CWRW'R WYTHNOS PUM DEG PEDWAR

 

BIKESAFE WALES

 

I did it! With a little nudge from friends, I got on a BikeSafe course, run by South Wales Police, & ticked this off my "to do" list.

Firstly, on signing up you get a link to 9 online modules to do as pre work. These are based on the police system of risk reduction, IPSGA (not snappy, I concede) as used by their riders, and outlined in their manual, "Motorcycle roadcraft".

It's all about Identifying & eliminating risks

The day was fab, lovely, sunny, dry & the scenery was stunning. a few bods were no-shows, so I ended up having one instructor to myself for 4 hours on a spectacular drive through the South Wales Valleys

My take-aways?

• The importance of road positioning in different circumstances
• Using high revs & a low gear to balance the bike in turns
• Not stopping in "Pole position" after filtering
• Not having to overtake - wait for the right time, if at all
• Sign up for the next course in a few months, or maybe next spring - The Dragon Rider Scheme from NPT is good & cheap, apparently
• Try giving a running commentary whils riding to identify hazards & plan to avoid them
• "Drive like Eeyore - everyone is trying to kill me

The route

First order of the day - brekkie 

20 Sturmi Way, Pyle, Bridgend CF33 6BZ

Coffee stop

and back for debrief

The thing the above misses is the joy. The sheer joy of doing something great fun with others who feel the same way. With great views, the zen of motorcycling.

:-)

 

RESERVOIRS

From 

https://ramblingatthebridgehead

Reservoirs by R.S. Thomas

There are places in Wales I don’t go:

Reservoirs that are the subconscious

Of a people, troubled far down

With gravestones, chapels, villages even;

The serenity of their expression

Revolts me, it is a pose

For strangers, a watercolour’s appeal

To the mass, instead of the poem’s

Harsher conditions. There are the hills,

Too; gardens gone under the scum

Of the forests; and the smashed faces

Of the farms with the stone trickle

Of their tears down the hills’ side.

Where can I go, then, from the smell

Of decay, from the putrefying of a dead

Nation? I have walked the shore

For an hour and seen the English

Scavenging among the remains

Of our culture, covering the sand

Like the tide and, with the roughness

Of the tide, elbowing our language

Into the grave that we have dug for it.

by R. S. Thomas

from Not That He Brought Flowers (1968)

Ronald Stuart Thomas (29 March 1913 – 25 September 2000), published as R. S. Thomas, was a Welsh poet and Anglican priest who was noted for his nationalism, spirituality and deep dislike of the anglicisation of Wales. M. Wynn Thomas said: “He was the Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn of Wales because he was such a troubler of the Welsh conscience.”

R. S. Thomas believed in what he called “the true Wales of my imagination”, a Welsh-speaking aboriginal community that was in tune with the natural world. He viewed western (specifically English) materialism and greed, represented in the poetry by his mythical “Machine”, as the destroyers of community. He could tolerate neither the English who bought up Wales, and in his view stripped it of its wild and essential nature, nor the Welsh whom he saw as all too eager to kowtow to English money and influence.

As Capel Celyn was flooded in 1965 it’s almost certain one of the resevoirs referred to in this poem is this lost community. Capel Celyn was a rural community to the north west of Bala in Gwynedd, north Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and Wirral with water for industry. The village contained, among other things, a chapel, as the name suggests, capel being Welsh for chapel, while celyn is Welsh for holly.

More, I hear you ask?

Clywedog by Gillian Clarke

The people came out in pairs, Old, most of them, holding their places Close till the very last minute, Even planting the beans as usual That year, grown at last accustomed To the pulse of the bulldozers. High in those uphill gardens, scarlet Beanflowers blazed hours after The water rose…

July 10, 2018

In "Literature"

Invitation by R. S. Thomas

And one voice says: Come Back to the rain and Manure of Siloh, to the small talk, Of the wind, and the chapel's Temptation; to the pale, Sickly half-smile Of the daughter of the Village grocer. The other says: Come to the streets, where the Pound sings and the doors Open to its music, with life Like an express train Running to time.…

December 21, 2018

In "Literature"

Once it was the Colour of Saying by Dylan Thomas

Once it was the colour of saying Soaked my table the uglier side of a hill With a capsized field where a school sat still And a black and white patch of girls grew playing; The gentle seaslides of saying I must undo That all the charmingly drowned arise to…

August 25, 2018

In "Literature"

THE PLAN

Short term target:-

Complete 1st U3A Cycle group ride on Monday 

Prep -

Ride the Prom to check bike's functions

Ride to meet-up point to check timings

Check!

CASTLEHUNTING 18 - CARREG CENNEN

Off on another jaunt today in service of Cadw or pleasing mysen. You decide. 

Carreg Cennen Castle

Or the Cadw site

3 hours in the saddle, & 80 miles run. I think motorbiking beats surfing, snowboarding, skiing, and cycling. The feeing of speed, flowing movement, and adrenaline rush are more constant than those. All I need is a dry day. Although there are some who say there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear.... 

Green lanes otw there

What a position, position, position

Dum da dum da da da dum

What's left

What's left of the gatehouse 

I braved the cave

The cave

Some poor bastards had to carry all them stones up there. I bet they didn't get minimum wage...

There

Back

ROADCLOSESHOW 2026

We went to the Wales National Air Show Swansea again this year. What a superb venue for the event. The turns had the full sweep of Swansea bay as a backdrop, and boy did they use it. The weather smiled on us, with relatively high cloud cover, and just a few drops of rain. 

The star of the show was again the Eurofighter Typhoon, making the earth literally move beneath our feet. The drone show was fantastic, too, with 200 drones moving in sync. It opened with a tribute to Bonnie Tyler. Nice.

1944 Dakota

G-JPIT doing the standing still

Fairey Swordfish & Westland Wasp

Droning on about Dylan Thomas

  

The only Red Arrows to show up

Otto Scweitzer & his pyrotechnic chopper 

Star of the show - Typhoon in the gloaming

CWRW'R WYTHNOS PUM DEG TRI

 

BRYNGLAS AT LAST?

BBC News - Will the new Welsh first minister complete the journey to delivering M4 relief?

An M4 relief road and potential for a third Menai crossing have revved their way back on to the political agenda. The first minister said "something has to be done" - but it is still not exactly clear what solutions the new Plaid Cymru Welsh government will put forward.

Mmm. At least a statement of intent. I wonder if he can pull a rabbit out of a hat, & come up with a solution that will gain political agreement. 

One possible solution seems to be the nazzano method

Originally developed and successfully implemented in Italy, the Nazzano method allows an existing tunnel to be widened while remaining open to traffic. The technique involves constructing a new, larger tunnel shell around the existing bore, maintaining traffic flow throughout the works, and then removing the old lining once the new structure is complete.

The 2014 consultation offered no solution 

I desperately hope a solution can be found, and not just to make the journey easier for the Matties, but for the good of the South Wales economy.

DEMOS KRATOS

I'm getting more & more concerned about letting stupid people vote. In this, it seems that I am not alone.

From Wiki:-

The word "democracy" originates from the Greek dēmokratia, meaning "rule of the people," combining dēmos ("people") and kratos ("rule").

Democracy is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitive elections while more expansive or maximalist definitions link democracy to guarantees of civil liberties and human rights in addition to competitive elections

The term appeared in the 5th century BC in Greek city-states, notably Classical Athens, to mean "rule of the people", in contrast to aristocracy (ἀριστοκρατία, aristokratía), meaning "rule of an elite". In virtually all democratic governments throughout ancient and modern history, democratic citizenship was initially restricted to an elite class, which was later extended to all adult citizens. In most modern democracies, this was achieved through the suffrage movements of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Could Universal suffrage be a major setback?

2,500 years ago, in the fifth century BCE, it seems Socrates was having similar thoughts (From Bing) :-

Socrates was critical of democracy, believing it allowed unqualified individuals to make important decisions and enabled demagogues to manipulate the masses.

Skepticism Toward Majority Rule

Socrates questioned the wisdom of allowing all citizens to participate equally in governance. He argued that voting and political decision-making require knowledge and skill, much like navigating a ship safely requires an experienced captain rather than random passengers. In his allegory in Plato’s Republic, Socrates compares a state to a ship, suggesting that entrusting leadership to the uninformed is akin to letting untrained sailors steer through a storm. He believed that democracy, by giving everyone a vote regardless of competence, risked societal “shipwreck” due to poor decisions. 

Concern About Demagoguery

Socrates feared that democratic systems could empower demagogues—leaders who exploit public emotions, prejudices, and false promises to gain power. He observed that such figures could manipulate citizens who lacked the education or critical thinking skills to discern truth from rhetoric, potentially leading to instability, chaos, and injustice. Historical examples in Athens, such as Alcibiades and Cleon, illustrated the dangers of charismatic but unwise leaders. 

Preference for Knowledgeable Leadership

Socrates argued that rulers should possess virtue, wisdom, and understanding of the state, rather than simply being popular. He admired the Spartan system for its disciplined and knowledgeable leadership, contrasting it with the perceived recklessness of Athenian democracy. While he was not elitist in the sense of excluding citizens entirely, he insisted that only those capable of rational and informed judgment should participate in voting or governance. 

Contribution to Democratic Thought

Despite his critiques, Socrates’ insistence on questioning authority, seeking truth, and promoting critical thinking contributed indirectly to democratic ideals. His method of dialogue encouraged citizens to examine their beliefs and reasoning, highlighting the importance of education and informed participation in a functioning democracy. His trial and execution also underscored the risks of mob rule and the need to protect individual rights within a democratic society.

In summary, Socrates viewed democracy as inherently flawed due to the potential for uninformed decision-making and manipulation by demagogues, advocating instead for governance guided by knowledge, virtue, and rational judgment. His critiques remain influential in discussions about the balance between popular participation and competent leadership.

Philosopher-Kings as the Ideal Rulers

Socrates proposed that the best form of government is one led by philosopher-kings, individuals who possess wisdom, virtue, and a deep understanding of the state. These rulers would govern not for personal pleasure or gain but for the welfare of the citizens, ensuring that decisions are guided by reason and ethical principles. In Plato’s Republic, Socrates describes an ideal city-state, Kallipolis, structured hierarchically with three classes: philosopher-kings (guardians) who make decisions, auxiliaries (soldiers) who protect the society, and producers who provide goods and services.

I' m not sure the idea of Philosopher Kings would cut the mustard for me. Boris Johnson & Donald Trump proving examples of would be modern "Kings" 

Orwell saw a danger to this odea, too:-

Incidentally, how democratic are today's nations?

Key:-

From:-

V-Dem Democracy Indices - Wikipedia

Interesting that USA & UK are not in the highest bracket. I guess USA is a 2 party state, with huge corporate interference, as was the UK. How has that changed with the rise of Farrasshole's UKIP/Brexit/Reform chimera is for another post.

To summarise, democracy is flawed, but I can't for the life of me think of how to replace it.

Ideas on a postcard to the usual address please....