Re: Ahh the sweet sweet country
Right, so....
You moaned about the old oil fired plant, and then you say the owners demolished it "out of spite"? WTF did you want them to do, keep it open and burn the Welsh unemployed as a form of sustainable fuel? And when they build you a nice, super efficient gas plant to keep your lights on, then the sarcasm about the view suggests you're still not ****ing happy. As a rule, CCGT's are far less conspicuous than renewables or old style thermal plant. So make your mind up, and either be pleased that you've got electricity, or do with out and shiver in the dark (whilst fondly rememberng how you used to be able to post on the Reg).
Then we get to the harsh life that rural dwellers live. Ignoring those utilities (water, electricity) that are delivered at regulated prices (and so heavily subsidised by us urban dwellers), you start carping on about your huge contribution to the nation. If you want a fair crack of the whip, then we can start by you handing back the £2.5 bn extra that the Barnett formula doles out, over and above the indirect subsidies like locating DVLA in the UK's only Area of Outstanding Workplace Sickness. You've got some decent trunk roads and motorways in South Wales, and one of the main reasons you have those (as opposed to cart tracks) is the port traffic - about which you moan. Rubbish public transport and low choice of shops is (along with not many people) what defines a rural area. If you don't like it, then effing well move - London's got some fairly good public transport, so long as you don't mind Bakerloo nose. I think that part of Wales is rather pleasant, and personally if I couold get a job there I'd be quite pleased (other than for the shockingly poor Welsh education system, but that's in the hands of your assembly).
I'd accept that BT are slow to roll our rural broadband. But if you want the sort of 60 Mb/s service that I am having installed at the end of this week (not that I'm trying to lord it, oh no*), then you have the choice of moving somewhere where more customers can share the costs of infrastructure, or you are going to have to wait a long time (and pay VAST amounts of money, to judge by EE's newly announced LTE pricing). There is no bottomless pit of cash to pay for universal fixed broadband. I'd accept that OFCOM could do a lot better, and that BT are doing the least possible, but with the best will in the world the rural few are still at the back of the queue for broadband. The 90% of us can enjoy fast broadband, and envy you clean air, space, low crime and attractive views, and that's the choices most of us have to make.
* Alright then, yes I am mentioning my forthcoming 60 Mb/s connection to goad you. It'll be soooo much faster than the old 10 Mb/s. In fact, I think that it'll be fatter than the pipe that links all of Wales to the interweb.