52 Comment Off the record! with Mike Edwards


GOOD day to you all. And what a good, not to say magnificent, day it is. Today I am speaking to you from


possibly the most exciting thing since that nice Richard Harrington was filmed looking moody and tortured on Ynyslas. After months of saving, planning,


wheedling, and the occasional sulk, I have – A NEW SHED. Never before has mankind


experienced such innate and complete shedliness – or possibly shedlitude – as I am in the shed, in which, thanks to the miracle of WiFi, a long extension lead and getting on the wrong side of the missus, I am writing these words. The shed has everything my old shed


did, apart from vast spiders’ webs, a faint smell of rat urine, and a leaking roof. In fact, it is even better than my old shed in many respects. For starters, it has my old favourite comfy chair in the corner. I have visions of myself sitting in it and reading the great books I have always intended to read – War and Peace, Great Expectations, and Stand Up Virgin Soldiers. Perhaps I, too, will be moved to


create great works of literature. It is suggested that everyone has at least one great novel in them. Sadly, my last efforts at creative writing were in secondary school where I remember being told to ‘write about what you know’. Somehow I don’t see much future in a novel about double entry book-keeping and capital accounts. But, who knows, somewhere in there could be the sort of experience that sees me carve my way out of accountancy and into literary fame. I shall have the Man Booker Prize


just over there, next to my un-cracked copy of Geoff Smith’s Gardening for Beginners and Percy Thrower’s Begonias of the Rich and Famous. It’s astonishing how the old thoughts


and creative juices start flowing when one is ensconced in a new palace of culture and learning, like my shed. The sun glinting through the window


(real glass and able to be opened should I so desire) fell in little dancing golden beams across the table beneath it. It was there, I decided, that I would


begin work on my tour-de-force. There it would be, or at least on the shed door,


that they would fasten the blue plaque a decent period after my passing from a surfeit of literary genius. I would be up there with the greats: maybe even Jeffrey Archer. I could feel the Muse begin to move


me. There were little sparkling glimmers of brilliance. Everything was going so well: my head spun with ideas, teemed with random thoughts that flitted like silver fish, or maybe silverfish. I…. I woke up in bed with a cold flannel


on my head. My wife stared down at me. Had I


perhaps overheated my imagination and overtaxed my brain with a sudden burst of creative genius. Not a bit of it. “Mike Edwards, I heard Johnny


Probert tell you to air out that bloody shed before you bloody sat in it. That sealant is like sniffing glue.” Her words washed over and slowly


my inspiration drained away, especially when I leaned over the side of the bed and threw up on the cat.


I’ve never liked that animal anyway.


Homeward bound Draenog


THERE was a time when


Draenog was a contented soul. Living in the green fields around Llanbadarn Fawr, he was happy with his lot. When Draenog considers what is


wrong with the way houses are built – not only in Ceredigion, but also across Wales – it is that very little consideration is given to providing homes for people who already live here. Look south and east to


Safwynt Plaid I VISITED Jig-So Children’s


Centre in Cardigan to be updated on their developing work and services, which include a number of European funded projects. I listened to the children and their views along with Trustee Linda Grace. The hard work and commitment


of both staff and volunteers over the last 24 years has to be congratulated. I was pleased to visit Jig-so


again and continue my interest in their work. It was great to see the support for families and children they undertake. Good quality childcare is vital


to not only for the educational development of our children but for all of our futures. This is why Plaid Cymru has prioritised the policy and ensured an extra £10m in the Welsh budget for childcare. The range of work undertaken by Jig-so in supporting families,


whether with childcare, budgeting, cooking skills and many other activities, is tailored to the rural communities of south Ceredigion, north


Pembrokeshire and


Carmarthenshire. As we negotiate to leave the European Union, it is vital we ensure the continued support for such projects. As an elected representative, it


is important I get out and about in my region. I do not want to be tied to a desk. Following my meeting, I will impress upon Cardiff-based Labour Government ministers how important it is that they take our rural communities seriously. As the Labour Government


changes the way it supports community development, by scrapping the Community First scheme I want ministers to understand that we have innovation and expertise in west Wales that they can support and build upon.


with Simon Tomas


Carmarthen, for example: Carmarthen West is going to be the home for 1,200 new houses. But who will live in them? These are the type of dwellings that can be described as ‘aspirational’. A local person on an average salary can ‘aspire’ to own one, but the probability of that happening is virtually nil, because new homes will be priced far beyond the reach of their means to secure a mortgage. What that means, of course, is that


the area will be flooded – assuming the houses don’t themselves flood (no certain thing) – with incomers. And that will mean a dilution of Welsh culture and Welsh language. That will happen. Draenog had a little peep at the


prices of properties in Llanbadarn Fawr: he does this to spare you that type of chore, reader. The cheapest property he found


With the likelihood of removing


Wales harshly from the European Union by the Conservative Government in Westminster, we need to ensure projects like Jig-So continue to be funded. The need for these type of facilities in rural Wales will be increase with a hard exit from the European Union.


was a one bedroomed starter home for just over £100K. If you are a young couple, of


whatever geometry, your annual household income is around £25K Let’s assume that Uncle Berwyn


has recently popped his clogs and you have £10K for deposit on your £100K one bedroomed palace. That leaves you £90K to get as a mortgage. And you might just be able


 





to squeak one, if you have no other credit commitments, a perfect credit score, and are willing to live off moss gathered from the shady side of trees for a few years. Oh: and that rules out having children. The next lowest priced property in


Llanbadarn Fawr on Draenog’s search was a fraction under £130K. Draenog is not advocating a homicidal spree as a means of raising money from deceased relatives, but it is clear that you would need to be earning above the average wage and have a whacking deposit to afford a mortgage on that property. And as one climbs further up the price bracket, properties become ever more remote from the averagely waged – even more so if you want to have children as opposed to Chihuahua-sized pets in your lives. In fact, according to one property


website, in the last 14 days the cheapest property to come onto the market in Llanbadarn Fawr is £165K. And for that, there is no garden or meaningful outdoor space. New houses are not the answer:


creating oversupply of houses too expensive for average wage earners to afford will merely widen the gap between those with enough money to afford mortgages in excess of £80K and those who cannot. The government defines


affordable housing as ‘social rented, affordable rented and intermediate housing provided to specified eligible households whose needs are not met by the market’. Out of that relatively meaningless


and broad assemblage of words masquerading as a statement of principle, we can deduce two things: 1. The definition of what is


‘affordable’ changes depending on where you live;


      


THE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 20 2017


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