politics
Anti-metropolitanism, 1759
In Volume I, Chapter XVIII of Laurence Sterne’s great novel, Tristram Shandy’s mother, as soon as she finds out she’s expecting him, absolutely insists that, when the time comes to give birth, she will be attended by no one but the old midwife who lives in the neighbourhood of Shandy Hall – even though within […]
Afon ar ei gwely angau
Y peth mwyaf trist am ein taith gerdded llynedd ar hyd Llwybr Afon Gwy, o Gas-gwent i Bumlumon, oedd Afon Gwy. Hynny yw, cyflwr amgylcheddol Afon Gwy. Y gwir blaen – gwir na allai neb ei wadu erbyn heddiw – yw bod yr afon yn prysur farw. Roedd yr arwyddion yn amlwg, hyd yn oed […]
Richard Sharp: a model man of power
There’s been a lot of talk lately about advances in AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning), based on the storing and analysis of vast reservoirs of online words (the so-called ‘large language model’). The publication of ChatGPT, which can respond in a conversational and explanatory way to natural language queries, has set teeth on […]
Ar ddiymadferthwch
Dros y misoedd diwethaf mae rhyw ofid amhendant wedi ymdreiddio i’m meddwl. Nid gofid personol, ond rhywbeth mwy cyffredinol, fel rhyw niwl trwchus sy wedi setlo fel melltith ar y wlad a’r byd, ac sy’n peidio â chael ei symud gan y gwyntoedd di-baid. Mater anodd oedd hoelio’r gofid hwn mewn geiriau – nes imi sylweddoli […]
Against sport
My title will offend, I know. Almost as much as would a blog of 1800, if one existed, that carried the title ‘Against religion’. But bear with me, even if sport is your religion. I want to argue, why, contrary to a virtually unquestioned consensus, I think the current fetishisation of competitive sport is a […]
Tlodi, nawr a ddoe
Beth yw tlodi? Am flynyddoedd bellach fe’i diffinnir yn y wlad hon fel ‘tlodi cymharol’. Hynny yw, dych chi’n dlawd os ydych chi’n derbyn incwm sy’n 60% yn is nag incwm cyfartal pobl eich cymuned. Dyw hi ddim yn syndod clywed fod tlodi o’r math hwn yn cynyddu ers blynyddoedd, wrth i anghyfartaledd godi, a […]
Conscience wakes?
Of the many analogies used to make sense of Boris Johnson’s inglorious reign, the circus is probably the commonest. No ordinary circus, of course, but one where witless acrobats fall headlong from their tightropes, lions run amok and maul defenceless children, the ringmaster sulks in his tent, surrounded by cans of lager and lines of […]
Swansea and Chile: exploitation, sanctuary, fulfilment
The Glynn Vivian has a show of work from its collection on the theme ‘art and industry’. It’s full of wonderful and thought-provoking things: well-known paintings as well as much less familiar items on paper and in other media. A whole wall is taken up with Josef Herman’s massive ‘Miners’ oil painting of 1951, surely […]
Dear Rowan, dear Laura
What sort of country do we want Wales to be in future? Rowan Williams and Laura McAllister have recently invited us to answer that question. They are the joint chairs of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, a group set up in 2021 by the Welsh Government to come up with options […]
A short letter to Priti Patel
Dear Priti Patel I’m writing to you with a simple request: to search your conscience. Just to avoid doubt, I don’t mean your political calculus. You don’t need any encouragement to exercise that. No, I mean your personal moral conscience. As the UK Home Secretary and a senior member of the UK government you’re responsible […]
