Who should I vote for?

Who should I vote for in Wales?

Your expected outcome:

Conservative

Your actual outcome:

Labour -1
Conservative -3
Liberal Democrat -2
	UKIP 1
	Green 4
	Plaid Cymru 12

You should vote: Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru is a left of centre party which supports higher marginal rates of taxation, the replacement of council tax by local income tax, increases to the minimum wage and higher pension rates. They are pro both the EU constitution and the Euro, support the ban on smoking in public places, consider hitting CO2 reduction targets to be very important and oppose top-up tuition fees. They took a very strong stance against the war in Iraq.

Take the test at Who Should You Vote For


I wanted to re-take this quiz just to see if it is any different that before. It scares me that UKIP is quite high, but can I be surprised?!?! I think this test is bogus - I put down that I was for the war on Iraq and was against the Euro for Christ's sake!

The sunnier side to Newport?

You would have thought that Goldie Lookin' Chain had it right when they said Newport resembled a cesspit ghetto similar to South Central LA. They have always ensured that the less -than-pretty areas of their home town are exposed for all to see. They have even gotten into trouble with the Newport council over this negative image they depict. I was convinced that Newport was just a strange bridge, a shoddy shopping centre and a outdated leisure centre with a swimming pool (which also hosts gigs, oddly enough). But when I needed a book from the UWCN (Newport Uni) when it wasn't available at the uni library, I discovered a side to Newport which was unknown to me. Allt-Yr-Yn is actually a very affluent area of the city which would confuse you into thinking that you were in Cyncoed, or even Lisvane in parts. Perhaps I was foolish to think that such a city lacked an upper class!

The past few weeks have been full of work and family celebrations. Happy birthday to George on your 21st, hope you had a good night out! Went out for my grandparents' golden wedding anniversary to the Marriot where a delicious steak was to be had.... and overall a nice family meal was enjoyed by all. Valentines Day was different this year as Jen and I went to see Romeo and Juliet in the New Theatre. It was a good show and wasn't too long, much to our relief! My mum also sprang a 'Supermarket Sweep'-esque surprise on me, by allowing me to stock up on whatever I liked with her footing the bill! Sponge? Me? Never!

Can I open my mouth?

Just checking, of late it seems freedom of speech once again is being questioned after this debacle concerning these Danish cartoons. I don't think I want to really comment on this topic as enough about it has been said already, but I have to say that we must value freedom of speech for all it's worth. When Marilyn Manson went to play a gig in Croatia and was orginally prohibited by the police because he 'promotes Satanism', he had said:

"If they think that an artist can destroy their faith, then their faith is rather fragile.

Wise words I feel which sums up how I feel about it. Of course in this case it is not music, but an image.

With that said, I move to home territory. Question Time last week exposed Rhodri Morgan as a bumbling fool in his attempt to explain his opinion on the Iraq War. One would think clever editing by the BBC surely must have had a hand in duping our First Minister, but no, he seemed to do it all on his own. Not only that, all he had to do was to answer a single question. Even more disturbing, is that fact that Morgan may not even have an opinion on the Iraq War, which for a senior politican governing forward our new Wales, fills me with dread. lthough rest assured, there must be a second force at work here. He daren't not oppose Blair, but at the same time he wants to remain popular. Despite that, he embarrassed himself and Wales that night. Not the news you want to hear when the new debating chamber opens next month. Check out the story here.

House is now let out, so no more viewings. That didn't stop The Letting Shop drilling a sign into the wall though, waking up Jen and I! In all this week has not been too interesting; now back in uni things are starting to get back to normal. I hope the Steed Unit had a good time for his birthday! I also wish the Welsh team all the best against the Scots on Sunday. Im pissed off that Wales' Grand Slam win last year is being seen as a fluke now that the English beat us, but I shall moan about that in another post. Til then, toodles.

My lifestyle determines my deathstyle

Metallica are an unlikely source of philosophical direction, but this ever so simple thought means a hell of a lot. To continue the way I live my life, will quite rightly determine the way I will die. So you all know what this means - I am worrying about weight again. Maybe if I listen to that Metallica song a few more times, I will actually do something about it.

It's been busy in Cathays of late. It's house-hunting madness as anxious first years are desperate to get their digs for next year. Everyone here has decided against another year at Casa del Cathays, so we had to prepare for the inevitable viewings for potential tenants. I hope it dies down soon, it's only February!

Back in uni this week and hopefully will come up with a topic for my dissertation soon. I have also bought a diary (75p in the Blackwells sale) in the hope that I can actually organise my life more effectively.

Went to see Max Boyce last Friday and he was absolutely awesome. He's still got it, that unique wit, that fantatstic ability to tell a story and even the musical talent that gets every self -respecting Welsh person to their feet.

To all the Argos guys I am sorry I let you down over the Butlins idea. I have become incredibly broke of late and I completly forgot about the trip, despite the reminders I have been sent. There's no reason why however we can't do something nearer to the summer, such as a theme park stop-over trip?

In spite of not joining the Lost bandwagon earlier when it was being braodcasted here in the UK, I have finally given up the fight against watching the sheer brilliance of this drama. After a massive Lost marathon, I have caught up with Chris and Greg now up to Episode 17 and look forward to the (hopefully question answering) climax.



Other things I should mention include my recent trip to Ludlow and the footballing news in my life at the moment. Ludlow was very nice - Jen and I went on our Saturday off from work - and we are going back because the castle had closed before we got there! Pictures of our day are on my new pictures website. Just in case I haven't stated on the blog before, I am proud to mention that I play for two teams now, my beloved QVR and the TTFE league team. The QVR recently made the playoffs after a thrilling 4-3 win over the top team in the division in the final game of the season. TTFE however have not recorded their first win just yet, but it's coming. Please check out all these sites if you are interested.