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HarryBolingbroke

Listed below are comments made by HarryBolingbroke between Saturday, 12th July 2008 and Friday, 29th August 2008.

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Woks and water purifiers 00:14am on 29 Aug 2008 Lyn Thomas - You're making me feel really sorry for these poor AMs who can barely make ends meet on their £50 000+ salary. It's only about four times more than the average working man's wage here in Wales. No wonder they need that extra £12 500 (and the rest).

Perhaps it's about time soup kitchens were provided for our poverty-stricken Assembly politicians...
In the pink 11:32am on 12 Aug 2008 The gravy train comment is relevant because when politicians are paid too much they forget the people they serve. Spending obscene amounts of money on Welsh, which only about 5% of the population speaks as a first language, clearly shows the Assembly Members to be out of touch with the majority and pitifully unaware of economic circumstances. Nationalist ideology is being ferociously pursued at a time when many Welsh people are struggling to make ends meet, baffling when we consider that the (so-called) Labour Party won 43% of the vote at the Assembly elections, while Plaid received only 25%. The wrong people, I would argue, are ruling the roost.

Nota bene, Jacques, 'benefiting' is spelt with one 't'.
In the pink 01:07am on 12 Aug 2008 Well, JacquesT- I've heard it'll cost the Welsh taxpayer £500 000 for the facility to use Welsh when dealing with EU institutions, and am hoping that someone will reassure me that this is not true. If it is, it's disgraceful and utterly immoral. Don't know how AMs sleep at night. Perhaps they think poverty is no longer a problem in Wales. The gravy train obviously has rose-tinted windows.
Rearranging 11:14pm on 18 Jul 2008 Sounds absurd to me; a moment of absent-mindedness, that's all. I'm certainly not a fan of Plaid but this is surely not a resigning offence. Makes me feel that he's really quite a decent chap. If he was pushed, something is rotten.....
'Welsh solutions' 01:04am on 17 Jul 2008 Don't worry, Fergatron, I'll be there if they fulfill their promise to hold meetings. I will be amazed, of course, if they actually happen and even more so if they are publicised. I suspect that only a select few will be invited to attend. That's how the WAG operates. By the way, the crayons should be given to AMs - it would keep them gainfully occupied and they would do less damage.
'Welsh solutions' 11:28pm on 15 Jul 2008 Yes - funny how the AMs want more powers isn't it? Surely they're not thinking about the money they'll get on top of their 8.3%, are they? Or about the possibility of even more occasions in which they can do a bit of self-important swanning around. I hope there'll be well-publicised meetings at which we, the people, can express real views, but I suspect that, as is usually the case with Assembly 'public consultations', friendly voices will be sought out and a pro-Assembly gloss put on any findings, followed by shameless propaganda from BBC Wales. I would certainly be interested to know the current stance of each member of the committee. Are any of them sceptics?
Cross border co-operation 2:36pm on 14 Jul 2008 Interesting about your step-father, Drachenfyre. I think there's something very special about Neapolitan music, and the view over the Bay from Posilippo is spectacular. I agree that discrimination against Welsh speakers is unjust, and the cases you cite - especially that of the hotel workers - are disturbing. We do need, though, to ensure that such injustices are not now repeated in English-speaking areas, and it is the case now that Welsh is being forced on many of us in the workplace to no practical benefit. Two good (and clever) friends of mine have missed out on jobs which were given to Welsh speakers from the Welsh heartlands (I can't prove that the reasons are ideological, of course, but I'm feeling suspicious). Learning of Welsh, unfortunately, is not 'voluntary'. If it were, there might be greater chance of success. As you know, it is compulsory in schools. I personally think it should be an option in schools since all languages are valuable, but I am against its current compulsory status. A calmer, fairer approach by supporters of the language would dampen down the growing hostility....

I hope that my pride in my homeland will one day be restored.
Cross border co-operation 11:53am on 14 Jul 2008 Thanks Drachenfyre, I appreciate your good wishes but my negative experience wasn't a result of learning Welsh. I usually enjoy languages because I love words. My problem arises from my abhorrence to the triumphalism now sweeping the country, and the totalitarian excesses of the Welsh language lobby. I was patriotic but I refuse to be drawn into nationalist fervour and now prefer to think of myself purely as a citizen of the world (brotherhood of man and all that). My native language is English and I don't believe that I have a duty to learn Welsh. My 'second language', by the way, is Italian, in which I am fluent. My Welsh-speaking great grandfather would be horrified to see that the struggles he faced as a child in being forced to learn English are now being re-visited in reverse on new generations. We all know how inequitable the job market is now, as positive discrimination in favour of Welsh speakers takes hold even in English- speaking areas. We are merely piling injustice on injustice. Until, those who now hold the reins of power understand the resentment they are causing, they will have a battle on their hands.
Leeks and all 01:24am on 13 Jul 2008 Don't kid yourself, James Godalming. A nationalist dictatorship, more like. This country discarded its socialism the moment it prioritised the Welsh language over poverty. I personally think a gravy train would make the perfect blazon.
Cross border co-operation 9:05pm on 12 Jul 2008 Daverodway, what do you expect? Our professional lives are being turned upside down by the aggressive promotion of Welsh which, ultimately, seems to arise from a bitter spirit of vengeance. If we complain or criticise, we are accused of ranting or being unpatriotic. It's affecting many of us so seriously that we no longer feel welcome in our own country. I dispute the notion that we are any more vitriolic than the pro-Welsh language lobby, but I think questions need to be asked about the wisdom of trampling over people’s lives to make people speak Welsh. Personally, having once been patriotic to the point of wanting to learn Welsh, I now hate its every syllable. That doesn’t say much for the efficacy of Welsh language promotion or the propaganda that we are paying for through the BBC licence fee.

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HarryBolingbroke