The JSPrice Perception

The government building in Cardiff causing controversy (Image: WalesOnline) I bloody love Wales. I will never tire of talking and hearing about the country I was born and raised in. It will always be my home and I will never stop supporting or defending Cymru in (most of) its pursuits. I'm a proud Welshman and nothing will come in the way of that. What I'm also certain about, however, is Wales's current position. Wales, while has its own government, is still part of the United Kingdom, relying on Westminster on some key issues impacting daily life. Whether we like it or not, we're factually British as much as we are Welsh. Despite this, it doesn't stop a large proportion of the population to say they feel more Welsh than British. In fact, almost half of people polled in a small-scale BBC survey in 2019 about the issue said that statement was true to them. In the 2011 Census , 58% of the total population said they were Welsh while 7% were both Welsh and British. I...

A protest 'woke' people are likely to attend (Image: The Times) I feel the word 'woke' needs to be banned. No, not 'woke' as in 'I woke up at 8am', but as in 'You're woke'. It's currently being used a cheap-shot insult towards those who raise issues they care deeply about, and it's being overused with no substance. Some of you may not be familiar with the new definition of 'woke'. I envy you, but I'll entertain you with an Oxford English Dictionary definition regardless. The Dictionary defines it as "Originally: well-informed, up-to-date. Now, chiefly: alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice." You read that and may easily come up with lots of recent examples - the Black Lives Matter movement, for instance.  The definition itself isn't the issue. My issue is the way some people lazily overuse it, in a way which downgrades the well-intended meaning. A simple Yahoo search of 'criticism of wok...

I've been rather reflective of late. On Thursday 6 May, I turn 30 and have used the past few weeks to look back on the things I've achieved in my twenties, and contemplate what I've learnt in this time period so I can embrace the challenges which lay ahead. I must say, I'm rather excited to enter my thirties and have been so since I was about six. While my peers have dreaded the big three-zero, I'm completely the opposite. But let me trace back my steps. Ten years ago, I was a 20-year-old University student living in North Wales and probably a quarter of weight lighter. Politically, David Cameron had been Prime Minister for a year, and Barack Obama occupied the White House. The UK was very much a member of the European Union and Manchester City was still searching for its first Premier League title. LMFAO reached number one in the UK singles chart with "Party Rock Anthem" and Amy Winehouse (who tragically died two months later) and Adele dominated the UK...

Boris Johnson and 'European Super League' have made the headlines this week (Image: Sky News) I want to reflect on the recent dramas that dominated the headlines this week, as European football received a massive wake-up call, and the fact that the 'chumocracy' allegations drowning Westminster - something I analysed late last year - aren't leaving anytime soon. The two are linked, and equally as significant and problematic for society as a whole. Let's look at the football story first. Last Sunday, I was lucky to be one of the 4,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium to see Leicester City reach the FA Cup Final after defeating Southampton 1-0. The match was, by no means, a classic, but the experience was unforgettable as it marked a big step towards fans returning to stadiums up-and-down the country, and a big step towards the end of Covid-19 restrictions. As I settled myself down in the stadium, I checked my phone and read the 'breaking news' that Chelsea,...

Piers Morgan and Andrew Neil (Image: iNews) The concept of 'fake news' isn't new. Tabloids for instance have notoriously made up stories, or at least altered facts in part to boost its readership - in doing so, tarnishing reputations of not just the subjects of these untrue reports, but of media titles too. And when editors were desperate for anything supposedly newsworthy on their front page, they'd resort to hacking phones of innocent people in the public eye, which ultimately led to the demise of the 'News of the World' newspaper almost ten years ago. The closure of 'News of the World' seems a lifetime ago now, but I remember it vividly, completing a journalism degree at the time. But if I was doing the same degree today, I could only imagine phone hacking be a minor talking point in comparison to the how news is consumed and reported today (and in the future), which is making me fear about an industry I care deeply about. When 'fake news' o...

Clapham Common virgil (Image: Al-Jazeera) A TV programme I'm currently watching is Supernanny USA , with Jo Frost. I loved the UK version when it graced our screens back in the noughties and was delighted to hear the show was revived for across the pond. For those who don't know what it is, it's about families struggling to manage their challenging children and in need of Frost's help. But of course, the children aren't 'challenging' for the sake of being challenging. They may be retaliating to traumatic experiences, such as difficult home dynamics, parents not spending enough quality time with them, or their over-consumption of activities which they're too young to take part in. In a recent episode, a child was addicted to violent video games and his parents never realised that this led him to getting restless at night and agitated during the day when he couldn't play. This could have lasted for years without the early and appropriate guidance. Why...

Sir Keir Starmer, House of Commons (Image: The Irish Times) Election season in the UK is soon upon us. On my 30th birthday, there are Assembly elections in Wales and Scotland, while we find out whether Sadiq Khan retains his place as the Mayor of London. We also have some council elections which will give the larger parties an indication as to how they're doing locally. I'm personally pleased to see these taking place at all, as Covid-19 delayed any election that would have taken place last year, including the Mayor of London's . We're promised that they're taking place with appropriate safety measures, so let the battles commence. I don't believe these elections will reflect on the nation's mood towards the Conservatives. My gut feeling right now says that Sadiq Khan continues to be the Mayor of London, purely because he's not done too much over the past five years to put Londoners off him, and I don't see any of those who he's facing against...