As the NHS turns 70, remember to keep fighting for it.

Today many people will be marching to celebrate Nye Bevans legacy that came into the world 70 years ago  on 5 July 1948, when he opened Park Hospital in Manchester at a time of rationing and shortages, when we were nearly bankrupt, a jewel  that the war generation left us with, a proud legacy, for us to all to continue to share. It offered for the first time a free healthcare system for all, and has since  played a vital role in caring for all aspects of our nations health. For the first-time doctors, nurses, opticians, dentists and pharmacists all worked under one organisation, free at the point of use, which has since  played a vital role in caring for all aspects of our nations health, that has been the envy of the world,  currently fiecely defended by people as their fundamental social right.
This right now in jeapordy at moment because the NHS is being transformed into a skeleton, for profit service, modelled on the US healthcare market,and as as a result of chronic underfunding, a massive expansion of the private sector into healthcare provision, and a demoralised, underpaid workforce have combined to put the NHS in grave danger and the result of  of the privatisation policies of successive  governments has put  it constantly under threat.
But today is the perfect opportunity today to appreciate the achievements of one of the nation’s most loved institutions, and acknowledge the vital role the service plays in our lives, and to recognise and thank the extraordinary NHS staff – the everyday heroes – who are there to guide, support and care for us, day in, day out. It wouldn’t be possible to run a 7-day NHS, caring for millions of people day-in-day-out without the hard work and dedication of its staff. Despite all the adversity that’s thrown at them: poor pay, bursary cuts, hospital parking fines and staff shortages to name a few; they continue to become stronger and relentlessly keep delivering fantastic healthcare to the nation .
The NHS  here in Wales employs close to 72,000 staff which makes it Wales’ biggest employer. I can never forget the compassion they gave to my dear departed, my dad, who himself served for 30 years. the staff always managing to keep their spirits high, never once showing any dereliction of care, dedicated, compassionate people under increased pressure, some of whom are resorting to food banks to get by. As the Tory's and their rotten hearts seek to dismantle it,  we should not forget Nye's words who said " It will last as long as their are folk with enough faith to fight for it."
We  cannot reach the day again where people make a profit out of our sickness. On its birthday we should also join the call for fair pay for all NHS staff . We  must not reach the day again where people make a profit out of our sickness . The NHS continues to be  a shining example of how a caring society can create good and safe care, making such a great contribution towards social and health equality, remember we paid for it, so it is owned by us, it is our precious commodity our national treasure that must suvive, we must do all that it takes, to tear the vultures hands from it. We must continue to keep fighting for it, put people before profit, allow it to keep providing free and universal world-class care far into the future.

 Tonight, some essential viewing, a film poem by Owen Sheers, with a great cast, including Michael Sheen

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0b7x2nt/the-nhs-to-provide-all-people

Wild Swimming (After Poppit beach/ Traeth Popit)

After much hibernation
I returned to a favourite place,
Submerged myself in its waters
Enjoyed a fine summers day,
After heaviness my body grew light.
before golden sunset, and full moon called,
found peace and calm to restore sanity
As my body moved in the ocean,
Arms outstretched, tasted sense of freedom,
On my back, body felt warm and tranquil
In  serenity, mind drifted in restful space,
As the world went silent for a while
Its weight no longer carried me,
In the distance the sound of laughter
Warm  healing air, released contentment,
Moving through patterns of light and shade
Thoughts felts at ease, as lapping waves soothed,
This tranquil place felt like magic
I feel I could have basked there forever,
Today thoughts keep on swimming
Feeling recharged, heart not currently sinking.

Stop arming Turkey! / Support the Cardiff arms fair defendants

On the 3rd of July, three activists, one who is a member of the Kurdish community in Wales and a British Kurdish Solidarity Network member, another BKSN member, and a member of the Anarchist Federation are facing charges of aggravated Trespass (" failing to leave land") for protesting at the Cardiff Arms Fair ( DPRTE) against weapon sales to the dictatorial Turkish state.
Prime minister Theresa May has long championed arms sales to Turkey, but by arming Turkey, the UK government and companies like BAE and Airbus are complicit in human rights abuses, and in the massacre of hundreds of people in Afrin. As reported recently in the Independent, Turkey have hired former ISIS fighters for the invasion of Afrin, War crime allegations against the Turkish military and their hired jihadist mercenaries include the mutilation of corpses of women fighters, the use of chemical gas, and the deliberate targetting of  civilians. There are regular reports of kidnapping, rape and torture, abduction, forced religious conversion, and the indiscriminate shooting of refugees.
British weapons bought at Cardiff arms fair are likely to be used not only to suppress the Kurdish struggle for autonomy in Turkey, but also against the US - backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) spearheading the fight against Islamic State in Syria. Turkey has used and will continue to use these weapons against the Kurds both within its borders and in Syria.
In Rojava and Northern Syria, people are organising themselves in networks of grassroots assemblies and co-operatives, using the model of Democratic Confederalism, which emphasises direct democracy, feminism and ecology, and a multi-ethnic society without discrimination based on religion, compare this to the Turkish Government, which has been repeatedly criticised by the European Court of Human Rights for the issues raised above, alongside enforced dissapearances and the mass imprisonment of journalists and politicians.
It is important to keep speaking out against the UK government's support for fascist regimes and their attacks on the people of Kurdistan.

https://www.facebook.com/events/591963254510191/

Westminster "betrayal" as ministers reject Swansea Bay tidal lagoon

In a  historical disgraceful shameful betrayal and crushing blow to the people of Wales, the UK Government has rejected plans for the world's first ' green energy ' tidal power scheme in the UK, saying that the Swansea Tidal Lagoon project in Swansea Bay would be too expensive. This follows their decision to give nuclear energy the green light and giving the Heathrow Expansion the go ahead, which will be a disaster to air pollution and climate change.
The project had been described as a "pathfinder" project, with plans for a further lagoon between Cardiff and Newport. The developers 'Tidal Lagoon Power' had wanted subsidies similar to nuclear power to build  the £1.3 billion scheme.Yet almost 18 months after the government had commissioned a review and called the lagoon a "no regrets policy the Business Secretary Greg Clark said it now "does does not demonstrate value for money" and Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns saying the scheme "just did not stack up."
It is mildly put such a shortsighted move, despite the fact that public support for the lagoon was unquestionably in favour. People seeing the benefits in both environmental and economic terms that would have been hugely significent for Wales, putting  my country firmly on the world stage and would have also created a much needed  2,000 jobs in the process, giving a huge boost to the economy..A missed opportunity,that  people are now greeting  with  justifiable anger, as my nation suffers again, because of the tories refusal to give the project the go-ahead, in what shows clearly there lack of desire to invest in renewable power, a decision that will surely come back to bite us all in the behind down the line, serving to illustrate their contempt and  continuing neglect and lack of interest in Wales.
Responding to the news, Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart said the UK Government has made a huge mistake, saying that "As a pathfinder project Swansea would pave the way for an entirely new industry where Wales and the UK would be a world leader. The UK Government has spent 18 months on this decision and after all that time they have made the wrong call.They are removing nearly £2bn of investment from Swansea and South Wales,"
There have now been calls for Mr Cairns to resign with Plaid Cymru tabling a motion of no confidence against him following the decision.

No words needed .... but

For me the Royal family represent inequality, a dynasty that has no place in the modern world , above though we see  Theresa May fawning in open deference while Brtain is going through a time of national economic and social stress , due to Brexit, austerity, incoming roll out of Universal Credit and so on.
The Prime minister performed this awkward unusually low dip as she shook the Duke of Cambridge's hand to welcome him during a visit to a newly built Defence and National  Rehabilitation Centre last Thursday in Nottinghamshire. I find it  unbelievable that one human being would publicly and shamelessly debase themselves in this manner. Theresa May curtsying, grovelling more like, to Prince William is one of the most cringeworthy, nauseatingly, obsequious spectacles I have seen for a while, and is simply an affront to human decency. How can human beings indulge in this humiliating behaviour with a straight face, heaven knows.
Others might point out that she was just showing some basic chivalry, protocol and respect, but have we not  in the modern age, moved on from these outdated monarchist hangups. I personally look forward to a society in the future where we can all look into one another's eyes as equals, whatever our positions in life.

Lowkey ft Kaia - Ghosts of Grenfell 2

After a five year hiatus in 2017, Lowkey returned to the mic with a personal tribute on the Grenfell disaster,https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/08/lowkey-ghosts-of-grenfell-ft-mai-khalil.html  who  many have said could have been avoided  with proper construction practices. Above is his powerful sequel  to remind  our government that victims of this avoidable tragedy are still fighting for justice.
The tale of Grenfell is a tale of two Kensingtons. It is the story of how scores of poor people were left to perish, in a block riddled with fire and safety problems and disrepair, just meters away from some of the wealthiest streets in the country.
And if this alone does not  make you cry, then  listen to the following.Simply beautiful.Does music have the capacity to heal?

Yousra & Johara - Fire in Grenfell

My own initial response https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2017/06/for-grenfell-tower-poem.html

And some further reflections,https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2018/06/grenfell-tower-fire-one-year-on.html

rehouse the survivors, prosecute those rsponsible, Justice 4 Grenfell  💚

Halfway there (Happy Summer Solstice)

(happy summer solstice, to all out there, heddwch /peace, blessed be)

Surging through veils
to enhance, to heal,
recharge, renew, reveal
time to celebrate
through spirit, mind, and heart,
the turning of the seasonal wheel,
under the influence
of a bright shining moon,
swirl in peace for awhile
solitary or in company,
kiss goodbye to the last shades of spring
pay homage to forces of nature we trust,
marking new beginnings
as earth's darkness returns to light
radiant sun returns with dawn
and summertime is reborn.

Donald Trump must end the separation of migrant families.

Between October 1, 2018, and May 31, 2018, at least 2,700 children  have been split from their parents. 1,995 of them were seperated over, the last six weeks, April 18 to May 31, indicating that at present, an average of 45 children are being taken from their parents each day. Migrants who have been crossing the hot southern desert into the U.S seeking security and safety from gangs and drug cartels. The UN says the use of detention and family seperation runs counter to human rights standards and principles.
This has seen the United States , under an Orwellian  policy of 'zero tolerance' immigrant children being ripped from the arms of their mothers and fathers and placed in detention camps. This is the same country, who has invaded a number of states across the globe in the name of freedom, human rights, democracy and equality, but we are currently seeing the real face of the USA, and with their President warning that migrants will 'infest' America, some are saying Holocaust parallels are impossible to ignore. Currently speaking wikipedia is listing Trump's detention centers as concentration camps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concentration_and_internment_camps#Forced_separation_of_immigrant_children
The  heartbreaking sight  of children being held in metal cages, in extreme heat by day, extreme heat at night  is America's shame, what the Trump administration is doing to these families is simply barbaric.Church leaders and figures across the political spectrum have expressed their outrage.This
outcry has increased  after an audio recording  captured distraught  minors, apparently between  four and ten, screaming "Mami" and"Papa" hours after they were removed by their parents.
Parents who have fled trauma and persecution are now having to endure the unfathomable terror of not knowing if they will ever see their children again.
Taking children away from their parents can risk  re-traumatising children who have already sufferred the trauma of violence and persecution in their native countries, as well as the arduous journey to seek safety. The idea that children can be protected by tearing them away from their families is cruel and unnecessary, defying all sense of logic and humanity. None should be treated so cruelly .Punishing people seeking safety and dignity goes against all values of dignity and compassion.
Donald Trump must end this human rights violation now and when he lands in the UK on July 12, we should make sure he is not given any welcome.
Please sign the following  :-

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/220898 

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/usa-families-belong-together?from=issue&utm_campaign=MEMA1719_ACT_REFU_USA_Family_Border_Separations&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Campaigns&utm_content=1749

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

- 'The New Colossus' by Emma Lazarus. Written on the statue of liberty.


POSTSCRIPT :22.30

Bowing to immense pressure. Trump has abruptly reversed  and signed an executive order halting his administration policy of seperating children from their parents when they are detained illegally crossing the U S border. A dramatic turnaround for him, who had been insisting wrongly, that his administration had no choice but to seperate families apprehended  at the border because of federal law and a court decision. In my opinion Trump is still an exceedingly dangerous man, out of control drunk on power.

Refugee Week 2018

This week, from 19-24 June is Refugee Week, in which thousands of people across the country celebrate the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees, promoting understanding of why people see sanctuary. The UN has announced today that more people are fleeing conflict and persecution than any time in the past 70 years. The UK government can and must do more to help.By signing the following petition, this one simple act will hopefully bring us one step closer to changing the unjust rules that keep many families apart.https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/home-secretary-reunite-refugee-families?from=issue&utm_campaign=MEMA1714_ACT_REFU_FamilyReunion_ActionTakers&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Campaigns&utm_content=1744
The following is a letter that I wrote to my local paper, the Tivy-Side Advertiser to mark Refugee Week..

FOUNDED in 1998, Refugee Week Wales is a week long cultural, artistic and educational celebration of the contributions made by talented asylum seekers and refugees who arrive in Wales.
Refugee Week takes place from June 17-24 and Cardigan and North Pembrokeshire Amnesty International group always marks the week.
Wales has a proud history of welcoming refugees from all over the world. Refugees are forced to leave their country in order  to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster often with no warning and cannot return to their country unless the situation improves. This is different to economic migrants.
Refugee Week Wales is an opportunity to promote this message across Wales.

                                                                                                                   Dave Rendle
                                                                                                        Cardigan and North
                                                                                                 Pembrokeshire Amnesty
                                                                                                         International group

http://refugeeweek.org.uk/events/refugee-week-in-wales/

After the Hatstands ( Forever we will dance)

In the morning, days lay ahead
in the middle just a dot,
as sky above, slowly awakes
releasing heat, to cloy the senses ,
into this world of daily prescription
a shot of benevolance, beyond the dark,
on spinning floors, laboriously gathered
we are one, a stream of togetherness,
taking deep breaths, we sail again
holding on to memories, sliding down,
we inhale the smell of one another
the sweet anesthetic of friendship,
carried by rhythmic vibrations
from our cages, we free ourselves,
beyond drifting world of chaos
float peacefully towards tomorrow,
among tinctured cadences and
                            patterned threads
find fulfillment in music and magic,
fuse our movements, blend emotions
release our breathe, redistribute passion
as fragments drift into twilight
forever we will dance