Great Pun!

 

Great Pun, BBC. A pointless fixture, also. Why would Wales play the world #1 team without 13 1st choice players, out of the IRB window, when ranked 11th? It's all about the money, Baaaaby. This is where the WRU has led us. Shame on them.

Was it worth it?

From the BBC:-

there were stark evidence of empty seats around the Principality Stadium in the crowd of 50,112.

Capacity of the stadium? 74,500 so, 2/3 full.

The crowning act of shame was the cynical eye gouging by Eben Etzebeth. I hope he recieves a maximum ban. When is a game of rugby worth damaging someone's eyesight? Pointless foul play.

Cwrw'r Wythnos tri ar hugain

 

Tribute (inverse)

If Tenacious D came up with "the best song in the world, (tribute)" , this begs the question, what is the worst? Well, ask no more.

Wikipedia has the answer. Kurt Cobain's 5th best album, also name checked by Frank Zappa as "proto punk" and loved by Johnathan Richman, I give you "philosophy of the world" by the Shaggs.

Believe it or not, it can be found on Spotify:-

Check it out for yourself, fellow musicologist.

If you TikTok, here's a link 

(Shaggy was a style of haircut in USA at the time, btw)

Civilisation

An anthropologist once wrote about how the first artifact of civilization wasn't a hammer or arrowhead, but a human femur - discovered in Madagascar - that showed signs of having healed from a bad fracture. In the animal world, a broken leg meant you starved, so a healed femur meant that some human had supported another's long recovery, fed them, cleaned the wound. And thus, the author argued, began civilization. Augured not by an instrument of murder, but by a fracture bound, a bit of food brought back for another.

The second act in my opinion was to create the NHS.

Please don't destroy it

Hey Kimmy

Off to the 'diff next July to see these 2 legends. :-)

Should be a cracker - let's hope it doesn't rain! It's in Cardiff Castle, so I guess thats open air. We've never been to a gig there, which makes it an even better treat!

 

Y Chaos

Last week, I've mainly been invigilating @ Y Coleg, an associate institution to Swansea University. (See blog passim). 

As usual, they are Chaotic Class, with wandering monsters. 

Initially I was told it was a 2 hour exam, subsequently reduced to 90 mins. Of the 47 undergraduates expected, 17 turned up within 30 mins of the start time. Of these, 7 could not access the computer based exam, as they hadn't logged in to the course at all this year. 2 more couldn't log in at all, as they messed up their passwords. One guy acted as if he'd never seen a keyboard in his life, and eventually took 5 attempts on 2 different terminals to log in. 

The Lecturer appeared, and claimed to have never seen half of the cohort this year. Quite a few went to their normal teaching room, not the exam suite. Apparently they don't read emails.

Despite this, most finished the exam in 20 mins, and had to sit & wait until the minimum time allocated had passed. 

Homeward bound

 

Reykjaviking about

On the bus to the National Museum of Bjorkland. I challenge anyone other than a native to pronounce these stops:-

Museum was nice, tho:-

One man & his Horse.....

Old house

Soupinabap

A cats bottom 

Perlan

Ice cave

Microbar

In case you wanted to know:-

Ironic

 

Man becomes prime minister, does nothing about prostate cancer screening.

Man gets prostate cancer. 

Man calls on Government to instigate prostate cancer screening. 

What makes a Pub

 

What makes a Pub?

18 taps brewed on site. Full range from Sours to Christmas øl

3 Ukrainians who noticed my Ukrainian T shirt, & ended up Shaking hands saying "Slava Ukraini"! They replied. "Heroyam slava!"

A Mum & Dad buying a T shirt to support their geordie Son, who when made redundant as a Brewer, applied to Reykjavik Brewing Company, got the job & moved here. 

A yank talking to a local friend with a border collie/ Labrador cross, who would do anything for a scratch behind the ears (the dog, that is)

RVK Branded T shirts

A lovely barman, who made me a Flight, & gave me the number of a taxi to go home

A Taxi driver who coached us in the best meats to cook for an Icelandic Christmas dinner 

Long live the Pub!

Icelandic Jolly

 Off on a Golden Circle tour today 

1st stop, or stop Cyntaf if you want Welsh; Vik. One foot on the American Plate, one on the European. Lava down below.

2nd stop, Kerið Crater, which is a maar, (Not Johnny) apparently.

Thermal springs. Didn't take my camera in with me :-) but had a lovely soak

Then on to Gullfoss falls. Stunning & freezing!

Then to see this 💎 Geezer 😉. Apparently Strokkur blows his top every 7 minutes.

The last stop was some bollix about techtonic plates, and the Icelandic parliament. Too cold, so legged it back to the warmth of the bus. Besides, it got dark. 

Overall a great day. Saw lots of Iceland, and even gleaned some facts from our laconic tour guide, who's main comment was well, you know ...

We didn't.

Cwrw'r Wythnos dau ar hugain

 Jóla Skál

In Cod We Trust

 Cod liver oil shots with brekkie, anyone? 

Reykjavik

 Bloody Vikings

Departures

 Video for today. 

Today, I will mainly be in departures. 

Points to note:-

American Airlines will pay $2000 to bump you to a later flight if business is oversubscribed.

Don't keep your wife's passport in your manbag, and yours in her coat pocket. This can lead to distress @ the gate. 

Iceland Air smells of fish

Iceland Air boards 40 mins before departure

 Airport is 50 klicks from town!

Like landing in Cardiff for Swansea airport. Grrr

Swansea Council get something right!

Parking @ Langland Bay is now free for 1 hour for residents! Gosh! Mind you, to get resident status you need to submit a sample of blood, Birth Certificate, House deeds, and Car log book, and use Windows 3.0 on your phone.....

I'm a Lottery Winner!

 

We saw The Lottery Winners @ the Tramshed @ the 'diff last night, & I must say they put on a belter of a show. Thom Rylance is a natural Front Man, with an infectious laugh that rarely stopped. It seems that everyone there spent 2 hours smiling 😊. 

Katie Lloyd on Bass positively beamed all through the set, pogo'd, bopped, and swayed like a gal possessed. Robert Lally's lead guitar sang, & he joined in with the general smileyness. Joe Singletons drums were perfectly balanced with the guitars, and rocked the house. 

It's genuinely uplifting to see a band who have been crafting their art since 2008 in the pubs & clubs of North Madchester finally getting their time in the sporlight. 2 x #1 Albums, and a slot supporting Robbie Williams. Hat Tip Frank Turner for his introduction to them, and his part in their success.