Gaz Ceidiog

Whatever happens in Vegas can stay there as far as I’m concerned…

Why I’ll Never Go To Las Vegas Whatever happens there is welcome to stay there as far as I’m concerned

Have written about being unable to write ✍️📝

A Time I Didn’t Know What To Write On writer’s block

Idealists might actually be the real realists

Why idealists might be the real realists Idealism has something of a bad name. But should it?

Not every push to return to the old pre-Covid norm is necessarily a positive one.

Move to force workers back to the office can discriminate against the disabled Not every push to return to the old pre-Covid norm is necessarily a good one.

Wrote something about the most wrongheaded piece of PR advice I’ve ever received 🙄

You can read it here 👇

The most wrongheaded piece of PR advice I’ve ever been given Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

Have written something about why I rarely enjoy my birthday all that much 🎉 🎂 🥳

My birthday isn’t really a day of celebration: Here’s why Photo by Liza Pooor on Unsplash

Writing press releases is a bad idea ✍️

Here’s why:👇

Why PR pros should stop writing press releases The humble press release forms the basis of the PR strategy of many a comms professional.

Westminster treats Wales with contempt

Westminster’s justification for denying Wales a St David’s Day bank holiday is inane and insulting Gareth Ceidiog Hughes The UK Government is taking us for a bunch of mugs. If you want an example of Westminster’s sheer distain for Wales, and its disregard for its people, you don’t need to look much further than how it has dealt with calls for a St David’s Day bank holiday. The Scottish and ...

England and Man Utd star Marcus Rashford has backed the parents in a row over school meals at a Gwynedd secondary.

Marcus Rashford throws weight behind parents in Dyffryn Nantlle school meal row Manchester United football star Marcus Rashford has intervened after a headteacher in the north of Wales wrote to parents to tell them children wouldn’t be fed in they were more than a penny in debt. In a letter to parents, Neil Foden, the strategic head of Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle in Penygroes, Gwyn...

A Tory MP, who wants the Senedd to be scrapped, is facing a ban from the Westminster Parliament for an “insincere” apology after he was found guilty of bullying by a sleaze watchdog.

Anti-Senedd Tory MP faces Parliament ban over 'insincere' apology for 'bullying' An anti-Senedd Tory MP is facing a ban from Parliament for an “insincere” apology after he was found guilty of bullying by a sleaze watchdog. Daniel Kawczynski, who has called for the Senedd to be scrapped, was ordered to say sorry by Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone after he was found to ha...

If Wales is such a burden, why doesn’t Westminster get rid?

Why doesn't Westminster just ditch Wales? Gareth Ceidiog Hughes The First Minister has recently suggested that successive UK Government have viewed Wales as “ungrateful and ever-demanding subsidy junkies”. If Mark Drakeford’s analysis is correct, and I suspect that it very much is, then it raises an interesting question, which is why ...

"It does appear as if relations between Mark Drakeford and Keir Starmer are not entirely harmonious."

Has Mark Drakeford been aiming coded digs at Keir Starmer? Gareth Ceidiog Hughes Politicians often talk in code. It can be impolitic for them to be quite as direct as they like, and therefore they opt for a more indirect approach. Sometimes they wish to communicate dissent while presenting their party as a united front. Sometimes they don’t want to get in...

"At worst it would put Drakeford under Starmer’s thumb and ensure that the Welsh Government dances to the tune of what suits Labour at Westminster, not what benefits the people of Wales."

Why putting Drakeford in Starmer’s shadow cabinet wouldn’t work Gareth Ceidiog Hughes Keir Starmer is not the most senior Labour politician in the UK. The most senior Labour politician in the UK is currently the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford. Starmer is the leader of the official opposition in Westminster, which is ostensibly a powerful position. But t...

There was a time when the world had two Welsh speaking Prime Ministers.

It’s exactly a century since a Welsh speaking Aussie PM returned to Wales in triumph There was a time when the world had two Welsh speaking Prime Ministers. British PM David Lloyd George had a companion on the world stage in the form of Billy Hughes, Australia’s then Prime Minister who was raised in Llandudno. It is exactly a century since Hughes, known affectionately Down Under a...

Not a way to win over Welsh hearts and minds I would suggest

GB News presenter suggests English are being ‘exploited’ by Wales A GB News presenter has suggested that the English are being “exploited” by Wales. Former Brexit Party MEP Alex Phillips made the suggestion during her take on saving the union on the ‘anti-woke’ channel. She said the English were “wearying perhaps” that their “prosperity” was being ...

I despise people who view us like this

Yn casau pobl sy’n edrych arnom fel hyn

Belfast-based academic compared Welsh language movement to N***s A Belfast-based academic has compared the Welsh language movement to N***s. Dr James Dingley, a sociologist who has researched nationalism at Queen’s University Belfast, accused the movement that campaigns for the rights of Welsh speakers of fostering a “sectarian divide”. He also claimed that...

Why the title of First Minister should be ditched

Why the title of First Minister undermines Welsh democracy and keeps it subordinate By Gareth Ceidiog Hughes The title of First Minster isn’t a great one. Indeed, it is so bad, it is questionable whether Wales should have a First Minister at all. Now, by this I don’t mean that we get rid of the post for leader of our democratically elected government – far from it. No, […]

Wedi sgwennu’r erthygl yma

Have written this article

Knowing a few Welsh words really isn't too much to ask for a job with the government Gareth Ceidiog Hughes Should the people running Wales have a basic understanding of the country in which they live? The Welsh Government has recently come to the view that the answer to that question is yes, they should. It has moved to ensure that ‘basic Welsh skills’ are a requirement for civi...

Wedi sgwennu’r erthygl yma

Journalist's question to Schmeichel show why it’s hard for Welsh fans to support England Gareth Ceidiog Hughes Even when you play international football for another country, your success is ultimately all about England. That was the assumption behind the peculiar, yet entirely typical question from an English journalist to the Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. The expression on the i...

Wedi sgwennu’r erthygl yma

Have written this article

Dumb column moaning about Welsh language on planes crashed and burned Gareth Ceidiog Hughes Being a travel writer does not necessarily make someone open-minded or worldly-wise. Indeed, it seems you can travel all over the globe and take your ignorance and prejudices with you, along with the shirts, socks and boxers you’ve packed in your suitcase. Nobody exemplifies ...

Have written this article

Wedi sgwennu’r erthygl yma

Why Rees-Mogg's attitude towards the Welsh language sums up Westminster's attitude towards Wales Gareth Ceidiog Hughes Welsh is a British language, but you wouldn’t know that from how it is treated at Westminster. At best it is treated with a casual disregard, and at worst it is treated with sheer contempt. It was recently described as a ‘foreign language’ in the House of …

Have written this article on Welsh Labour’s electoral success

Why Welsh Labour is such a potent electoral force Gareth Ceidiog Hughes Labour has been the dominant political force in Wales for around a century. Since the advent of devolution 22 years ago, it has handily won every election to our national parliament and therefore led every Welsh Government. A slew of polls for the Senedd election have projected...

They just don’t get it

Senedd abolitionists don’t understand why devolution happened - Nation.Cymru Gareth Ceidiog Hughes Senedd abolitionists would have you believe that once upon a time there was a happy and wonderful place called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Well, that is until a New Labour government led by Tony Blair got bored one day and decided, just …

This is something we need to start thinking about

How would Wales fare in a post-independence negotiation with England? Gareth Ceidiog Hughes Sometimes you can get a gauge of where an independence movement is at from what its critics say about it. For example, in Scotland, unionists start crowing when a poll shows support for independence at 52 per cent instead of 58 per cent. If that is a …

If the independence movement is going to be successful we need to build and maintain a broad church, whether we lik it or not

Why it’s right for YesCymru to reach out to conservatives Gareth Ceidiog Hughes YesCymru came in for a bit of stick recently for having the temerity to reach out to conservatives. In a tweet, they said that it was unionism not conservatism they took umbrage with. Oh boy, did the pitchforks come out when it was suggested that you don’t …

https://nation.cymru/news/wales-to-go-into-lockdown-at-midnight-and-christmas-relaxation-reduced-to-one-day/

Wales to go into lockdown at midnight and Christmas relaxation reduced to one day - Nation.Cymru Wales will go into lockdown at midnight tonight and the Christmas relaxation has dropped to just one day. The rules which allow two households to come together to form a Christmas bubble over a five-day period will apply on Christmas Day only. It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put …

Wedi sgwennu’r erthygl yma. Da iawn I’m a Celeb

We need more people to treat the Welsh language like Ant and Dec did Gareth Ceidiog Hughes As a Welsh speaker, you’re often on the receiving end of a fair few slings and arrows. So, when the news broke that I’m a Celeb was coming to Wales because the covid pandemic meant the programme couldn’t be filmed in Australia, a fair few Welsh speakers …

Devolution is dying. It’s now independence or bust

Jacob Rees-Mogg’s comments show devolution is dying - it’s now independence or bust Gareth Ceidiog Hughes We keep being told that independence is not the only option. Yes, plenty of Welsh unionists are prepared to admit that the current system is complete and utter garbage. They say they understand why we would want independence, but that it is not the answer to our …

Have written this article about the Abolish clown show 🤡

Abolish the Assembly's clown show is comedy gold - but don't let them turn the Senedd into a circus Gareth Ceidiog Hughes You just have to laugh, don’t you? Well, you don’t have to – but you might as well, because let’s face it, the Abolish the Welsh Assembly clown show is objectively hilarious. Don’t get me wrong, I would very much prefer that the forces dedicated to the …