Luke Ellis blog (Personal)

2+2=

2009-03-18T00:13:00.004Z

I have decided to postpone blogging for the time being. I offer a great deal of thanks to fellow bloggers, well wishers, Labour Party Members and all those who have supported me through recent events.

I have taken this decision partly to protect my Community Council in the district of Kenfig Hill and Pyle, where I am due to become Chairman and partly because I feel that a certain people among the post devolution media cannot differentiate legitimate comment from an instant headline grabbing story with no basis and no grounding whatsoever.

A Community Cllr in a small village in Wales (who happens to have a Diploma in Substance misuse and awareness) writing his own personal and informed view on a personal blog, becomes the page four lead political story in the Western Mail simply because in the daytime he happens to work in the Assembly for an AM.

I am sure that you have many views which are different from your employers. I am sure that Martin Shipton has many views which he holds which would not run side by side with his employers.

We are all in the same boat in that regard, however as long as my views are associated by a certain faction with other entities I am involved with, including the pioneering youth club which I proudly serve on the board of, my son's school where I am a Governor and the Community Council which I proudly represent as vice Chairman, I feel I have no alternative but to abandon this blog and keep to the usual press releases should I have anything of use to say.

Free, open debate, freedom of speech= Nil Close down new voices, stifle legitimate debate= 1.

May God be with you.

Luke.

Tabloid Tales

2009-03-14T00:13:00.006Z

My sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone who phoned, E mailed and blogged their support for me yesterday following a ‘news’ article which appeared about a posting I had made here on this, my personal blog.

Welsh Ramblings = Defending Luke Ellis

Sweet and Tender Hooligan = Hypocrisy of Western Mail

The Cynical Dragon = David Davies needs to get a life

Even some sort of support from Peter Black AM

It is worth mentioning that on Thursday, respected BBC journalist Vaughan Roderick wrote a pleasant tongue in cheek article on his welsh language blog.

Vaughan’s piece generated 241 direct visitors to my blog.

Yesterday after Martin Shipton’s imaginative page four , half page ‘expose’ of my very public and freely available writings, which was curiously headlined “PUT MARKS IN CHARGE OF DRUGS FIGHT, SAYS KEY LABOUR ADVISER” a mere 131 visitors came to this site. The statistics on my blog traffic counter prove that the vast majority of these came from people who clicked in from other Welsh bloggers sites (from the above list), leaving around twenty people who logged on of their own accord after reading Mr Shipton's piece in the Western Mail .

Interesting figures. For the record I was on annual leave all of last week, a holiday which had been booked in for over a month beforehand. Whatever the reason for reporting I had tonsillitis and the speculation which followed on some blogs remains a mystery to me, as besides meaning I spent my week off on antibiotics laid up in bed, it seemed to have no relevance to the story at all.

Every single E mail I have received has been entirely understanding, 100% supportive and many have been critical of the justification for the article. The anonymous sources who saw fit to brief to Mr. Shipton in such a manner for what I can only guess to be their own pseudo-Machiavellian purpose will perhaps come to realise that they have done far more harm to their cause than good.

Sad day for Merthyr

2009-03-13T06:29:00.004Z

Reading the Western Mail this morning I was struck by the significance of one of the most important news stories of the day. Namely the devastation that must be rippling around the Merthyr constituency this morning following the news that Hoover has finally closed it's doors forever with the loss of over three hundred valuable jobs in the area.

I sincerely hope nothing more trivial will serve to distract from this story about the loss of an icon which has influenced three generations of valleys life. My heart is with the families of those involved with the factory.

Welcome to all new readers.

2009-03-12T23:33:00.006Z

Hi and a very warm welcome to all new readers who may be logging on for the first time today.

You are all very welcome to read for yourself (in their full and original context) all of the postings below and may add your views to the comment boxes as you wish.

If you have any questions you may want me to address directly about anything you read on this (My own personal blog which I treat as a hobby) site, I will be delighted to answer you.

You can E mail me at cllrlukeellis@gmail.com, or if you would prefer to speak in person about any questions you may have about any issues you may have about the postings I have written here then please E mail me your name, question and telephone number and I will try to get back to you as soon as I am able.

Many people who work in politics run secret blogs written in pseudonyms and feel that they can write what they like with no regard for their party or the public. I have written this blog in my own name, despite many people urging me not to because I believe that we need more accountability and honesty to political opinions. every word I write, I write in my own name, as they are my own views and I am happy to answer any questions about them.

Many thanks for choosing to click onto my personal blog. Please scroll down to read the Blog.

Community spirit alive and well round our way.

2009-03-12T01:10:00.013Z

I have been off work this week with Tonsillitis. I only mention this by way of explaining why I am up at some crazy hour blogging about Parish Pump issues. PP it may be but there is a valuable lesson in here somewhere for our local representatives. Above, you will see two dedicated public servants, Councillor Clive James (Kenfig Hill and Pyle Ward) and Coun Reg Jenkins (Pontycymmer). The two gents who are both extremely well respected hard working Labour Councillors in their districts decided to "Do Something Funny For Money" in aid of Comic Relief and the Children of Chernobyl Fund.

They decided to dye their heads and facial head RED. With the kind assistance of Anthony and Lea of Studio A Kenfig Hill, they set about this feat, leaving me in charge of logistics. Unfortunately I missed the art lesson in school about colour mixing....
White and Red makes......
Anthony and Lea did their very best to rectify the pink but to no avail.
My apologies to all those who appeared before the licensing committee of Bridgend County Borough Council of Tuesday only to be confronted by a presiding chairman looking like he was protesting for gay rights issues with his pink hair and moustache, but it was all in a very good cause.

Clive and Reg, You are saluted. It is only a shame that more of our local representatives cannot bring themselves to do more to help causes by using themselves and their position to do more than attend concerts and civic teas, which whilst important are not the be all and end all of "working for" the community.

More on this topic in the future.....................................

*****UPDATE*****

To donate to Clive and Reg, Contact Clives Wife Paula on 01656 741160

Cannabis growth explosion, is Wales going to pot?

2009-03-10T13:52:00.015Z

News today that the police are busting more and more dope growers makes me think that although the drug was recently reclassified back to a class B, and dealing it can now get you a substantial jail term it seems the war on drugs is not working.

I think more attention and government investment should be targeted at the social model for dealing with drug misuse and not the criminal model, which all too often ends up with the lowly hapless junkie getting a criminal record and being unable to leave their criminal life or enter mainstream employment again, whilst the greedy guy sitting in his "Mansion Crack Paid for" often seems to get away with misery peddling for years.

A generation of people around and about my age (Thatcher's Children) are just not good choice makers. I see this with people my age and many of my peers from school unable to hold down jobs, relationships, or sometimes unable to hold a conversation for very long.

The 'Me Me Me' generation which the Tories gave birth to have given birth to their own little 'me me me' babies, who have grown into some of the poorest personal decision makers you could imagine, who sometimes seem to find it easier to decide to engage in drugs and crime "Just for sumfin to do like". There is no self respect in these people, no ambition for themselves, no hope to contribute anything to the area, nation or world the live in. The help is out there for them now, but being backward decision makers they don't seem to realise they can choose the assistance on offer.

I blame the doublespeak "Just say No" campaign of the 1980's to start with. This intense and expensive waste of time spread through the western world carried even further by churches and right wing purists who could not see the long term damage that this short term soundbite was going to lead to.

The biggest problem with "Just say No" and the painting all drugs as an instant pathway to death was that an entire generation who had been fed this line reached the age when they could experiment with substances, chose to and.......... did not die. This then of course rendered all of the messages they had been fed by the establishment as worse than useless, downright deceitful.

The reason people take drugs is not that much of a mystery, and is the same simple reason why people do most things. ***They enjoy it!***.

There are Drugs agencies in this country which understand this and work to reduce harm to users by working with the user to identify and solve the problem which has lead them to need to misuse drugs. Lets not forget that Drug Misuse is rarely the primary problem, but usually a symptom of a much deeper angst. Until we target these drugs agencies with cash and get the others with a criminal model to wake up and smell the herbs, we are going to see more and more home grown drugs cropping up here in Wales.

Good on the Police for taking the issue so seriously, but as long as the demand is increasing, so will the supply.

On Good Morning Wales this morning a woman who was a Landlady of a property being rented by dope growers was interviewed by Ryun Ap Iorwerth and said that the culprits seemed very nice when they rented her house from her and ended up costing her over 4 grand in electric bills and other costs. A very simple solution to this would be to just take a picture of new people renting properties from you. If they are innocent they wouldn't mind, and if they are nefarious then they will think twice before turning green fingered in your property.

An expert in the dope field, Howard Marks lives in the same Village as me and I sometimes see him up the video shop and generally around and about. I approached him once and told him how much I enjoyed how he had written his first book, Mr Nice. He was extremely polite and receptive, but does not seem dreadfully well and is not really a good advertisement for long term drug use.

It would be a very brave move by Government and Mr Marks as they are no fans of each other but maybe, just maybe they could be convinced to work together to put some sort of message out there informing people that they should learn to make better choices for themselves when it comes to drugs, including the legal ones which kill more people each year than all illegal drugs put together IE; Booze, Tobacco and fatty foods.

In my own personal view, a new way of thinking about Drugs, an honest approach needs to be adopted in this country. Every day that we continue to deal with it the way we are (as a people), more and more souls are being lost in the undergrowth and it is going to be difficult to ever get them back.

Mandelson's "Facial" a disgcrace on protesters everywhere.

2009-03-07T18:52:00.005Z

I have followed with interest the story of the nutty woman who decided to assault Lord Mandelson with some green liquid last Friday. On The Andrew Marr show this morning a resilient Business Secretary said he did not want to go back to the days when as Northern Ireland Secretary he was followed everywhere by a heavy security detail.

Quite right too. We do not live in a police state, despite what the Liberal Democrats and Tories espouse and this pathetic protester proved just that.

He may have his detractors, but Peter Mandleson has always been one of my top four favorite politicians and when I met him during his recent visit to Bridgend Ford, I was struck by how freely accessible he made himself to everyone during the tour.

The people protesting about the runway and protesters in general cannot run away with this self righteous notion that the rule of law does not apply to them because their cause is so great.

In Wales we have an Assembly which is far more open than Westminister and because of devolution it is far more likely that Welsh citizens will be able to get to see a Welsh Minister to discuss issues than if you lived in England and wanted to see an English Minister.

This is great and a fantastic accolade for the the Welsh Assembly Government, and in general is valued by the people of Wales, who treat the open democracy we all enjoy with respect.

I am glad this ridiculous crypto terrorist woman has now been arrested and I sincerely hope that the law deals with her appropriately. I am all for demonstration and action groups but this sort of mindless and potentially vicious attack simply makes politicians wary of the public and will lead to more distance between us and our elected representatives.

Shame on Plane Stupid Campaigners.

Smokers squeezed again.... Good.

2009-03-06T09:32:00.007Z

I read with interest this at the BBC website. It says that a Night club in Bangor is charging smokers who go outside the venue a fee to come back in.

What a brilliant idea! At the moment the club is just charging 50p, but if this idea was to be rolled out to every club, pub and venue across Wales, with £1 being levied to those who feel the need to go outside to smoke then firstly it would probably make even the most hardened toker smoke less during their evening out and secondly the pub could choose to keep a portion of the cash and or donate part to local good causes.

As a reformed smoker I know how evil a drug nicotine is and how indescribably difficult a task it can be to quit. It often takes loads of attempts, but never be afraid to try again, if you really want to quit forever your time will come. Nicotine can be a delusional affair, with your body's' cravings actually convincing your thoughts to lie to you.

The health benefits of quitting are well known, as well as the financial ones. The emotional factors are rarely mentioned, such as the feeling of freedom, self control and inner strength which can combine to be quite a powerful drug.

Why not suggest the Fagger's Levy to your local Landlord. They could coincide it with No Smoking day, which is taking place across the country next Wed 11th.

Any good tips to help other people to make the jump to freedom welcomed in the comment box.

"Nazi" Uniform Councillor in U turn

2009-03-05T08:36:00.005Z

The Councillor at the centre of the Nazi uniform row in Bridgend has caved into pressure and at last issued an apology. In the area's local Paper, The Glamorgan Gazzette, Mr Aspey today says

"I would like all readers to know that it was never my intention to cause upset and would like to apologise if any offense has been taken"

He also mentions in the letter that he intended to portray General Von Klinkerhoffen from the TV show 'Allo 'Allo. Which flies in the face of senior Lib Dem Peter Black who yesterday tried to claim that Mr Aspey was not wearing a Nazi uniform at all. It seems that we were not having Nazi hallucinations after all.

Well done for apologising Coun Aspey (7 days on), lets hope a line can be drawn under this whole sorry episode.

Nasty Lib Dems "Nazi" silence.

2009-03-03T20:15:00.020Z

Bridgend deserves an apology from the Lib Dems for their appalling and reprehensible silence over one of their councillors making light of the misery, torture and millions of deaths inflicted by Hitler's regime, choosing to spend time posing for photo's dressed as a grinning Nazi officer.

The Local Party's Chair Mike Clarke has reportedly said “We take any allegations of impropriety very seriously and the local party will be looking in greater detail at the situation and coming to a decision on Mr Aspey’s future within the Welsh Liberal Democrats."

Well this is simply not good enough. Mr Aspey was clearly very proud of the picture as he took the time to post it on the Internet, alongside a string of sickening comments making jokes about Mass murderer Harold Shipman and vile rapist and murderer Fred West.

Acording to The Glamorgan Gazette Mr Aspey was brazenly an online member of two groups which make fun of the killers victims -"The first, “Fred West Was A Good Builder”, says: “Great builder, bit of a drinker, he often told me he could murder some Tenants”, while the second is called “Harold Shipman – Join My New Surgery” where one user jokes: “It’s a great surgery, free jabs for the over 65's"

The evidence and poor taste is clear for all to see and while the Bridgend Lib Dems dither and look for excuses they must issue an interim apology. What makes the whole shocking episode worse is Sean Aspey's stomach churning arrogance to the situation and offense he has caused. With no hint of any remorse whatsoever, he proclaims he was “just having a laugh”. The sick councillor then goes on to say; “I have rather a great sense of humour.“I tend to see things in a funny light.”

I am struggling to find the funny side of mass genocide, torture, the gas chambers or any of the other unimaginable horrors which were carried out by people dressed in Mr Aspey's uniform.

The front page of the Bridgend Lib Dems website Says; "We seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity." Right we are then. Try telling that to those that lost their lives, entire communities and family at the hands of Nazi soldiers dressed in the same uniform which Mr Aspey finds so amusing.

As a Community Councillor myself, I can tell you that the Code of Conduct which binds us to hold our position of office with respect to all including the Jewish community and older people who suffered losses during the war which Mr Apsey seems to enjoy mocking is crystal clear and Mr Aspey must resign.

As for the Bridgend Liberal Democrats leading figures, your apparent total lack of empathy towards the offended and your cowardly silence is abhorrent and until you expel Aspey or at least apologise to Bridgend County residents you should all hang your heads in shame.

Extra Extra read all about.... What?

2009-03-02T23:35:00.008Z

It is a shame to see Welsh Ramblings post asking for people to "Boycott the Evening Post."

Firstly because I think that if Spencer Feeney was in reality 'Anti-Welsh' then he would probably leave Wales and work for a higher paying English paper and secondly and more importantly because just as Ramblings was posting it I was in the middle of writing a post about the critical importance in Wales of us all supporting (and buying) our local newspapers!

In Bridgend we are very lucky to have the extremely well respected Glamorgan Gazette, which is a newspaper of over one hundred years heritage which gives local people the inside knowledge on all the exclusive local stories every week, week in week out without fail. Other areas are not so lucky.

I had lunch today with one of my favorite political reporters which set me thinking about the future of the media in Wales, online, broadcast and print mediums.

I will give it some more thought and post on this once Lenin Cymru's "Spencer" steam has turned to water. In the meantime, consider where local news would be without local reporters on the ground to feed into the machine? How does your local rag do? are you happy with your weekly paper? Please do let us know how you feel about your local paper.

BNP not welcome, thanks.

2009-03-02T01:01:00.005Z

The BNP have been leafleting in Bridgend. They held a massive rally in which around 12 BNP members from around the country flooded into Bridgend County to object to a new footbridge which crosses the town's river.

If you were lucky enough to be given a BNP leaflet in Bridgend on Saturday morning please email me at cllrlukeellis@gmail.com.

Maybe they were inspired by this weeks Glamorgan Gazette Exclusive front page revelation..... here

Missing post.

2009-03-01T23:40:00.000Z

I have removed the post which appeared here for personal reasons.

Going Live

2009-03-01T14:03:00.000Z

I have long been asked if I run a blog. I don't believe in anonymous blogging but wish good luck to those who do. I have decided to start this blog, here in my own name to publish my own thoughts and opinions on different matters.

Sometimes I will post about issues affecting my district of Kenfig Hill and Pyle, where I am honoured to be Vice Chair of Pyle Community Council.

Sometimes I will post about my feelings on political issues of the day.

Sometimes I will write about things which affect Bridgend, Wales and the UK.

Sometimes I will write purely random stuff about none of the above.

Sometimes I will post pictures which may be of interest to others.

Sometimes I will post nothing, as there can be nothing worse than blogging for the sake of blogging. Anyhow, feel free to check in now and then and join the debate in the comment boxes.

I am new to this so any guidance from hardened bloggers will be more than welcome.

You can email me at cllrlukeellis@gmail.com. Also suggestions for future postings will be welcomed at this address too!

All the best,

Luke Ellis.