Tories Cook up a storm
Monday, June 11, 2007

You all scoffed last week when I hinted the Conservatives might try and bring down the government over lack of movement on a new Welsh language act.

But with travel agent Thomas Cook appearing stubbornly monoglot in its unwillingness to embrace the Welsh language, the Tories made the first move.

They are calling for a review of the Welsh language act. You'll remember that Labour's legislative proposals stopped short of it, though it's a big deal in the proposed rainbow coalition programme for government.

Plaid have since chipped in with their own calls for increased Welsh language legislation. Well, they do everything together these days, don't they?

Labour's masterplan is to exclude the Conservatives from the consensus they have been seeking. They are trying to raise issues which isolate the Tories. But the men in blue are attempting quite the reverse and on today's form, seem to be having some success.

UPDATE:
Q: What's the worst thing you can do when you're embroiled in a storm about the Welsh language?

A: Put up a bi-lingual sign which butchers it.

Even Jade Goody would do a better job of public relations than that.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 3:22 pm, ,


Minister's 'snub' to the Welsh Language
Monday, April 16, 2007

Staying with the Welsh language theme today, it's interesting to note which Labour candidates have submitted English-only registrations for the forthcoming national assembly elections.

There's plenty of talk in Cardiff Bay of a nationalist/unionist split in the Labour party. And this may become all the more pronounced after the election as the end of Rhodri Morgan's tenure as leader grows ever closer. While Carwyn Jones, perhaps unbeknownst to himself, heads up the nationalist wing, the two AMs widely considered the stalwarts of the unionist camp are Leighton Andrews and Andrew Davies.

So it's intriguing to discover that Enterprise Minister Andrew Davies has not submitted a bilingual registration for the May 3rd ballot, unlike most of his colleagues up and down the country who will stand on a 'Labour Party/Y Blaid Lafur' ticket.

Unfortunately, the Rhondda Electoral Office does not publish its list of candidates online, so at the time of writing it's not possible to tell if Leighton Andrews has overlooked the Welsh language in a similar fashion. What's certain is that for Andrew Davies there's no going back; nominations are now closed. And with pundits already pointing to his Swansea West constituency as a possible upset he'll be kicking himself if voters, when staring at this monolingual appearance on the ballot paper, decide that's enough to swing their vote.
Andrew Davies' name as it appears on the official Swansea West ballot.


 The more common bilingual format, as used by Edwina Hart in the Gower.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 1:47 pm, ,


Me and my mate, Jane
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Our anti-Trident Education Minister here in Wales has signed up to MySpace. She digs us yoofs you see.

But in so doing, Jane, who is currently considering a request to be my friend, has unwittingly revealed a few truths. So, here goes, five things you didn't know about Jane Davidson:

1. She is blissfully unaware that Welsh is not yet an official language, and that this is quite a contentious election issue. Jane says: "I feel really proud of the fact that Welsh and English are official languages in Wales, although I am still trying to become fluent in Welsh!"

2. She is both 49 and 50 years old, depending on what page you look at.

3. She is friends with Jake (Fudge), a sixteen year-old salmon inspector from Uruguay.

4. Her heroes are hardcore lefties like Aneurin Bevan, Hugo Chavez, Mark Thomas and Jeremy Hardy. No mention of Tony Blair.

5. She's started the MySpace page to get more young people involved in politics. One post is entitled 'How Do We Engage More Young people in Voting?':

What was interesting today was a debate on the excitingly titled "Local Government and Public Service Committee Electoral Arrangements Report". With a name like that, I can hardly see people rushing to break the library doors down to find a copy, but it does contain some interesting recommendations on which I would like your views. The report suggests some actions to help:

1.There should be regional and national initiatives to promote voting to young people
2. There should be targeted initiatives to encourage socially and economically deprived young people to vote....

Would any of these make a difference to you? If they wouldn't, what would?

A new targeted initiative you say? Fetch me my jet pack, I'm off to the nearest polling station.

Jane, if you're going to be my friend, you've got to cut out the jargon.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 8:34 am, ,


Heart of Wales: policies to die for
Monday, March 12, 2007

How many Tory MPs, I wonder, can even pronounce 'Eisteddfod' let alone have the slightest clue as to what it is?

Well, I suppose that doesn't matter. The Tories in Wales do their own thing these days.

Today, they've pledged to set up a £400,000 a year fund for the National Eisteddfod with an extra £100,000 in the first year. They claim it'll safeguard the long-term future of a great Welsh tradition.

We must now eagerly await the response from Plaid Cymru and the latest chapter in the head-to-head battle to be Wales' most Welsh party. Ironically, Plaid have in the past had to convince voters they are not just a party for Welsh speakers, while the Tories have had to shed their 'Made in England' image. Now, the tables are turned.

What a confused world it is, where the Tories are trumpeting their national pride while Plaid are allegedly promoting their conservatism. There couldn't be an election round the corner, perchance?

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posted by Blamerbell @ 5:37 pm, ,


LLafur a'r Toriaid yn anwybyddu'r Gymraeg - Labour and Tories ignore the Welsh language
Monday, January 22, 2007

Rhyfedd iawn yw llwytho wefan y pleidiau Llafur neu Ceidwadol a gweld diffyg llwyr defnydd o'r iaith Gymraeg, ac eleni yn blwyddyn etholiad holl bwysig. Tydy pleidleisiau siaradwyr Cymraeg gwerth dim iddyn nhw?

Ar safle'r blaid Lafur does dim hyd yn oed opsiwn i lwytho'r tudalen yn y Gymraeg; mae'r holl beth yn Saesneg. Dyw wefan y Ceidwadwyr ddim llawer gwell. Er i Glyn Davies honni mae'r Toriaid yw plaid yr iaith rhagor, dim ond un adran bach ar amcanion y blaid sydd i'w gael yn Gymraeg. Mor belled ac dwi'n gweld does dim modd cyfieithu nodweddion arall y safle chwaith. Dyna agwedd od i 'blaid yr iaith' gweithredu.

Chwarae teg i'r Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol, mae opsiwn ganddyn nhw ar waelod y sgrin i gyfieithu'r holl beth i'r Gymraeg. Serch hynny, y ffordd tecach yw i adael i ddarllenwyr penderfynnu pa iaith sydd orau ganddyn nhw cyn mynd at unrhyw gynnwys. Dyna'r sefyllfa efo Plaid Cymru, sydd a wefan hollol gytbwys (ond plis trowch y fflipin jingl 'na bant!).

Yn y cyfamser, mae pob ymgais gan Llafur a'r Toriaid i ennill pleidleisiau ar sail eu agwedd at faterion yn ymwneud a'r iaith Gymraeg yn hollol rhagrithiol tra eu bod nhw'n cynnal wefannau mor unllygeidiog.

(Dwi'n ymwybodol nad oes llawer o gynnwys Cymraeg ar y blog yma chwaith! Sori, mae mwy i ddod yn yr wythnosau nesaf - ond dyw hon ddim yn blog i Gymry yn unig, ac dyw Cymraeg Blamerbell ddim llawer well na'i Japanese.)

And, for English-speaking readers wondering what the hell is going on... The homepages of both Labour and the Conservatives in Wales contain little or no use of the Welsh language. This despite the Tories' Glyn Davies wanting the party to become the natural choice for Welsh speakers. It's shocking that in an election year, better provisions have not been made.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 9:26 am, ,


Rhydfelen RIP
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Pontypridd has lost one Welsh language school and gained another.

Rhydfelen Comprehensive has long campaigned for a new building - it never sought a new name.

This year it got both. A controversial Private Funding Initiative paid for the new school, which had the name 'Gartholwg' imposed on it by the local council.

And now all that's left of Rhydfelen, the first Welsh language comprehensive in South Wales when it opened in 1962, is this (see left).

A humiliating end for one of Wales's proudest institutions.

You can see more pictures HERE.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 12:44 pm, ,