AM's photos

The BBC has some of the photos displayed in the AM's photographic exhibition in the Senedd, including this rose from my garden in Llwynypia.




I also displayed a moodier picture I took on Pen Pych in the New Year.

Happy Birthday, Ron

Congratulations to former Labour Councillor Ron Bundock, still carrying the regimental banner at Royal British Legion events, who is 90.

Ron has been active in a whole series of issues, including crime prevention.

Goodbye, Emmo, and thank you

At last night's Rhondda Labour GC we paid tribute to Emrys 'Emmo' Thomas, who died recently after an illness which had lasted for some months. Emmo's funeral halted the traffic in Treorchy just over a week ago, following a moving service at his home, conducted by the Rev. Cyril Llewellyn, with Allan Rogers, former MP for the Rhondda, giving the tribute.

Emmo was one of the first people I met in the Rhondda when I was seeking selection for the Assembly seat. He was a great supporter not only of me and Chris Bryant MP, but of every Labour candidate at all levels. The top pictue shows him working on my 2003 campaign. As a letter in the Rhondda Leader said, he was behind every Labour Councillor who ever won election in Treorchy. He never wanted to stand himself, even though the affection for him across Treorchy, Ynyswen and Cwmparc was such that he would have stormed it. He was genuinely respected across the political spectrum, and I recall Plaid Cymru Treorchy Councillor Cennard Davies picking him out for a special mention in welcoming him back to the fray after the local elections this year.

Emmo had been a Labour Party member for 51 years, and last year we held a ceremony in the Stag in Treorchy to give him his 50-year membership award. His uncle Iorrie Thomas was the MP for Rhondda West from 1950 until 1966. He was an active campaigner on community issues as well as in elections. The bottom picture shows Emmo on one of the London demonstrations we held in support of the Burberry workers where his son Leighton worked. He was a strong supporter of the GMB.

Emmo was also a great sports fan. He despaired a little of his beloved Glamorgan in recent years but he was devoted to cricket and football. He enjoyed Cardiff City's play-off final in 2003, and he would watch football on Sky Sports round the clock. I joined him sometimes at Ton Pentre home games where he would organise the teas at half-time.

Emmo was a good man. He will be missed by all, and our thoughts remain with his wife Pat and the family.

Maerdy Archive Group

I was pleased to welcome members of the Maerdy Archive Group to the Assembly - not for the first time - a couple of weeks ago, for the launch of the Community Archives Wales online records project. You can find the Maerdy Archive Group material here.

The project has been supported by Communities@One, the Assembly's digital inclusion project, which is funded from my Ministerial budgets in the Assembly and from Objective One monies, as well as by the Heritage department in the Assembly.

CAW is a 15-month pilot project to enable eleven groups within Communities First areas throughout Wales to create their own digital archives and share them on the CAW website. The project employs 4 members of staff. It started in January 2007 and the current phase will end in September 2008. Digital community archives are collections of material in private hands that have been digitised and interpreted by community groups, enabling the communities to present their own history in their own words.

Members of the Maerdy Archive Group have been supporting my campaign to get the Maerdy Community Centre run by a broader-based group of people. Chris Bryant MP and I held a meeting two weeks ago where a lot of people indicated they wanted to become involved in the Community Centre, and later today we will be receiving the application forms from those who want to join.

Fernhill meeting

I have written before about the proposals for development at the Fernhill Colliery.

Residents have now called a public meeting for the 24th July at the Top Club, Blaenrhondda.

The developers' site is now up - you can find it here.

Meanwhile one resident has a blog here and the Conservation Group's Facebook group is here.

Tappers Garage, Treherbert

Tappers Garage, Treherbert, was demolished with money form the Welsh Assembly Government's Heads of the Valleys programme and it will become a community facility.

Treherbert resident Sharon Morris has sent me these pictures o the murals designed by local children. I thought they deserved a wider airing.

Tower Colliery

Until recently a number of my constituents were working at Tower - now some have moved to Aberpergwm.

Tower's achievement is a shining example of the cooperative ethos of popular power and workers' control - and I was delighted to attend the reception held by the First Minister last night to commemorate the workers' achievement.

Rhondda Trust launched

A good turnout for the launch of the Rhondda Trust on Friday.

After a suggestion from Cllr Cennard Davies of Treorchy, I am changing the Welsh version to Cronfa'r Rhondda.

When Burberry closed its factory in Treorchy last year, the GMB led campaign successfully secured an investment of £150,000 a year for ten years to further the education and training opportunities of people in the Rhondda. The total will amount to £1.5 million. The Rhondda Trust has been founded to receive this money from Burberry and to make grants to individuals and organisations in the Rhondda.

Local charities and community groups can apply for this funding, as can national organisations for work carried out in the Rhondda. Individuals who live in the two Rhondda Valleys can also apply for funds. In particular, the Rhondda Trust is looking to fund new projects that will make a lasting difference to the Rhondda.

Further information on how to apply for funding is available on the Trust’s new website www.rhonddatrust.org.uk or by contacting RCT Regeneration Resources Team on 01443 665789.

Rhondda Trust/Cronfa Rhondda

Today we are setting up the Rhondda Trust - or Cronfa Rhondda as I am calling it in Welsh. This is based on the money received from Burberry following the closure of the Burberry factory in Treorchy last year.

A website for the Trust is under construction and application forms will be available from today.

Fernhill News

A local resident has now set up a blog for news on the proposed Fernhill development.

The developers' site is still not ready.

Tonypandy Young Roots

On Thursday I attended the launch of the brilliant DVD by young people at Tonypandy Community College on the subject of the Powerhouse in Llwynypia.

I was pleased that First Minister Rhodri Morgan was able to attend the launch. Rhodri was stunned by the DVD and the professionalism of the filming. You can find more on this here.

There is more on the plans for the Powerhouse's development here.

The Powerhouse Trust's website is here.

Fernhill Colliery

I went to see the exhibition Cofton's were running on their plans for the Fernhill Colliery site at the Blaenrhondda Social Club on Saturday. I am keen to hear from local people about their thoughts on the plans. I think 800 homes are too many.

The developers are planning their own website here, though it is not functioning yet.

Some local residents have set up a Facebook group here.

Foundation Phase

From September, the Assembly Government is pioneering our early years initiative, the Foundation Phase. Last week Education Minister Jane Hutt announced an additional £5 million this financial year, on top of the £25 million grant already secured in 2008/09.

The Foundation Phase for three to seven year olds is designed to give children in Wales the best possible start in life. It is based on learning through play, active involvement and practical activities which enhances their creativity, knowledge, skills and understanding which are invaluable for future learning.

The scheme has been widely supported by teachers and head-teachers. One head-teacher has written to me to say:

I constantly praise (the) Welsh Assembly Government and in particular our Welsh education system to English friends. We were first to take the brave step of removing SAT testing and we have a far more holistic approach to education with less concern about league tables and academic comparisons between schools. I believe that the philosophy of the Foundation Phase was to be the “crowning glory.” At last we can allow young children to be individuals and develop in their own way. Apart from the improvement in oral language I honestly believe that it will drastically reduce the disaffection which we battle with later on, especially with boys. If properly funded, it would make us world leaders in education.

However, there have been concerns about the funding of the Foundation Phase, and I met several Rhondda head-teachers yesterday to discuss the issues that they face. I have already written to the Education Minister on the issue and I was pleased to hear about the additional £5 million last week.

I believe that the Foundation Phase will mean a step-change in the education of children in our primary schools, and I want to ensure that we get the introduction right….

Terry Venables

Terry regularly returns to Clydach Vale where his mother grew up to support the Cambrian Village Trust. There is some footage of his most recent visit here.

The Trust was formed in 2000 with the aim of promoting sport in the area for both children and adults. It was also a founding member of the Communities First Partnership in Cwmclydach.

Terry launched a CD on football training paid for by Arriva Trains. More than 100 primary schools throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf are to benefit from the educational CD.

Speaking on behalf of the Trust, Phil Williams (him with the moustache) said: “Our main objective in producing the CD is to help children at Key Stage 2 to develop skills in four areas of the national curriculum – maths, geography, history and grammar. We used football as the general theme, which will help the children learn in a fun and interactive way. It also has the benefit of being available in schools, youth clubs or at home”

Rhondda Calendar

Local organisations wishing to apply fro support from the Rhondda Calendar should now get in touch.

Congratulations again Cory Band

The Cory Band were crowned European Champions this weekend for the first time in 28 years, following a tough two day competition in Stavanger, where the band achieved an amazing 99 out of 100 in the set test piece competition on the Friday.

The only Tory in the Rhondda - NOT

An anonymous comment has drawn my attention to this post about the Tory elected in the RCT ward of Llantwit Fardre - which is not, as I have said before, in the Rhondda.

Guardian gets it wrong

Yesterday's Guardian leader claimed there is now a Tory councillor in the Rhondda.

No, there isn't.

There is a Tory on RCT, representing Llantwit Fardre.

The Guardian's journalists should get out more.

Election reflections (1)

It was of course a bad day for Labour all over Wales and England.

Here in RCT, we were delighted to hold on to the Council. In 1999, of course, RCT was lost to Plaid Cymru. In the Rhondda in 1999, Plaid won 19 of the 25 council seats, leaving Labour with only 6.

This time, in what was the worst set of results for Labour across Wales and England arguably in 40 years, we held on to RCT with a clear majority. In the Rhondda, we came back with 17 out of the 25 council seats to Plaid's 8.

The 5 seats we lost to Plaid included one in Treorchy, where they held the other two seats already; and in Treherbert, where in 2004 we had only won the two seats with majorities of 11 and 3 . We lost two other seats by margins of 28 and 56.

Local elections

Aside from helping our local candidates in the Rhondda, Welsh Labour has asked me to visit a number of different local government campaigns in Wales. In Milford I helped Colin Robbins who was born in Cwmparc and grew up in Blaenrhondda!