Crikey - I nearly lost count

Well even better than an away draw, and so many goals I almost lost count ! 5 - that will do very nicely.
Meanwhile Leighton Andrews AM remains in seventh heaven as David Jones leads Cardiff to another victory.

Look - a manager

Well after rumour and wait it seems that Tony Mowbray is to take over next week. Good luck to him although with Hartson, Kamara, Philips and Ellington all fit it seems Pearson has an embarresment of riches before we stuff Ipswich.

Crikey chaps - sort it out !

Anyone standing for the Assembly, and watching Dragon's Eye tonight, must be alarmed by the contributions seen from Marek and Elis Thomas. This will not help the status and standing of the newly empowered Assembly.

Some advice Lord Dafydd, and as they might say to you in the House of Lords - crikey chaps, sort it out

Old and new technology

This piece in the Guardian seems to show the difference between 'old' and 'new' media. The polling data comes a little more alive with the technolgy.

Lib Dem trys to flush out his own leaders !

Well it comes to something when a Lib Dem AM uses his blog to try and flush out the truth from his own leaders about coalition talks. This is what Peter Black wrote :

For our part, the Liberal Democrat Party Leadership privately deny that any talks have been going on in preparation for a coalition, but they seem curiously reluctant to make this declaration in public or to rule out serving in a coalition under a Tory First Minister. Such an announcement would be useful in my view simply because it give a clear indication of the direction of travel of the party.

The smart money must be on Boure, Wyn Jones and German keeping the rainbow afloat (surely a mixed metaphor!) but not wanting to admit it - except for Bourne, sort of hinting about it.

New media frenzy

I really should have invented Youtube and then bailed out the Labour Party !

However the merits of all these new media sources is causing interesting debate. This is covered in the Guardian debates section regarding another new source involving some Tory plus other bloggers.

Leighton Andrews AM also launched Rhondda TV - all great example sof politics moving beyond what mainstream tv presents.

Talking rubbish !

Some might say I always do, but my work as a planning officer has shown me the controversy generated by waste issues. As a society we live a lifestyle that generates lots of waste - but an attitude which seems to want to ignore the consequences.

Jackie Ashley takes up some of the political consequences in today's Guardian.

It's contractual

Ray Stubb's says it's contractual. I don;t think that would affect the credits, but we know that the FAW sold the rights to Sky. Perhaps a way of hiding the horrors.

Match of the Day

I stand to be corrected but I am sure the opening credits on tonight's Match of the Day failed to include Wales. No wonder my nationalist friends sometimes suspect a plot. Whatever the score was, we should not be ignored.

Well done Scotland

Llongyfarchiadau i'r Alban. Gwell dweud dim am y gweddill.

Well done Scotland. We'll pass over the rest.....

Lib Dem cant see it - he's been Copenhagen-ed

Peter Black AM tells us he can't know about the Rainbow as he is stuck in a hotel in Copenhagen. And we all thought a person of Peter's technology skills would find such distance no problem. A tactical, sorry, technical hitch obviously !

This is how a Tory sees it

Glyn Davies AM has blogged as follows below. I think his tone of surprise slightly flys in the face of his recent S4C programme with Alun Ffred Jones, where Glyn mentioned the coaliation, and Ffred said words to the effect that we won't mention that (on the programme).

"Friday, October 06, 2006
Waterfront again

I watched Waterfront again last night. It is becoming compulsive viewing. Lee Waters is becoming a real handful. What a waste it will be if he ever goes into politics himself! I could have done without his reference to me as 'troublesome' though. He made me sound like some rabid right winger - which will please one of my Newport friends who accused me yesterday of being a 'soft old b*****'after I backed the Government's support for poverty in Africa. I could have been wrong on that but I do admit that I can be a 'bit soft' on this sort of issue.

But the real big mega story last night was that there have been discussions going on between Nick B, Ieuan WJ and Mike G about a coalition after the next Assembly election. I could have fallen off my chair. I expected it to be the story of the day today. I suppose the BBC played the story down because it was ITV Wales. Surely they will look for a different angle on the story on Sunday and then run it as their exclusive!! Six months ago, I would have been downright 'troublesome' if I had heard this. But things move on. The way Labour are trying to 'fix' the constitution in Wales to suit the 'government of the day' makes it imperative that they are forced to try opposition for themselves. If it takes a coalition to deliver a lesson in how to build a constitution - so be it. When I update the betting on next May's Cardiff Bay Quadrennial Handicap, I would not be at all surprised to see Rainbow Coalition take over the favourite's spot".

This is how the Post saw it

The Daily Post picked up on the "rainbow coalition" as folows :


'Informal' Assembly coalition talksOct 6 2006

by Daily Post


THE Tories’ leader in the Welsh Assembly last night said parties were informally discussing forming a coalition government after next May’s election.

Nick Bourne’s comments in a television interview are the most explicit public disclosure yet about the possibility of a power-sharing deal between the Opposition parties.

He pointedly refused to rule out serving under a Plaid Cymru First Minister in a hung Assembly, despite senior Plaid figures refusing to contemplate being junior partners to the Tories.

Mr Bourne insisted there had been no talk of “divvying up” Cabinet jobs ahead of the election.

He told ITV Wales’s political programme Waterfront: “There are discussions going on, of course there are, on an informal basis between parties about what is going to happen after the next election.

“The idea of divvying up jobs I think it’s just not on. I categorically, absolutely deny there’s any suggestion of that amongst opposition parties.”


The Tories, Liberal Democrats, Plaid and independent AMs have united to vote-down the Labour administration since it fell into a minority at the last General Election".

Vote Plaid - get the Tories : I Told you so.
Vote Labour - Get Labour (and perhaps Mr Wigley on the list!)

Quick - tell Alun Ffred its in the open !

Well in spite of silence, and denials, it seems Nick Bourne has let the cat out of the bag, talked of the elephant on the door step and called a spade a spade. There is clear talk between opposition parties of a "rainbow coalition" to replace Labour after May 2007. Have al ook at Waterfront tonight.

So Alun Ffred can I repeat my offer of some months - will you go in to coalition with the Tories or not ? Your recent programme on S4C was interesting - a warm alliance with Glyn Davies - a sign of things to come.

Time for Dafydd El and Elfyn Llwyd to speak

Events at the enterprise company Cymad, and its subsiduary Galw, get stranger by the week. Given that these board members are fine upstanding members of Plaid Cymru (like most of the Board members and the Chief Executive) it is surely time for local representatives Elfyn Llwyd MP, Dafydd Elis Thomas AM, Hywel Williams MP and Alun Ffred Jones AM to speak out ?.

Many local people know the links - and yes it will be a little embarassing for Plaid cymru -but surely someone has the courage to step forward and sort this all out ?

Pathetic Lib Dem radio debate

The Welsh Assembly Government have made a small but significant step on the Millennium Development Goals as part of aid for Africa. I debated this on Radio Cymru today with Tories, Plaid Cymru and Lib Dem AM Eleanor Burnham. Tories "praised" the move, Plaid Cymru "welomed" it. The Lib Dems made some pathetic noises about people stealing aid money, and corrupt leaders. Wrong point at the wrong time.

Lib Dems fail the aid for Africa challenge.

Useful BBC Resource

Some people got upset about the cost of the new BBC mini adverts, but I think his new section on health of their web site is a good resource worth looking around.

Tories many bricks short of a full house !

Obviously Tory AM Glyn Davies fears that the Tories are falling short on policy and will be exposed in Wales and Scotland. Is this not the exact point we have all been making - Mr Cameron flying around`the world to smile at the camera and tell us the perils of global warming - meanwhile lihjt on policy.

"Nice"`new Tories ?

It's about 23.10 and have I really just seen George Osborne (one of their bright new things!) try and suggest Gordon Brown is somehow autistic on Sky News ?

And this is the "nice" new Tories ?

These people are showing a great skill at being offensive, and it only comes on the back of a few opinion polls, with no real substance.

Value for money at the hawthorns

Well a red card, missed penalty, 3-0 followed by 4-2. It is value for money at the very least as the Baggies pick up a big 3 points off Leeds before the international break.