In regards to the second part of my post earlier today, I recived an e-mail from 10 Downing street to say my petition has been accepted and it can now start collecting signatures. please visit http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/socialfunding and sign the petition. Please read the post below to understand what the petition is about. Many Thanks!

Hello again. During the best part of last week and the start of this week I have been aiming to make more people aware of the Our Merthyr campaign. It is time that this group gets more support so that we have a good backing when stating our views to Huw Lewis, Dai Havard or any of the local councillors within this constituency. It is important that everyone right across the town has a say on what goes on and what changes are being made. It should not all be down to politicians to what is being done or what needs to be done the people of Merthyr Tydfil should have a say to improve our town to build upon what we already have. This is the reason I began this campaign to begin with I feel that people leave it down to politicians way to much and this is making cause for concern. It is time for change and we need YOU to help us change the way society runs. instead of having the politicians having all the say on what goes on it is time to make the decision making equal between people who live in the town and those who have the power. I have now registered the campaign with a national organisation known as “groupsnearyou.com” this will hopefully make people aware of what is going on and get more people involved with the campaign. If you can think of any other ways of advertising the campaign then please e-mail me on marcanthonyevans@yahoo.co.uk.

The next part of this post is in regards to a petition that I have attempted to set up on number-10.gov.uk. The petition is in regards to petition Gordon Brown to issue extra funding to local goverments right across the United Kingdom for the purpose of developing more social facilities which would be run by local governments. I have written to our Assembly member and our Member of Parliament regarding young people believing that consuming alcohol on the streets is regarded as the only social activity for young people. The other day I received a letter from Huw Lewis our Assembly Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney who agreed with me that young people regard consumption of alcohol as the only social activity avaliable to them despite there being youth clubs across merthyr already. However the initial problem is that young people do not know about the Youth clubs avalaible to them and those who do are not motivated enough by the facilities provided. extra funding would allow better facilities for the community to use and would hopefully get young people off the streets and into a supervised community centre. It is really great that the Rhydycar lesiure complex is being completed which will provide decent facilities for young people however this is only the start we need to keep developing facilities and giving people the reason to join community clubs as well as providing facilities in local areas of the town. In the letter Huw stated that transport would be avaliable to and from the Rhydycar complex however there will no doubt be concern regarding the safety of children going to and coming from the complex on their own during the evening and will transport be free or will we need to pay? There is a major concern regarding money across Merhyr and people may not be able to afford the costs of getting transport. Having better facilities in local areas of Merthyr Tydfil will give people somewhere to go locally and get people off the steets. I will provide a link to the petition shortly.

Shwmai, Well here we are another week, another post! On Saturday during my lunch break I was reading the daily mirror, when going through I came to a very interesting article regarding the governments plans to introduce a smoking licence to smokers which would cost them £10.00 per year. From people I have talked to regarding this topic there has been very mixed feelings with some including myself feeling that in certain aspects that this is a decent idea one of the first decent ideas I have seen come from a Labour controlled government (Westminster I am talking about now). I seriously consider this to be an idea that can go very far in terms of keeping the NHS afloat. Money taken in from licences will be pumped back into the NHS which would then cover the costs of treatment for those who smoke. This also follows onto people not being able to get served tobbaco products if they do not show a licence to the cashier and also police will get new powers to enable them to request to see the licence if they see anyone smoking on the streets. this will really cut back on the number of young people smoking and hopefully it will lead to people quitting alltogether. this will definatly take some of the pressures of the NHS. What do you think of these new plans? post a comment by clicking “post a comment” below the post title above.

Hello again to everyone who reads my posts. Today I have been attempting to get in contact with the management for the Wales Youth Parliament. This organization allows young people in Wales to have a say however I feel that the parliament has gone down hill due to people not taking much of an interest in it. I have seen the great success that has come of the Scottish Youth Parliament which allows young people to have a say in Scotland and have become concerned to why there is not much call for the Wales youth parliament. This is an excellent idea as it allows young people to learn vital life skills such as team building and developing effective communication for any job they wish to pursue later within their careers. It would be excellent if the management for the Wales Youth Parliament could get it up and running again and to get politicians across Wales listening and taking young people seriously upon matters that relate to them such as leisure and sport facilities. This leads on to the second part of this posts title, “E-mailing politicians”. This evening I have sent two e-mails one to Dai Havard our MP for Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney and the other to Huw Lewis our AM for Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney. The E-mails were regarding the new Rhydycar complex that should be complete by the summer which will defiantly get some of the young people off the streets and into facilities that will improve their health and allow them to socialise within a  safe environment. The complex though will be great for people of all ages right across Merthyr Tydfil and will hopefully improve the health of a majority of people as well as creating jobs and getting people off benefits and into full time paid employment. I did send another E-mail this time to the management of the Wales youth parliament in an attempt to see if the parliament is still running and in an attempt to represent the young people of Merthyr as a member of the Wales Youth Parliament.

I have just come across a website that has absolutely disgusted me. http://www.merthyrhealthcare.co.uk/ This website should be seen by everyone to see how some members of staff in the NHS treat patients especially those higher up within the NHS. I am currently studying for a BTEC national Diploma in care and understand about how patients SHOULD be treated. This in my eyes is complete neglect and people should not under any circumstances be treated this way! This has got to be the worst scenario I have ever come across there is no excuse for it yet the NHS seem to find some. how can they find excuses for mistreatment of people who have been placed in their care for example the lady who suffered from severe gangrene. Doctors and others in the hospital apparently had already seen her condition yet nothing was done! this confuses me completely. How can you not do something about someone who is in a condition like that she really must have been in agony! The next bit is even worse! It was said that the elderly lady would need to have her leg amputated from the knee down but was told she would not survive it so what they told her was she would have to suffer with the pain until she died which unfortunately she did two weeks on. This is a devastating and completely astonishing action taken by the NHS and I personally can not believe that they made her suffer this is a new low for the NHS and should not be getting away with it. Please!, support me in this we need to campaign on behalf of the neglected patients to make sure that this does not continue. I will create a petition to send to Glamorgan trust in order to put in place more assessments to make sure that patients are not neglected and are treated as individuals with respect. This has gone to far we must stand up and fight this horror!

Shwmai. I have been away for quite a while since I have been concentrating on my academic work but have decided to come back after realizing that people are interested in what is said and Ive been quoted as having a very interesting blog. I would like to thank merthyr.org for their very kind comments. From what I have seen it has been a very tough few months for Merthyr especially with Labour councilors in Merthyr allowing the go ahead of Fros-Y-Fran which has already taken it tole on the top end of Merthyr- The top of Dowlais leading right down to the middle of Twynyrodyn and on some days as far as the Gurnos estate. Many will probably realize that I am in fact talking about the strong smell of sulfur that is invading our town. Soon no doubt this will start affecting peoples health and costing the NHS more problems than they already have, which, I have talked about in previous posts. On another note it is actually great to see Labour pumping money into the town where it is needed the most rather than on things they claim they are spending it on which we can not see any affect of. The fact that we need to struggle to get around the town centre at the moment without breaking our necks is no real concern to the thought than when the constructors move out Merthyr town centre will once again be a pride to visit. From what I have seen so far the new pathways throughout town looks modern and very eye catching. It makes Merthyr look and feel good. Finally before I go for now I would also like to admit my pleasure in seeing time and effort being put into the new leisure facilities that should be opening this summer. It really has come a long way and when finished we should all be able to indulge in the great facilities that we have been blessed with. Merthyr is improving a lot there are still downfalls but at the moment greatness is showing through the clouds. Once again I would like to thank merthyr.org for providing a link here and allowing others to view what I say. But remember this campaign was created to allow everyone have a view I would very much like others to join in and provide their views this is after all our merthyr and we need to make sure that we can be proud of this town. If you would like to comment then please just e-mail me on marcanthonyevans@gmx.com and I will be sure to post in your views when I come on next. Thank you and I shall post again next week.

A thought just came up. We are now going to widen our campaign to meet the requirements of the constituency area which is Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney. If you live in Rhymney or anywhere within the Merthyr Borough and want your say into what happens within this constituency area then please e-mail me on marcevans22@yahoo.co.uk

If you are unaware of what this campaign is about then please click the “About” button above and you should find all the information about the campaign there. If you find you need any more information after this then please e-mail me on marcevans22@yahoo.co.uk

We are also very keen on getting a wide range of people who want their say in what goes on. This means as young as 14 years old up to any age. We also want people to join from different ethical backgrounds and religions if you live in this area you should have your say! We are very keen on equal opportunities and want everyone in the Merthyr Borough to have their say on what goes on. Please note this is a voluntary campaign and we do not accept any payments. This is about you having your say in what the Council and even what the Welsh Assembly plan to do within this borough. Please e-mail me today on marcevans22@yahoo.co.uk

Hwyl.

Marc Evans

A political achievment is upon us! One that will decrease NHS problems slightly. Of course you know what I am taking about now! The Smoking Ban hits Wales at 6am on Monday and businesses will be starting to prepare for a heavy beating in business activity. Of course though there will be some major benefits from banning smoking from Public places such as the prevention of people breathing in second hand smoke that can be deadly to their lifestyles.

 But what a grand old day it will be. People will be able to return to their favourite cafes and pubs without the fear of their health being smashed with a baseball bat (second hand smoke) I know I will benefit from this as well as thousands of others right across Wales.

 Bring it on. Lets kick smoke out of our lives!

Shwmai. Hello. For the past few blogs that I have made I have discussed different ways to develop this campaign to open it to a wider audience in Merthyr Tydfil.

For this Blog I am going to go back to the issues that Influence us the residents of Merthyr Tydfil and look at a campaign backed by most parties within the Merthyr Borough. This is regarding New Labour’s complete disregard for public safety and the affect that it will have on our NHS budgets. The issue that I am talking about is the Ffos-y-Fran Opencast project that is due to begin in the summer 2007. What hits me is why exactly did labour give Miller Argent Ltd the company who plan to complete the project money to do the project. I mean look at the general facts even the ones not in Wales. “Two killed in open-cast accident” This article was found on the Scotsman website regarding the death of two men near Dalmellington, East Ayrshire in Febuary this year. So incase you are unaware here is a question- What is open-cast Mining? Well open-cast Mining is where work is done on the surface rather than underground but heres the catch explosives are used and not only can workers be killed from explosions it leads into my second point- The affect on OUR NHS budgets. Exlosives used to lift coal the affect- great ammounts of dust rubble and other chemicals probably which will affect our environment but also will cause great problems for Asthma sufferers and maybe people will heart disease and also many other health problems.

I only have one thing to request no sorry Beg off everyone. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE There are other jobs do not accept work off Miller Argent Ltd. You are only helping to cause greater problems to our community