As a little lad in the 60’s I was brought up on the spectacle of rugby that was London Welsh. Great games, great excitement and very often thumping rugby. All washed down with a barrel or two after the game.

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In those days, players were amateurs, they played for love of the game and also with respect for the opposition. Captains were not laden with press conferences to worry about, but they did undertake one very important and noble duty.

If and when an opposition player was injured, the captain would trot over to him to express concern, and in most instances would wish him well. On those rare occasions when someone had to leave the field, he would be applauded off by both sides as well as the crowd.

Yesterday at the Millennium Stadium Thom Evans received a very nasty injury that forced him to leave the field and be taken to hospital for neck surgery. Whilst he was being attended to, the Welsh team appeared to take no interest in his plight, and the Welsh captain did not make an effort to check on him. Shame on them all.

Being “professional” does not excuse anyone from showing respect to injured individuals and I hope that we see some shift back to old values again soon.

This is going to be a bit of a rant, I’ll try to stay calm but the truth is I need to get this off my chest.

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Like many people I’ve got a gas central heating system and also, like a good number of people I’ve got – or rather been sold – a maintenance contract that covers “all you plumbing”. So on Friday night when we found water under our sink we phoned the Gas company to ask for help. The first response, to my wife, was that this wasn’t an emergency and they would get someone out on Monday sometime. We were given a reference number just to reassure us.

Not impressed with this answer, I called to explain that the water was causing damage. When I offered the reference number I was told that it wasn’t a Gas number, but a third party’s reference -  but they kindly upgraded the problem to an “Emergency” which meant that someone would call that night.

My wife went out and I stayed to await a plumber. He didn’t come! At just before 9, the usual knocking off time for a call centre, I called again to check on progress and was told that the job was scheduled for Monday morning. An exchange of opinions followed, after which I agreed to call again in the morning to set the ball rolling again.

Saturday: 08:00 I was on the phone and 15 minutes later had a new reference number for a new emergency. The plumber would be with us before 12. At 11:30 I called to check on progress and was advised that he was on his way. But would I like to insure my wiring. Er… not just now!

Within 2 minutes of putting the phone down the plumber called: he had only just been allocated the job, that is 3.5 hours after it had been rated an emergency for the second time.

When he arrived, 4 hours later, it tool him 2 minutes to decide that the job wasn’t covered by the insurance and that I’d need to get it fixed privately.

He then issued us a written quote for the work, but made it clear that he was not able, or allowed to do the work. Despite a number of questions we never did ascertain the purpose of the quote for work that could not be done.

Finally, on Monday morning we had a call from the same plumber who had now been allocated the original job from Friday night’s call. The work was allocated to him at around 11:00.

All in all a very poor performance from a company that takes a lot of money off me every year for both Gas and insurance. Is it all surprising that I rejected their sales pitch to insure my wiring when I was trying to get a leak fixed during the Saturday morning call.

I won’t divulge the name of the company, save to say that it is an anagram of “I Grabs Shit”!

When I heard about the disaster in Haiti I was saddened, but then I heard about the USA’s response of active and vigorous action and I felt proud that some people in the world were able to do something really useful. I wish we were with them.

Television footage of people suffering and cities destroyed, or is that people destroyed and cities suffering? Whatever way you looked at the early reports the news was almost beyond understanding. But eventually we understood, or at least I thought we did. This is a natural disaster in a country that has a history of dealing with man made and natural disasters.

But understanding meant nothing: people have been killed, so there’s not much one can do for them, but millions still live and it is the living that are suffering. Millions in need of help, millions without the basics of life: shelter, water, food and security. Beyond that they are now in a state that had no means of control, no communications and certainly no means of dealing with the challenges they face.

What can we do, what should I do, why should I do anything?

All questions that ran through my soul, deeply. If only I were younger I could “volunteer”. But I’m not young, so maybe they need my money: but will it get there? And anyway: why should it come to me to give or do something? We’ve a department of Government that deals with international aid, can’t they take care of it all for me, for us, for them?

The more I saw TV footage from Haiti, the worse I have felt.

The suffering is beyond understanding, and the sense of frustration about the slow progress of international aid is growing. And the talk is now about money.

To hear today that the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government has suggest that we, in Wales, should give money to the Disaster Emergency Committee has left me seriously disappointed. The cause is so obvious that is hard to imagine anyone in Wales objecting to Government action.

There are 3 million people in Haiti affected by this disaster, roughly the population of Wales. A well lead country would stump up a valuable and immediate donation at a rate of at least £1 per head.

No cards this year, just a ridiculously expensive family video instead.

We hope you all have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year

After a demanding tour which sadly saw 8 men killed in action, The 1st Battalion Welsh Guard arrived home tonight. Whilst others continue the hard work in Afghanistan, let’s hope these guys and gals enjoy a well earned break and get some valuable time with their families and loved ones.

Croeso adre bois!

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Lord Foulkes is a fool. Having tried to embarass and undermine the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, he has today reasserted what appear to be false claims of Dannatt and Conservative officials acting in concert against the Government.

What the Lord F****** failed to note is that Dannatt is an incredibly honest and principled man, with strong religious beliefs. His statements that have challenged the present Governemt have been embarassing for Brown and others but have come about as a result of incredibly strong feelings and his conviction to be seen to lead his Army in the right way and to provide them with the right equipment.

I’ve already commented that Gen Dannatt would, under any other Government, have been promoted to Chief of the Defence Staff, the top job in military terms. His understanding of operations in Afghanistan is beyond question as is his commitment.

Now he is likely to be offered a role in the likely next Conservative Government. This appointment is to be welcomed, not as a threat to the existing government but as a warning that there will be someone who will ALWAYS speak his mind about military matters. Cameron will do well to ennoble the General and will also do well to note his comments and opinion.

The fact that Dannatt is “on the team” will not mean that he speaks the party speak and that is what we need going forward.

I may not agree with the aims of some of the people protesting in London today but I do admire many of them for the way they have both planned and executed their protests. And probably more importantly I admire them for taking a stand on an “issue” that is important to them.

That is a fundametal democratic right that we seem to have been prepared to foresake during the good times. I just hope that the Police deal with them in a sensible and non violent manner, unless of course force is used in response to demonstrator instigated violence.