To call my last week eventful would be like saying that the economy is looking frail; in other words, a total understatement.
It began a week last Thursday with the visit of the new Plaid Cymru leader to Merthyr.
Leanne Wood may be a Valleys' woman through and through, but her election proved she appeals to a much wider constituency.
Like myself, another old-timer of the political world in Merthyr had rejoined the Blaid to support her.It was interesting watching him as he observed her ease of engagement with people on the street. I knew what he was thinking - 'I've done the right thing!'
Hopefully, she will fulfil our expectations and adhere to her long-held principles of socialist republicanism. Not merely 'adhere' in fact, but develop them and, in time, apply them from government in the Senedd.
She has stated this week that she will work with Labour wherever their policies are 'progressive'. I think Plaid Cymru need to set out clearly what those policies should be, but, above all, argue for radical alternatives to Labour's lack of imagination and unwillingness to actually implement genuine socialism (republicanism remains anathema to most of them, of course).
The next day I spotted numerous red balloons in town. I wish they'd choose a more apt colour : a pale and putrid pink perhaps?
Were these the heads of Labour apparatchiks, blown up and fit for bursting?
Among those who gathered to welcome Milidee to Merthyr - in an engineered situation at a local training centre, designed to keep him away from the plebs - was a former friend and colleague.
He is standing for Labour in Cardiff in the forthcoming local elections and has been tipped a a future leader there. I taught with him at Radyr, where he showed scant interest in politics, except expressing a preference for Gordon Brown on one occasion.
He was suspended from teaching for cheating at GCSE coursework and the General Teaching Council upheld the school's decision. However, at his hearing he lied continuously about his then Head of Dept., a good friend of mine and also a former friend of his! This was all reported in the 'Echo' and the Head of Dept. was given no right of reply.
I could not bring myself to speak to him, knowing how much he'd hurt my friend. If this is an example of the kind of candidates standing for Labour, then it bodes very badly for the future. He will probably get elected and Labour could take control of Cardiff. A frightening proposition!
One week after a wind of the future blew through the litter-strewn streets of Merthyr, we were flung back into a Medieval maelstrom with the visit of the Queen of this Disunited Kingdom, Mrs Windsor.
On Tuesday 'Western Mail' reporter Peter Law said they'd be a small protest in Llandaf by British-based organisation Republic, but made no mention of the protest I'd helped organise in Merthyr.
I e-mailed him and he assured me it would be remedied the following day, yet nothing appeared. This was typical of both his paper and the 'Echo' all week, with their constant monarchist propaganda. You wonder whether their reporters were embedded with the police in Merthyr and told what to write!
The protest went well and parts can be viewed on You-Tube. Unfortunately, I missed the speeches as I was conducting a poetry workshop in Cardiff. I am assured by those present that the speakers, Bethan Williams of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, Bethan Jenkins AM and poet and law lecturer Tim Richards all made a great impact. Paul Flynn of Labour had been asked to speak, but declined saying he was doing his bit in the Common's Chamber!
While the Llandaf protest was British-orientated, ours was a gathering of Welsh republicans (plus a couple of anarchists), the majority being socialists and calling for a 'Gweriniaeth Gymraeg'.
It is so ironic that Mrs Windsor chose to visit one of the poorest towns in the whole of Europe during a week when her royal barge had been completed at a cost of £50 million pounds. When we hear of 10 wards closed at the local hospital, it seems an obscenity to spend such money on a family whose position owes so much to past wars and conquests.
How we need a band like The Clash now to fire up the young once again with righteous indignation!
I joined the demo outside Cyfarthfa Castle grounds, that memorial to the wealth, power and privilege of ironmasters the Crawshays.
Soon we moved inside the park, not far from where Mrs Windsor would land in her own helicopter.
Noting our presence, a large van with police reinforcements came. We were told by the cops to get behind the barricades ( sorry......barriers....getting carried away!.......I almost was later!).
We agreed to do so on assurances from the Commander that everyone else would have to as well.
One female protester had already been badly manhandled by police, so we were wary.
Many of us were from Merthyr, others from all over Cymru and there was a section of the Red Poets Action Faction.
Unlike Ebbw Vale the next day, there was a scarcity of flag-waving school pupils and the most abuse flying around came from a female scout leader.
I spoke to a few policemen who actually expressed sympathy for our cause!
One bloke yelled at me to 'Go home!' He was obviously prejudiced against people from Heolgerrig, up the road from there.
Of course, the police had lied to us, and it soon became evident that we were the only ones to be kept behind barriers. Now they claimed it was 'for the children's protection'!
When Mrs W. and Phil the Greek arrived, they were taken by her private limousine the couple of hundred yards from car-park to castle.
With shouts of 'Democracy!' and 'Cymru Rydd!', my friend and comrade Jamie Bevan rushed up the hill and dodged through police lines towards the car.
I followed waving Y Ddraig Goch and ,still inside those barriers, was hurtled backwards with a copper's push. I instinctively swore and another one shoved me more aggressively.
After the demo, the remains of the protesters were surrounded by police with tazers and accompanied by police on horses down Brecon Road. I'd left by then, but I was told they were kettled outside the Grawen pub and my friend the Bartzman wasn't even allowed in to get a pint!
Jamie was later kept in the police-station overnight and charged with a Breach of the Peace. When he was detained there, the poilice insisted he had asked for 'non-disclosure', in other words non-communication with anyone. This was another blatant lie on their behalf!
On release, he explained to us that he'd insisted on speaking Welsh there and the Sergeant had responded by threatening to have him 'for wasting police time'. Naturally, Jamie didn't relent.
Another protester was arrested in a bizarre incident. He was released after 9 hours ,the police again lying about 'non-disclosure',without charge and his fellow anarchist from Swansea explained that police believed the cigarette he was smoking was drugs.They later altered the charge to a Breach of the Peace, which was eventually dropped. Maybe they just wanted to identify the person under the black balaclava.
Jamie Bevan's case didn't come before Merthyr Magistrates until after 3.30 pm on the Friday. The reason given was that he was waiting for an interpreter. Coincidentally, this was about the same time the Windsors left Aberfan.
During the day his charge was changed to a Public Order Offence, as they knew the other one wouldn't stick.
In court we were dumbfounded to hear it was based on some incident in Brecon Road. No-one, including Jamie himself, had any recollection of this at all. It appears that the police have witnesses.
When Jamie is due to appear before the court again on May 24th, he will use video evidence.
Jamie is a remarkable man : a modern Lewsyn yr Heliwr, to use an analogy from the Merthyr Rising of 1831. He 's brave and idealistic and commited to a Welsh Socialist Republic.
I hope all fellow republicans turn up at that court session to support him.
Cefnogwch Jamie Bevan!
THE FRACKIN' CROWN ESTATE
They own the rivers,
they own the swans
commit treason if you eat
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
they own the deer they shoot,
they own the grouse and pheasant
that they kill and mutilate
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
they own the gold they wear
from their mountains over there
behind those padlocked gates
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
they own the ocean beds
the revenue from turbines
you won't find the media debate
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
hotels and whole estates
and minerals beneath your feet;
think they own your fate
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
the shale, the gas, pollution,
selling our futures on the cheap;
think they own me and you, mate!
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin Crown Estate!
It began a week last Thursday with the visit of the new Plaid Cymru leader to Merthyr.
Leanne Wood may be a Valleys' woman through and through, but her election proved she appeals to a much wider constituency.
Like myself, another old-timer of the political world in Merthyr had rejoined the Blaid to support her.It was interesting watching him as he observed her ease of engagement with people on the street. I knew what he was thinking - 'I've done the right thing!'
Hopefully, she will fulfil our expectations and adhere to her long-held principles of socialist republicanism. Not merely 'adhere' in fact, but develop them and, in time, apply them from government in the Senedd.
She has stated this week that she will work with Labour wherever their policies are 'progressive'. I think Plaid Cymru need to set out clearly what those policies should be, but, above all, argue for radical alternatives to Labour's lack of imagination and unwillingness to actually implement genuine socialism (republicanism remains anathema to most of them, of course).
The next day I spotted numerous red balloons in town. I wish they'd choose a more apt colour : a pale and putrid pink perhaps?
Were these the heads of Labour apparatchiks, blown up and fit for bursting?
Among those who gathered to welcome Milidee to Merthyr - in an engineered situation at a local training centre, designed to keep him away from the plebs - was a former friend and colleague.
He is standing for Labour in Cardiff in the forthcoming local elections and has been tipped a a future leader there. I taught with him at Radyr, where he showed scant interest in politics, except expressing a preference for Gordon Brown on one occasion.
He was suspended from teaching for cheating at GCSE coursework and the General Teaching Council upheld the school's decision. However, at his hearing he lied continuously about his then Head of Dept., a good friend of mine and also a former friend of his! This was all reported in the 'Echo' and the Head of Dept. was given no right of reply.
I could not bring myself to speak to him, knowing how much he'd hurt my friend. If this is an example of the kind of candidates standing for Labour, then it bodes very badly for the future. He will probably get elected and Labour could take control of Cardiff. A frightening proposition!
One week after a wind of the future blew through the litter-strewn streets of Merthyr, we were flung back into a Medieval maelstrom with the visit of the Queen of this Disunited Kingdom, Mrs Windsor.
On Tuesday 'Western Mail' reporter Peter Law said they'd be a small protest in Llandaf by British-based organisation Republic, but made no mention of the protest I'd helped organise in Merthyr.
I e-mailed him and he assured me it would be remedied the following day, yet nothing appeared. This was typical of both his paper and the 'Echo' all week, with their constant monarchist propaganda. You wonder whether their reporters were embedded with the police in Merthyr and told what to write!
The protest went well and parts can be viewed on You-Tube. Unfortunately, I missed the speeches as I was conducting a poetry workshop in Cardiff. I am assured by those present that the speakers, Bethan Williams of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, Bethan Jenkins AM and poet and law lecturer Tim Richards all made a great impact. Paul Flynn of Labour had been asked to speak, but declined saying he was doing his bit in the Common's Chamber!
While the Llandaf protest was British-orientated, ours was a gathering of Welsh republicans (plus a couple of anarchists), the majority being socialists and calling for a 'Gweriniaeth Gymraeg'.
It is so ironic that Mrs Windsor chose to visit one of the poorest towns in the whole of Europe during a week when her royal barge had been completed at a cost of £50 million pounds. When we hear of 10 wards closed at the local hospital, it seems an obscenity to spend such money on a family whose position owes so much to past wars and conquests.
How we need a band like The Clash now to fire up the young once again with righteous indignation!
I joined the demo outside Cyfarthfa Castle grounds, that memorial to the wealth, power and privilege of ironmasters the Crawshays.
Soon we moved inside the park, not far from where Mrs Windsor would land in her own helicopter.
Noting our presence, a large van with police reinforcements came. We were told by the cops to get behind the barricades ( sorry......barriers....getting carried away!.......I almost was later!).
We agreed to do so on assurances from the Commander that everyone else would have to as well.
One female protester had already been badly manhandled by police, so we were wary.
Many of us were from Merthyr, others from all over Cymru and there was a section of the Red Poets Action Faction.
Unlike Ebbw Vale the next day, there was a scarcity of flag-waving school pupils and the most abuse flying around came from a female scout leader.
I spoke to a few policemen who actually expressed sympathy for our cause!
One bloke yelled at me to 'Go home!' He was obviously prejudiced against people from Heolgerrig, up the road from there.
Of course, the police had lied to us, and it soon became evident that we were the only ones to be kept behind barriers. Now they claimed it was 'for the children's protection'!
When Mrs W. and Phil the Greek arrived, they were taken by her private limousine the couple of hundred yards from car-park to castle.
With shouts of 'Democracy!' and 'Cymru Rydd!', my friend and comrade Jamie Bevan rushed up the hill and dodged through police lines towards the car.
I followed waving Y Ddraig Goch and ,still inside those barriers, was hurtled backwards with a copper's push. I instinctively swore and another one shoved me more aggressively.
After the demo, the remains of the protesters were surrounded by police with tazers and accompanied by police on horses down Brecon Road. I'd left by then, but I was told they were kettled outside the Grawen pub and my friend the Bartzman wasn't even allowed in to get a pint!
Jamie was later kept in the police-station overnight and charged with a Breach of the Peace. When he was detained there, the poilice insisted he had asked for 'non-disclosure', in other words non-communication with anyone. This was another blatant lie on their behalf!
On release, he explained to us that he'd insisted on speaking Welsh there and the Sergeant had responded by threatening to have him 'for wasting police time'. Naturally, Jamie didn't relent.
Another protester was arrested in a bizarre incident. He was released after 9 hours ,the police again lying about 'non-disclosure',without charge and his fellow anarchist from Swansea explained that police believed the cigarette he was smoking was drugs.They later altered the charge to a Breach of the Peace, which was eventually dropped. Maybe they just wanted to identify the person under the black balaclava.
Jamie Bevan's case didn't come before Merthyr Magistrates until after 3.30 pm on the Friday. The reason given was that he was waiting for an interpreter. Coincidentally, this was about the same time the Windsors left Aberfan.
During the day his charge was changed to a Public Order Offence, as they knew the other one wouldn't stick.
In court we were dumbfounded to hear it was based on some incident in Brecon Road. No-one, including Jamie himself, had any recollection of this at all. It appears that the police have witnesses.
When Jamie is due to appear before the court again on May 24th, he will use video evidence.
Jamie is a remarkable man : a modern Lewsyn yr Heliwr, to use an analogy from the Merthyr Rising of 1831. He 's brave and idealistic and commited to a Welsh Socialist Republic.
I hope all fellow republicans turn up at that court session to support him.
Cefnogwch Jamie Bevan!
THE FRACKIN' CROWN ESTATE
They own the rivers,
they own the swans
commit treason if you eat
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
they own the deer they shoot,
they own the grouse and pheasant
that they kill and mutilate
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
they own the gold they wear
from their mountains over there
behind those padlocked gates
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
they own the ocean beds
the revenue from turbines
you won't find the media debate
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
hotels and whole estates
and minerals beneath your feet;
think they own your fate
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin' Crown Estate!
the shale, the gas, pollution,
selling our futures on the cheap;
think they own me and you, mate!
the frackin' Crown!
the frackin Crown Estate!
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