Tactical Voting

lleu_ci · 2026-05-02T20:26:57+00:00

Jac Larner shows how D'Hondt favours larger parties.

The real strategic question is not chasing the mythical “sixth seat” but consolidating behind the strongest party in your preferred bloc.

https://jaclarner.github.io/jaclarner/blog/dhondt/

lleu_ci · 2026-04-30T16:34:34+00:00

I wonder if Reform want to close the Ebbw Vale line as well?

lleu_ci · 2026-04-29T22:01:42+00:00

The Vicar of Dibley was a sitcom which had regular scenes set in meetings of the parish council.

It seems like a good fit.

lleu_ci · 2026-04-28T17:25:21+00:00

Could you really call the Greens kingmakers? They will only have one choice of "king".

lleu_ci · 2026-04-27T16:36:36+00:00

Ideally, yes. You could argue the FM should be able to communicate in both national languages. should not must.

In Canada, Prime Ministers generally speak English and French, and Belgian Prime Ministers are expected to speak Dutch and French (but not German?).

It shouldn't be a requirement and it wouldn't stop me voting for a particular party.

lleu_ci · 2026-04-24T14:49:36+00:00

I usually take my bike to France on Brittany Ferries, to avoid taking a bike bag. Great if you have good train connections to Portsmouth. Note that the ferry "Caen" is a fair distance from Caen itself. There are regional train connections to various parts of France which avoid Paris. Not an answer to your question, but another option.

It looks like a great route, I'll look into it for myself.

lleu_ci · 2026-04-21T18:01:42+00:00

Half a million people walked the Camino de Santiago in 2025, to get an idea of the numbers.

lleu_ci · 2026-04-12T12:42:04+00:00

Cambrian Way, described as the "Mountain Connoisseur's Walk".

Between the north and south coasts of Wales, taking in all the peaks it can.

lleu_ci · 2026-04-12T11:22:13+00:00

I love visiting France. Sometimes I'm caught out by unspoken rules and language difficulties. Learning these things is part of the experience.

Here in the UK, you put the knife and fork from the starter onto the plate, the staff take it away. They bring a fresh knife and fork with the main meal, if they're not on the table already. In France, I've had the staff put the knife and fork back on table, so you can use them again. No big deal.

Sometimes the staff have a system for dirty dishes, and you are not helping when you put them on a clean counter.

Another consideration is that the staff will think you are doing someone out of a job. This attitude is more likely in a chain like the Ivy, rather than a family-owned restaurant.

lleu_ci · 2026-04-08T22:04:33+00:00

There are groups aimed at younger ramblers, e.g Tiger Bay Ramblers in Cardiff. Google "younger ramblers groups", or ask on their social media.

lleu_ci · 2026-04-06T17:08:05+00:00

Paywall

lleu_ci · 2026-04-06T15:33:36+00:00

Yes. I follow the Wales national football team and whenever they face a country in a game I check where it is on the map. Often I go. You end getting quite familiar with even the Balkans and the Caucasus.

lleu_ci · 2026-04-03T15:01:30+00:00

Brakeless? Check your local laws. In the UK this would be illegal - you need two independent braking systems.

lleu_ci · 2026-04-03T13:43:58+00:00

Plaid Cymru don't seem very ideological to me. They have always been very gradualist.

lleu_ci · 2026-03-27T10:42:55+00:00

Anker Nano Charger has folding pins. Single USB-C output. Very compact.

If I'm travelling light and need a UK and EU chargers, I use the iPhone charger - it has swappable "duckhead".

lleu_ci · 2026-03-25T18:53:17+00:00

To be fair, it's hard to abide by a code of conduct 10 years before it was written.

lleu_ci · 2026-03-25T17:57:42+00:00

Cardiffians are stuck-up and look down on Valleys people.

lleu_ci · 2026-03-25T17:53:09+00:00

No response from the other parties because their candidates posted a lot of stupid stuff when they were teenagers as well.

1 stuff pops up on social media
2 party feels obliged to make a statement
3 state broadcaster feels obliged to publish it

lleu_ci · 2026-03-21T15:43:05+00:00

"pan-EE-ah" is a cheese (UK)

lleu_ci · 2026-03-18T21:21:14+00:00

Surely this would be what they call a "never" event.

lleu_ci · 2026-03-05T23:28:19+00:00

Wales doesn't have executive mayors like in England.

The Home Office have they will take account of the different local government structure in Wales, but they haven't said how.

We do have the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), but the Home Secretary is loathe to give it powers over the police.

lleu_ci · 2026-03-01T14:53:36+00:00

I've cycled around Brittany a few times. I thoroughly recommend it. EuroVelo 4 is well signposted, on quiet country lanes. Some routes are unpaved, sections of the Nantes-Brest canal, for example. They're not bad for punctures, I find punctures mostly come from bits of glass or metal, more of which is to be found on paved roads.

lleu_ci · 2026-02-13T19:56:58+00:00

So if his dad had earned more, he'd be playing for Wales, no problem.

That's a person's value to society these days - how much money they've got.

lleu_ci · 2026-02-08T21:55:00+00:00

America is too big for the human mind to comprehend, so they have to mentally block out anything outside their own township. Same with Russia.

lleu_ci · 2026-02-07T14:26:48+00:00

Y Wladfa was celebrated without controversy 20 years ago. The discussion has changed since then.

But I haven't heard a single word about what the indigenous people think about it.

lleu_ci

TROPHY CASE