This week has been Compost Awareness Week and indeed, from what readers to this blog tell me, some of the comments made by certain stalkers on here, might be more apt for the compost heap.
It was only last week-end when I started to make use of the compost from my Pembrokeshire County Council supplied compost bin. I dont know whether I have done it right, but basically everything gets re-cycled from my house, one way or the other, so that very little ends up in the black bag.
Going back to the compost, my 2007 vintage is being used in my garden, but from the amount of lawn I had, I could have done with 3 compost bins.
When I see the compost, I now think of the Council... as it was their good ideea to give them out to us.

I see our former AM, Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey has emerged as the Labour candidate to take over from her mother, as Labour MP for Crewe & Natwich.
I have never met Tamsin, though I have e-mailed her when she represented us. Tamsin managed to lose a fairly safe Labour seat to fellow WT blogger, Paul Davies.
Will she lose Labour the seat that her mother Gwyneth, held, for something like 40 years?
Gwyneth Dunwoody was a formidable politician and regardless of your political views, you would always listen to her when she spoke, as she managed, somehow, to have the respect of everyone, in all parties.
If I was a betting man, with all the troubles that Labour seem to be in, I can see Tamsin (the "Kneafsey" seems to have been overlooked/dropped!) losing on 22nd May.

I cannot recall any song by Pete Docherty, but somehow, he is in the news all the time, mainly due to his drug taking and court appearance, and previously, his association with Kate Moss.
PD was released today after 29 days into a 14 week prison sentence. 29 days is 1 day over 4 weeks, so what about the other 9 weeks, 6 days.
Was it worth the cost to the tax payer of sending him to prison, if sentencing is such a joke? I could understand releasing him a week or 2 early, but 10 weeks early?

One of the funniest programmes on TV is Channel 4's "Friday Night Project" with Justin Lee Collins and Allan Carr, plus their guest host.
After the results of the County Council elections were announced that day, its possible to imagine that there was a Friday Night Project taking place at Cwmbetws, with Council Leader John Davies taking stock of the election results. If I am not wrong, this is the first time that a Council Leader has not been unseated at elections, since PCC was reconstituted in 1996. Mind you, it was rather easy for Cllr Davis, as he was one of the 13 candidates returned, without an election taking place in his ward.
I wont use the "topical barometer" on the blog in case anyone is offended by it, but refer to JL-C's "good times" and "bad times" quotes.
GOOD TIMES
- The Conservatives can be pleased to have a foothold now, with 5 councillors. This begs the question, as Gordon Brown has GOATS (Government of all the Talents), will John Davies' Indie Group work with the Conservatives, as most people say the Indies are Tories hiding behind the IPG. Would Cllr Davies therefore form a Cabinet of COATS (Cabinet of all the Talents). I noticed that several of the Conservative candidates had double-barelled surnames. Is that a requirement for the local party?
- Maybe a 2nd term will enable Cllr Davies to stamp his own clear authority as there's now enough distance between him and the former Leader (who was within 2 votes of coming bottom of the Merlins Bridge poll). As many accuse the Indies of being led by the officers, maybe we'll see more Member control.
BAD TIMES
- One or two prominent Indie scalps were claimed by the opposition parties, including the Education Cabinet Member, to a Conservative new boy.
- Poor old Labour losing 6 seat, I believe, including 2 members who at the last minute, submitted nomination papers with NO party affiliation. Bad Times for Labour! Good Times for John Davies!
- 13 councillors being elected unopposed which meant just over 20% of Pembrokeshire voters had no say on May 1st. A bad day for democracy.
- Bad times for John Davies as Old Grumpy is joined in the Chamber by Old Grumpette. As Frank Spencer said, "a problem shared is a trouble doubled".
- We now have an Independent run Council that ran on no manifesto, which presumably means they have no vision for the next 4 years, other than respond to events.
In conclusion, whilst Labour seem to be going down the pan at a rate of knots and the Tories have 5 seats, there was no change for Plaid or the Lib Dembs.
Whilst at a national level we now talk of 3 party politics, Pembrokeshire can now be viewed as 5 party county, which means if the 4 parties and the Indies put a candidate up in a ward, you could be elected with 20% of the vote, plus 1!
I would hope that for the 2012 elections, that the 4 main parties will have revived and give the voters of Pembrokeshire, greater choice and vision and that the new Council will open up the Council, to enable public participation at Council meetings, by asking questions, for example.
We seem to be in a cycle where the public are excluded/not encouraged to participate and we now have a dire shortage of people standing. In Johnston, we only had a choice of 2 candidates and that probably explains why just over 36% voted. The election campaign was really a non event.
Pembrokeshire County Council needs to look at how to connect better with us, its voters AND most importantly, its customers, as we pay the Council Tax and the salaries of the councillors.

I saw a policeman interviewing a resident in Castle Street, this morning. It looked like someone had sprayed some racist grafitti on her car bonnet.
There was also a Pembrokeshire Van opposite with 2 or 3 Council workmen who looked like they were there to remove similar racist grafitti sprayed on the wall on the opposite of the road, when given the go ahead.
I understood the word "saes" and I asked a friend what the other word meant and the significance of crossed hammers.
I looked on the WT website to see if they carried the story and it wasn't reported on Radio Pembrokeshire's News, either.

Gavin Brent, 24, of Holywell was fined £150 and £364 costs by Mold magistrates for his blog entry in which he ranted at the way he was treated by the police.
He was convicted of posting a grossly offensive and menacing message.
As I do not read the comments left on my blogs, as its not a chat room, I have been advised by several people I meet in the street, of the content of some comments left by some individuals.
If anyone wants to contact me, they are perfectly free to e-mail me at a.c.lye@btopenworld.com, if anyone wants an intelligent discussion.
With regard to Gavin Brent, magistrates said that any reasonable person would find the comments menacing.
As if anyone would leave menacing comments on my blog, or any of the other Readers Blogs on the WT web-site.
If they do, maybe they should consider how magistrates dealt with Gavin Brent as I certainly do not go out to grossly offensive or menacing to anyone .... just giving my opinions on local, national and international matters. I am all for intelligent comments and discussions and the WT is to be commended for encouraging debate.