Reshaping

The Welsh counties has successfully resisted new attempts by the Senedd to secure council mergers and now there is a move afoot to allow voting at an earlier age, although many teenagers fear that they do not know sufficient about political issues and would prefer not to have such a responsibility.

Despite this, the Electoral Reform Society has welcomed the Assembly’s announcement of an independent panel to examine the structure in Wales and see this move as a vital step forward for Welsh democracy and towards paving the way for a stronger Senedd.

With votes at 16 having secured cross-party consensus in Wales - following its success in Scotland - it’s positive that this team of experts will look at how to deliver on extending the franchise.

This change has the potential to transform how our young people engage with Welsh democracy, particularly if delivered alongside effective citizenship education in our schools and colleges.

Making a comment, Dr. Owain ap Gareth, campaigns and research officer for ERS Cymru, said: “Over the next few years, issues such as Brexit will have significant impact on Wales, so the Assembly needs to have the sufficient numbers to deal with the challenges that will come along with this.

“It would appear to be clear that the current arrangements of the Assembly cannot respond to the demands that will be placed upon it, so it’s right that this is being looked at.

“Our report ‘Reshaping the Senedd’ has already looked at the principles that should underpin this process, and we believe that more Assembly Members under a good and fair electoral system is fundamental in ensuring we have a democracy fit for the people of Wales at such an important time - now is the time to boost both the capacity and calibre of the National Assembly for Wales at this crucial constitutional moment.

“Finally, while we are fully supportive of this announcement, there is a need to bring the public along too in these discussions and engage with voters themselves on these key issues.”

Welsh romance

With Valentine’s Day coming up next week, it is well to remember that Wales is a land filled with romanticism, and the ancient custom of making and giving love spoons was perhaps the most romantic custom of all.

Lovespoons were associated with courtship, when it was traditional for young lovers to fashion intricately carved wooden spoons and present them to their sweethearts.

The more complex the design the more difficult to carve, the more the spoon symbolised the carver’s passion and his willingness to labour for the young lady it was to be given to.

Because more than one beaux may have competed for the same local beauty, it was often important to identify the carver of the spoon. This was done using symbols, which related to the makers personal interest or his way of life - a horse for the horse fancier, a wheel for a traveller, a ship for a sailor, etc.

Also, traditionally, wooden spoons were the most important eating implement in the working man’s home. This was because cawl was the basic diet of the country folk and special cabinets and racks were made on which the spoons were kept.

The size of the bowl, the length of the handle, the weight and balance - in fact, the whole character of the spoon altered from district to district and spoons could be identified with their places of origin.

Young lovers began using the spoon as a vehicle on which to demonstrate their ardour and ambitions to provide a better life for the lady of their choice. Quite obviously not all the would-be suitors were capable of making spoons, they often employed the services of a more skilled friend or a local expert to help. This is why duplicates are to be found of spoons originally believed to be unique.

By today, the art of lovespoons has developed beyond all recognition. The best artistry and carvings has virtually made the lovespoon useless and only decorative. Now, lovespoons are much sought-after collectors pieces. The ever-growing demand by tourists has developed a trade of badly made mass produced facsimiles of the original concept.

If buyers are discerning, carvers can still be found who will make love spoons with the same feelings and love for the work, which their counterparts of yesteryear understood.

THE LOVESPOON

In days gone by, a lad too shy

To tell his love too soon

Would by this sign say, Please be mine:

He’d give his girl a spoon.

With tender heart he’d carve each part,

The handle, stem and bowl.

With a deft knife he’d claim a wife

And win her loving soul.

Each symbol clear would tell his dear

The hopes his mind delighted;

The twisted stem meant both of them

Would always be united.

The Wheel vowed work, he would not shirk

To build a cosy nest,

Of luck the crescent Horseshoe spoke,

The Key said Home is best.

The Soul, the Heart declared the part

That gladly he’d forgo,

Each little Ball would tell her all

Their children in a row.

(by Harry Webb).

If my body was a car!

From his experience, a Canadian friend poses the question - scary how true it is!

If my body was a car, he says, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model. I’ve got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull... but that’s not the worst of it.

My headlights are out of focus and it’s especially hard to see things up close.

My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather.

My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins.

It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed and my fuel rate burns inefficiently, but here’s the worst of it: Almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter, either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires!

The full true story

Each evening, bird lover Tom Rowe stood in his backyard in Devon, hooting like an owl and, one night, an owl called back to him.

For a year, the man and his feathered friend hooted back and forth. Rowe even kept a log of the ‘conversation.’

Just as Rowe thought he was on the verge of a breakthrough in inter-species communication, his wife had a chat with next door neighbour, Nancy Hollis.

“My husband spends his nights ... calling out to owls,” laughed Mrs. Rowe.

“That’s odd,’ Mrs. Hollis replied. “So does my John.”

Then it dawned on them!

Now you know

A young boy enters a US barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer: “This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.”

The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks.

“Which do you want, son?”

The boy takes the quarters and leaves. “What did I tell you?” said the barber. “That kid never learns!”

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice-cream parlour.

“Hey son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?”

The boy licked his cone and replied, “Because the day I take the dollar, the game is over!”