From my point of vi...

Like most people things bother us. In particular things like the House of Lords and the financial problems of this our once great country. Let’s take the House of Lords – bloated, undemocratic and basically no more than a restroom for aged luvvies. That came from a number of newspaper reports today. It is funny but I have long believed that the House of Lords is outdated. It just has continued a system of patronage. Aristocrats used to sit in strength, most of which were no more than idiots who wanted to preserve their lives of luxury but today we do exactly the same at some £300 per day for old political has-beens, dodderers who don’t even know what the House is talking about. Pretending to listen with closed eyes, happily dreaming about when they went to war. Time to close the charade and have an elected Senate. The other thing that should bother all of us are the daily news items about this country’s borrowing. It is hidden in double-speak of ‘reducing the deficit’ but i...

When I was still a youngster my parents gave me a Bible, illustrated (in Dutch of course). A largish volume, hard cased in brown leather and gold embossed. Apparently it belonged to my great-grandmother. That would have been published at around 1890 or close to it. Not that I cared at that age (I was about 9/10 years of age). But I do remember still today vividly the story of the Flood, pictures of a large wooden ship with flocks of crows flying above it. The sky engraving was brilliant, wild and stormy! Then the story of David swaying his sling and Goliath falling down. Another engraving was of Samson pushing against two great columns and collapsing the Philistine temple. Brilliant, you don’t see engravings like that again unless you will be lucky on one of the antique book markets. But more importantly, you can think of a book like that as a beginners guide! The mind will dwell on the beauty of the engravings but also the meaning – why was this done in that way, what does it a...

A very good friend asked me , I know you are a bit anti-this and that, anti-Labour but why? Good question, I had to think a bit. The problem is that as a socialist party standing up (their words, not mine) for the people has been an abject failure. I am not now saying Conservatives are better but at least they promote business ideals that in the end provide work. Rather than put their faith in issuing benefits. When I was a kid in Amsterdam my father was a stalwart of the socialist party. Collecting membership fees and on top a committee member of the union where he was employed. But when he had an accident and needed operations both union and party had disappeared in the foggy night. So, who were they standing up? I leave it for you to decide. Perhaps my antagonistic views of socialism were bred in those days. Sure, there are good Labour people around with good and sound views, local MP and AM are upstanding citizens but in my view they represent a faulty view of humanity and moreso b...

The following very interesting email was received by a friend of mine. Yes, interesting but idiotic! It is rather tragic that some people around still fall foul of this type of scam. I just hope the reverend doctor will not be eaten by a crocodile or mauled by one of his cousins, the chimpanzees. STATUTORY ANOMALIES ON YOU RECEIVING YOUR APPROVED FUND AS AND INHERITANCE. FROM: DELIVERY AGENT Dr William Mike Hello!!! Firstly, I wish to introduce myself as a sympathizer of your situation. I am the Comptroller of Fund Movement Terminal and Director of national warehouse where abandoned fund/valuables consignments are dumped. This is to inform you that fresh arrangement was made by me to conclude the shipment of your consignment of funds to your country. I choose to do it and make sure it has left the shores of Nigeria already before contacting you. I found out that this consignment has been lying here because of lack of contact and none payment of deli...

I have been messing about with mysql database design for a while. Meaning, installing and deleting many times! Presently it is working fine but to have got that far many changes had to be made to a number of system files. I use Linux only, Windows is a long forgotten operating system. I just wonder why not many more people change over. Changes therefore are a lot easier and safer too! MYSQL though is a ‘eck of a lot more difficult than Access as it is worked with a program called phpmyadmin. That in itself is pretty non-userfriendly. But I now have a basic login system ready for further development into a blog! Cheers.

In these enlightened times of building houses everywhere in an already congested country and that includes Wales, one may well ask who educated the town-planning or indeed any planning, officials? Take my own backyard of the small town of Tonyrefail. Situated in a small river valley once the hive of coal-mining. The mines are all gone now, not even a waste heap is visible. So far, so good but there are questions about proper government that need asking. If mines that used to employ thousands are closing and closing pretty quickly what about the plans for industrial renewal? This is one question that nags me – there were no plans at all. As a result thousands were unemployed, generating sickness and lawlessness. The South Wales valleys are still suffering from that disastrous policy today. Despite wonderful promises about ‘Standing Up..for’ the Labour government of Wales has singularly missed the boat. They might point out that in valley towns such as Tonyrefail there has been and ...

It is a strange thing to see and hear Ms Sturgeon bleating on about Brexit. How she will take Scotland out of the UK. I suppose politics is a bit like that, ask for the impossible and get the right to join the feeding through. Except, she is making a fool of herself, trying to look strong and ‘with-it’. It turns out then it is no more than grandstanding. She says ‘I’m not bluffing’, a sure sign she is! Let’s tell her to go back to her croft on the Outer Hebrides and just shut it. The whole Brexit thing is most likely hanging out of everyone’s throat by now. In Wales we have MPs who blatantly ignore the electorate, Owen Smith for one. There will be council elections in May. It will be rather interesting to see what will happen. Labour could well get a drumming!

The world is probably coming to an end. David Beckham, nice guy though he is, thinks he deserves a knighthood. Yes, so do I! And 66 other million Brits just for living in this madhouse. Then we have a self-important Speaker of the Commons who thinks he can lay down the law to a president of the United States. He might be the only Brit NOT getting a knighthood!

It is rather sad to see the elected wonders moving every which way. Those opposed to Brexit say almost anything, grasp onto almost anything to thwart the process. It seems to me that they all forget one thing, the nation voted to LEAVE the EU. Watching Daily Politics on BBC2 we had a Scottish MP, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh pontificating about the old bit of Scotland must stay in the EU single market. Forgetting of course Scotland is part of the UK and therefore bound by the ultimate decisions made in Westminster by the central government. A point she obviously is not aware of. What intrigued me was her forceful attack on something that had occurred in the Chamber. Apparently when speaking in the way she does, another MP (Churchill related Mr Soames) made some woof woof sounds. When I stopped laughing after he had made a statement that sounded like an apology she was asked by Jo Coburn about a similar thing actually done by her previous clan chief Alex Salmon to tell Anna Soubrey ‘Calm...

There are going to be lots of elections in Europe during 2017. The one that interests me though at this time is the Council elections in Wales. In particular RhonddaCynonTaf (RCT). For the uninitiated it has been run by Labour since the dinosaurs died out. Except some of the dinosaurs survived and are now councillors! One, a sprightly septuagenarian recently delivered a leaflet so full of b*ll that even myself had to down a few snifters to concentrate the brainwaves. The lady in question would led you believe that all the good works planned were all of her doing. Now this is not strange almost all Labour politicians do this. But what worried me most was her assertions about education. Despite a multitude of problems in particular dismantling sixth forms in RCT and creating Year 3-18 super schools, her vision is pretty circumspect. There are many who think her arrogant, her actions in the local education field should be looked upon with a frown. She never talks or refers to the lo...

We should be very disappointed at the recollection powers of Pontypridd MP Owen Smith. He showed an admirable deficiency in remembering how his part of the Welsh nation voted in the Brexit campaign. On Andrew Neil’s Daily Politics (BBC2) he quite easily pronounced that his area voted to Remain. Rubbish. You only have to go to ‘walesonline’ and look for the election results. These show without any doubt that the RCT area (incl Pontypridd) voted LEAVE. 62,590 to 53,973. Now he would probably argue that all who did NOT vote would be Remainers. Tosh. As a politician he should have known better. Just as well then he did not win the stand-off with Jeremy Corbyn. We don’t need prospective PM’s who cannot remember how the nation voted. My question to him would be – if you are a MP of our area (possibly debatable now) and that area voted overwhelmingly No, would you when further voting is required such as Article 50, vote against? In my view you are NOT representing your constitue...

All children in England will need to know their 12 times tables by the time they leave primary school under plans announced by the education secretary. The Conservatives want England to be in the top five in the world for English and maths by 2020. It is currently 23 rd the various newspapers report. Well it depends how you look at that, 23 out of 27 in Europe does not sound so brilliant to me. They will tell us it is 23 rd in the world. Which world? The English speaking world? That makes it even worse. This is what presumably bright politicians can come up with! In other countries this has been done since time began. This island, this Britain has simply dumbed down to what can only be called third world standards and what's more we seem to be proud of it. We worked hard, very hard to make our children all the same and no bright politician ever understood by doing that you revert to the lowest common denominator. Now the education system in England has yet another scheme ...

Hello readers – this is a new blog which is the result of the demise of Tonyrefail.org. The blog is not a board (bulletin board) like Tonyrefail.org was. www.tonyrefail-town.net will be entirely devoted to local politics, some of which will be reports, some will be my own views. There will be the opportunity to comment and to comment on comments! There also will be moderation, anonymous comments will not be accepted. The blog although using a dedicated domain name is based on Blogger. It is a simple but an effective way to quickly organise a blog. At the moment it is not encrypted (SSL) so the url to access is in the http format, not https. I will be installing a certificate in due course which will change the url to https only. Just have fun and comment. Remember that Big Brother is always watching! So use proper language, refrain from racist remarks and since the use of swear-words denote a repressed upbringing please refrain from using them.