David's blog

A young man took his own life last week and his funeral is being held next Friday, I did not know him that well even though he lived in the vlllage and I am not sure what his issues were but he seems to have had long term mental health issuss according to what I can gather. We all know suicide is not the answer to any problem but it still does not stop people doing for whatever reason, I am sad that this young man was not able to get the help he needed, the sad fact is there will another young person doing the same thing in the not too distaat. I think the lockdowns imposed by the devolved government have contributed to the issue of mental health problems in our community and I guess the bad management of the health service and the reduction of moe spent on these services. From what i have read about the subject to suicide the fact that there examples of it in your family can lead it be set as an example to others I don't know enough about the subject for this to be true, I would t

On this day in 1924 Timothy John Evans was born, he was hanged for the murder for of his child Euan McCall wrote a song called the balled of Timothy Evans about the he was hanged and that it was a miscarriage of justice and that it was Christie who was a murderer a necrophiliac Evans was said to not very bright.  These seems to be a lot of people who might not be too bright who have been convicted of a crime that someone else more intellectual and devious might have committed which believe happened here few years ago and others believe the same   A young girl was murdered here about 10 years ago on the way home from the pub and a halfwit is now serving a life sentence for this murder many believe he is not the murderer but the pressure for conviction in such a small community is massive so they needed someone and his halfwit was an easy target. The criminial justice of no country is perfect but getting rid of the death penalty is probably a step in the right direction as any mistakes a

Some might say what is the point in the alcohol free beer, in the way you have the 'rotten' taste of beer and you don't get the buzz of alcohol, it just seems a completely stupid thing to buy, you might aswell drink something that has no alcohol that you enjoy drinking, a coffee or milkshake I guess. All beer is not nasty tasting these real ales that are made in these small breweries are very nice tasting alcohol or no alcohol but I would not buy one without the alcohol as I think the alcohol adds to the nice taste I reckon, so I guess we are nowhere near a reason why someone would buy a non alcoholic beer. Well there might be one reason for buying one I guess, like if you did not want the hastle of people asking you why are you not drinking  or hastling to have one if you are driving so I guess these drinks cut down the risk of drink driving in one way. I suppose what you are doing is fooling people if they have not seen you buying the drink

I have just been listening to song by Dafydd Iwan called Can yr Ysgol, the song is about kids living their lives through the medium of the welsh language and then going to school and being taught through the medium of English.  Today there is Welsh medium education so there is a consistancy in the lives of children they get to use the language in school and at in their daily lives but before this the situation existed like it did in my day where we used one language to live by but were 'educated' through the medium of English, Taking other things into consideraton it is no wonder that I a many more did not do well when it came to being tested on what we had learnt I guess I wish I had been taught through the medium of welsh but the attitude to the language was different when I was growing up to what it is now I think there is a more positive approach to the language an culture though there is a long way to go I think especially when you read about some of the bigotry and ignran

The annual village fair is on today but not as usual as the stupid council have blocked the road so the buses can't pass through or other vehicles which is causing a lot of inconvenience the road has never been closed  before apparetly its something to do with health and safety. People were not able to go to college or work or appointments due to the council's cock up, they needed to consult with the people before marching in with their size 10 and fucking everything up, I understand about kids being near moving cars but the speed limit has been dropped and it only works if that road is open they have tried to move the fair in the past but it was allowed to stay where it has always been I hope the traders ask gwynedd counci for their money back as they lost trade due to the cancelled buses.  It is vital the buses are allowed through to bring customers for this once a year event I did have a go at the council worker which probably was not smart as the would only dig his heels in

I am off to an open mic night soon with a few friends to play some songs, it will be a change from playing down the local pub most weeks anyway and I will be able to see how an open mic is run and can hopefully set one up, in the local pub  I have a rough idea how to do it but its better to go along and see for myself thery seem to have become very popular since in the finish of the lockdowns, there is probably a circuit in the area where I guess the same people play the circuit.  Hopeuflly setting up an open mic will mean more people come along to the pub and it would be good to meet new musicians and see if there is a buddy superstar in the area, I am not too sure how people get recognised but I guess open mics are a good a way as any to get yourself seen and heard  In the past I have been to a place where everyone has a turn at playing a song I don't think that is an open mic night its more of a folk round night where people just took a turn at playing a song acoustically mainly

    I saw an interesting sign today it said 'special unit' being built by the housing association, apparently this special unit is a property for a mother and ten children, it shows how times have changed in the past there was nothing speical about a family with 10 kids and many large families did not need a speical unit they were brought up in a two up two down.  All I can assume that this is being designed for them as they have no extended family in the area, though I am sure there are a few fathers around  The other properties are just you bog standard two bedroomed and three bedroomed I did think of applying for one but it would involve me moving to another town. Large famillies don't seem quite as common these days as they were in years gone by its probably due to contraception its easier to manage how many children there are now I guess abortion is more acceptable these days too  i| am no fan of aborrtion it really a child of mine got aborted its something you always

Well it seems like the new electric bus service might be actually here sooner than later, as they are stopping a service temporarily to a village due to the fact that this new service will serve it my assumption righty or wrongly is that means it won't be too long before it starts but then again they have messed up so many times I could be worng so I guess we will just have to wait as usual  I probably should try to relax regarding this service but its been tough trying to use this lockdown schedule especially if you have appointment and trying to get people to work with this restricted service, the one before the lockdown was a lot easier to work with . As I have said before it was a lot easier to get out in the evening that it is now   We now have a new timeline for the start of the service of the electric bus, there is a day in February, the 9th apparently when you can go and have a look at one of these new buses, the electric ones and the service is suppose to start according t

It is dry again today and so it possible to go out so I went shopping on the bus as usual though I could not stay out long as this afternoon somone is coming to inspect the living room walls which have developed damp recently and look unsightly especially if it has been raining and its not very good for my health either. I don't hold out much hope that much will be done in relation to the damp and I will have to keep using the dehumidifier and to airate the place as much as I can.  The building is very old so it is now not up to copign with the amount of rain we get round here these days    Well that was a waste of fucking time the bastard never showed up. apparently they did turn up but were early and I was out I missed them by few minutes and they had left a card which had blown away so I did not get to find out that they had been so sat here like a lemon all afternoon

Dydd Sul yn medru bod yn hir am ambell i resymau, dim llawer ar y telly diffig bysus oedd hefyd yn reswm ond does dim llawer o wahaniaeth dyddia yma mae y ddau wasanaeth yn gachlyd. Fel arfer as ddydd Sul mae pel droed on dim heddiw er ma'r team digon gwael dyddia yma. Mae y tywydd di bod yn ok heddiw a dwi siwr fy mod yn dod dros y covid a bod yn nhroed yn well dipin bach dydio hi ddim gwaeth beth bynag Mae y ffor sydd yn pasio y ty wedi bod yn dawel heddiw dim motor beics yn creu swn fel arfer dwi yn siwr fod na lai o draffig ar y ffor ers y pandemic  Wedi bod ers ddoe yn trio chwarae wild wood ar y gutiar dydio ddim y diwn hawdd i godi fynu, wel ddim gen a i beth bynag ond nai dal i drio 

The local football team won away today, which is ironic as they can't win at home and they have not for a long time I know this not because I go to the games but it says to on the app.  When I do go to the games I still use the app as I can't really see what is going on the field due to my eyesight but last week I was ironically able to join in with everyone else regarding what was going on the field as there was a penatly shoot out  I could follow what was happening due to it being close up. I have just been watching a comedy about a blind girl she is advertising the fact that she has a disability to the world which is brave its about sex and by doing that she is putting herself in the catagory of  disability where in relation to sex you are either over sexed or asexual  

I rent this place from a housing association which used to be the council but the silly residents voted for it to become a housing association and they are paying for now the rent goes up a lot faster than under the council This assoc sent me a text a few weeks ago about an inspection on the 19 then sent another one for an inspection on the 25 I had to assume they had changed the date as there was no explantion they sent me another for the 31st this time I rang for an explantion they are so ignorant  There is a page on facebook called adra horror stories which is popular.  For this inspection they did not give me a time of day I have asked for one but I just might get a random text again about another date they are bunch of clowns really I would leave but its not easy to find a good rental place for a decent amount of money these days.  This place is not decent but the rent is affordable. I am still feeing washed out after the covid and I still have a cough, I am sure a bit more rest a

The other day I was playing music as usual with the people I usually do and some chap came in and asked if he could record us playing. we had nearly finished really but one of the chaps said lete play fields of gold, now I| am not that confident in playing that tune as the chap who plays it plays it his way but for some reason I had a go at playing along while being filmed. The video is now on youtube and I have not lisentened too closely to it incase the mistakes pop up, I thought there were  3 of us playing on it but it just seems there are only two for the majority of the time  I guess its good to get filmed and it can give you feedback on what you are doing I have been trying today to learn the song a bit better so I can play it better in the pub,  Teh chap who plays down the pub does not play it like sting he does his own thing with it so its not just learning it from the internet you have to learn how he play it,  which for a not that great a musician like me is not eary  The wea

This covid is still going on and on I feel a bit weak I hope it gets better soon, I did manage to go shopping this morning though and to watch the local football team win a cup tie on penlties It is the first time I have even seen penalty shoot out there and they won it comprehensively as the other team missed all theres and the home team scored theirs.  the image is one of the kicks the away team missed. I walked up to the ground the rain came I was worried I would get wet walking home but I was ok I don't often see a win up there but did today for chaange and I did not pay as I went in at half time but the ones who did pay got their money's worth with extra time and penatlties.  there was a very good goal by one of the young lads from the home team too. I got the bird food delivery taday and I am still waiting to go pick up a cat from the rescue I am not sure how I am going to get there.  

I few months ago someone mentioned in the pub that they had mental health issues, I was taken aback a bit as I am from a generation that does not talk about mental health in public I guess, well men did not talk about it to other men I guess.  I am glad the chap felt he could talk to me though the alcohol might have helped a little bit I guess, The chap said that some changes had helped his depression or as he called his lack of ability to get out of bed, I was pleased for him but but he told me later that those changes had to be undone so basically he was back in square one, I have not spoken to him about that I am wondering whether to ask now that those changes have been undone what is going to do about it, life is never really straighforward, I am not a close friend but feel I should ask him as obviously he suffers quite a bit with mental health issues which I have also though life. If I can help someone I will though its hard to sometimes I guess   In relation to mental health issu

According to the test my covid has gone it was just like a bad cold really and I would not have known it was covid if it had not been for the test I have only a few tests left now, I think they might be going out of date soon anyway and if I get something like this again I might not have the tests to use.   I do feel a bit wobbly but I guess its going to take a few days to get back to normal whatever that is these days.  I assume because there is no black line there today that it has goen and when there was I had the world famous covid viurs, I have no idea where I caught it, I geuss there is not point in washng my hands now as I hve had the thing but I guess I might get it again so better keep the cleaning habit up  I won't need to have jab anyway which one good thing about having the covid thing,  I am musing about getting a cat but am anxious about it getting lost and me not being able to find it again as they do their own thing especially with me not being able to see or hear t

Yn y gorffenol roedd gwasanaetth bws i blaenau i Porthmadog yn bodoli bob awr ond wedyn ddoth y pandemig i wneud llanast o beth. Fe dorwyd y gwasanaeth i lawr i ddim y lockdown ond yn aradeg fe ddaeth un neu ddwy yn ol i'r amserlen.  Nid oed y bws ma yn gwneud llawer dim ond mynd yn ol a mlaen o Port ddim hyd yn oed yn mynd i tesco, roedd hynnu yn ddealladwy yn y pandemig. Rydym allan o'r pandemig rwan ers tipin o amser felly roedd mond yn deg i mi ddisgwl fysa y gwasanaeth bob awr yn cael ei roi yn ei ol ond na roedd gan gyngor gwynedd ideas arall. Yn y pandemig roedd son am fysiau trydan (enw y gwasanaeth ei enw oedd y T22 ) yn mynd i weneud y gwasanaeth yma o port i blaenau a fysa fo yr run  fath a oedd wedi bod cin yn pandemg Ddoth y planiau yma i ddechra y gwasaeth yn Ebrill 2022 ar draws un neu ddau o digolion tanygrisiau a oedd yn benderfynol fod yn nimbys. a ni fedrodd y cyngor sortio y broblem a fuodd rhaid i'r cyngor gael hyd i rhiwle arall fyds y nimbys ma wedi a

  A bus service was introduced round here in 2021 to accommodate the lockdown, before the lockdwon there was an hourly service here which got rudeced to nearly nothing in the first lockdown and then some buses were added, which is where we are today a skeleton service which is in place a long time after any lockdown was in in place.  This service hampeers people's ability to move around especially during the evening when the schedule stops very early which obviously hampers business. There was suppose to be a new bus service starting 19 months to take the place of the lockdown schedule but due to issues such as nimbyism and other things it is yet to start I rang today for a starting date nothing was forthcoming so this service may or may not start in the future there was not even a rough idea of when this fiasco of the introduction of this service was going end. The pavement parking in the village here has gone nuts since the pandemic and I think this is as a result of the shit bus

This is the first image I created with chat gpt its really good this AI thing though I am not too sure how to apply to things that I need to do this was just messing around. I have got to write lyrics for a song which I have not written a tune to yet and probably never will,  I am sure AI will do all kinds of jobs in the future and people will lose they livelyhood and there will have to an Universal basic income in place for people to live on I would think. I went to tesco yesterday and those self service machines are getting more accessible for people there is a large print option for those who can't see, which is handy in the end the shop will be open with machines only and the wages can be taken away and the share holders will make a lot mere money which is not a good thing but it is how its going to be The customer service experince is not as good with a machine obviously as you can't pass the day with a machine yet or get the weather forecast or go and get a replacement if

 I have not posted on this for a while not sure why really but I thought I would today for a change. It is like autumn today there has been no sign of summer for a while now as someone said if we don't get something soon itx going to be a long fucking winter.  The spring was nice but its been shit since we are paying a high price for that bit of warm weather.  There is nothing I can do about it except moan I guess I was hoping for a dry bit today so I can hang out the clothes I have washed they will have to go in the shed again I am near to putting on the heating in july which is ridiculous there is not sign of summer coming back either it is frustrating. Sundays can be a bit of a drag and poor weather just makes things worse I geuss there is nothing on the tv  and I can't go out I guess I could give the house a clearn  It seems as if it has been raining for months though today is ok

This is something I wrote about a visit to community pub called the Raven, we went there to see what a community pub was like. I think the visit took place in 2010 just before the Pengwen was opened in the village here. 12 or 13 years later the pub is still going strong I hope it seems to be doing ok anyway.  It has had a facelift which attract passing trade anyway.  They do seem to put on more staff than is needed this is probably a problem due to there not being a main owner who can pob in and out and makes the staffing flexible but I am sure it will work out The image is of the Pengwern community pub  Ar y 26ain o Fawrth aeth grŵp o Bengwern Cymuedol i weld y sut roedd  tafarn gymunedol yn cael ei rhedeg. Y rheswm dros fynd oedd gasglu rhywfaint o wybodaeth a allai ein helpu yn ein menter, oherwydd fod Pengwern Cymunedol yn bwriadu rhedeg y Arms Pengwern  fel menter gymunedol. Y dafarn aethon ni i weld oedd y Raven ac yn yr Llanarmon yn Ial. Aethom am 6.30 yn y nos, mewn bws mini. y

I had a heart monitor put on yesterday due to palpitations. Its monitor stuck on with sticky pads one on the front and the other on the back. could not sleep with it last night as ti was a nuisance I had to press a button whenever I had sympotoms and it registers on some comuptur it is there to see if the heart is working ok I will get the result in a weeks time, it not too sure to wear really it would take a lot of time to ger use to it but I can take it off tomorrow thankully it is a bit constricting I suppose  Maybe if I had something to do today I might not be that bothered about it I suppose. I was anxious about having it put on as I remember a friend getting one about 20 years ago and it seemed to be wrapped around his body but I guess things change and now they are not quite so intrusive I suppose. I will be glad to get rid of it though. The weather is not very nice today and it has been ok for the last few days, I guess spring will be here soon enough  Its that horrible fine ra

Today, I decided to take the bus to Tesco for my grocery shopping. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to enjoy the scenery along the way. As I waited at the bus stop, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the convenience of public transportation. The bus arrived on time and I hopped on, taking a seat near the window. As we made our way to Tesco, I watched as the city passed by. The hustle and bustle of daily life was in full swing and it was nice to be a part of it. When we arrived at Tesco, I grabbed my reusable shopping bags and headed inside. The store was busy but well-stocked. I made my way through the aisles, picking up everything on my list. The fresh produce looked particularly good today and I couldn't resist picking up some extra fruits and vegetables. After paying for my groceries, I headed back to the bus stop. The ride home was just as enjoyable as the ride there. As I got off the bus and walked back to my house, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the

 I did not have the best childhood, my parents were a bit too keen on striking their kids it was all stick and not a lot carrot, the carrot was I guess that we were not poor in relation to things like food and clothes we never went without. Other families are poor but there is a lot more love and support in the family, its hard to know which is the best I guess the ideal way would be to have both. I was chatting to friend earlier he was taken and put into a children's home for few months due to his mother not being able to cope, his father had left so the 6 children had been brought up by his mother which is a burden on any adult, and historically women struggling more than men I guess this was real poverty that my friend suffereed I was not aware that such poverty for things existed when I was younger  I did not experience poverty for day to day things but did in relation to emotional support so I have suffered poverty in one way but not the way that is usually thought of thankful

The DWP are at it again, messing up people's lives.  A friend has a small pension, a very small pension to claim and he declared it, to the DWP in relaton to change of circomstances, he was bing honest.  The result of this is that he is now 25 quid worse off, the benefits he claims as a disabled person he is blind have been reduced.  I don't think its fair that a disabled person's benefits should be cut. My friend was allocated the money he got by from the DWP as the money he needs to survive all he has done is tell then they can take the amount of the pension off, and therefore reduce his money by the amount of the pension but they have gone further and taken more off.  By doing this they are calling him a fraud basically, that he was defrauding them of the amount of they have taken off him  that has reduced his benefit by 25 quid. The DWP have a bad reputation when it comes to dealing with disabled people and from my experience you basically have to go to war with them to

  did some shopping today it seems to be going up and up every week I got the same bus back as I did down there are suppose to be some electric buses starting soon but they should have been here by now if was not for some nimbys , this place could have been the first to get the electric buses but the locals screwed up the first place was carmarthen instead.   We still have to have the lockdown timetable here because of those nimbys which is bad news. I really hope nothing else screws things up. I am intrigued by the electric buses wonder how quiet they will be. Apparetly they have a reading lamp on them so I assume they will pretty quiet no one would read on a noisy combustion enegine bus as they are now. The world will be funny place in years to come where there will be no combustion enegine making a racket except when the hit pot holes which some do outside my house because of the twat across the road had some gas or something put in they have not filled the thing in properly.

I got a reply from the council regarding my complaint about pavement parking this morning I have just seen the culprit coming back from work hopefully someone has had a word with him about his stupidity It is at least dry today but still windy and I am able to go out and walk around a little which I had to do this morning as I had time to waste before my appointment at the Barbour's.  Haircuts are not cheap these days and I did not leave a tip as it encourages low wages I did a bit of shopping and then came home the same routine really I suppose. its now getting dark again I am sure spring will soon be here.  Someone who won't see spring is a friend from school who died on xmas day and his funeral is being held in colwyn bay so I will not be able to attend as i\ don't drive it is really sad when school friends pass away.  There have been a few who have died in the last year I guess I am of that age  

I was in the pub last night and there was someone there I know who was under 18 and drinking beer, I pipped up and said they were under age, which they were but I was igorant to the issue that if you are having a meal you are able to buy a 16 or 17 year old a beer.  They are not allowed to drink spirits though apparently, which eventually what happened but bloody hell. Thing are very rarely black and white in life it seems to me. I was going to have a rant with some of the people involved in the pub but think worse bad of staff, In the meantime I had a read of the law I felt a bit of an anorak doing this but it worthwhile doing it int the end but I now owe the persons who were drinking there under age a apology. In the pub last night I also met a distant relative, his father was my mother's cousin on.  I am glad now I spent some time doing the family tree it has solved an issue otherwise would have taken a long to work out.  

I was talking to a lady who I have known for most of my life she use to run a shop and her husband was a very good electrician, he came to my parents home to fix things, I also remember he bought a CB radio from me in the 1980s, they were all the rage then, you had a handle and talked to folk on it who would usually have one in the car, It was used to america by truck drivers I think it may still be as far as I know. This man now is affected by Alzamiers disease, and his goes to see him in the a home, he does not recognise her or anyone else anymore a really sad state of affairs I guess and a very good reason to into introduce voluntary euthanasia, he is not going to 'come back' there is no miracle cure, in fact I doubt anyone is looking for such a thing he has been in this state for years and has no quality of life, there is no reason for him to live, if he went his wife might get some peace some of mind and maybe a bit of quality of life. The man is just a shell now his perso

 I received my Yes Cymru membership card through the post yesterday and a poster which I put up in the window. I don't usually put politcal posters up but thought why not in relation to this one and I live on the A470 so I might aswell take advantage of that fact. Another reason to do it was to thank them for their free night of entertainment they are providing in Blaenau Ffestiniog, there is one coming up next friday it includes a singer and someone talking about independence I am not too enamoured by the singer but the speaker might be good who knows its just nice that its mainly a welsh language get together somewhere apart from the pub. There is a Yes Cymru march in May in Swansea which unless there is a coach from here, I will not be going to as its too far away and I am not going on the orrible long train journey and I really don't want to stay over night I am not too sure where we are with the independence campaign it seems to be at a stop right now except for social med

They are stopping another bus service around here, since the pandemic the bus services have been shit.  Now they want to make it worse by stopping a good service from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno, and it will affect other bus services which will then be cut as the seem to not be 'being used'  The cutting of bus routes only leads to more car use and then to more pavement parking so disabled people are made to stay at home but at home the pavements are cluttered with cars  and other rubbish like bins or signs. I keep on posting on social media but no one takes any interest really or if they do they won't do anything about it 

There is so much ignorance around different disabilities, I was just reading about a visually impaired lad I know and how he visited a plaee which was to do with his work and was ignored, a person who was there spoke a sighted person asking questions about him, the 'does he take suger' thing, You kind of think might be getting better but with the visually impaired not respresented in parts of society as much as they should be like jobs etc I guess the ignorance will prevail for a bit longer these barriers are depressing really and really need to come down. Disabled folk just want to be accepted as part of society as many contribute just like everyone else, they are not aliens. I read booklet once called 'talking to blind people' it was written by the RNIB, it sort of perpetuated the myth that the visually impaired are 'different' and that you need some kind of manual to talk to them where in fact they are normal people and should be treated as such and there was

 The local community pub has had a bit of facelift, efforts have been made to make it look like it used to when first built nearly 300 years ago, there is a bit more to do but at least its not the eyesore that it use to be, all that needs to happen now is that the kitchen opens again and the hours are back to normal. I am sure its very hard to run a hospitality business in this climate but thats business I guess the ups and downs of it  I am getting fed up of this horrible cold winter weather its getting tedious now not a lot I can do though

 some history about the area I live in. The slate   industry   in   North   West   Wales has a rich and fascinating   history   that spans over several   centuries . The   region , which encompasses the counties of Gwynedd and Conwy, is   home   to some of the   largest   and most productive slate quarries in the   world . The origins of the slate  industry  in  North  Wales can be  traced  back to the Roman  period , when the  natural  resources of the  region  were  first  exploited for  building   materials . However, it was not until the 18th  century  that the  industry  truly  began  to flourish. The  demand  for slate, which was used for roofing, flooring, and  other   building  applications,  grew  rapidly as the population of Britain and  other   parts  of Europe  expanded . The main  centers  of slate production in  North  Wales were the  towns  of Bethesda, Blaenau Ffestiniog, and Llanberis, all of which are  located  in the county of Gwynedd. The slate quarries in these  to