Rollo strikes out to conquer the Gower

Stunning afternoon @ Oxwich - contrary to the Met Office predictions 

Cwrw'r Wythnos # ugain

20 weeks, 20 excellent beers added to "the beerhunter" 

Grand total beers sampled now 2182. 

Started 2013. That means 181 beers /year.

Or 3.5 beers /week, or 0.5 beers /day. I suppose one every other day. I guess that figures, as its possible to try 5 or 6 halves in an evening in somewhere like BeerRiff or even 'Spoons. Holidays have even greater opportunities. 

What have I learnt? There are very few bad beers, as I try to avoid Sours. I guess that there is an almost infinite number of beers in the world, as most breweries try to generate sales by inventing new brews on a regular basis, to compliment their core ranges. So there are always more brews tomorrow than today. Not infinite, but infinite possibilities.

Rollo lands on a Gower Beach

 

Rollo of Yate lands on the south coast of Gower, to celebrate the birth of Kim of Sketty Park

Modur Newydd i Kim

 

Wa Wa Wa!

I've never seen these 2 in a room at the same time?

Do you think they could be the same person?

Happy Happy Joy Joy

 Sunshine after the Rain 

My Happy Place (&Indy's)

DO NOT MIX UP

Never confuse Lubyanka:-

With Ljubljana:-

Do not try to book a holiday to the wrong one. 

Cwrw'r Wythnos # deunaw

 

Wacky Ways of counting

Gringo               Taff                        Autistic

Hundred     cant Fifty     hanner cant “half hundred” Thirty     tri deg “three ten” twenty one    un ar hugain “one on twenty” Twenty    ugain Nineteen    un deg naw ”one ten nine” Eighteen   deunaw “two nines” Seventeen   dau ar bymtheg “two on fifteen” Sixteen un deg chwech ”one ten six” Fifteen pymtheg “five ten” Fourteen   pedwar ar ddeg “four on ten” Thirteen       tair ar ddeg “three on ten” Twelve deuddeg         “two ten” Eleven un ar ddeg “one on ten”

Welsh Rugby is eating itself

What a crock of shite. The WRPoo has chosen the worst of all options, keeping Cardiff, Newport and defunding either the Scarlets or the Ospreys. What kind of madness is this? Are they trying to kill off Welsh Rugby? 

How can they consider keeping Newport, the worst performing region over the Scarlets or the Ospreys? 

I give up. Time to support Bath, Dr Matthews. Send me a shirt. 

NOT "Taking Britain Back" but "Taking Britain Forward"

 

Excellent news, I was sweating on this one. Well done Plaid for stopping the Reform bandwagon. Perhaps they can form a Welsh government for Wales soon. I loved seeing the Tory Vermin (©Nye Bevan) on 2% - made my day.

The best quote I heard today was instead of "Taking Britain Back" (used by reform & sundry fascists) but "Taking Britain Forward" from the Plaid victor. Nice idea. 

I'm not 100% convinced by Plaid, personally, but feel that for the last 30 years Labour hasn't worked for Wales. I know the Tory Bastards have been in Westminster strangling the funds from Wales & giving them to the Blue Belt, (Rishi Sunak passim & Hs4 robbery), but still with the limited funds their focus has been erratic at best, misguided at worst (eg lack of M4 widening ). TBH, I'm really disappointed that with Labour in power in London, there hasn't been more support for Welsh Labour.

However, Plaid are now a positive choice for change, & perhaps they will do a better job. I'll give them a chance next Poll Day. 

I thought there was a positive spin from Labour central, tho:-

"People are disappointed with the pace of change" I think thats fair, as undoing 15 years of asset stripping is a long job. There are some commentators out there (eg good troubles daily &  full facts government tracker) pointing out that they have actually achieved quite a lot.

Of course, there is the possibility that whoever is in Westminster will then carry on ignoring Wales as before. Fecked if you do, fecked if you don't?

Tongue (original)

The Dragon's tongue?

There is work afoot to reconstruct the original language of these Sceptred Isles. Although i'm not sure that the tag 'original' could apply. How far back do you go? Did the Celts come to Britain from Europe? Who was here before? What did they speak? Who cares?

Anyway, this lot claim its 'brittonic' (I thought brythonic?). Read all about it here

An extract:-

There is growing interest amongst modern Britons and the British diaspora in the Celtic peoples whom modern genetics have revealed as their primary forms of ancestry. We toast to this legacy by bringing back to life the original tongue of the Britons.

They have even started to create a dictionary, or 'Brictionary' for this language.

This can be found here

I'm Back

 From the Beeb Sport app:-

My prediction from 8.08.25 was spot on (although not suprising).

So, we now have 3 good players.... And, even 2 ex Bish Comp pupils! Rhys Davies & James Fender. Dylan played with James @ South Gower RFC. where his Dad was coach.

I'm Bad

I had one of these bad boys fitted to Freddie this week. I can now change gear without the clutch - my! what fun!

JT's fitted this for me whilst adding engine guards which had eventually arrived in the UK

Freddie now loooks like this:-

Sliders to be fitted when they hit our shores. 

Hopefully, this should mean less damage when I fall over again :-)

Cwrw'r Wythnos # dau ar bymtheg

 

Happy Saturn's Day

 

Or Dydd Sadwrn Hapus

The story so far? :- 

As the supreme ruler of the cosmos, Saturn (Greek Cronus) ruled alongside his wife, Ops (Greek Rhea). He had usurped his own father, Caelus (Greek Uranus), and feared that a prophecy foretold one of his own sons would do the same. To prevent this, Saturn devoured his children—including Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres, and Vesta—as soon as they were born. 

His wife, Ops, grew tired of this cruelty. When their youngest son, Jupiter, was born, she secretly hid him away in Crete. To fool Saturn, she gave him a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he promptly swallowed. When Jupiter came of age, he returned to confront his father. He forced Saturn to regurgitate his swallowed siblings, who joined Jupiter in his revolt. 

I wonder if he inspired 'the baby killing bishop of Bath & Wells'? 

It's Friday, ......

 It's Friday, its 5 O'clock, so it must be:-

Sadchester

We visited Manchester this weekend, and it was a sad experience. The town centre has changed beyond recognition, what used to be a lovely old commercial working town has transformed into high rise towers everywhere. These seemed to be student accomodation, or bits of Manchester Poly, now Uni. My old workplace has been flattened, and replaced with a faceless box. Our watering holes have been demolished, and more tower blocks built. Perhaps the best idea is to never go back.

The beautiful home of Kersal RFC was still there, allbeit changed to Altrincham Kersal RFC. Site of some of my most spectacular feats of rugby prowess. Dissapointed to see no blue plaque, tho

The Man From Uncle

My Dad, Don, had a business supplying (amongst others) the Bengali community in Swansea with poultry. I dont know if you ever noticed, but the majority of curries sold are of the chicken variety. Over the years, he became affectionately known as "Uncle" which is a mark of respect in their community. He was also known as Murgh Wallah - Chicken Seller, which I found quite cute. I would often order a take-away over the phone & give my name as Murgh Wallah. Unfortunately most of the "old guard" have now gone to Dar al-Salam, so I can do this less & less.

He passed away on this day 4 years ago. I miss him every day.

Shhhhh

 When you have nothing to say, its best to say nothing

Feedback

 

Not unless you pay me/bribe me/enter me into a draw

Auntie Donna

 

O2 Apollo Manchester 11.10.25

Crazy Aussies & 1 audience member.

Horton & Port Eynon Lifeboat

I had four happy years playing with other people's boats, driving a tractor, and using other people's petrol @ RNLI Horton & Port Eynon back in the 80's. It's a lovely little station, with a D Class inshore boat, crewed by 3 normally, 2 in an emergency, and. 4 if an extra pair of hands, like the Hon. Med. Officer is needed. 

The boat is launched on a tractor pulled trailer across the beach, picking out wherever the surf is least. Huge fun can be had launching through surf, with the trick being for the helm aboard to gun the engine whilst the 2 crew, one on each side get slung up and into the boat. (Sometimes missing :-))

The run down to the Worm's head, to rescue people cut off by the tides, could be quite bumpy, especially in a quartering sea - which it usually was (Westerly's being the norm). Still great fun, though.

Horton and Port Eynon RNLI  

Word of the day

 A new one for me...

FYI: Ustym Karmaliuk

From Wiki:-

Ustym Yakymovych Karmaliuk (also Karmelyuk; Ukrainian: Устим Якимович Кармалюк (Кармелюк); March 10, 1787 – October 22, 1835) was a Ukrainian outlaw who fought against the Russian administration and became a folk hero to the commoners of Ukraine. He is often referred to as the "Ukrainian Robin Hood" and "the last haydamak".

His grotto

With the ongoing Polish uprising of 1831, by the early 1830s Karmaliuk's guerrilla army was approximately 20,000 strong, with over 1,000 raids on the estates of the Polish and Russian landowners over a 20-year period. The response of the tsar was to station military units in those regions hardest hit by Karmaliuk. He was caught four times and sentenced to hard labor in Siberia, but escaped each time.

A bit bigger than Robin Hood, then. 

According to legend, Karmaliuk was impervious to bullets, but he was killed by the only thing that could get him, a lead garment button.

Beware the Garment Buttons...

13 Miles

 

1899: Launch from Porlock Weir - Timeline - Our history 

13 miles Skinny Lister

From visitlyntonandlynmouth.com|:-

Louisa & the Forrest Hall

The Night Lynmouth's Lifeboat Crew Made History

The Great Storm of 1899 and the Peril of the Forrest Hall

On 12 January 1899, hurricane-force winds hammered the Exmoor coast. The Forrest Hall, a 1,900-ton vessel under tow from Bristol to Liverpool, was caught in the storm. When the tow cable snapped and the ship’s rudder failed, she drifted dangerously close to Porlock Bay’s rocky shoreline.

The Watchet lifeboat was unable to launch — its oar-powered design no match for the gale. At 19:52, a telegram reached Lynmouth calling for urgent assistance. The response that followed would etch itself into RNLI history.

A Daring Decision: Hauling the Louisa Over the Moor

Coxswain Jack Crocombe gathered his crew and assessed the situation. Launching from Lynmouth beach was impossible; seawater was already flooding houses and shops along the foreshore. Crocombe knew their best chance lay at Porlock Weir — but getting there meant an extraordinary feat: towing the 10-ton Louisa lifeboat and her carriage up the 25% gradient of Countisbury Hill, across the open moor, then down the equally steep Porlock Hill — a 13-mile journey through a ferocious winter storm.

Horses, Lanterns, and Sheer Determination

Eighteen horses and over 100 villagers rallied to the cause. Shovel teams raced ahead to widen narrow moorland paths. Two men fought to keep storm-lashed lanterns alight, vital for the column’s progress. Every available hand pushed alongside the straining horses as the Louisa climbed Countisbury. Disaster struck outside the Blue Ball Inn when a wheel broke from the carriage. Undeterred, the team repaired the damage and pushed on — though numbers thinned, the spirit of the mission only grew stronger.

Obstacles Across the Moor

Near Ashton, the track narrowed too sharply for the carriage to pass. The Louisa was offloaded, dragged across skids by sheer manpower, and then hoisted back into place. Descending Porlock Hill presented fresh dangers: steep, slippery lanes, fierce winds, and cramped streets. At one pinch-point, a garden wall was swiftly — if reluctantly — demolished to allow the lifeboat through. The householder’s initial anger turned to pride on hearing the reason behind the demolition.

Final Push to Porlock Weir

As they neared Porlock Weir, floodwaters forced the team onto higher ground, where a low-hanging tree blocked the way. Without hesitation, the men felled the tree and pressed on. After an exhausting 11-hour journey, they reached the launch site at 6:30 am.

Launching Into the Teeth of the Storm

With no time to rest, the crew launched immediately into mountainous seas. They reached the drifting Forrest Hall near Hurlstone Point, placing several lifeboatmen aboard to stabilise the ship while awaiting the arrival of rescue tugs at dawn. When the tugs arrived, the Lynmouth men helped secure tow lines. Then, with unwavering commitment, they rowed alongside the Forrest Hall across the Bristol Channel to Barry, arriving at 6:00 pm — nearly 24 hours after first setting out.

Heroes’ Return to Lynmouth

After a night of rest at Barry’s Seamen’s Mission, the Louisa’s crew rowed back across the Channel to Lynmouth. On their return, the village celebrated their courage with a feast and commemorative gifts — forever proud of the night when raw determination and community spirit triumphed against the odds.

Cannonball Run

In case you ever wondered what a 6lb cannonball would do to a soldier, here is some evidence. This guy was wearing a cuirasse, which seemed to make little difference to his fate. I guess he would have died from shock? I can't imagine that he'd have survived long after impact, but I'm no expert.

I've often wondered how different weapons affected people. Is it like in the movies where a bullet immediately causes the bad guy to slump over & pass out, or was it more like the death of Nelson? A more drawn out affair? Do the 'one punch knockouts' seen in cowboy or war films actually happen? Do people survive being stuck with arrows like a porcupine still fight on a la Boromir? I think we should be told.