Resurfacing the street

A couple of weeks back our street got resurfaced. We were informed by signs being hung in the street giving us some notice. As far as I know, no cars got towed.

The street needed resurfacing. We had several patches that pushed the definition of "paved road".

The damage was really noticeable if it rained. Of course, in the driest summer on record, it rained the day before the road crew were due! 

I was impressed how much they managed to get sorted in a single day. The noise throughout the day (which caused the entire house to vibrate at one point) was worth it. We now have shiny new tarmac and the risk of losing a shock absorber is no longer a real danger.

And that, you might think, is the happy ending of the story, folks. But, no, there was a plot twist that nobody saw coming. 

The new tarmac was down for just EIGHT days before Welsh Water came along and dug up part of it! 

There's the seed of a new pothole, right there. 

Book of the Month: Fundamentally

This review contains spoilers. 

Non-spoiler summary - this is a fictionalised account of trying to deradicalise women who were tricked and trafficked into becoming brides for fighters in ISIS. It is very well written, told from the perspective of a female British academic who has traded academia to work on the deradicalisation programme for the United Nations. She meets a young woman from London who is now in a camp for former ISIS brides in Iraq. The story explores their tentative friendship during the labyrinthine process of leaving the camp and returning to the UK.

It's a very moving, witty, challenging and memorable book and I thoroughly recommend it.

++++++ Spoilers follow ++++++

This is a work of fiction that has such a ring of authenticity about it that the author, Nussaibah Younis, has added in a disclaimer at the back to say that no, she did not work for the United Nations when she worked in Iraq, and no, there are no internment camps for women who were trafficked into forced marriages to ISIS members in Iraq. Although similar camps do exist in other countries, and women have been left trapped, imprisoned and stateless after being deprived of their home citizenship.

However, Nussaibah did work in Iraq for a NGO and was advising the Iraqi government on how to deradicalise women who had joined, or were coerced into joining, ISIS. She is also a British academic who grew up in the UK, like Nadia the primary protagonist in the book. Whether there are any other similarities between her and Nadia would be an intensely personal question to ask, given Nadia's sexual experiences and her apostasy.

The different relationship Nadia and Sara, the other main character in the book, have with the religion they were brought up in was another very authentic element to the book. Nadia meets Sara in the camp where women who were married to ISIS fighters are being held. After a while it becomes apparent that Nadia's rebellion against the strictures of her religion left her open to her naivety being exploited in almost exactly the same way that Sara's idealism and wanting a more fervent version of her faith led to her being trafficked into a life of sexual slavery. 

Nadia's journey from a teenage true believer through to an apostate adult is an interesting look at natural deradicalisation. What is equally interesting is the way Sarah clings to her faith, despite being repeatedly married off to short-lived ISIS cannon fodder soldiers. She doesn't lose her faith despite the personal atrocities she experiences and resists the deradicalisation programme. She still wants the dream she had of a religious utopia to be possible, despite the reality she found herself in, and she doesn't want to let that dream go. 

The book's setting in the world of the UN also, sadly, feels very true. Nadia has to deal with competing internal political priorities. Some of the tangential storylines and prejudices expressed by the motley cast of supporting characters seem to be drawn from real life, even if the hypocrisy and corruption are dialled up to eleven. There are arguments between empire-building heads of department as they struggle for greater personal control of resources. The people needing help are the lowest priority of jaded career UN workers, many of whom seem to have ended up in Iraq by accident and are just serving their time until they can take another placement somewhere else. 

Meanwhile, we have Sarah and Nadia, slowly becoming friends despite everything. When it becomes apparent that Sarah will never be repatriated to Britain, and also apparent that she probably doesn't want to go back, they have to find an alternative place of safety. It all gets very messy and tense towards the end of the book, which kept me gripped until I had finished the story. 

This is my favourite fiction book so far this year and probably since I read Jennie Godfrey's The List of Suspicious Things last summer. It has a lot to say about religion, global geopolitics, fixing the problems of failed states, and human connection. It is profoundly hopeful, despite the many reasons the characters have to despair. And that, I think, is its most endearing quality. 

More Action Force revival news

Last year I posted about both an official and unofficial revival of Action Force, with figures released in homage to my favourite toy line of the 1980s. This week I received three fresh new figures created by Black Major Nation, an independent toy manufacturer named after one of the villains of the original toy line. 

The figures are another version of Red Jackal, a Cobra style trooper in a Red Shadows style uniform and a Cobra Eel Trooper from the classic G.I.Joe line but done in the colour scheme of a Kraken from vintage Action Force.

Red Jackal is basically a repaint of "Destro", one of the key members of Cobra, the terrorist organisation that fought against G.I.Joe. Back in the 1980s, Destro had a repaint and was released as Red Jackal in the UK. This makes the toy very collectible now for American collectors who have all the G.I.Joe figures released in America. 

Unlike the Red Jackal I blogged about last year, this one is a multi-jointed "o-ring" figure, like the original one in the 80s. (It's called an o-ring figure because the legs are attached to the rest of the body using a rubber band inside the figure - that's the O.)

Red Jackal comes with two alternate heads - one would turn him into Red Laser and the other is a Cobra Commander hooded head with an anachronistic AF Enemy logo on his hood.

The Cobra Trooper is OK. It would fit in with some Enemy troops fine. 

The Kraken Eel is, well, crackin'. The colour scheme is perfect. 

I really like this figure although the accessories are a little bit fiddly. They don't fit together very securely and the peg on the back-pack is quite loose in the hole in the figures back where it's meant to attach. As a display piece it's great; as a play figure, bits would quickly get lost. 

Shortly after I blogged about the figures last year I acquired some figures from a different independent manufacturer, Lady Jaye Toys. They released some "Shadow Troopers" in a variety of weird colour schemes. I decided to just get the classic Red Shadows they released in tribute to the original range. 

Again, these are o-ring figures. They come with two different weapons - a reproduction of the bazooka that was shipped with the vintage figures, and a machine gun. 

If I had one criticism of these figures, it's that the heads are two small when compared with the vintage figures. However, they come with optional different heads, including one to create a Black Major if you want one.

I have acquired a few vintage Action Force items recently as well, so will share those on the blog at some point. 

My July 2026 round up

It's been a very hot month. However, that meant when we welcomed my sister and our three niblings for a day visit, we had a nice sunny day on Barry Island (it was also windy, as you can see from the picture).

It was so sunny we had to buy hats for niblings!

It was desperately hot earlier in the month when I went to London to attend the Talking About Diabetes (TAD) conference. The night before I went looking for the tribute to the greatest secret agent in the world!

TAD was great. Thought-provoking, inspiring, encouraging, and fun. My friend Ros was on the organising committee. I was able to grab 10 seconds with her for a selfie!

There were some great speakers, including actress Nina Wadia and her son, Aidan, who lives with type 1 diabetes.

My favourite presenter was Samantha Alleyne, a model and actress who answered a casting call for "tall women" and ended up being cast as the first female stormtrooper in the Star Wars universe!

It was the first time Samantha had spoken about her experience of type 1 diabetes and it was very interesting to hear how she managed her blood glucose levels while wearing stormtrooper armour! It was also inspiring to hear how she has engaged with members of the fan community who live with type 1 as well.

Another warm day for the Keep Grangetown Tidy litter pick. They were giving out some nice new t-shirts for committed litter-pickers! 

New t-shirt pose!

We got some respite from the heat in a very air conditioned cinema when Cathy and I went to watch Toy Story 5. I wore a suitable t-shirt - something I have been doing this year if I can.

We also went to watch Minions & Monsters, but I didn't have a Minions t-shirt to wear so no selfie! 

Connor was in town! We had a meal at The Grange and caught up on life and whatnot.

Even though this month has mainly been a heatwave, my one session out doing some political canvassing was on a very damp evening of misty rain. I was in Llantrisant for the community council by-election.

A couple of days later, Ioan, the Plaid Cymru candidate, won.

Also this month, I celebrated my "Plaidaversery" with a piece of art starring a hopeful dragon. 

I continued boycotting the World Cup, but real football was back on the agenda! Paul and I kicked off the season watching a Europa League Qualifying round match at Cardiff City Stadium. Penybont played Santa Columa from Andorra and lost 1-0.

And the domestic season started with some Welsh Cup games. Steve and I went to watch Caldicot Town play Longford FC in the first qualifying round.

Very clear pricing 

And on the very last night of the month, I saw Barry Town win their opening game of the Cymru Premier season. It was live on Sgorio on S4C but I watched it live in the stands!

Post-match Sgorio interview

And in case you missed it:

• Cathy and I went back to Cardiff Castle to see Bowling for Soup and Frank Turner in our third big gig of the summer

• My book of the month was a politics book by Will Hayward

• Bryan debuted a new team in our monthly Blood Bowl match up

• I did a stocktake of my copies of Nineteen Eighty-four

• I was horrified that it's 25 years since The Fast and the Furious was released!

Bretonnian debut - Blood Bowl match report

After Bryan and I played our match last month, we did something new where we rolled a D12 die to select the teams we would be playing this month. Bryan rolled dwarfs. I rolled for Bryan to have a free pick and he decided I could play Tomb Kings. So I turned up expecting to get hammered by the dwarfs, only to find Bryan had finished assembling the Bretonnian team that had been in the season 3 box. 

So we ended up with Bretonnians v Tomb Kings, which was both teams in the box set. 

I like the Bretonnian team. They have a mix of skills. They are a bit under-strength compared to the Tomb Kings, but some of their players have the 'dauntless' skill - as befitting noble questing knights - which raises them up to the level of stronger opponents. However, the downside of that is they can end up within grabbing range of those stronger opponents who will attack back on the next turn and have a dice advantage. 

Stymied in midfield

It took a while for the game to get going but eventually the Bretonnian blitzer made it to the end zone to open the scoring. It was 1-0 at half time.

I like playing with fast, high agility teams like skaven or wood elves. The Tomb Kings are not a fast, high agility team. Still, they were able to run in a down after the 'Tomb Guardian' bigger guys bashed a hole in the Bretonnian defensive line. 

However, the Bretonnians came back, courtesy of a very long pass downfield. The Tomb Kings had an opportunity to blitz the ball carrier to prevent the score but I rolled a skull! And the Brets went on to score what turned out to be the winning down.

Noooooooooooooooo!

Fail!

The winning down

Even then, the Tomb Kings had a chance to salvage a draw at the death with two players heading for the score line and the ball in the bony hands of a designated thrower. 

However, Bryan cleverly blitzed the player nearest the line, meaning the remaining Tomb King player couldn't reach the end zone even by rushing. I managed to roll a 6 to complete a long pass of my own but the guy fumbled the catch anyway. It would have been more gutting to have fumbled it in a scoring position. But this is how close I got before running out of turns.

Final score: 2-1 to the Bretonnians 

Overall, then, I think the Bretonnians are the better of the two sides out of the starter box. Even with Bryan's penchant for rolling disastrously (he rolled a 1 three times in a row when all he needed was a 2 or higher) they seemed a much more balanced unit with greater flexibility to switch play between running and passing. 

Two game snacks this month as well: cheesy penguins and jaffa cake biscuits!

Definitely not cakes!

Book of the Month: Who Cares About Wales?

This is the second book I've reviewed on my blog by Will Hayward, who is now probably the most influential journalist covering Welsh politics and current affairs. (Read my review of Will's book on Welsh independence.)

This latest book, published earlier this year before Plaid Cymru's historic win in the Senedd election, was a birthday present from my friends Justin and Annabel. So, a big thank you to them!

The basic premise of this book is that Wales has been spectacularly let down by it's politicians in the first quarter of the 21st century. Whether they have been in Westminster or Cardiff Bay, the people making decisions for Wales have often got things wrong. 

Will thinks the people of Wales should get angry about this, and he certainly seems to be. There are plenty of swears to underline points of particular frustration. It gets his point across, but I didn't feel they were all necessary. 

However, he has also managed to produce the most readable explanation of the Barnett funding formula that I've ever read. That gets talked about a lot in politics chat in Wales and it's never entirely clear that people know how it works. 

I can't vouch how right he is on a lot of the issues he covers, but from my perspective of working in the NHS, the issues he identifies in the section on health are bang on. The section on transport, especially rail, is a neat distillation of how Wales has been woefully hard done by. 

There were some real nuggets of interest along the way. For example, the creative sector generates far more economic activity in Wales than agriculture does - and for a fraction of the government subsidies. 

Will is critical of all the political parties, although most of his anger is directed towards Labour as they were the party in government in Wales for the entirety of the devolution era up to the point this book was written. He is particularly scathing about how Labour blamed so many problems on having to work with a Tory government in Westminster, but since Labour swept to power in London in 2024, Welsh Labour was very reluctant to push for all the things they'd been saying Wales needs. 

There is a hopeful conclusion, with some ideas of what could change. Whether any of that will come to pass in the tricky terrain of the first Plaid Cymru government in the Senedd is yet to be seen. I'm sure Will is already working on a book about 2026 onwards!