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.

9/11, a quarter century on

It was an awful event at the time, and it has become clear since that 9/11 acts as some kind of dividing line between one era and the next. It's 25 years later and it feels like it's as hard as ever to navigate the aftermath.

I have been blogging long enough that my first post about 9/11 was 20 years ago, on the 5 year anniversary. I visited Ground Zero in 2007. And in 2009 I blogged about the conspiracy theories that had grown about it. 

A few nights ago I was talking politics with a friend and we reminisced about how optimistic things seemed in the late 90s when "New Labour" were elected. The stale Conservative government was swept away in a landslide led by Tony Blair. A few months prior to 9/11 and Labour had been re-elected for a new term in government. 

9/11 derailed that optimism. It blew the lid off New Labour when, a year later, the UK joined in the invasion of Iraq. That was followed by joining in the military operation in Afghanistan. It all got very messy and it feels like the ultimate outcome hasn't helped make the world much safer.

I'm now so old, I can read posts on Reddit from grown adults asking what it was like to see the Twin Towers fall, in the same way I would ask my parents about Martin Luther King or Beatlemania. Anything that happened before you were born lives in the realm of myth and make believe. But it's a small shock when you realise your own history is now pre-history for a great wodge of the population. 

The sad thing about those posts, and the replies that they elicit, is the sense of what we have lost. A feeling of hopeful change and progress got buried in the rubble of the World Trade Centre. Our governments defaulted to war mode. Culturally we embraced a threat mindset, which we are seeing now in extremis in rhetoric about being invaded. Conspiracism has thrived and mistrust is common currency.

That fear burden is one of the legacies of 9/11; the impact of terrorism is to spread terror. And it has been very effective. So many people seem perma-scared now, often of things that, rationally, have zero impact on them. 

Somehow, we need to find a way to mourn the losses of 9/11, without letting terror dominate our lives. 

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!

It's my Plaidaversary

A year ago today I got 'Big P Political' and joined Plaid Cymru. What a year it's been! I've canvassed in 5 different elections and Plaid have won 3 of them. 

I have celebrated with a dragon!

I saw him last month at Tafwyl, where I spoke to the artist, Richard. After I got home I decided I should have brought him home with me so I contacted Richard and thankfully he hadn't been sold to anyone else! 

Due to hectic schedules I hadn't been able to pick him up until.today, but it worked out nicely that today was the day - on my Plaidaversary!

Gobaith means hope. I love his hopeful face

I also love how the date of Plaid Cymru's historic Senedd win - the 8th May - is included in the picture!

Read my election reflection here

Richard has a website with more of his great artwork on it: Baldhead Designs 

On "Separatism" - a post for Star Wars Day 2026

Happy Star Wars Day. May the force be with you this May the Fourth.

I often blog about Star Wars on Star Wars Day, and this year I'm linking my post to the very current Senedd election (happening on Thursday!) 

I've decided to write about a trending word in politics here in Cymru, that always makes me think of Star Wars. Recently some politicians have started using the word "separatists" to describe people who support Welsh independence. 

Which, of course, makes me think of the conflict in the Galactic Republic in a galaxy far, far away....

CIS ("Separatist") flag

Brief recap: in the original Star Wars film, there was a passing reference to Luke Skywalker's dead father fighting in "the clone wars". Very little was explained about that but 20 years later, when George Lucas wanted to write the Star Wars prequel films, he decided it would be about the 'clone wars'.

If you're going to write about a war, you need to have two sides. In 'star wars' the combatants were the Empire and the Rebels. But something different was needed for the prequels, so we had the Republic and, um, the Rebels Separatists.

In the prequel films, the Separatists were either conniving warmongers looking to make money from galactic upheaval, or were being manipulated by the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, who was using the war as a way of gaining total power for himself. However, in later media, like the Clone Wars cartoon, Separatist characters were introduced who had nobler reasons for wanting to be independent from the Republic.

But initially we were meant to regard the Separatists as bad guys. The offical name for the Separatists was the "Confederacy of Independent Systems" (CIS). 'Confederate' is a loaded word in US-centric cultural media. So the narrative dice were loaded against the Separatists from the start.

However, like I said, later Star Wars product has introduced some ambiguity. Can there be noble reasons for wanting to be independent? In other words, is separatism automatically bad?

Well, it seems the answer to that depends on what you are separating from and why.

We see in the first prequel, The Phantom Menace, that the Galactic Republic, is ineffectual at responding to an urgent threat to the planet Naboo. Decisions are being made at a distance from the flashpoint and there are multiple competing priorities. The reported suffering of the Naboo population doesn't speed up the decision-making process.

Additionally, there are wider issues. Slavery still exists on several planets. Large areas of the galaxy are under the dominion of crime lords and gangsters. The Republic has not used its strength and power to liberate people from lawlessness or to lift up people living in poverty. 

Certainly, within the Star Wars galaxy, "separatism" can spring from noble aims. 

And the Galactic Republic's response to the separatist movement reinforces the doubt about the Republic's legitimacy. They go to war. They take control of an army of clones - disposable humans - and fight against the Separatists. Now, sometimes this is justified because the Separatists are attacking planets loyal to the Republic, but as the war rolls on, any planet in the CIS becomes de facto an enemy. 

The other thing the Republic does is centralise power. The Chancellor becomes a proto-Emperor with emergency powers that become difficult and then impossible to revoke, and the Republic becomes an Empire.

And then, ironically the 'good guys' flip. What had been the good Republic against the bad Separatists becomes the bad Empire against the heroic Rebel Alliance.

And so to the discussion of Welsh Independence or Welsh Separatism...

I don't think 'separatist' is the terrible slur that people using it seem to think it is. Because, as I've said, that depends on what people want to separate from. It's fair to say the UK has problems and part of that is weak leadership both domestically and in a volatile international setting. 

It feels like Labour's hegemony has been broken in Cymru. While canvassing I have met loads of former Labour voters, including ex-members, who say they are done with Labour. The promise of change that many people hoped for when the Westminster government changed in 2024 hasn't been delivered.

And Westminster has had decades to make life here in Cymru better. Successive governments - Labour and Tory - haven't dealt with root issues, especially poverty in both rural and post-industrial areas. Poverty is always a political choice, whether it was David Cameron's cabinet of millionaires introducing 'austerity' or Keir Starmer's Labour Party taking away financial support for disabled people.

There are structutal and societal issues behind this too. Supporters of annibyniaeth (independence) are always told Cymru is too weak and too poor to go its own way - and when we ask why Cymru is so weak and so poor, we don't get an answer.

If we always do what we have always done then we will always get what we have always got. There is no plan in any party manifesto for parties that support the status quo to bring in any structural or constitutional changes to make life better in Cymru. It's more of the same, or slightly less.

Star Wars presents the warning that overarching political structures seek to protect themselves first and foremost. They respond to threats by centralising more and punishing those they think are an enemy. That natural sense of protectiveness is easy to manipulate by people who seek personal gain. They might not be Sith Lords, but they don't have to be.

In that context, if the government feels far away and seems more interested in it's own ends, that feels dominated by the wealthy and has permitted poverty to persist, is being a Separatist so bad?

2025 Review of the Year

As we head into the new year, I decided to post a quick month by month summary of the year gone by.

It was a busy blogging year - 99 posts, with a Book of the Month post every month of the year for the first time (see my list of Books of the Month on my index page). I've included lots of links to posts that I blogged along the way, so if you have a lot of free time, you can enjoy those too! 

January

Work was full throttle from the get go, and there were some changes in our team. We also have a trio of family birthdays in the same week so I spent a celebratory weekend in Shrewsbury. (More stuff in my round up of the month.)

February

I spent the best part of a week in Glasgow working a big national conference. It was tiring work and at the end of it I hopped a train to Edinburgh for my first ever visit to stay with my sister and her family. 

Glasgow sunrise

March

I spent St David's Day weekend in Edinburgh, taking in the sights and catching a football match - it was my Scottish nephew's first ever live game! The following weekend I was at the opposite end of the country with Cathy for a weekend in Exeter. 

My March travels weren't over and we ended the month at the Lipodystrophy UK support day in Cambridgeshire. Cathy appeared in the awareness video for World Lipodystrophy Day, which premiered at the conference. 

April

We went from Cambridgeshire to Buckinghamshire for a week's holiday over my birthday, including a trip to Legoland on the day itself, a nostalgic visit to Bekonscot model village, and an encounter with Nev the tapir at Beale Wildlife Park at the end of the week. 

A couple of weeks later we returned to Cambridge for a specialist appointment and then drove to Manchester to see comedian Nate Bargatze at the 02 Apollo. This was the first of three trips we made to that venue in 2025. 

In a year where I got increasingly political, I went on the Yes Cymru march for independence in Barry at the end of the month. 

Finally, I had some disappointing medical news. Almost ten years after successfully reversing my type 2 diabetes, I was symptomatic again. So I made the decision to lose weight and have been eating mindfully and trying to be more active since then. 

May

I was all over the place again in May. I went to the NEC for the big Europhilex stamp exhibition. My work involved another trip to Exeter and a couple of nights in London.  My commitment to be more active meant I did some London Wandrin'.

June

A big life change in June. After 11 years with Marco the Polo, we got a new car - Vincent, a Mazda 3. It has been quite an upgrade both in comfort and gadgets. 

Vincent's first big trip with us was to North Wales. We spent a fab week in Dinas Dinlle. 

July

In terms of life impact, the biggest event for me in July was joining Plaid Cymru. It's the first time I have ever been a member of a political party. I launched straight into canvassing for the Grangetown council by-election and things really haven't stopped since!

We also had another weekend in Manchester, mainly to see comedian Taylor Tomlinson. But while we were in town we also went to the National Football Museum, which I have wanted to do for ages. I was travelling again for work - this time to Warrington and to Cotswold Wildlife Park where I met Darwin, a giant tortoise!

August

I learned that delivering leaflets and canvassing can really help a person lose weight during the Grangetown by-election. I was disappointed we didn't win, but it was valulable campaigning experience. 

More travels - a weekend in Shrewsbury (where I succumbed to football nostalgia) and a football trip to Swindon combined with a visit to STEAM, the museum of the Great Western Railway. 

September

Cathy and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary with a trip to the ice hockey!

Politically, we were straight into another by-election, this time in Caerphilly for a Senedd seat. Campaigning started in September and would conclude the following month. More great exercise for me! I also ran the quiz at the Yes Cymru Caerdydd branch AGM. 

October 

My political involvement included attending my first ever party conference (in Swansea) and more canvassing in the Caerphilly by-election, which Plaid Cymru won!  

I had some encouraging medical news as my six months of mindful eating and increased activity had resulted in me reversing my diabetes for a second time. All that canvassing helped me no end. 

Cathy and I paid our third visit to Manchester, this time to see Counting Crows at the Apollo (again). The football fixtures favoured us and I was able to go and watch Shrewsbury Town play at Oldham the following day. I had my third trip to Scotland at the end of the month, heading to Dundee for work and stopping in Edinburgh into November...

November 

Just like in March, I started the month in Edinburgh. This time I got to go to Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby and watched Scotland overpower the USA in a record international victory. 

It was a big birthday month! Cathy turned 50. We went to a local wildlife park on her birthday and met Roly the armadillo. The following couple of weekends we had a family gathering in Shrewsbury and met up with friends in Cardiff Bay.

The local Plaid Cymru Senedd campaign kicked off. I spoke at the campaign launch about getting involved in canvassing and invited everyone there to get involved. 

December 

December has been the usual end-of-year whirlwind, with getting ready for Christmas and seeing lots of people. We spent the festive period in Shrewsbury before returning home in time for New Year. 

And now it's 2026...!

Pre-Christmas December round up

I've packed a lot in to December so far and thought I'd get in early with my review of the month, ahead of the Christmas shenanigans.

Cathy being Christmassy in Abergavenny!

The Christmassy feeling started with the Carol Service in Grange Gardens. Cardiff Council decorated the bandstand, the Salvation Army band provided the music, Richard the new vicar at St Paul's led the service, people from other local churches did readings, and my friend Sioned's daughter read a poem. 

One lovely aspect was all the songsheets were bilingual and people sang in Welsh and English, which really worked. It sounded lovely. We had about 200 people come along with lots of families. 

Another community event was the final Keep Grangetown Tidy litter pick of the year. I didn't find anything particularly exciting but I did pick up 3 bags of rubbish and an abandoned pressure cooker. 

In early December I met up with Sara and we celebrated our ten year friendaversary. We first had a proper conversation at an event in Cardiff University organised by Diabetes UK. She asked me "What do you do?" Ten years later and we met up in one of our old haunts for a coffee and reminisce.

I also met up with my friend Heather for lunch at The Grange. Heather also worked with me in the Wales Diabetes Network and has since retired from the NHS. But she hasn't managed to escape lunch dates with me!

This month, Bryan and I foresook a game of Blood Bowl and instead unboxed his season 3 box set. In real world sport, I have made it to four football matches already in December, including...

...seeing my friend Ben play for Caldicot Town for the first time this season.

...watching Barry Town win the league cup semi-final up at Cambrian United.

...watching Cardiff Met with Steve, which was our first game together in months.

...and watching Cardiff Draconians away at Newport City. The Dracs imploded and finished the game with only 9 men.

I had a slightly quieter month, politically. But I was out every Thursday morning talking to commuters at different train stations. We have now been to all 12 stations in the constituency on the west side of the River Taff! This month we ticked off these:

I have a feeling campaigning activity will pick up in the New Year! 

After Christmas I'll be blogging my round ups of the year. 2025 has been a busy one so there is plenty to write about. That might take me most of January too!

Milestone birthdays and rainbow football - November 2025 review

On the last Saturday in November I took my favourite football photo of the year (so far, anyway). So I'm going to lead with it in my round up of the month.

It was taken as the Cardiff Draconians team made their way onto the pitch for the second half of their Welsh Cup game against Trefelin. The game had been switched to Trefelin's ground after being postponed once. The Dracs home pitch gets soggy in winter!

The game finished 3-3 and went to penalties. Sadly, the Dracs lost the shoot out. So, it's Trefelin who head all the way up to Bangor in the next round!

I only went to one other football match in November - the Dracs v Treowen Stars. The Dracs won 4-3. That was a bit special because in the 631 games I had been to since 1992 I had never seen a 4-3 home win. (I'd seen the Dracs lose 3-4 at home before!) I love me some quirky number nerdery and was delighted to tick off that scoreline.

My only other sporting action in the month was a rugby game in Scotland as part of a weekend in Edinburgh. I also saw two of my Scottish niblings play different sports that weekend too.

But the big occasion of the month - the really big cause for celebration - was Cathy's half century birthday. On the day itself we had an armadillo experience at The Meadows Wildlife Park where we met Roly the armadillo and Phil the zookeeper. Roly was an absolute delight, an inquisitive critter who seemed very excited to meet the birthday girl!

We followed up on meeting Roly with meet-ups with friends, a family party in Shrewsbury and a cinema trip with friends in Cardiff Bay. 

Competitive party games!

Sarah managed to create a tasty Cathy-suitable birthday cake for our family tea together. 

I was on the road a lot in November. Besides Edinburgh and Shrewsbury I had a big work event in Birmingham. I drove up in the teeth of Storm Claudia with waves of water being sent over the central barriers by HGVs coming the other way. The conference was hugely successful, which made the drive worthwhile.

We also had new merch! Here's me modelling the brand new tees.

On Remembrance weekend, the Friends of Grange Gardens got together to tidy up the war memorial the morning before the service. 

I went along on the Sunday for the service. It was a powerful community tribute to the memories of those who died in wartime.

Despite the busy birthday schedule and work commitments, I managed to keep up my political commitments. That included the official launch of our constituency's Senedd campaign. We had an excellent turnout for the evening, with members coming together to hear about the campaign strategy. As a newbie to canvassing I had a chance to talk about getting started and some of my adventures in the last few months.

Talking about canvassing, I went to four new stations this month talking to commuters. On the last day of November I went out canvassing in Penarth talking about the Senedd elections next year. Politically, 2026 is going to be a big year for Wales. I hope we are ready for it!