Morrisons are coming to town

Let's face it, that site could do with a makeover. It's depressing to say the least. Though I must say, I don't understand why we need another supermarket when the existing ones are already finding it tough.

Maybe it's to feed all the newcomers into Aberdare who are going to live in these hundreds of new houses the council are so happy to see. Personally, I'm happy to see them too, but the difference is, that I want to see new infrastructure like better roads along with the new houses, whereas the council is only interested in seeing their developer pals making profits, and doesn't really give a damn about infrastructure.

Has Cocoman123 rebranded as Tinky? Looking at the grammar, I'd say so!

Nerve touched me thinks. Im would have thought that the conspiracy and corruption record would have worn out by now but clearly not. And if my intelligence is being question, 1st class honours degree from Loughborough University thank you. Oh well back to the Beano, lets see how desperate Dan is getting on.

Tinky, let me tell you that I worked for 22 years in Cardiff University before retiring last Christmas, and your degree means nothing to me. The academic staff had degrees coming out of their ears, and many of them had been educated into stupidity, or educated beyond their intelligence. In fact, education and common sense are not necessarily easy bed fellows.

Anyway, there's no nerve touched with me, as I'm an old hand at receiving insults and being denigrated for my outspoken views. Very thick skin indeed. However, your enthusiasm to see Cynon Valley covered in housing estates does not address the fundamental problem I mentioned before; namely, infrastructure.

I've already mentioned the roads, but that's just one problem that you and RCT council have failed to consider. How about schools and teaching staff, hospitals and medical staff? All these extra houses will generate waste that will need to be carted away, so do we have landfill sites big enough to take it all for the next twenty or thirty years? And will the council employ more bin men to remove it, when they've already sacked many of them? How about our sewage systems; are they up to the task of disposing of all that human waste?

Then we come to the transport system itself. There will be no jobs in Cynon Valley for all these people, so they will inevitably have to travel, and that means down to Cardiff most likely, using the A470, an already clogged up artery at 7 o'clock in the morning and 5 o' clock in the evening.

I did that for seven years, and soon got stressed up about it, so I went on the train instead. And that was another source of stress. By the time we got to Mountain Ash it was standing room only, and a mad rush to get on at Queen Street for the home journey. I saw the number of cars on the A470 increase year by year, and the number of passengers on the trains likewise. This will only get worse as more houses bring in more people.

So, perhaps your first class honours degree might be put to good use in solving those issues for a start, though you did not say exactly what discipline your degree was. Perhaps you could enlighten us on that, bearing in mind of course that I'm quite used to degree holders with little experience of the big bad world out there.

My discipline was in electronics, with a high level of practical as opposed to theoretical skills. That was the problem with the academics I came into contact with; they could cover the board with equations, and spout theory till the cows came home, but I wouldn't have trusted them to change a plug on an electric kettle! Hence my suspicious attitude towards anyone who tells me about their first class honours degree in this, that or the other. It means nothing to me.

By the way, I have two daughters, each with honours degrees, and thankfully they are more than capable at putting their knowledge to good use, but then I'm very biased in their favour.

Two final notes: If my memory serves me well Desperate Dan was a character in the Dandy, not the Beano; and use your spell checker before you post.

I await your reply with more than a little interest.

I just felt I had to comment on Tinky's post "Academics have no idea, and are afraid of the real world, thats why they work in universities for 22 years". I have a Masters Degree in Computer Science, and am working as a Senior Technical Support Officer at a University. I have worked in Higher Education for nearly 17 years, but before that I also worked for the Health Authority AND Private Industry. Not everyone who works in Education works in the "Academic" bit of it. I, and many others are support staff, and my job would be the same wherever I work, be it Private OR Public Sector.

I'm all for the development of Roberstown. Bring it on, and the sooner the better. I was also support staff in university by the way. As an electronics engineer it was my task to maintain the thousands of pieces of kit that students and academics used in their work.

As to the corruption that I see in the world; that's a very real issue, and if Tinky says that he\she has worked all over the world then he\she should be very familiar with its long tentacles reaching into every aspect of life abroad. China, Russia, India, Africa and the South American countries are all rife with this malaise.

Maybe Tinky's rose coloured spectacles have blinded him\her to the real world. After all, you can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink, and there are none so blind as those who don't want to see.

If Tinky is unfamiliar with all that then I would suggest that he\she check out the Transparency International site where he\she would be educated into the scale of the problem. And Britain is no exception either. In fact, we taught the world a thing or two about the passing of brown envelopes and "favours" for services rendered.

There's nothing about Wolfie Smith in my observation, because I'm a firm believer in enterprise and wealth creation through the capitalist system. My grudge comes when that system is usurped to make money for the few instead of creating wealth for the many, and thereby the social good. That may be a subtle difference beyond the ken of people like Tinky, who seems to be pretty well balanced, because he\she would appear to have a chip on both shoulders.

Still, we do seem to have gone off subject, when really we're all shouting in favour of the same thing, and that is to see Aberdare brought up to scratch and made into a better place to live. If this Robertstown plan comes off then it'll be a good start.

The reason of course why this town, and all the other valley towns are in such disarray, is because the very reason for their existence has gone long ago. Coal, iron and steel are no longer the backbones of our economies, so there's nothing left to keep young people here. Thus, those with any clem are up and away to better climes.

In the old days of course anyone could take ship and set off for America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but those countries now demand high qualifications and points to get in. Thus those with no skills are left here to languish and make do as best they can. It's a sad state of affairs, but that's the reality of it.

"chip on both shoulders". well balanced then!

congratulations to RCT and its councillors for attracting Morrisons to our town and congratulations on some great and badly needed highway maintenance throuout the valley. Im sure having the new leader of the council represent Aberdare will only be for the good. From what I know of Mr Christopher, he is a progressive straight talking man who has the regeneration of this valley firmly on his agenda.

Someone told me a while ago that a cinema complex was going there, simular to Merthyr's. Trouble is it's all rumours and speculation. Maybe someone in the council can shed some light on it.

ooooh more shopping trolleys to steal and dump in the cynon

But how much damage will a new store do to Aberdare town centre and that of Mountain Ash, everytime a new store like this opens ir bleeds trade away. If it gets planning and we all go there shopping its no good us all then bleeting on that Town Centres are dying.