St George.........and another R.I.P.

It’s that time again, seen every couple of years, when the cross of St George appears from bedroom windows and car roofs. Unfortunately, I have a bit of a problem with this. I tend to cringe. I’m sure the residents of most countries around the world can happily express their patriotism with a flag, but our English emblem has been hijacked too often. Driving around over the last few days, I’m simply reminded of a number of council estates, notably Castle Vale in Birmingham, where the flag represents a no-go area for ethnic minorities. I’m reminded of Nick Griffin and his band of racist twats. And I’m reminded of the flag being draped over pissed-up knobs throwing chairs around in various European city centres whilst following our national team. So I’ll be supporting my team just like the rest of us, but there’ll be no emblem in sight. Pity really.



I was quite surprised by how much I was saddened by the death of Stuart Cable earlier today. Maybe the death of a fellow forty-something struck a cord. But mainly, I have good memories of his time in Stereophonics. The band’s image has not fared well in recent times, dulled by a series of pretty average albums, but there was a time, at the end of the last century and the start of the current one, when they were one of the best bands in the world. Off the back of their initial two superb albums, they headlined the Reading festival in 2000 and Glastonbury in 2002. Cable was sacked from the band in 2003 – it may be coincidence that they have never hit those heights since. He also had a spell as a DJ on my local rock station – Kerrang Radio – and had a great radio voice and personality. He will be missed, particularly in Wales. I’ll add a couple of you-tube videos which (IMO) show Stereophonics at the height of their powers.