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Badger and the Europeans

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badger84imageBADGER, as befits a homebody, does not agree with abroad. Not because Badger dislikes foreigners, but because he likes where he is just fine. In fact, Badger has seldom ventured to what used to be called “the Continongt” by people who had studied French — or at least read one of Elizabeth David’s recipe books. Badger went to France many moons ago to discover that it smelled disconcertingly of wee and stale sweat everywhere he went.

He went to The Netherlands (to play rugby, of all things) and discovered through bitter (or, rather, lager) experience that livers have their limits. Other than those experiences, Badger has preferred the attractions of the United Kingdom. Apart from Edinburgh, that is. Badger was aghast to find that Edinburgh was disconcertingly even fuller of angry Scottish people than Pembroke Dock. Badger’s hot tip for recognising a true Scot (other than their accent) is to note that the greater the praise a Scot heaps on virtues of their home nation, the less likely they are to have recently been there.

Badger’s curiosity about “abroad” has been recently captured by the unfolding spectacle of the European elections: on the televisual entertainment doo-dad that sits in the corner casting its baleful gleam, in the newspapers, and by the generous delivery to his door of free toilet tissue bearing David Cameron’s face. Readers, it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it. Keenly interested in matters political, Badger enjoyed the comedy of the campaign. He was particularly amused by its star turn, Nigel Farage, who appears to be the political equivalent of a dancing dog act on one of Simon Cowell’s no-talent talent shows: a novelty, whose routine appeals superficially but does not bear up to too close scrutiny.

It was delightful to see Nige being dragged away by UK1P’s press officer Patrick O’Flynn, from a gaffe-littered interview. if it didn’t say enough for Nige’s political nous that he managed to be taken by surprise by so many of his policies live on air, the revelation that his press officer worked for the Daily Express must surely call his wider judgement into question. That the English newspapers have been big on UKIP is hardly surprising: owned by trans-Atlantic corporations, tax-dodging family trusts and overseas investment vehicles, national newspaper proprietors are the enemies of the type of regulation and tax enforcement threatened by a closer European union.

Now, after the votes have been counted and the seats allocated, Labour and Conservative politicians are apparently trying to work out how to deal with “the UK1P threat”. They may as well try to nail jelly to a wall. Such are the vagaries of the British electoral system, what can be said of UKIP with certainty is that the votes it takes away from the main parties will serve only to keep one or the other of them in power in Westminster. For all its vaunted success, UK!P captured the votes of fewer than 10% of electors last Thursday. Let’s look at some policies UK1P espoused at the last general election: things we can all rally around, readers. Remember, these are REAL policies espoused by a REAL party at a REAL election. It wanted your votes then and wants them next year, too.
• “UKIP will encourage a return to proper dress for major hotels, restaurants and theatres — smarter dress is part of Britishness, although it is also a British virtue to encourage innovation in fashion.”

• “UKIP will return London’s Circle line to a circle?’
• “UKIP will encourage a return to the glamour, grace and style of the railway companies of the past through its railway policies. UKIP seeks a return to Tullman’ trains where justified, with appropriate branding such as ‘Great Western Railway’, one of the most successful British brands ever.”

To be fair to Nige, he has now disowned those policies and has limited his public pronouncements to less contentious matters such as:

• The gap in pay between men and women is just ‘the way the world works” because of biology. He also said motherhood was “a lifestyle choice”;
• Germans make better neighbours than Romanians (try telling that to the Polish);
• He feels discomfort that people speak languages other than English in public (Da lawn diolch, Nige!).
UKTP can be mocked as a nostalgia trip back to a time when the world was fresh; when the map of the globe was reassuringly largely pink in colour; when everyone could rally round and “chant two world wars and one world cup! Doo-dah! Doo-Dah!” without fear of offending Nick Clegg. UKIP has stepped into the vacuum left by the main parties’ urge to cluster like moths around the flame of the so-called “middle ground”. It has espoused a populist nostalgic appeal to “traditional” values and “traditional” attitudes.

And, readers, nothing could be more traditional than  British xenophobia: a phenomenon so remarkable it was considered noteworthy by our European neighbours in the fifteenth century (along with drunkenness and sexual profligacy, by the way — plus ca change…). The large national parties have become divorced from the mass of the people; their leaders are airbrushed professional machine politicians who do not so much make policy pronouncements as strike a pose.

Having stopped being real people with real flaws, national political leaders are now a class apart, kept separate from the mass of humanity lest they express opinions. Where image is all, content is absent. Cameron, Clegg and Milliband could have been stamped out using cookie cutters, so woven from the same cloth are they. Any of them could easily be the leaders of Anyparty in Anyland. Whatever his flaws are – and there appear to be many, readers – the same cannot be said of the UK!? leader.

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Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

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It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

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Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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