Dial M for Merthyr

So here we go again. Football is evidently considered as low-hanging fruit by our government so once again it’s up to us to ensure that our club gets through another period of empty terraces, no hospitality and absent friends. You don’t need us to tell you that this decision is absurd when we can drink in Roman’s or Webley’s bars at the ground but not outside on our, let’s be honest, sparsely populated terraces but there’s a bigger picture here that has nothing to do with either Delta or Omicron.   The underlying issue for every Covid restriction to our normal way of live is that we must protect the NHS and its staff from being overwhelmed. This reality underpins every law created in Wales to delay or destroy the virus. A noble aim which everyone will support of course but are we masking the fact that the NHS having been neglected by the Tories for over a decade now is seriously under resourced? Many would say that the NHS is heading the same way as British Rail. Starved of resources

France, five years ago  presented most of us in Wales with the best football experience ever, arguably for some the best experience of their entire life. Fortunate to be at 4 of those games including the semi final, the highlight was obviously the night in Lille and I was even able to take my son Shaun, wheelchair and all who still describes it as the best day of his life by a country mile. This time around UEFA, along with Brexit, and the completely horrendous format of the 2020 European championships denied most of us any hope of a replay so for me, the chance to get to any games was too good a chance to miss, even if it meant mostly England games. Have to say, the English FA has been more than good to me, and with some great people who have become great friends so I had no hesitation in telling them I was up for any tickets they could offer. Starting with a boiling afternoon and England v Croatia, I watched Wales' game against Switzerland in the White Hart pub in Holborn wi