Corvid 19 UK Response

To be clear, this video isn't mine, its by Footman 447 on YouTube who recently went viral (you have probably seen it already). Its excellent and the government should consider putting it out as a television advert immediately.

Enduring Spirit

Im not the biggest fan of Olympic games, no not even the Queen arrived via parachute with James Bond in London (it was cool though), so I will more than likely miss the entire thing but thanks to Pathe this is the piece of historic film that stays with me, as it does all surely, as evidence of the all conquering spirit of man that reaches beyond athletics.

Hall of Heroes

We live in a world where celebrity is king, where success is judged by the amount of followers you have on social media. Actors, singers, athletes alike, everyone wants a piece of their of their favourite hero. But no matter how much records you sell, Oscar winning films you make, classic novels you write, medals you win there will always be a quiet hero from WW2 who outshines them all like .

Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown is one such man. He sadly passed away recently after reaching the grand age 97 (as it should be, heroes should live long). Captain Brown has an achievement that truly can be called awesome.
2,407 deck landings at sea and 2,721 catapult launches. He flew every major combat aircraft of WW2 including gliders, fighters, bombers, airliners, amphibians, flying boats and helicopters,. nd his contribution to aviation research covered transonic flight, assessment of German jets and rocket aircraft, rotary wing flight, and the first carrier decklanding of a jet aircraft.

Now if that doesn't impress you, nothing will.

As Dead As Angels

I Am No Saint But....

Before I get to the rainbow of the rain, this is one post where the header bounced around my head like a kitten on amphetamine. Usually I can take the 'pulse' of a situation and the headline will follow like a vampire's thrall, but here I landed a few that I liked. They can be so important and yet so throwaway and its one occasion I didn't want anything not made perfectly clear. So in the spirit of on the hoof blogging, I decided on two leave it stand.

I always admit that I am no angel. Not because I want to show that im prepared to stick the first nail into my crucifixion but because I like how the more I say it, the more I believe (or hope) it will sink in for those readers who might be tempted into thinking im preachy and pure hearted and thus deserving of praise. No. I can be as cruel as fish, am largely solitary and have no need of anything like that. Here's it may get hazy - I am no consciously thinking what I believe so have no desire for applause. I just am, me. I think good things, I think bad. That is indeed that. Bullet stop.
While I admit my views can be more barbed wire than cotton, one thing im thankful for is that that I treat everyone as equal (though sometimes they get a head start as im not perfect). Black, white, blue, fat, thin, killer, saint, rich, poor, wise. Bring them all on, petty 'faces' all to which I pay no heed, they don't matter. But the rest? Ah now the rest is up to you. Or even YOU.
I like it best this way, my way. A lifetime of razors and sunshine, all stacked up to shape the spirit of my machine.
Now like I say, im no saint but the rest of the world seems to think it is (which is probably why ive walked this earth largely solitary watching events from afar like a sniper watching war through a lens and caring little so the puzzle flees from me so far).
Even now while large parts of the real world are dying from hunger or being shot to bits from the words of holy books, the lucky side of the world (first world problems and all that) is at war with itself over their circle jerk Oscar award tosh (and again, first world problems huh?)
And jerking is right, they are not talking at all, merely w**king. Pulling themselves off over how clever and wise they all love to be. (Kept a straight face there, almost).

Woe is a world fuelled by such petty bullsh!t nonsense. One of the things a new friend notices about devil old me, is my rich diversity of friends and ex lovers. Onward they march from all corners of the map of life and morality. Like Buddah himself (but much less cool) I care not for sights and sounds. Like I keep saying, its what comes after that matters to me. And its what sane men throughout the ages have believed and why I feel dull here typing it out. The majority ought to get this by now but its apparent they don't still.

If you really must have awards for things, judge the work by the workers and if say the blue workers haven't done a decent shift one time, vote for another who has. Okay this years Oscars might be heavy on the white side but I would hope (for all my keen wisdom im still severely naïve) that its because they did the best movies this year? Could be that next year it swings opposite and those actors work will be recognised.
Please tell me this is how it works?

Quit all this petty bull crap. Like my 'friend' from GTA IV said once

You can't shake no hands when ye fist be clenched

― Little Jacob

Wales Win World Cup Shocker!

I had all these fancy titles ringing around my head but in the end I chose a cheap headline grabber. Please forgive me and read on, you know I love thee really.
Sport doesn't have the same magic for me as it seems to for everyone else. Even in 2012 when everyone had Olympic mania and the Queen impressed the planet by arriving at the Olympic stadium via parachute with James Bond, sport barely registered in my dusty old mind. Winning trophies? The pulse of a cheering crowd as victory calls? I don't 'get it', and never have.
I remember as a boy being taken to Wrexham to see Wales play Russia in football and all I remember was that I was cold, bored and shocked that so many grown ups would willingly choose to waste their time with such a misery. So much dreary, dreary.
But that was football. Rugby was a different beast. Being Welsh and having lived all my life in west Wales, how could it not be? Everyone loved rugby in my sleepy corner of the world. The stunning defeat of New Zealand at Stradey Park in 1972 when the pubs ran dry (true story) after Llanelli beat them 9 - 3 was still fresh and though only a year old in 1972 the cheer carried on for many a year (even today).
I love rugby. I went to Strade comprehensive which was across the road from Stradey Park, our teachers would regularly take a class over to see the bigger games. Local legends Ray Gravelle and Phil Bennet came to the school, rugby was religion.
A force to channel a surge of passion and excitement, and bring some sunshine to a soon to be winters soul. Cawl for the spirit if you like.
So its pretty depressing to wake up every morning (2015 rugby world cup has kicked off) to hear of yet another injury to the Welsh squad. Do the rugby gods not want a Welsh win? Or are they planning a spectacular run of victories? Who can tell?
Life has a funny (and sometimes tragic) way of showing us what is and isn't important and for me I only need think back a week when the news was full of pictures of that poor child washed up on a beach dead. Real life is heavy and though the soul can withstand ferocious heartbreak when called upon, it was not made for such unbearable weight.
Naturally I want Wales, Cymru fach, to win and feed the dragon but ultimately its not important. Its not in the slightest bit important when we see others going through so much hurt.

Oh and remember! I am not saying this with defeat in mind and trying to pass it off as "there are other more important things to worry about" (here you can picture me winking knowingly). I don't play that game, as honest as the day is sharp, I can take both sweet and sour in equal measure and face them naked in my honesty.

Cheer Up, England

So England have limped from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with more whimper than bang but cheer up! At least England's fans have the new Premiership season to look forward to, where they can enjoy watching overseas players parading the skills and "banging in" those all important goals. Fans will also have the pleasure of seeing less deserving but equally overpaid English players plod around the pitch, desperately trying to emulate Johnny Foreigner (usually without much success). Cool huh?

Oh and Wayne Rooney apologises to fans? Yes well, I can understand that. Its like me apologising for losing a round of golf to Tiger Woods.

Welshman and the Great Escape

Brave: Great Escape

We have all seen the movie, The Great Escape, and cheered on Steve McQueen's character Hilts as he attempts to sail over barbed wire on a motorbike at the end (though that bit was Hollywood fiction). Certainly I was not alone in feeling a wave of claustrophobia wash over me during the tunnel scenes, as these courageous prisoners of war tunnelled their way to freedom? And who could forget the Gestapo gunning down 50 of the escapees after being told to get out of the truck to "stretch their legs" while on their way back to camp (or so they thought)?
The Great Escape has many memorable scenes and though not all based on fact, helped make it a classic. (It is easily one of Mr Jakes' favourite films). Of course the main story IS very much true and took place 70 years ago on this very day. Of those who broke out, only three reached safety, 73 were recaptured, and 50 shot. Such heroic souls! No finer example of fire in the human spirit, and may they all rest in peace.
In the photograph above, the reader can see Cyncoed~born Brian Evans (left) a Welshman who was part of this historic escape. Sadly Mr Evans was one of those men murdered by Gestapo but it fills me with pride that one of my countrymen is a figure in this glorious tapestry.

Nationalities of the 50 executed prisoners

21 British
6 Canadian
6 Polish
5 Australian
3 South African
2 New Zealanders
2 Norwegian
1 Belgian
1 Czechoslovak
1 Frenchman
1 Greek
1 Lithuanian

In Care of a Mortal Thread

Hedd, Perfaith Hedd

This could be an extension to an earlier post about the frailness of life, and however much a heavy heart that is behind the force that wills me to write it, write I must.
Such dreadful news last week when we heard of the mini bus crash on the M62 near Pontefract which killed one girl and seriously injured a dozen others (indeed the bride to be may never walk again.) On their merry way to celebrate a hen party, about as far from the thoughts of death as you could ever hope to be, and in an instant their world is cruelly shattered forever. A sobering jerk back into dreadful reality.
What a foul blow! How mercilessly each and every one of us are shadowed by death; a fragile thread which anchors us to life but at any second could end with less force than a sparrows heartbeat. One breeze less than the flicker of a flame. Such gentle turbulence that carries mortals onward through collared mists, on roads, on seas and valleys of wild woods.
This should serve as a reminder that however bad life may seem, the clockwork of the heart must continue or else be doomed to an even earlier grave, where the cancer of misery cuts down human roots without pity or care. Death is not a solves solver of problems, it simply hides them better while sadness cuts to the quick.
Think on these tragic incidents when the smile fades.

RIP Bethany Jones, may the softest lullabies sing you to your rest.

Kongle Flux

Router is dead at the moment for some techie reason (that is sadly beyond my skills) so im currently and most definately OFFLINE. Bugger. Also its that most dreaded of days; a sober sunday. Double bugger. Barman! I will have a glass of cyanide and a rope, and im counting on you to kick the chair from under me. Laughs Out Loud. Actually im not THAT bad (yet) but being without the interweb beast is certainly annoying. And its.....different. Like a made up word that sounds familiar but is totally nonsense. Let me think. Kongle Flux. Yes, thats it! Being offline is truly Kongle Flux.
Yes, yes im well aware we coped before the advent of WWW and its furry little dotcoms but now that its here, life when its not here seems emptier. And I know that sounds awfully tragic in a basement dweller type way but its true! Im not talking about updating Facebook statuses or Tweeting sports scores here either, I mean the convenience of researching dates and facts, or gathering intel for journeys such as the best routes, road closures, etc. Without the webby, I am at the mercy of radio and that horrible television when local news comes on. I feel cut off. Infertile even. Like a Buddhist without his chants. Or Barry John without his kicking togs.

*Fastforward 9 hours and its a pleasure to be back!

World Poetry Day

Its World Poetry Day today so thought I would share a couple of my pieces with you. Mwynhewch! Enjoy!


Dim Haul Dros Gleision (No Sun Over Gleision)

There was no sun that day
when four miners lights went out for good;
the cave mouth stretched into an endless hymn
as hawks and kinder birds carved the sky
to guide spirits to their rest.
Heroes of an unforgiving underworld,
the earthly tomb,
kingdom of the black.
While I and all of Wales tipped hands to God
four blinded roots were pulled
and the red dragon's one lifted claw
was raised a little higher in honour of the men.
Gartref bois! Home!
From the eyeless santuary of the pit
to the Valleys call,
our father's land
where you will have the symphony of a nation's hearts
to sing you to your rest,

A bydd yr haul ddim farw nawr...
(and the sun won't die now)

© Steven Francis poems 2011

In loving memory of Phillip Hill, Charles Breslin, David Powell and Garry Jenkins, rest in peace my Welsh brothers. Hedd Perfaith Hedd.

**** The Furnace Fields ****

As I close my eyes at troubled times
I am welcomed back to the Furnace fields,
that holy land
where wood fell over itself to be wood
and wild was the beauty like fires over California.
Furnace fields!, live long inside my dreadlocked mind,
grow snakes and newts in crispy ferns
to guard against the wretched clock.
Offer me a pond so that I may sink into oblivion,
flushing tyres and telephones from a plastic bowel;
bury me oh mighty field
let my siren be quiet within those fishy roots...

@ Steven Francis poems 2011

Inspired by the old Furnace fields in Burry Port

Nevermind the Ifs, Drink the Water

This is going to annoy some religious folk but it needs saying and I care little for any offence caused because in my eyes it is you who are being offensive. On the subject of gay marriage you can all pack your bags and leave on the following train out of civilisation. Go back to worshipping sticks and begetting each others oxen because your opinion is neither wanted or needed and it was wonderful to hear the President of the United States on Wednesday publicly support it (making him the first President in history to do so). Good for you Mr Obama!
I dont understand why religion and God are brought into the gay marriage debate. There is a huge chance that it really is to dust we return after death, and that holy books merely mans fairytales and hope in what becomes of our immortal souls. A hope born of
fear of dying. God may actually not be God.
Why deny yourself a love you know to be 100% true out of fear of the wrath of a God who may or may not exist? And even if this Supreme Being does exist, we cannot truly know His mind. He could be in favour of gay marriage and its just those Christians who are againt it putting words into his mouth for their own ends/beliefs. Its all IFS and BUTS, supposition and arguments. all against a backdrop of certainty (as far as the gay couple is concerned). Knowing that you are content within yourself is all that should matter, do not sacrifice it for the the maybes in this world. That path leads to turmoil, and the wise will be be true to themselves before anything else.
Why is the marriage between two men or women such a big deal anyway? This world is slowly turning to a swab of cotton soaked with blood and tears, and we worry about who is marrying who? A perfect nonsense! Which rather proves why Mankind took so long to evolve and attain enlightenment (which we still haven't fully grasped as this silly debate shows). Three hundred years ago we were putting young women on bonfires because a skin blemish such as a mole on her neck marked her out as a witch. We dont do that anymore. One hundred and fifty years ago we thought it was okay to force children up chimneys in order to clean them. We don't do that anymore. And not so long ago, we thought slavery to be acceptable. We don't anymore.
You can clearly see where im going and whether one is in favour of same sex couples marrying or not, pretty soon it won't matter because they WILL be afforded the same equality and rights that straight couples enjoy. The doubters and those inflicted with narrow minds can shout and stamp their feet, throw their petty arguments and spite around all they want, but they will (and soon) be swept aside by the voice of common reason from their fellow man. (And if they were to further carry on the bitterness, be utterly lost and swallowed by their own hate). Reason being that marriage is marriage is MARRIAGE, and the backward thinkers and pew sitters can be left alone to wallow in their uncivilised cesspits. And to think these fools call gays such names as 'abominations' and 'evil'. Cretins never cease to amaze (and amuse) me, and I only wonder if they don't think the same of disabled people and those with different skin colour. Afterall it wouldn't be such a giant leap to make.
Listen, the real abominations of this world are not those folks who are in same sex relationships. The real evil are not those who Love and care for each other. No, the truly rotten crew are those who seek to poison everything with pious rantings and those who would wish eternal damnation on others purely because they choose to live a different way. A pox on them all! they are so blinded by hatred they cannot recognise the poppycock they spout but the hour will come when they wake up from their mental slumber. I can only hope that they do it before the bitterness entirely consumes them because a soul fed hatred will be a soul in torment come the encore after the final curtain falls on their life.
Live, Love and be not tempted to judge others. Care not what the gods and idols think (or what you think they think) , and never be so sure that you know all truths from holy books. This life is vast and forever turning forward, moving onto newer pastures where we ought to remeber lessons learned from earlier mistakes in order to make today and tomorrow better than yesterday. .

Good End Be Swift

According to some Mayan forecast, 2012 will see the world ending. Planet earth will be no more. It will blow up, disappear into a worm hole, clash with a meteor or whatever happens to doomed planets at their endex. Perhaps God will pop us like a giant bubble wrap? Who knows but would you care? If we knew for certain that we would exist no more in 2012 how would you feel? Would you be afraid, running around in a blind panic or would you be relieved? Hell, everything ends sooner or later.
If it were not for the fact I have just become a father, I would be in the relieved camp. Now don't go presuming im depressed or anything because I can assure you I am not, but I do think the world has evolved about as far as it can go and it is time to give another species a try.


The future looks....peachy?

The funny thing about humans is we like to think we are all important, above everything and that we deserve to go on forever but the truth is we don't. No, we really don't. mother nature doesn't care about us, she was here way before we dragged our sorry asses from the primordial soup and will be around doing her thang well after we have killed ourselves off. And you know what? She won't even care, not in the slightest, she'll simply carry on, happy being mother nature.
So if 2012 really is then bring it on in all of its apocalyptic glory! Blwyddyn Newydd Da i chi gyd xxXxx

Apocalypse Disco

So some religious kooks somewhere in Noo Yawk believes the 'End Of The World' is coming today. They have been wandering around the streets, preaching to anyone who would listen (or rather anyone who couldn't get away quick enough from their loony ramblings). And this is another reason religion is dangerous in the wrong heads. It seems to attract people who have a very papery anchor to reality, folk who are liable to flip out at the singing of a hymn.
Look I have no doubt this planet will crash and burn, everything does however it will not happen today. Nothing will happen today apart from myself and a million others getting drunk and horny. Trust me on this, I myself dine at the Mad Table™ but even I won't get fooled by silly headline grabbing antics like this. Sure it a lttle excitement but we'll all be here next week.
There are going to be plenty of people looking like fools come sunday, they won't be embarrassed of course and neither will they slink away and admit that the Second Coming ain't coming any day soon. Oh no, these nutjobs have the skin (and brains) of the thickest leather and they will simply adjust the date again.


Like The Terminator, He'll Be Back. Maybe.

Ah the weakness of Man! Its pretty comical if you think about it. Most of us are petrified at the thought of getting old and dying, that in a strange way things like this excite us. In certain pockets of humanity there will be people whipping up an almost carnival like atmosphere because of the idea of the world ending, (watch that scene in Independance Day to get an idea, where the hippies are in near hysteria to greet the aliens).
The fear of death is overcome with the thought of meeting the End in one giant bang. Frightening to die alone, not so much if the rest of mankind is going with you. This is how I see it anyway, we're all cowards when it comes down to it and having a belief, any belief helps us cope with the unknown. And everyone facing that together, holding hands and singing hymns and metal balleds, well even better. Man is a herder anyway. Next time you are at a car park, look around and you'll see cars parked in bunches, seldom on their own.
Anyway if Jesus or aliens or werewolf lesbians from the planet Lusst do decide to pop by today/tonight, they are more than welcome to drop by my house and partake of strong alcoholic refreshments before taking us of to Paradise. And if this planet turns to dust, then its been ever so awesome knowing you dear readers and if you dont recognise me in the Afterlife, i'll be the tattooed love God with the biggest erm...halo. Cheery pip a cariad !