Helo a chroeso i’r cylchlythyr.
A warm welcome to this week’s edition of A Word From Wales:a digital newsletter for the Welsh Diaspora wherever they may be in the world. A snapshot of some of the stories making the news in ‘Yr Hen Wlad’ over the past seven days.
This week, we’ll be assessing the fall-out from the Welsh Government’s decision to scrap major road projects in Wales and looking ahead to a rally for Welsh Independence in May.And as a land of revivals ourselves, we’ll be taking a look as well at the remarkable 11 day revival which is on-going on a college campus in Kentucky, America.
Lee Waters, Senedd AM who once admitted that Welsh Labour ‘did not know what they are doing on the economy’
They still don’t know what they are doing
THERE has been a furious reaction in Wales this week following Welsh Labour’s decision to scrap major road projects here.
Apparently, the party now think that “saving the planet” is more important than any attempts to try to develop the Welsh economy.
Three long-standing projects have been scrapped as part of their “Roads Review”: a Red route for Deeside, a third crossing for Ynys Mon and a much-awaited £14 million by-pass for Llanbedr in Gwynedd, a village regularly swamped by traffic almost all year round.
Other small European nations, including our close neighbour Ireland, have invested heavily in their road and rail infrastructure over the past few years, with those policies leading to investment from elsewhere as well as helping to develop their own internal economy.
But, Wales, uniquely it seems, are going to ignore this tried and trusted route towards economic well-being in favour of a climate ideology pushed by powerful lobby interests.
But perhaps such thinking from Welsh Labour is not all that surprising, in view of the comments made by Transport Minister Lee Waters himself some years ago when he admitted:
“We don’t know what we are doing on the economy. We are making it up as we go along” he said at the time.
Welsh Labour’s decision to halt road projects seemed even more illogical only a couple of days later when they then announced a swathe of cuts to bus services in rural Wales.
Providing more ammunition for the belief that Welsh Labour are only really concerned with the interests of urban Wales, whose votes are crucial to keeping them in power.
Amongst those who criticized the decision was Western Mail Commentator Lefi Gruffydd who said:
“ Once again the people of rural Wales are being sacrificed by clueless committee-men in Cardiff on the altar of their naive idealism”.
Adding that such drastic action against car use should only be contemplated after decades of investment in Welsh infrastructure which simply haven’t happened here.
And the new National party in Wales, Gwlad said such a display of virtue signalling from Welsh Labour showed :
“a party bankrupt of ideas and principles and all that remains is it to bankrupt Wales along with itself”.
With tampons placed in the men’s toilets at y Senedd, 20 mph restrictions put in place and Gender Self-ID also set to be considered there: the Welsh public are entitled to ask what on earth is going on in Cardiff Bay right now.
Independence under the spotlight in Scotland, and Wales has its own rally coming up
Hang on Scotland, we’re coming too!
Following the shock resignation of Scotland FM Nicola Sturgeon last week, it seems that independence is finally back on the agenda at Hollyrood.
Two of the front runners to replace her, Ash Regan and Kate Forbes have already stated they will place independence at the forefront of their respective campaigns.
With this core policy having being curiously absent during Nicola Sturgeon’s tenure as First Minister.
The new FM will be chosen by SNP members over the next month or so.
The new emphasis on Independence by the SNP will be carefully monitored here in Wales.
And in May, the sixth march for Independence will be held here. After Cardiff (2), Caernarfon, Merthyr and Wrecsam, Swansea will be the destination for Indy supporters on May 20.
Visiting Wales’s second city seems a very sensible decision by YES Cymru in view of the large population who live in the city and the surrounding areas.
It’s also a city which desperately needs a dose of political Welshness in view of the fact that Plaid have collapsed there over recent years, now having no political representation at all on the City Council( 75 members).
It seems unbelievable that the main nationalist party in Wales has no representation at all in Swansea- a city which is so proudly Welsh, although not pre-dominantly Welsh-speaking by now.
It’s just another of the strange anomalies which exist in modern-day Wales for various reasons.
Hopefully, having thousands of marchers in the city on May will be able to galvanise this nascent Welshness once more.
A revival re-imagined as an “encounter”
An unbroken 12 day revival at a college in America is attracting people from all over the states and abroad.
The revival- amongst what’s known as Generation Z( young people under 25)- is of particular interest for us here in Wales, in view of the long tradition of revivals here over the centuries.
Thousands are taking part in worship and prayer at the Asbury College- with the college authorities suspending their normal activities to service all the people who are flocking to the campus.
The revival has now spread to six other college campuses in America.
But, interestingly, the young people involved are not describing it as a “revival” as such, but rather as an “encounter”, under the guidance of the holy spirit.
And there’s very little of the wild emotionalism and hysteria traditionally associated with revival on display at Asbury.
Rather, we see a sense of decorum in place there marked by wonder and awe and thankfulness for being able to be part of such an event.
And there’s no charismatic leaders whipping up the audience either as the whole experience seems to be shared equally amongst the student body.
The sessions feature singing, praise and prayer, but they also include periods of silence, testimonies and group discussions.
The young people describe being overcome by a sense of overwhelming light during the sessions, held appropriately enough at the Hughes Auditorium.
It brings to mind a remark made by the famous Welsh evangelist, Evan Roberts towards the end of his life.
Roberts faded from public life after the emotionalism of the year long Welsh revival in 1904-05, but at a prayer meeting in Cardiff in the 1950ies he said:
“When the next revival comes, it won’t come by fire, but by light”
Wel, dyna ni am wythnos arall.
We’sll see you next week.
Aled