THE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 20 2017
53 Comment Plaid Cymru Youth with Llyr Williams THIS has been a momentous
increased his sense of depression and hopelessness. And he wasn’t even in Pembroke Dock. I mean, readers, at least
Pembroke Dock was actually bombed by the Luftwaffe. In Haverfordwest, the Development Directorate of Pembrokeshire County Council have obviously decided to make up for missing out on that. He wandered along the side of
the road heading out to Uzmaston with a vague thought of seeing where his old home had been buried under a tide of ready-mix. There was a lengthy queue of traffic all along that benighted highway’s length as drivers were swept up in the gaiety of constant expansion based on the flatus of developers’ hot air. Badger stopped for a moment
and contemplated taking up smoking. He was in the sort of mood that he posited crack cocaine as an alternative to tobacco. Badger pulled himself up short
and mentally slapped himself across the face. Badgers are never normally
depressed! At least not by anything short of vulcanised rubber propelled by an internal combustion engine. This was stuff, nonsense, and self-pity. Why despair, readers? That’s what Badger asked
himself.
Why despair? Along the road that tapers
out of Haverfordwest like an alimentary canal with a Big Mac at the end, Badger resolved that despair was pointless. It was time for some positive thinking to resolve the cause of Badger’s depression.
It was time for action! Badger headed back to his
temporary accommodation at the back of Morrisons and began to scheme. There were others out there, Badger knew it, who felt
week. Wherever any of us stand on Brexit, we must acknowledge that Teresa May’s speech on Tuesday (Jan 17) marks the beginning of a new phase in our history. Nobody can honestly say that
the same as him. Bogarting the store WiFi, Badger sent messages out to all of his friends who had been dispossessed, displaced, or otherwise dispensed with by property developers and their partners in crime at the Planning Office. His friends did not disappoint
him and agreed to a meeting to discuss the way forward. The date was fixed and, so it was, deep into the night, we found ourselves gathered behind Foley House (knock three times, the code word is ‘Doolittle’). What a meeting it was, readers. Needless to say, our glorious
and gloriously incoherent leader Winston Weasel (a bit like Boris Johnson, but with a marginally greater odour of turd about him) took the Chair. He reminded us that we had tried the path of passive resistance to no effect. It was time to step things up. Desperate times, he said, called for desperate measures. We needed to remember the old saying: “The bomber will always get through”. We blanched as we realised where this was heading. Gulls. Pale and trembling though we
were, we agreed – with exception of Jeremy the lesser spotted tit – that we needed to deploy the ultimate weapon. So, readers, be warned, your
planners have brought this upon all of you. The gulls are ready and their bums are armed and ready to go. Watch out for your fish and chips, hold on to your toupees: the gulls are coming and guano is coming with them. Badger apologises, but it has
occurred to him and his friends that covering you lot with bird droppings is the only way we can bring you to your senses.
they know what happens from now on, but we do at least have someone at the helm who has a plan. If we agree with the plan, we can work to make it succeed. If we disagree, we can work to change it, or even scrap it. Sadly, we in Wales won’t figure highly in Mrs May’s calculations, although she has expressed a willingness to engage with the devolved parliaments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland, of course, voted
strongly to Remain in the EU. The Scottish Government’s position is still to Remain. Northern Ireland may well emphasise the fact that most of their voters also backed
Remain. Northern Ireland is in a particularly unusual situation, having a land border with the EU. They will demand great attention is paid to the border issue and relations with the Irish Republic. What of Wales, which voted Leave? Our nation is a net beneficiary
of EU structural funds – we get more back than we put in. More importantly, in 2016, 68% of Welsh exports went to the EU. 90% of Welsh agricultural exports went to the EU. 80% of Welsh agricultural income came from the EU. Pembrokeshire needs to be mindful of the potential costs of Brexit, should Mrs May’s plans fall short of her high ambitions for a ‘Global Britain’. Our county has an important
agricultural sector and rural areas can ill afford further decline in the industry. Pembrokeshire also has two ports linking directly to a EU country - Ireland. What are the
implications for Pembroke Dock and Fishguard? What of our rich environment,
our world-class beaches, all protected by rigorous EU designations. What does the future hold for them? Mrs May’s 12 point plan doesn’t provide detail about such matters. We shouldn’t get too carried
away with the elation felt in some quarters following Teresa May’s speech this week. Pembrokeshire, let alone Wales, will not figure highly on the agenda of those in London who will be at the heart of the Brexit talks.
We have to depend on the Welsh
Government to make a strong case to protect our interests. We must expect cross-party unity to demand the best deal possible for our people, our industries and our environment. Failure to get Wales’ message across could cause serious damage to our prospects for generations to come.
Te Blue View
Angela Burns attend launch of Eye Clinic Liaison Officer report Carmarthen West and
South Pembrokeshire Assembly Member, Angela Burns, attended the launch of the Eye Clinic Liaison Officer Report by the Royal National Institute for Blind People in Cardiff this week. The event, hosted at the National Assembly, aimed to help draw attention to the large number of people with vision problems in Wales and how best to provide them with some of the extra support they need to deal with sight loss. During the event Angela
learnt that over 12000 people in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire suffered from vision loss of varying severity. The role of the ECLO is to provide that supportive bridge between losing site and learning, not only how to live with reduced or loss of vision, but also how to access the support services which are available. Commenting after the event Angela said “It was interesting to
hear about the work that ECLOs undertake and the support that they can offer to people struggling to find their way through a frightening and complex sight loss journey. I was also interested in hearing first hand from some of the users about the valuable support that ECLOs offer because a great many local people contact me regularly to raise issues with difficulties in accessing information and services ranging
from support when diagnosed with conditions such as macular degeneration or glaucoma to operations for cataracts. “Loss of sight is something that
has the potential to affect every single one of us and I am pleased and grateful that the RNIB have got this scheme in place to provide people with the added support that they may need at what must be a traumatic and worrying time”.
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