A Visit To Wales...

...shows Dan Hodges just why the politicians are allowed to get away with it:

...the bureaucratic madness unleashed by the Drakeford 'reset' is fully on display.

'So I run this shop with my husband and Duncan [the shop assistant],' Jennifer explains. 'When I'm serving with my husband, it's fine, because we're in a bubble. But Duncan isn't. So when he's on, I have to stay here in the kitchen. And we've put a till at the end of the counter so he can stay down that end and I can stand up here.'

Presumably they think all this is insane? 'Oh no,' Duncan tells me. 'I back the First Minister.'

What can we do, when faced with this? 

Wales is literally the land of my father. He was born and brought up in Bridgend – in a proud and brave and passionate nation. A nation that is slowly being suffocated. Partly by a virus. But also by the ego and narrow- mindedness of one man. People here may not be directly embracing Drakeford's vigilantism, or encouragement to inform on outsiders. But they are following his edict to be afraid.

'Welshmen will not yield', the song tells us. Reality tells us something rather different. 

And we are the same in England, passively accepting the nonsense spewing from No 10.

...despite the Prime Minister's Churchillian words about 'defeating Covid', we're still no closer to beating the virus than we were at the start of the year. Doctors, scientists, politicians – none of them really has a clue how to balance saving life with living life. But as I drive back across Mark Drakeford's border into Free Shropshire, there's one thing I'm certain of. We will not turn the tide of coronavirus by turning upon ourselves.

But we might, if we turn on the politicians that are driving it. Do we have any volcanoes in the UK?

"Right, We're Getting Tough Now...."

"Oh, but not on you...."

Protesters have gathered outside Cardiff Bay police station to protest the death of a man who died hours after being released from custody.

More than 200 people marched from the city centre to the police station around a mile away to demand 'justice' following the death of 24-year-old Mohamud Mohammed Hassan.

They are also asking for the release of CCTV from his time in custody.

Number of arrests for gathering in defiance of covid laws? None. Zilch. Zero.  

Neil McEvoy, an MS who represents South Wales Central in the Senedd for the Welsh National Party, also attended the protest and said he wanted to see transparency from the police and the officers involved suspended from duty pending an investigation.

Even politicians see nothing wrong, refuse to condemn these gathering, and even gather with them... 

Earlier on Tuesday, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford described reports of Mr Hassan's death as 'deeply concerning'.

Yes. That Mark Drakeford. 

What more evidence do you need that this is no longer a country where everyone is equal under the law?

We've All Gone Mad...

I almost can't believe what I'm reading and seeing...

Police last night revealed extraordinary plans to patrol the Anglo-Welsh border to stop families from crossing over for a half-term holiday as Wales is plunged into a two-week 'firebreak' lockdown.

Officers will prevent caravans sneaking into England from Wales and deter Welsh motorists defying First Minister Mark Drakeford's 'power-mad' orders from making 'non-essential' journeys.

And despite the police union's protestations, you just know there are some in the forces that are going to enjoy this, don't you, Reader? 

But the Police Federation of England and Wales has revealed that the ban is 'unenforceable', adding that policing which is 'already over-stretched due to the pandemic' would be complicated by the measure.

Really? Hadn't noticed them not responding to gatherings, unless they are of course those held by the protected groups... 

Tesco and Lidl workers became Wales' first 'trolley police' as they were seen hiding shelves of 'non-essential' products behind plastic sheets to stop customers buying them ahead of the start of the restrictions, which came in earlier this evening.

Plastic barriers and stacks of drinks crates were also set up to block off certain aisles while other items were taped off by staff as part of efforts to follow the draconian new rules.

*stunned amazement* What's the point of this?

Mr Drakeford described stopping supermarkets from selling non-essential products during the firebreak lockdown as 'a straightforward matter of fairness'.

He said: 'We are requiring many hundreds of small businesses to close on the high street right across Wales.

'We cannot do that and then allow supermarkets to sell goods that those people are unable to sell.'

This is the 'fairness' of spoiled children: "If I can't have it, no-one can!" 

'And we are looking to minimise the amount of time that people spend out of their homes during this two-week period.

'This is not the time to be browsing around supermarkets looking for non-essential goods.'

Least you think 'Ah, well, it's just Wales':

Makes sense, I suppose. It's 'Try (Communism) before you buy'! 

They Are Deprived On Account Of They Are Depraved...

...to paraphrase from one of my favourite movies:

The BBC sports presenter Jason Mohammad has voiced anger at a lack of government help for the Ely estate in Cardiff where he grew up, 30 years after the so-called bread riots erupted in the area.

'Bread riots'..? Were people starving in Ely, then? 

Ely remains among the most deprived areas of Wales in terms of income, employment, health and education, according to the Welsh government, which classes part of the area as suffering among the worst “deep-rooted deprivation” in Wales.

Gosh! Who knew? 

“I feel angry that the Westminster government and the Senedd government haven’t addressed the needs of these people,” Mohammad said. “They’ve cried out for help for years. Sometimes I think no one has listened.”

How have they 'cried out for help', then? 

Mackay said: “It seems cool now to ride a bike around Ely and smash a window. People are filming it on social media and people are becoming famous on LADbible and some of these platforms … The behaviours and attitudes are still in the area.”

Ah. The same way all the other rioters in history have, it seems... 

Asked about Mohammad’s view, Drakeford said that Tony Blair’s government delivered “unprecedented levels of investment in community assets and new economic opportunities for young people”.

But they clearly prefer making arses of themselves to working for a living...