Plaid pledge to offer independence vote
Couple’s street food business expands into town centre restaurant
PLAID Cymru has formally pledged that it will offer a Welsh independence referendum within the first term of Government should it be able to command a majority following this year’s Senedd elections.
The party’s special conference on independence, held virtually yesterday, saw party members formally approving the pledge made by party leader Adam Price late last year.
The policy now makes Plaid Cymru the only political party contesting the 2021 Senedd elections with a commitment to hold a referendum on Welsh Independence within a clear timetable. It also makes the 2021 Senedd elections the first ever Welsh elections where independence and its timetable are on the ballot.
Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said that history had been made and added that the vote reflected the “growing confidence” in Wales’ ability to run its own affairs.
Membership of grass-roots group Yes Cymru has grown exponentially – hitting 17,000 members last month. 25,000 people have signed its online pledge backing a referendum on Welsh independence.
Speaking after the conference, Mr Price said yesterday: “History was made today. For the first time, independence and its timetable will be on the ballot paper in a Welsh general election, reflecting the growing confidence in our ability to run our own affairs.
“With today’s endorsement of our unwavering belief that the people of Wales should decide their constitutional future by the middle of this decade – we have a clear roadmap for a free and fair nation.
“In government, we will build upon the excellent work of the Independence Commission by legislating for a Welsh Self-Determination Act, paving the way for a national commission which will oversee the process leading up to the referendum.
“In these uncertain times, the only certainty is that we can do far better than the status quo – a new normal that is there to be won in the Welsh spring.”
“WE couldn’t really think of a name so we said ‘let’s just call it Sloppy Joes’. The food is messy and that’s the point, it’s part of the fun. We love food and we love to eat.”
Five years ago, a married couple and their two children packed up one life in Scotland and came to find another. With nothing but a car full of stuff and a quest for adventure, they headed to Wales.
Within months they started selling sandwiches from a van in Carmarthen’s outdoor market and now, a few short years later, they’ve just opened a restaurant in the heart of town, despite an ongoing pandemic that has crippled many businesses.
Gary and Kristin Ridley had never even been to Carmarthen until 2016, and now feel part of the fabric, feeding the town with street food and becoming something of a social media sensation, with thousands of followers on Facebook and Instagram.
“Me met in Margate in the late ’90s and that was it, we’ve never been apart since,” said Kristin.
“We got married 22 years ago and decided to move up to Yorkshire to be near my parents, and up there we opened a tiny delicatessen in a small village. Within a couple of months we had moved to a bigger shop and then opened a second shop.
“That was our life for about nine years but by then we had two children and decided to start afresh so we moved up to Scotland to live on a small farm near John o’ Groats. It was about spending more time with the kids. We had our own chickens and pigs but we slowly ran out of money and started selling things at the bottom of the driveway and basically started a farm shop.”
A need for another source of income to make ends meet saw Gary work as a gardener at the nearby Castle of Mey, the former residence of the Queen Mother, but by 2016 it was time for the Ridleys to move back down south. They didn’t envisage it would be all the way down to Wales, though.
“We loved Scotland, it’s amazing and it was a fantastic place for the children to grow up, but we just felt ready for a new adventure,” said Gary, born and bred in London.
“Before we left Scotland we went on a bit of a road trip, which was our first holiday in about eight years. Rather than go away somewhere we just decided to go and visit different friends all over the UK that we hadn’t seen for years – and that brought us to Wales.
“One day we drove all the way down to Carmarthen, which was the first time we’d ever been here, and it really appealed to us.”
£2,500 spent on an old van later and Gary and Kristin were in business. Gary would make and sell griddle sandwiches in the local market every Friday, while Kristin would help boost the family coffers by selling jam from a stall next door.
Word of mouth spread, social media buzz followed, and soon one van became two vans, located at two nearby spots in the town centre.
Soon the popularity of Sloppy Joes meant a move to a bigger and permanent premises was on the cards.
“I’d always said to Gary that I didn’t want to end up opening a permanent spot, but by last year I was saying that we needed to open a restaurant,” said Kristin.
In October that became a reality with the opening of Sloppy Joes in Jacksons Lane. The couple now have their own two-storey restaurant.
It’s certainly a far cry from selling a sandwich in a van.
Kristin said: “We’re proud of the reaction we’ve had here and the social media following we’ve built up, but it’s a bit scary as well really.
“In all seriousness though, to be able to move to an area and make a mark as quickly as we have done makes us feel great.”
ZOEY and Kelly Allen live in Cardiff with their two children and in 2019 they made headlines when Zoey came out publicly as transgender. Since the announcement the couple have created multiple ventures, including their award-winning blog Our Transitional Life, which highlights the positives and negatives of navigating life as a transgender family, and their jewellery line KelZo.
A secret she had kept quite since she was eight years old, Zoey eventually transitioned at 38 with full support from wife Kelly and children Molly and George.
As she entered puberty aged 11 Zoey noticed that her body began to change in a more masculine way – something that made her upset and question herself.
“I was probably around 11 to 13 and my body was changing, my hands were getting bigger, and I remember sitting in the garden with my mum crying because I didn’t like how my body was changing,” Zoey said. “But I was assured it was normal. But, clearly, it wasn’t quite normal for who I should’ve been.”
As she entered her 20s Zoey began to have on and off thoughts about her identity. Due to the circles she was in and their opinion on trans people Zoey found it hard to reach out to people for support and solace.
“Through my 20s I had on and off thoughts about not feeling right as a male in the world and, because of the circles I was in and my family at the time, there wasn’t an understanding of what transgender was,” she said.
“It was all really negative looks. People in university would call transgender people ‘trannies’.
“Nowadays there is so much information on YouTube and Instagram. Even if your family and friends don’t understand and learn about these circles in life you can actually see yourself now.”
Married in 2008, Zoey returned to university as a mature student to study sound engineering. During this time she read into more stories and experiences about other transgender people.
“I kind of opened a rabbit hole to all the feelings I’d been feeling over the years,” Zoey said.
“I stumbled upon more and more stories about transgender people and related to it so much more that I ever truly believed. I didn’t think it would be something I could be. I didn’t want to lose Kelly and the kids so coming out was a massive fear.”
Since coming out the couple have been extremely honest about their experience navigating Zoey’s transition as a family network.
Recording both the good days and the bad ones in touching written features and vlogs, the couple have opened up their lives in an effort to help other people in similar situations and to educate viewers regarding various transgender and LGBT+ topics.