Today is a Good Day

Mark Drakeford and Captain Beany - The Telegraph

When I started the endless page refreshing yesterday afternoon I felt kind of sick when Labour lost the Vale of Clwyd to the Conservatives. My worst fear for this election was that the upsurge in support for #indywales, while awesome, would split the progressive vote and allow the Conservatives to pick off key constituencies. If UKIP, Abolish, and their ilk did well on the list the potential outcome looked bleaker and bleaker.

But, as the hours crawled by, a completely different picture began emerging.

Labour held the rest of their constituency seats, and even won Rhondda from Plaid Cymru. Majorities increased - Mark Drakeford's share of the vote went up by some 10,000 votes in Cardiff West - while anti-devolution party candidates simply lost their deposits.

Wales delivered a pretty clear message that what passes for good conduct in Westminster isn't going to wash here. We want different things from our leaders.

We deserve better.

It all makes me sound so party political, but it's just that for too long it's been a race to the bottom in UK politics. Who can be the most outrageous - the most offensively ignorant - and so score the most media coverage? It began with 'I'm only telling it like it is', and spiralled down to the point where people like Ben Bradley are sitting in parliament.

(Can you believe he stood in the Mansfield council elections and won. With the votes of the same people he openly claims would sooner trade food vouchers for smack than feed their children. I like to think no constituency in Wales would be so generous as to give him an extra income on top of his £82k a year after a statement like that.)

I'm actually hoping for more collaboration this term. Mature debate, and challenge, and compromise. There's room in Welsh politics for fun and games. Who isn't pleased to see Captain Beany back, brighter and bolder than ever? But, you know, buckle down when the time comes. Get on with the job.

Westminster will doubtless be putting on a floor show for us. Let's focus on moving forward.

“Free school meals are not just about hunger.

It is about saying to those children: you matter to us, we want you to have the very best - that’s what @MarcusRashford was saying yesterday.

They shall have flowers on the table." - @MarkDrakeford 🌹#KeepWalesSafe | @TheFabians pic.twitter.com/n90Xig7Sjl
— Welsh Labour (@WelshLabour) October 23, 2020

For me this vid sums up what Welsh politics wants to achieve - from all quarters - it's not about doing the bare minimum and patting yourself on the back. It's about making genuine change and improvement. The way might not be easy, and the going might not be smooth. But that's no reason not to even set out on the journey...

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Free Magazine Scans

Click the pictures below to find full cover guides to various teen magazines (primarily collated to make scale miniature magazine covers but I figure they'll also be useful for collectors and anyone into media history) and scans from my own magazine collection. I've also got a couple of kids' books I didn't want to part with - The Squirrel and Little Owl Book of Pets . The unwieldy size of my bookmark folders convinced me I needed a reference post for online magazine archives. Or, more accurately, free online magazine archives. Whether you're looking for leisure reading or research avenues, you're bound to find something useful in this list. :) ☆ Archive for the Unexplained - UFO mags galore. ☆ The Magazine Rack - over 140,000 digitised magazines! ☆ Lantern - thousands of vintage film magazines. ☆ FANZINES - a number of online archives now exist for these including FANAC (SF), ScoTpress (Trek), Sandy Herald Collection (media fandom, major

Free Fabric Samples x 200

Choosing upholstery and soft furnishings can be a nightmare - especially if it arrives and isn't quite what you expected. Fabric samples are a great way to avoid costly mistakes, as well as providing a fab source of material for your crafts box. Here are over 200 places offering completely free fabric samples in the UK:

Guide to Sindy Houses

As far as 1/6 scale doll houses go, Sindy's Super Home is fairly ubiquitous. It's a good size, it isn't made out of pink plastic, and you can pick one up on eBay for under £50. But the Super Home wasn't Sindy's only foray into property ownership. In fact she had numerous different houses, caravans, stables, and other buildings... 1970 Sindy's Town House Though this was advertised in the 1970 brochure, it doesn't seem to have ever made it into production. 1973 Sindy's House This one apparently made it into limited production, but was flimsy and was soon replaced. According to the Sindy Museum , it had four rooms, decorated as a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and lounge. You can see part of the house used for photos in the 1974 catalogue . 1974 Sindy's House Existing examples appear to have been competition wins, so it is unlikely this house was ever on general sale. You can read more about it HERE . 1975

Simply Cook Review

I kept seeing ads and deals for Simply Cook everywhere, so as there was a special offer on at OhMyDosh! Rewards (£3 for the box and £3.50 cashback) I figured I had nothing to lose by giving it a try. What Is It? Recipe kits packed into boxes which fit through your letterbox. The usual price is £9.99 for a kit of 4, with each one serving 2-4 people depending on your serving sizes. All you need to do is buy the fresh ingredients required and follow the instructions. Here is Simply Cook's own helpful diagram: Does It Work? For me, as the person just eating it, it was awesome. Everything tasted great - the mushroom penne in particular was so good I went back for seconds - and I liked that the sauces weren't as rich as Anthony would usually make them. For Anthony, who cooked them, they weren't as impressive. He complained that the food was bland and that it was actually quite a lot of faff, as Lidl didn't stock everything we needed which meant another trip ou

Welsh UFO Sightings 2016

Welsh UFO sightings from 2016. For sightings from other years please click HERE . UK UFO Sunday 3rd January, 01:25 Gwent Witness saw a 'typical space ship' through their bedroom window. It had blue and red lights, and appeared to be moving towards them. They watched for a few minutes and the next day reported the sighting to UK UFO. FM: " I was up really late and i needed to use the bathroom so i got up and my side of the bed is by the window, so i had a look out. i saw an object shaped like a typical space ship would look, but it had blue and red lights and appeared to be coming towards me. i watched it for a while and then left to use the bathroom and by the time i had returned (5 minutes later) the mysterious lights had almost disappeared into the distance. " SUFON Tuesday 5th January, 09:20 Bevan Close, Waunarlwydd, Swansea Broken cloud. Brian Harry was at home in Bevan Close, Waunarlwydd and had just let his dog out the back

Babi a Fi

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