Take the long way home

Q: How do you get from West Cross to Morfa? 

A: The long way round!

Oops, broke the speed limit. Shhhhh.

Habit forming

 

This is becoming a bit of a habit. Nice day, Dry roads, it must be Rhosili again! Well, 'The Lookout' does do the best Flat White on the Gower.....

Then home via Horton & Porth Einon Lifeboat Station, Pen-Rhys & Oxwich. Luuuuverly.

Cwrw'r Wythnos # Pymtheg

 

Porth Einon

 

Fairfield**

The chippy @ the end of the road 

Traeth Porth Einon 

Once upon a time, I lived 100 yards from the beach. I could hear the sound of the waves at night through my bedroom window. The floorboards I trod were probably planks from old ships wrecked on the perilous cliffs of the Gwyr. My walls were old limestone chunks deposited on the bare earth without foundation, probably circa 1500. My back gate opened opposite the entrance to "the ship inn" (affectionately called "the shit inn" by us locals). My heating was via a coal boiler, which demanded feeding every 24 hours, or would go out. 

Living here was a little hectic in the summer, when the "Cwmmers"* descended on the campsites and caravan parks, but peaceful in the winter months. It felt remote from the hussle & bustle of Abertawe town. It was a real small community at heart, with everyone knowing everyone else in the village. There were plusses and minuses to this. 

* "Cwmmers" - as a lad we used to call tourists cummers - I thought it was because they "came" to our villages in the summer. Now I guess that it was a corruption of Cwm-mers :- ie. valley folk. 

** I didn't realise the house was either built on a slope, or that I'm a crap photographer. 

Beached Wales?

Looks like Swansea City has started a "Beach Library" @ Langland bay.

Seems a Great Idea to me. Watch this space....

Apologies for the fuzzy image.

The Oldies

 

I hooked up with an old mate this week. Mark started work on the same day as me at Proctor & Gamble in Manchester. It was a hoot, & we didn't stop laughing for 3 hours. 

I'm greatful that he contacted me to suggest getting together, after bumping in to some other old Procter's managers recently. As you can see, we both have all our own hair & teeth, which has to be a bonus at our age.

We'll do it again soon, perhaps in the Malverns where he lives, or in Abertawe by the sea.

Dai Bach swims with the Cormorants, or has a Shag?

King of the Donkey Rock

I've never seen someone swimming alongside a Cormorant before. Or in Welsh, nofio gyda Bilidowcar.  We were treated to this sight whilst having a sneaky Flat White @ Rotherslade Surfside Cafe this morning. Another sunny day in God's Country. 

But was it a Cormorant or a Shag, I hear you ask? Beats the crap out of me. You decide. From https://birdaware.org:-

A poem for you?

The common cormorant or shag

Lays eggs inside a paper bag

The reason you will see no doubt

It is to keep the lightning out

But what these unobservant birds

Have never noticed is that herds

Of wandering bears may come with buns

And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.

Christopher Isherwood

This silly little ditty is apparently by the very same Christopher Isherwood who wrote Mr Norris Changes Trains (1935) and Goodbye To Berlin (1938) – the novels that were later adapted into the play I Am A Camera (1951) and the 1966 stage musical and cult 1972 film Cabaret.

It's a Kind of Magic

We have lost the art & craft of home photography.

By the time I came along in the early 70's, Photography had developed (no pun intended) into quite a hybrid craft, all of which could be carried out by an enthusiastic amateur. 

Firstly was the taking of the image. 

To do this, I bought one of these little beauties, a "Beirette" from Boots The Chemist in Station Square in The Mumbles, on the recommendation of Chris Mascall, who had already been dabbling in the dark arts of photography. It must have cost the equivalent of about £50 in today's currency, quite a few weeks of pocket money. I guess this was about 1976 'ish. 

The camera was a simple affair, East German in manufacture, but it had a few of the fundamental controls used in taking photos. 3, yes, 3! shutter speed settings - 1/30, 1/60 & 1/125th of a second, and 5 apeture settings - f2.9 up to f22. This meant that I could control the amount of light passing through the lens to achieve correct exposure of the film in various light conditions. Back then, film had to be exposed to the right amount of light over quite a narrow range. too much light, & the shot would be "washed out" or even just white, and too little the shot would be too dark, or even just black. (more on film & sensitivity later). The camera had a fixed focal length, meaning that it was set to take a general image, without the ability to "focus" on the thing you wanted to capture - close-ups were thus blurred. How did I work out the settings, I hear you ask? initially through guesswork, then with the help of a light meter of course! 

This was an archaic device, looking something like the above, almost like an Alethiometer
from His Dark Materials trilogy. You pointed the device in the general direction of your target, then fiddled with the dial, until the needle settled around the middle of the screen, to determine the light intensity of the scene. You had to input the film sensitivity in the ASA / DIN window, then you could read off all the possible camera settings, eg f2.8 @1/250sec, f4@1/125sec etc. as shown above. Hopefully, your camera had settings in this range, if not - tough luck buster - I suppose you could sketch the scene instead :-) It didnt seem to need batteries - perhaps powered by magic, Dust, or even the light itself? So, you set up the camera, pointed, & clicked, then waited. sometimes for weeks, to see if you had an acceptable image. Why? Developing & printing of course.

But what about focusing? There was none. As I mentioned, the lens had a fixed focal length, and couldn't be adjusted. Not that you coukd see if it was in focus, as the viewfinder was seperate to the actual lens, just a little window up & right of the lens. (Through the lens viewing would come later). There was thus the issue of parallax, because what you were looking at & what the camera was looking at were 2 different things. If you were taking a close up, then these could be quite different indeed. There were helpful lines in the viewfinder, supposed to guide you to avoiding this. 

The film choice was also confusing. Black & White? Colour? Slide? ASA? 24exp? 36exp?

Back then you bought film loaded in little cartridges for each imagined purpose. Usually, ASA 100 film was normal sensitivity for everyday usage. 200 or 400 was for lower light settings. This looked like this, & had to be loaded into the camera by hand.

So, the decision then is what to load the camera with on each occasion. Will it be in the camera for a while? (multipurpose) are you off to shoot scenery on a nice day? (low ASA) or on a grey day (high ASA). Or if you are feeling flush, what about colour? - much more expensive, & more to develop, but with the same sensitivity choices. Then there was the option of Slides? Coloured 35mm film, mounted & used to project the image on a screen, rather than print on paper as "snaps". Most of my stuff from the 70's was done via this medium - I still have boxes of them in the loft. I wonder if they have perished or are still useable?

Processing. Then there was the choice of what to do with the output from all this faffing about. You could remove the exposed film from the camera, and in a darkroom fitted with a dim red light, you could wind it into an enclosed spool device, fill with chemicals "develop" and "fix" the image to the film. Then, you'd feed the dried film into an enlarger, whith an archaic name like the Gnome Beta 2 :-)

This device, which looked like something out of War of the Worlds was used to project the image onto light sensitive paper, again in a red-lighted "darkroom". The paper was then treated with chemicals to "develop" and "fix" the image to the paper. This was then hung up to dry.

Or, you could trust the whole process to Boots the Chemist, & see the results in a few weeks. (the easy option for colour, which needed a whole other order of magnitude of complexity in processing)

Slide film purchase price usually included a fee for this, & the film was sent away to the company & returned as slides in a natty little box some weeks later. My usual choice was to do this, Via a company, again East German, called ORWO , which was cheap enough to suit my budget. Occasionally, I forked out for Kodak, richer in colour, but more dosh.

Still, despite of all this, I managed to get some nice shots, some of which now live in the loft (I think). 

What a kerfuffle!

Now you just point your phone, & "click" - immediate colour images which can be manipulated in all kinds of fancy ways. 

Perfect Day

 

 

Beautiful day @ langland today

Mr Sheen

More Love from Micheal Sheen. The more I know about him, the greater he grows in my estimation.

Tiktok link:-

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdpvVXgv/

Also:- (from Google)

Michael Sheen gave back his Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2017 because his research into the history of Wales and its relationship with the British state made him feel it would be hypocritical to hold the honor while delivering a lecture on those subjects. While he received the award in 2009 for his services to drama, he felt he had a choice to make between keeping the honor or giving the lecture, and he chose the lecture, returning the OBE to avoid being a hypocrite.  

He decided to reveal the action in December 2020 in an interview with Owen Jones, explaining that he hadn't wanted to cause offense by returning the award when he received it. 

He emphasized that he meant "absolutely no disrespect" and was deeply honored to have received the award

https://youtu.be/Hxs64FRSkDY

Any colour you like (as long as its black or red)

Technology moves on, eh? You can now Configure your new Bike online, using a 3d image, placing & removing parts to see how the finished bike will look. Fun if you are bored, even better if you want to buy a new Tracer to be like all the cool kids.

State of the Nation-al side

Further to my post here, the future of Welsh Rugby still remains as uncertain as a high up-and-under floating in the air. There's an interesting article in Nation Cymru today.

Their take is :-

So the bottom line is it’s all still very much up in the air and there is no easy solution. One suspects there are plenty more twists and turns to come.

It doesn't sound good, with no clear solution, and still several troublesome proposals.

God help us in the Autumn Series - New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Japan. I guess we have a chance to win one ...

We may have been optimistic buying tickets

Apropos of nothing, Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desart.[d] Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

No thing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

 Percy Shelley, "Ozymandias", 1819 edition

From Google AI:-

"Ozymandias" refers primarily to the famous 1818 poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which explores the theme of the impermanence of human power and achievement through the image of a broken statue in the desert. Ozymandias was also the ancient Greek name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, a powerful figure who commissioned massive statues to ensure his legacy, which Shelley's poem satirizes by depicting the decay of one such monument. The term has also been used in other works, such as the title of a significant episode in the TV show Breaking Bad and the villain in the comic series Watchmen.  

I thank you....

Cwrw'r Wythnos # Pedwar ar Ddeg

 

Led by Lions

 

Chapeau to the crew from Led By Donkeys. As well as brilliant anti-brexit actions, they hit the headlines this week with thier Anti Big Orange Baby activities. (See video above). 

Projecting a 10 min video of the Trump-Epstein story on Windsor Castle was genius - witness the fact that the story was covered by lots of US news outlets. However, The good old met nicked them. Free speech eh?

The story of how they came about is worth a look, too. Led By Donkeys

tiktok.com/ link if the Video doesn't work, and you are tech savvy.

Support them here if you want to help

Paid â bod yn Gimwch

  You have been warned

Castlehunting # supplemental

A failed excursion today. 

Castell Dryslwyn up a feckin mountain, not good with motorbike boots.

Castell Dinefwr 25 mins walk from car park! Same prob with the boots, plus it was raining by the time I got there. 

I shall have to sally forth again, & attempt to conquer these bastions at a later date. Who'd have thought they would have made Castles difficult to approach? Meh. 

Still, I got to see the local sheep hiding from the local men by use of camouflage. 

I wonder if it works?

17th-century-andalusian-galleon-sails-into-wales-for-two-day-stop

 

From https://nation.cymru/ :-

A 17th-century Spanish galleon will be docking in Pembrokeshire for two days this September, offering visitors a chance to step into maritime history.

El Galeón Andalucía will be docked at Fishguard Harbour on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 September. Having made her way into almost 100 ports across the world, Fishguard is the third in Wales to host her.

Though only a replica, the Nao Victoria Foundation who built the galleon between 2009 and 2010 undertook significant historical research to ensure she is “as close to the original as possible”.

I think we should take a looksie.

*Update* No it doesnt. Weather like that the Armarda experienced in 1588 is expected again, and the Captain doesn't want to fall prey to the same

mistakes again :-)

Not so Giant Haystacks

Had brekkie @ Haystack Cafe the other day with Ozymandias. Here is my tripadvisor review:-

Snoop eats there, too:-

Glyndwr Rides again!

Yesssss!

If you do tik-tok

I shall be 1st in the queue!

Royal Flushed

The Nine, Ten, Jack, Queen, King & Ace of Mounjaro

From Phase one of trying to resume my place as a normal human being, I have now achieved a Royal Flush of Eli Lilly's MounjaroⓇ KwikPensⓇ. That's about £900's worth of Big Pharma's finest blend. 18Kg lost, & still dropping.

Stranger than fiction - the story of Constance Martin

 From the BBC

What a story!

It's Life, Gym...

Back to the Gym today. Or more properly, Swansea Bay Sports Park. Part 2 of my attempt to regain normal human form. Well done Me! 

Cwrw'r Wythnos # tri ar ddeg

 

Rain stopped play

Looks like Castlehunting is rained off for the day :-

Rain coming in from the West. In buckets. Poo

Mitchell & Webb are not funny (TV review - spoilers)

Sorry. But its a miss. Rude, & not funny. They forgot the funny.

The adverts are a relief. 1/10

IMDB   5.6 (generous!)

Sena Pods

 

What a revelation! A neat little device that connects me to my phone and the hog at the same time. A small waterproof pod sticks on to the outside of my helmet, is wired to 2 little speakers that fit snuggly inside the lid over the ears. A wired noise cancelling mic then fits into the front of the helmet. 

So far, it connects to Spotify on my phone, Garmin street Cross on the bikes display, and normal phone functions. To receive a call, you just say "hello". I can't get over how seamlessly it connects. It just works. All for £60 of your earth pounds to me, £70 to £80 to you. I haven't set up speed dial yet, but I may, and it also works as an intercom. (However, I have no mates :-( ). 

Word of the day

 Troves. - I must use this in troves.

Support local!

 Feck Costa, Starbucks, Nero! It's local for me every time.

Nice view, too. The home of my ancestors.

Stinger of a flat white, as well, for £3.65. 

And Sun! 🌞 

And a Wyrm! Just behind Wyrm's Head :-)