I recently re-read Patrick Hannan’s ‘Wales Off Message’. Published in 2000 the events and misadventures in Welsh politics it recounts are all familiar to me although he always managed to find a new angle from which to view those events or a undiscovered nugget of fascination, such as Rhodri Morgan’s unprecedented tidying of his sock … More Patrick Hannan, ‘Wales Off Message’
Over at my ITV Wales blog - are talks on a Calman Cymru commission stalled or just relaxed?
Two new posts over on my politics blog. One on an interesting post-referendum party planned for next Friday. The other is a snippet about Rhodri Morgan’s memoirs. Meanwhile you can watch this week’s Sharp End here. It’s a referendum special - a debate between Rhodri Morgan for the Yes side and Rachel Banner from the … More Political snippets.
The last Dragon’s Eye before Easter and before the General Election is now on the iplayer here. What can you expect? I’ve been trying to peer into the Budget small print to find out how much less the Welsh Assembly can expect to get in the coming years. As far as I can tell (and … More Dragon’s Eye
Friday evening and the first chance I’ve had to think about blogging links to the programmes. It has been quite a week and I blame my tiredness for being class dunce in Italian this morning. So here’s the iplayer link for Dragon’s Eye. What you get is an in-depth look at what sort of First … More Friday evening catch-up
Well we know now - as the Archbishop of Cardiff suggested to me last week - that the Pope won’t be visiting Wales which means he won’t be going to Porthcawl (not that anyone was expecting him to do so.) I have been to Porthcawl today though for this week’s Dragon’s Eye filming. We were … More The Pope and Porthcawl
Paul Flynn’s autobiography the Unusual Suspect has already generated headlines and controversy and even an Early Day Motion. All good publicity I’m sure, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that it is, as you’d expect, a good read. And away from the newsy bits, there are plenty of interesting titbits. For instance, I didn’t … More The Unusual Suspect
I’ve made a series of five films for Dragon’s Eye previewing the General Election. The first is an introduction and then I look at the chances of each of the four main parties and the likely battlegrounds in terms of constituencies and policies. BBC Wales online website has very handily put them all here.
I’ve just returned from interviewing Peter Smith. As the Archbishop of Cardiff, he’s the highest ranking Catholic clergyman in Wales and is always good for a chat and a gossip as well as a thoughtful interview. I asked him if Pope Benedict was likely to take up Carwyn Jones’ invitation to come to Wales. ‘Doubtful’, … More Dragon’s Eye Part 2
It was my colleague Owain Clarke who named Thursdays “Dragon Day” because we pack a lot of work into a long day which culminates in the live broadcast of Dragon’s Eye at 7pm. My day starts early and I’m in the office by 7.30am, eating my muesli, drinking tea, checking emails, flicking through the papers, finalising … More Dragon Day part 1
Adrian Masters 