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Reposted by Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 4h

View from Cardiff Castle, south Wales, photo by Anca, Liverpool-based blogger.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 4h

We're in Pontypridd. I should be in time for the Aberdare bus so I'll save my pennies for another time.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 4h

I'm in Pontyclun. Plan D would also have brought me here (Bridgend to Cowbridge, then on to Talbot Green), but this was the quick and dirty option and doesn't involve pub stops - which I can't afford today. Knowing the routes and the intersections made this really easy for me.

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Reposted by Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Patrick Samphire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @patricksamphire.bsky.social · 6h

Henry VIII: "Pope, would please shut the fuck up about matters you do not understand. You're not a marriage influencer. How many wives do you have?"

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Reposted by Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Angus Donald @angusdonald.bsky.social · 6h

Templar Traitor, Book 1 in my Mongol Knight trilogy, about the extraordinary real-life Englishman who fought for Genghis Khan, is now only £1.99 from Amazon. But wait, Book 2, Templar Assassin, is also only £1.99. What madness is this? www.amazon.co.uk/Templar-Trai...

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Reposted by Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

J.L. Worrad @worrad.bsky.social · 5h

If you’re find yourself in a big argument here or on Threads, Twitter etc, simply offer your opponent a post on your blog to state their argument (with opportunity for follow-up posts to your counter-posts). Everyone I’ve offered this has backed-down. No one has the concentration to blog anymore.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 5h

The Stagecoach 404 was starting to board as we pulled in, so I caught that. Technically this is Plan C but it's the one that works. I can hop on a train at Pontypridd and do the last leg of the adventure that way.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 5h

I've checked the Stagecoach live times and the one from Aberdare to Bridgend is running late. My connection looks as if it's still alive.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 5h

I remember when NX used to serve Aberdare, Merthyr, Pontypridd, Caerphilly, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale, Tredegar ... and even Brecon. Now it's inner Cardiff or nowhere. A more cynical person than I would consider this to be paying lip service (at best) to people living in the South Wales Valleys.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 5h

That's a good 20-minute walk from Cardiff Central. It does call at Cathays on *part of* the Core Valley Lines network, but otherwise, your onward connection is tenuous to say the least. It doesn't even go to Talbot Green, which is ironic when the vehicles are based at Ynysmaerdy, a mile away.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 5h

In West Wales, they have their act pretty much together: Swansea bus station and Carmarthen bus station have NX stops. The railway is some distance away, but not so far as to be unmanageable on foot. The NX stop at Bridgend is at Sarn, a decent bus ride into town. In Cardiff, it's at Sophia Gardens.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 5h

I'm not sure why Port Talbot needs two bus stations a few minutes' walk apart. The new one is next to the railway station (as long as you can do bridges), the old one closer to the shops. Weirdly, National Express only serves the old one. In fact, NX is the topic of an article I'm writing currently.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 6h

This bus hasn't made many stops on the way to Port Talbot so maybe it is an express service. But the X6 from Ystradgynlais stopped everywhere. So does First Cymru X7, which would have been my alternative method of getting most of the way home. There's no rhyme or reason behind the numbers.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 6h

That'll be why you never hear buses mentioned on the national news or read about them in the national papers. To anyone living in the Westminster Bubble of politics and media, it's been business as usual since I was 20 years old.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 6h

I'm on First Cymru X1 to Bridgend. Four decades ago the letter X on a route was a pretty good hint that it was an 'express' service. I've got a weird feeling that convention was abandoned some time around deregulation. That happened 40 years ago this month - but only outside Greater London.

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Reposted by Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Positive Money UK @positivemoneyuk.bsky.social · 7h

Rachel Reeves believed them, will John Healey make the same mistake? Tell the Chancellor to #TaxTheBanks now 👉 bit.ly/TaxTheBanks

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 7h

I'm at the bus station after a detour via Tesco because I begrudge paying 30p to spend a penny. I'm heading to Bridgend from here, then (connection permitting) straight to Aberdare. If the connection goes supine I can push on to Cardiff and head up from there on two buses. No direct link any more.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 7h

I was wondering if you'd mention Kilpeck. Here's a photo I took about 15 years ago.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

When I said the train and bus termini were ten minutes apart on foot, I meant twenty. You have to allow for the fact that the whole city centre prioritises motor vehicles over any other form of transport.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

There's another pub on the other side of the road with no sign of life. Sad to see.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

Having said that, there are two such places virtually next door and they're both deserted.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

If I had the money I'd buy this and turn it into a quirky craft ale bar, with food, live entertainment, fun staff and customers, and keep the prices low enough to attract a good crowd of students and trendy types. I'd call it 'The Tap on the Shoulder'.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

The bus stop is right outside Swansea railway station. Good thing, really, because the bus station is about a 10-minute walk from here. Not quite the integrated public transport politicians like to talk about.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

We've just gone past the football stadium. I know where I am now.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

I'm on First Cymru service 4 to Swansea bus station - and it's a double-decker. Not to be confused with the disappointing chocolate bar I didn't buy the other day. I knew shrinkflation was a thing, but I swear that bugger wasn't even a people carrier.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

It's a terrific idea, of course. But it won't happen in my lifetime, I fear.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

Swansea Council and First Cymru might have jumped the gun by calling this bus stop 'Morriston Cross Metro'. It's just a bus stop. The enhanced train services around Swansea are still some way off; one proposal for tram/trains to Neath and Tonna was thrown out last week on the grounds of cost.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 8h

We didn't go to the hospital. I made it to Morriston Cross with ten minutes to spare until the post office closes. I love it when a plan comes together. It's even better when it happens by accident.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 9h

I've got a feeling this runs via Morriston Hospital.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 9h

We've pulled in at Clydach, north of Swansea. I've seen it on maps and on destination indicators, and now I've seen it for real. It's a pleasant area - one to explore another day.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 9h

Pontardawe is worth a second look. I'll make another trip now I know how to do it. I spotted a tourist sign for a canal, but I can't work out which one it is. That's a mystery to solve when I get home to my printed maps.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 9h

My friend's father was one of the founders of the Pontardawe Folk Festival. I'll set off earlier next weekend (weather permitting) and have a proper look around the town. I don't know what to expect, but that's what makes these excursions so interesting.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 9h

We're on the edge of Pontardawe now. I'll be heading into Swansea from the north - something I've never done before. I'm going to run out of map before that happens. 🤔

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 9h

Wouldn't you like that as the view from your house?

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 9h

It's an extremely attractive area, though. Property prices can't be so high that they're unaffordable. Swansea isn't a million miles away (it could feel that way on a bus, I suppose), so why does the whole place feel so neglected?

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 9h

As with the Valleys north of Cardiff, the prosperity of Swansea doesn't ripple out this far. If anything, the cities act as financial black holes, sucking in all the wealth of the surrounding areas and emitting nothing but a smug glow.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

It's a really rundown area by the looks of it. There's a terrace of six rather attractive houses and all bar one seem to be deserted. Maybe all six are.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

We're heading into Ystalyfera. It's a name I always associate with a BBC children's programme hosted by Ron Pickering, where teams from various schools would compete in sporting events. For some reason, Ystalyfera always seemed to be involved.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

We've just passed an Indian restaurant called Tiffin, and now I can't stop thinking of Sid James in 'Carry On up the Khyber'.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

Never mind a mere post office. Ystradgynlais has a full-on banking hub. I signed a petition recently because the people of Ammanford want one as well. I wonder how long we'll have to wait for one in Aberdare or Brecon.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

I must have been looking at an old timetable - we're not due out until 1110. That's a proper connection to the T4 in either direction. First Bus could try treating Llantwit Major the same way.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

Ystradgynlais is a hub with buses heading in different directions. The X6 is Swansea via Pontardawe - somewhere I've never been. I've looked at the map but I don't know what to expect. My unofficially adopted daughter's unofficially adoptive mother lives there. It would be nice to bump into her.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

More by luck than judgement, the connection is going to work: the X6 is late coming in.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

We're just coming into Ystradgynlais and now the bus is filling up with public transport amateurs who've never gone anywhere unless they're in the parents' car. We're doomed!

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

According to the Internet the post office is open until 1.00. Options ...

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

Last time I was in the town I found a nice little cafe. I think I'll be killing time there until the next bus. I hope they take cards, as I don't imagine the post office is still a thing.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

I think my intended connection at Ystradgynlais is a bust, with eight minutes to go. But stranger things have happened on public transport.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

We're going into Abercraf now. There's another pub here that people have told me about. If the publisher had managed to process my invoice on time, I could have visited both of them and had a nice walk from one to the other. But they didn't. I've got about £8 to my name until Monday. 😪

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

And now I know where the Pen y Cae Inn is. Some of their regulars came to the National Tap a while ago. In the new year, I'll organise a trip so we can play the away fixture.

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Steve O'Gorman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @steveeditor.bsky.social · 10h

We've just passed Craig y Nos Castle, the former home of the opera singer Adelina Patti (after whom the Patti Pavilion in Swansea is named). It looked as though a wedding was happening. What an amazing setting for it.

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