Football season review 2015-16

It's the end of the football season and here is my review of the games I went to. The asterisks indicate the football grounds I watched a game at for the very first time.

First, here are the overall stats:
Season: 2015-16
Total games: 11
Most goals in a game: 7
Fewest goals in a game: 0
Total goals seen: 23
Number of football grounds visited: 8 (4 of which I’d never visited before)

Newport County v Queen's Park Rangers (friendly)
Score: 0-0
This was memorable mainly for the utter torrent of rain that drenched the Londoners who had forgotten that it always rains in Wales and had turned up in shorts. One of those games that could have been played forever and still been goalless.

Welcoming sign; inclement weather

Action shot of Spytty the dog

Shrewsbury Town v Millwall (League 1)
Score: 1-2
First home game of the season. First defeat. Set a pattern for the season really. The deciding goal was a penalty that was more of a penalty won than a penalty conceded.

Yeovil Town* v QPR (League Cup 1st round)
Score: 0-3
My first trip to Huish Park. I was a Hoop for the night. QPR ran out fairly easy 3-0 winners in the end.

Borrowed shirt.

Shrewsbury Town v Crewe Alexandra (League 1)
Score: 0-1
Crewe were bottom of the league having not won a match by this point (we were about 8 games in). They finished bottom of the league at the end of the season. Of course they won this game as Shrewsbury's players seemed to have forgotten what sport they were playing.

Pink bibs in the warm up. It was downhill from here.

Reading* v QPR (Championship)
Score: 0-1
I'd not been to Reading's Madjeski Stadium before. It was pretty impressive. This was Neil Warnock's last game in charge at QPR before being replaced by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Reading boss Steve Clarke was sacked the following morning as well. I think this is the first time I've been at a game that was the last game for both managers. The game was pretty dire and QPR nicked it at the end with a bundled in goalmouth scramble.

It filled up a bit for the actual game

Bristol City* v QPR (Championship)
Score: 1-1
Another QPR game. Another new ground. For a long time it looked like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink would finally see his new side win. But Bristol City equalised. I was impressed with how he stood and shook the hands of all his players as they came off at the end. That's class.

Flags to greet the players as they enter the pitch

Shrewsbury Town v Fleetwood Town (League 1)
Score: 1-1
Shrewsbury struggled to make any headway against another struggling team. At this point I felt Shrewsbury were very likely relegation candidates.

Cardiff City v Shrewsbury Town (FA Cup 3rd round)
Score: 0-1
This was odd. The game was on a Sunday night. Most of the ground was empty as Cardiff fans were protesting something. It was also live on S4C. And yet, it's the first time I've seen Shrewsbury win in Cardiff.

Not many more arrived.

Seriously, this was about it.

Barry Town United v The New Saints (Welsh Cup 4th round)
Score: 2-5 (the most goals seen in a game all season)
Full write up here. Highly enjoyable game.

Shrewsbury Town v Manchester United (FA Cup 5th round)
Score: 0-3
Given everything that has happened at Manchester United since they went on to win the cup a few days ago, and the season they had, this was a real missed opportunity. Shrewsbury kind of choked. This was the third game in a row that I'd been to that was also live on telly. Full write up here.

Celtic* v Dundee (Scottish Premier League)
Score: 0-0
Full write up here. This turned out to be my final game of the season. It feels apt that my season began and ended with 0-0 draws. The essence of football, right there.

And now, bring on the Euros...

Previous seasons: 2014-15

2016 Welsh Assembly election UPDATED communications overview

Some more electoral bumf has come through the door. Yay. So, I'm updating the review I posted last week. We have material from two parties not mentioned before, and new material from three others.

New leaflets

The following parties haven't been in further contact, so keep their scores from last time:
Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party = 0
Women's Equality Party = 1
UKIP = disqualified

Same rules as before. Here we go.

Party: The Green Party
Candidate: Anthony Slaughter
Previous point total = 4
New point awarded
bumf = 1
promises = 0
contact = 0
candidate photos = 1
Cymraeg = 1
total = 3
Points deducted
blame = 0
mud slinging = 0
photos of opponents = 0
sloganeering = 8 (it feels cruel but there is no substance to any of their aims)
typos = 0
REVISED GRAND TOTAL = 2
Update comment: It feels mean that they score so low, given how relentlessly positive and hopeful their leaflets are. But, bottom line is, I'm a pragmatist and want to know what you would actually do, not read your wishlist.

Party: Labour

Candidate: Vaughan Gething

Previous point total = 17

New points awarded

bumf = 2

promises = 1 new one (an environment plan to collect water in Grangetown). There's also an extensive list of things Labour is apparently already working on such as the redevelopment of a leisure centre.

contact = nothing new

candidate photos = 3, including one with Vaughan and a fire engine

Cymraeg = 0

additional points = 6

Points deducted

blame = 0

mud slinging = 2 (reference to broken Tory election promises and how the Tories have "abandoned young people")

photos of opponents = 0

sloganeering = 0 

typos = 0 (although some of the text has flowed a bit wrong on one of the leaflets)

REVISED GRAND TOTAL = 21

Update comment: As mentioned there is a big list of things Labour are doing and introducing. I like that Vaughan is putting out there what he and his party have done rather than slagging off other parties. Also a good use of photos showing him out and about. 

Party: Liberal Democrats

Candidate: This is a list leaflet although the main name mentioned on there is Eluned Parrott, so let's say it's her

Points awarded

bumf = 1

promises = 3 (safe nurse staffing levels and smaller infant school class sizes, cutting business rates on plant and machinery)

contact = 0

candidate photos = 2. I think. If we count Eluned as the candidate.

Cymraeg = 0

total = 6

Points deducted

blame = 1 (it's all Labour's fault!)

mud slinging = agh, so much! The Liberal Democrat invective machine is back up and running. I count 8 specific instances of negative comments about Labour.

photos of opponents = 0

sloganeering = 4

typos = 0

GRAND TOTAL = -7

Verdict: Why do the Liberal Democrats always go negative? It wouldn't be so bad if they offered concrete options but it's all wishy-washy stuff like a promise to "build an 'Opportunity Economy'" and stuff. OK. What does that look like then?

Party: Plaid Cymru

Candidate: Dafydd Trystan Davies

Previous point total = 7

New points awarded

bumf = 2 (1 local, one regional)

promises = 1 (electrification of the railways)

contact = still 0 (Come on, people, these are the easy points)

candidate photos = 3

Cymraeg = 2 (as you'd expect)

total = 7

Points deducted

blame = nobody really

mud slinging = 3 - two references to Labour's failures and also saying Labour has 'run out of steam'

photos of opponents = 0

sloganeering = I'm going to ding them 3 because, e.g. although they say they are going to invest in specific hospitals they don't say what that investment would be aiming to do

typos = 0

REVISED GRAND TOTAL = 8

Further comment: I'm not convinced that Plaid Cymru could pay for everything they want to do. Or that they have thought through their promises. Where exactly are they going to get 1,000 doctors from, for example? But still, generally a positive campaign.

And finally... Vapers in Power

Party: Vapers in Power

Candidate: Bernice Evans

Points Awarded

bumf = 1 (regional list leaflet)

promises = 0 really, although it mentions three places where they think vapers should be allowed to vape

contact = 0 but they do have a hashtag

candidate photos = 1

Cymraeg = 1

total = 3

Points deducted

blame = 2 (The Welsh Health Minister, Mark Drakeford, and the lying media). There's also the comment that vapers will "soon be brutalised by European legislation". Sort of some preemptive blame there.

mud slinging = 1 (their hashtag is anti-Labour)

photos of opponents = 0

sloganeering = 1 (a threat to hold "spreaders of malicious untruths" accountable. How?)

typos = I'm going to ding them 1 for a terrible run on sentence. There are a few garbled sentences so I think this is fair.

GRAND TOTAL = -2

Verdict: A one issue party about an issue that doesn't exercise me in the slightest. Very emotive language from someone who doesn't think anyone should tell her what to do. I am interested to see how many people bother to vote for this.

The election is on Thursday. Any more reviews will probably be after the fact now.

All the links to previous elections are in this overview of trends.

2016 Welsh Assembly election communications overview

I’ve been doing my reviews of electoral communications for a few years now (see an overview of the trends here). We have just over a week to go until the next Assembly election, so here’s my overview of the bumf we’ve had through the door so far.

Lots of people want our vote...

I’m going to use the same marking system as I did back in 2015. Candidates are awarded points for:

~ number of pieces of bumf through the door

~ number of definite promises they make

~ number of ways they offer you to get in touch, not including generic websites

~ number of different candidate photos, with bonus points if they are with the party leader

~ a point for bilingual Welsh/English leaflets

Candidates are dinged points for

~ the number of other people they blame for the mess we're in,

~ number of negative comments about other parties (mud slinging)

~ photos of politicians belonging to other parties

~ meaningless ‘slogan’ promises e.g. ‘I’m going to fight for Welsh jobs’

And new for this year, I’m going to ding for typos because if you can’t be arsed to proofread your leaflet then you should be punished.

This time round I’m going to list them alphabetically by party name.

Party: Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party

Candidate: none (they’re only going for the regional vote)

Points awarded

bumf = 1

promises = 1 (abolish the Welsh Assembly)

contact = 0

candidate photos = n/a

Cymraeg = 0

total = 2

Points deducted

blame = 1 (the Welsh Assembly is at fault for everything, it seems)

mud slinging = 0

photos of opponents = 0

sloganeering = 0

typos = 1 (“A talking supermarket that we didn’t wants and time has shown...)

GRAND TOTAL = 0

Verdict: this has all the hallmarks of a lone nutter with a grudge against the Welsh Assembly. One of the comments in the leaflet is ‘What has the Welsh Assembly ever done for us?’ Well, er, kept our NHS true to its ideals and in a related note given us free prescriptions.

Party: Green Party

Candidate: Anthony Slaughter in the constituency and four others on the regional list

Points awarded

bumf =2

promises = 0 (lots of slogans)

contact = 3 (Twitter, Facebook, personal email)

candidate photos =5 (all four regional candidates, including Anthony and a different one of Anthony on the constituency leaflet)

Cymraeg =2 (both leaflets fully bilingual)

total = 12

Points deducted

blame = 0

mud slinging = 0

photos of opponents = 0

sloganeering = The constituency leaflet has 6 things that a “Green voice in the Senedd will fight for” but with no concrete options. There’s another one on the regional leaflet, so 7 slogans in total.

typos = 1 (they medded up their bullet points on the regional leaflet)

GRAND TOTAL = 4

Verdict: On a personal level I agree with all their aims, but it feels like wishful thinking. If they had put one concrete idea behind any of their pledges I’d take them more seriously. How are they going to deliver “Sustainable and vibrant communities” for example? What does that even mean?

Party: Labour

Candidate: Vaughan Gething

Points awarded

bumf = 2

promises = 6 (e.g. create 100,000 new apprenticeships, NHS treatments fund, free childcare

contact =6 (Twitter, Facebook, email, mobile number, personal website, real world address)

candidate photos = 5 across the 2 leaflets. One of them is in front of the Grange fish bar. Yeah!

Cymraeg = 0

total = 19

Points deducted

blame = 0

mud slinging = 2 (The Tories are a threat to education and local government services)

photos of opponents = 0

sloganeering = 0

typos = 0 (although some of the text has flowed a bit wrong on one of the leaflets)

GRAND TOTAL = 17

Verdict: Vaughan spends a lot of his communication talking about what he has achieved as the Assembly Member for the past term. There’s a big bit bigging up NHS Wales. He also has three local residents endorsing him, which is a nice touch. 17 is the best score Labour have ever achieved in these ratings.

Party: Plaid Cymru

Candidate: Dafydd Trystan Davies (but we also got one for Cardiff Central candidate Glyn Wise)

Points awarded

bumf = 3 (although one is probably a mistake)

promises = 9

contact = All generic so 0 (oof, these are the easy points in this scoring system)

candidate photos = 2 (possible more on the regional leaflet, but it’s unclear)

Cymraeg = 3 – properly bilingual throughout

total = 17

Points deducted

blame = it’s all Labour’s fault, apparently. 1 point.

mud slinging = 5 different pops at Labour

photos of opponents = 0

sloganeering = 4 and lots of promises to “work tirelessly” if elected

typos = 0

GRAND TOTAL = 7

Verdict: The leaflets mention how Labour have had 17 years in power “with little to show for it” but neglect to add that a good chunk of that was in coalition with, er, Plaid Cymru. Bit of an omission.

Party: Women’s Equality Party

Candidate: none (regional list only)

Points awarded

bumf = 2

promises = 0

contact = 0 (but they do have English and Welsh hashtags)

candidate photos = 1, possibly? It’s of 4 women, one of whom is wearing a Women’s Equality badge

Cymraeg = 1 (but only just – the Welsh side doesn’t have a photo and looks like an after-thought)

total = 4

Points deducted

blame = 0

mud slinging = 0

photos of opponents = 0

sloganeering = 3, although there is a lot of positive thinking without any substance behind it

typos = 0

GRAND TOTAL = 1

Party: UKIP

Candidate: Mohammed Sarul-Islam

Wait, he’s not our candidate. He’s standing in Cardiff Central! DISQUALIFIED!

Can't vote for you
even if I wanted to!

For interest, here’s the promises in Mr Islam’s leaflet:

Introduce locally elected health boards

Introduce university technical colleges to teach vocational trade skills

Reintroduce grammar schools

Cut fees for STEM students

Devolve economic development powers to local councils

Scrap the Severn Bridge tolls

And here are the meaningless unsubstantiated slogans:

Support long-term investment in staff and resources for a better NHS

Treat cancer as a top priority

UKIP will hold the Welsh Government accountable

Bring jobs into the local area

And this statement that isn’t really a promise or anything:

UKIP opposes tax raising powers being devolved to the Assembly without a referendum (they love their referendums)

All the links to previous elections are in this overview of trends.

On the trail of cartoonists at the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival

Last weekend we were in my one-time hometown, Shrewsbury, for the Cartoon Festival. It's been going for 13 years and this was the first time we went.

On the Friday night we went to an illustrated talk by Tony Husband, who draws the comic strip 'Yobs' in Private Eye. Tony was talking about his book of cartoons called 'Take care, Son', which chronicles his father's descent into dementia and the impact that had on the family. It was by turns moving and funny, and as you'd expect given the subject matter, very sad. Tony presented it very honestly - talking about how difficult things became when his father was phoning him up to 80 times a day, and how he felt when he visited his father in the care home. "He always used to stand by the window to watch us leave to make sure we felt the maximum amount of guilt."

Tony is now presenting about his experience to a wide number of organisations and companies who are training staff to help customers who have dementia. The humour in the talk was never at his father's expense and I'm sure the way Tony manages to explain the situation and maintain the dignity of his father is a great lesson in itself for people who come into contact regularly with people who have dementia.

We bought a copy of the book and posed for a photo after he had signed it and drawn a Yob in it for us.

Also present at the presentation was Hilary Price, an American cartoonist whose comic strip is called 'Rhymes with Orange'. We discovered this years ago on the web and one of her cartoons, 'True Microwave Settings' was stuck on our microwave for years. Hilary was there with her mum and her aunt. We had a book of her cartoons and when Cathy pulled it out of her bag to ask Hilary to sign it, her Mum told us "I love you already!"

After getting over her surprise that we had her book, and signing it, and asking us if we were cat or dog people and drawing us a dog when I said dog people, she also posed for a photo with us.

The next day we went into the town centre. Next to the mediaval market hall, the festival had several gazebos for the cartoonists to draw large scale cartoons.  Tony had redrawn several of his Private Eye cartoons. The one bottom left (ho ho) is one of my favourites. (Click on it and it will be readable.)

Hilary was there, drawing a large scale cartoon as well. She remembered us from the night before, hopefully not because we came across like stalkers. It was a sunny day but bitterly cold as can be seen from the very necessary coats.

There were quite a few activities available and even I had a go, drawing my 'man with eager to please expression' on the blackboard they had out for the kids.

We came back later and he had been rubbed off. Ah well. Maybe I should actually draw some cartoons with him in.

It was an enjoyable event and I'm really pleased to have met two cartoonists whose work I admire. I'm very lucky to have met a few of my cartooning heroes over the years and if this festival carries on I may get to meet some more.

Turning 40: Some of my friends brought art - part 1

As mentioned in the previous post, I wanted to have a party for my 40th but have more than enough stuff and didn't really want people to feel they had to bring me presents. So I suggested they help me fill a farmyard with virtual animals (although they are real in other places) and / or help me to 'fill a wall' with art.

Here's some of the art people brought. I've shared some of these on Facebook already. They are from the grown ups who came. The kids' art will have to wait for a separate post.

So, first of all, Cathy created this piece which I'm calling 'Rainbow Pencils'.

'Rainbow Pencils'
Artist: Cathy Matthias
Mixed Media (pencils, ribbon)

Cathy gave me this a few weeks in advance of the party. The next person to give me some art was my sister in law, Abby. She knitted me a Boba Fett and also two vikings - a warrior and his warlike wife. The boat is made from cardboard and packing tape and was mainly used to protect them while travelling, but I kinda like it.

'Knitted Bounty'; 'Warrior Couple'
Artist: Abigail Bick
Knitted wool and mixed media

The next person to bring something for the wall was Connor, who came along early to help us set up for the party (because he's a star). He managed to incorporate my favourite building toy into his piece.

'Jon breaks free'
Artist: Connor Knapton
Mixed media

Then as people arrived, the art was hung up thick and fast and I can't remember what order these came in. Anyway, my friend Tom had kept his artistic talents under wraps. I'd never seen any drawings he'd done before so this took me aback. I particularly like that he had researched which engines I had on my model railway to make sure he drew one I liked. (And I do!)

'Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0'
Artist: Thomas Reay
Pencils

The things people made were pretty diverse. My friend Kate brought me a cross-stitch.

'Lightsabers'
Artist: Kate Hammond
Cross-stitch

My friend Jo has a fine art degree and after she gave me her painting I was accused by a couple of other people of pulling off the whole 'Fill a wall' thing just to get my hands on one of her paintings. I'm going to go on record and refute that accusation. However, I do love her paintings. We already have one up in our dining room. This one is instantly recognisable if you have ever visited a certain part of Cardiff. Also I love that it has clearly been raining. (I'm also glad she didn't bring me a picture of a nude man from her life drawing classes, which she had threatened to do.)

'Llandaff North Street Scene'
Artist: Johanna Shepherd
Paint

Both Jo and the next artist to be featured are American. Katharine is a brilliant line drawing artist. A few weeks ago we were round her house and I mentioned the Wombles. Being an American, she had never heard of them so we subjected her to some quality British kids TV programming courtesy of YouTube. As payback, she drew a Womble-ised version of me for my wall.

'Jon as a Womble'
Artist: Katherine Holmes
Ink and paper

And finally, last but not least, Bryan and Elaine produced a digital collage of all the things I loved. Including a manatee. They were also the people who adopted a manatee through the World Wildlife Fund for my virtual farm. This manatee is dreaming of Lego trains, while Boba Fett swims past and Star Lord hangs out poolside reading a Douglas Coupland novel. There's really not much I can say about this. It's quirky and fun and will look great in our hall. We may need to explain it to people who come round, though.

'Jon's Loves'
Artists: Bryan Russ; Elaine Russ
Digital collage

There are some more bits I need to take photos of or scan, plus drawings from the kids. I'm saving those for some future posts.