Cynhadledd meddwlau (Conference thoughts)

I spent most of Friday and Saturday last week at the Plaid Cymru conference in Llandudno. A few days on, here are some thoughts about it and, as you'd expect, some selfies!

It was my second visit to Llandudno in a couple of weeks as Cathy and I had a day there on our North Wales holiday in September. I'd had a late one on Thursday night, getting back from the HU's gig in Bristol. It was an early start on Friday, leaving Cardiff at 6am with fellow delegates Ben and Jose. 

On the way up we talked politics for a bit and about Warhammer for a bit, because serendipitously we all shared both interests. We got to Llandudno before lunchtime and in time for the big afternoon speeches at Venue Cymru, the large theatre and conference centre on the sea front. It was a bit strange being back there because I remember working a large NHS conference in Venue Cymru well over a decade ago.

Lovely Llandudno

This was my second Plaid Cymru cynhadledd (after last year's in Swansea). I was asked what I thought about it by Emily, a political analyst who was doing a "vibe report", and I said that overall I thought the vibe was celebratory without being smug. It was different to last year's, with Plaid Cymru now the party of (minority) government but it felt like everyone was very conscious of meeting the electorate's expectations.

I thought Rhun ap Iorweth's leader's speech was very good - managing that line between celebrating winning the election witb a sense of purpose and acknowledging the election only being the beginning of working hard for Wales. 

My favourite moments were hearing my friend Anna give her first conference speech as Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, and then hearing my chwaer calon Sara speak in support of a motion to give the Senedd more control over justice and equalities legislation.

Sara was also involved chairing a fringe meeting about improving nursing care. There were several similar thought provoking panels. One of our local Senedd members, Kiera, chaired a great session on youth mental health which included a powerful real life story. 

There was also a main stage session about social care that included an incredibly brave testimony from a care worker about the awful exploitative employment conditions many care workers are trapped in. She got a deserved standing ovation and I hope the campaign to improve things gains traction.

I voted on some motions, including an emergency motion for the party not to accept crypto-currency donations. I also voted in the party's internal elections and was very pleased when Sara was elected Director of Equalities.

In the exhibition I met Zahid from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. A lovely man who was willing to spend time chatting.

On the Saturday there was a protest about Palestine outside. It was the only time I saw any police in Llandudno. I think they over-estimated the likelihood of trouble with over 20 officers and at least 3 vehicles deployed. There were no arrests.

The exhibition also had a display of Plaid Cymru history.

Conference also provides a chance to catch up with friends and meet new people. Along with the South Cardiff representation, I had encouraging conversations with former Grangetonian Huw, and also met Danny from the Rhondda. 

Jose, Paddy and me
repping South Cardiff with Rhun

Gyda ffrind newydd Danny

It also was a chance to meet people who were there for other reasons. I told journalist Will Hayward that I'd read his most recent book (reviewed here) and thought his summary of the problems in NHS Wales was spot on. I also met Ben (a different Ben) who was there in a lobbying capacity but who I hadn't seen in several years - a most welcome catch up.

The two days went by really fast, and soon we were saying goodbye to Venue Cymru. I took a photo of the marvellous dragon on their information desk before I left.

A full February with friends

Sunrise on the Clyde

I'm a few days late posting this review of the month, for reasons that will become apparent. It was a very busy month, prepping for a big week away with work. Despite the busyness, I still managed to squeeze in a game of Blood Bowl with Bryan - our third of the year so far! 

I also went to three football matches - two Barry Town games and seeing my friend Ben play for Caldicot away at Treowen Stars. Their ground features an impressive set of steps up from the changing room to the pitch. After slogging my way up the hill to the ground, the steps nearly finished me off!

Ben on the ball

Those three games took me to five games so far in 2025, and here are my season totals at the end of February. Treowen was my ninth new ground of the season.

Staying on the theme of football, I went with my friend Paul to an event called 'Ymlaen', organised by the Football Association of Wales. There were some interesting ideas put forward - about trying to move away from just being about football and being in the 'wellness' space. To that end, the FAW are trying to bring all kinds of football under their umbrella, and have recognised walking football as a particular growth area. 

There were also talks by the Wales women's national team manager, Rhian Wilkinson, and former Wales men's team internationals, Joe Ledley and Danny Gabbidon. 

I was very impressed by Rhian Wilkinson, who I thought was inspiring when talking about the challenges facing Wales this summer in the European Championships. Joe and Danny were funny, and I learned that Shrewsbury Town missed out on signing Danny Gabbidon as a youth because they never followed up on a promised phone call!

This month's Keep Grangetown Tidy litter pick was very well attended. It was hosted by the Salvation Army citadel on the junction of Ferry Road and Corporation Road. It was a sunny day and one of those rare occasions when I turned up on time and made it into the official photo!

On one weekend we were able to coordinate our diaries with our friend Ella and visited her in Oxford for a meal out. It was the first time we had seen her since well before Christmas and great to catch up. 

I was invited to celebrate a milestone for my friend Wendy, at a surprise party to mark her 50th anniversary of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Wendy has been a persistent advocate for improved care for people living with diabetes and was a key ally when I was working in NHS Wales for the diabetes network. She was presented with a gold medal by Diabetes UK to mark her 50 years. 

I finished the month even further immersed in the diabetes world, as I was the lead for our team's stall at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference (DUKPC), which was held in Glasgow. I have spent most of February focusing on delivering the conference and making sure our team of young people from across the UK were featured as much as possible on the programme. The three days flew past, surrounded by former colleagues and friends from across the UK.

I had an unexpected surprise when I found my name was on a poster in the exhibition.

To make it even better, the poster was awarded second place in its category. I also had a further unexpected shout out from another presenter after helping bring together an advisory group for him. That was a very kind thing to do and I felt mildly embarrassed. 

The conference ended on the very last day of February, but that wasn't the end of my time in Scotland. But more about that in my next blog post!

Hectic itineraries and home improvements - April 2024

Some highlights from April 2024...

Train of the month:
Docklands Light Railway

The month began with my brother, sister-in-law and their four kids visiting us in Cardiff for 48 hours over my birthday. They stayed near us in Cardiff Bay. We had a lot of fun with them including riding the big wheel in the Bay and a trip to the amusement arcades on Ynys y Barri.

A highlight, as ever, was the play park round the corner.

Besides my birthday there were a couple of other celebrations. I saw my godson at his birthday party as he celebrated being 2. And I went to the studio-warming held by my friend Sian in her new business premises on Barry High Street. 

Sian is the exceptional photographer who came and took photos at our Silver Wedding Anniversary in September last year. It was great to see her new studio and she was already taking bookings for shoots.

Then I spent the best part of a week in London at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference. I was part of a team running an exhibition stand for the youth programme that I work on. The team included volunteers from each of the four regions in England and the other nations of the UK - so seven young people in total. They were an absolutely brilliant crew who worked incredibly hard to represent the programme and talk to healthcare professionals about the impact of the work. 

When the stand was set up and still looked neat!

And Sara dropped by to say 'Hi'

I stayed on after the conference and had a crazy weekend that started on the Friday night in the Moomin Shop in Covent Garden and ended on a sunny Sunday in Colwyn Bay queuing for ice creams inside a football ground. More details will appear on my posts about the football matches I've been to this month. But I did get to see Mum and the Fredster as well. (Here's the hound posing with Zac!)

I treated myself to a first class ticket home on the Monday morning. It was worth the extra £3!

Got a cracking cup of tea as well.

The final weekend of the month was spent getting ready to move out of our house ahead of the next tranche of building work. Our hall, stairwell and landing are getting replastered and it's just easier to be out of the way of the workmen. So we decamped to a teeny tiny flat in Cardiff Bay for a week. It was very small, but had a great view of the Pierhead Building from the window. 

And we were sort of, but not really, on holiday, so we had an ice cream (super low fat blackcurrant sorbet for Cathy) despite the rain...