Shaken, not stirred

After many years, I have now come to understand the joy of a proper Dry Martini. I think that JB has it right, with Voddy being the chosen spirit. Just pips Gin, imho.

Ingredients

2 ½ ounces London dry gin (or vodka, if preferred)

½ ounce dry vermouth (this 5:1 ratio is standard for a dry martini, but can be adjusted to personal taste)

Optional: 1 dash of orange bitters (a classic addition that fell out of favor, but is recommended by many for complexity)

Garnish: A green olive or a lemon twist

Ice 

Mmmmm niiiice.

How many kinds of stupid

Boxing has to be one of the most stupid "Sports" still carried out by mankind, along with Formula One, and perhaps Cricket. 

The idea of two blokes knocking seven shades of shite out of each other is just crazy. I can see it as the culmination of a stupid drunk argument, but to dress it up as a sport, sanitise it with gloves & some rules is just barbaric. I will never understand how otherwise rational and gentle people will give themselves a pass to watch it. My Father-in-law was a fan, much to my amazement, and he was one of the gentlest men I have known. 

It does understandable and inevitable permanent damage to the exploited idiots who take part, in the name of entertainment. 

One of the most recent mega hyped events resulted in one fool having his jaw broken in two places.

Don't start me on the story of Ricky Hatton. What a tragic life 

Madness

The only thing worse, is Ladies Boxing

Cwrw'r Wythnos chwech ar hugain

 

Philosophers Bay

It seems that as well as being a haunt if groundbreaking British impressionist painters, (see Stuff & Nonsense passim)  Langland Bay was also frequented by a beery swine who was just as schloshed as Schlegel. Who knew?

The Philosophers Song Lyrics by Monty Python

Immanuel Kant was a real pissant

Who was very rarely stable.

Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar

Who could think you under the table.

David Hume could out-consume

Wilhelm Freidrich Hegel,

And Wittgenstein was a beery swine

Who was just as schloshed as Schlegel.

There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya'

'Bout the raising of the wrist.

SOCRATES, HIMSELF, WAS PERMANENTLY PISSED...

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,

On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.

Plato, they say, could stick it away;

Half a crate of whiskey every day.

Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,

Hobbes was fond of his dram,

And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart: "I drink, therefore I am"

Yes, Socrates, himself, is particularly missed;

A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's pissed!

 

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Welsh Faeries, Fae or Fay Folk

 

Bwbach or Tylwyth Teg

I love the idea that something misplaced or missed has been hidden away by mischievous spirits, not just lost. Sometimes the antidote to this can be a proper 'Mummy look'. Things that are invisible to us males are often found in this way. In Wales, these spirits are called Bwbach, or "little Boos". Or Tylwyth Teg - literally 'Fair family' - fair folk?

 From British fairies:-

The bwbachod live and work on farms and are most noted for their robust and old-fashioned characters: it’s said that they most hate “Methodists and total abstainers.” They seem to have been widespread across the west of Wales in former times, if the naming of places is anything to go by. Examples run from Anglesey (Ynys Mon)- which has Nant y Bwbach (Brownie Valley) at Llanrhyddlad and Lon Bwbach (Brownie Lane) at Llanddyfnan- and thence southwards through Bryn y Bwbach (Brownie Hill) at Llandecwyn near Trawsfynydd and Twll y Bwbach (Brownie Hole) near Dolgellau as far south as Crug y Bwbach (Brownie’s Barrow) in Carmarthenshire and Gerrig y Bwbach (Brownie’s Stones) at Pentre-ty-gwyn near Ystradgynlais, to the south-west of the Brecon Beacons.

One tale tells of a Cardiganshire bwbach, who objected to a Baptist preacher staying in the house. This man “was much fonder of prayers than of good ale.” Taking exception to this sober piety, the bwbach therefore continually harassed the preacher, pulling away his stool or causing disturbance and clamour during his prayers. The bwbach finally drove the Baptist off by shapeshifting and giving him a terrible fright as he was crossing a field. The minister was reading his hymn-book as he walked on, when a sudden fear seized him. On looking round, he saw the mirror image of himself- in the same clothes and with the same hymn-book; he fainted, and decided to leave the house the next day. On mounting his horse the following morning, the grinning bwbach jumped up onto the saddle behind the preacher, and the horse instantly set off like lightning with eyes like balls of fire.

There are of course other faeries living in Wales, such as the noted 'Fairy of Doom' reputed to inhabit Llys Meddyg, Newport, Pembs, who terrorises waiting & kitchen staff attempting to slack in their duties.... 

50% more money?

If we only bought 50% of the things we fancied:-

Clothes

Take-aways

Meals out

Pub nights

Ornaments

"Toys"

Coats

Shoes

New phones (?)

Bikes

Christmas presents (specifically little fripperies given to friends who don't actually want that thing - do you know what I mean? Eg fragranced candles, scarves, mugs etc)

Pub nuts/crisps

Baseball hats 

Imagine how much we would have saved per year. & It would be sitting in our bank account now. To spend on Holidays!

Also there would be room to store stuff in the house......

A Dry Day!

 

The first dry day in ages! And more rain to come, so, it would be rude not to have breakfast in Llandovery. 

Google maps took me this way, and I couldn't be meithered to change it. 

The best bit.

I love being retired!

Lovely twisty turny road back over the Black Mountain, past Jac Morgan's gaff @ Brynamman, then the Peoples Republic of Ponty, and home. The day got sunnier & sunnier, and the views better & better. I think the road from Llandovery to Brynamman is one of my favourite routes. 

A Wintery Langland

 Beautiful in any weather 

I'm so lucky to have this on my doorstep 

A Sisley but with sound :-)

Regions cont....

Following on from my blogs passim, things are looking even worse for the Ospreys at the moment, with this article from BBC SPORT 

Former Wales fly-half James Hook says players should not be blamed for leaving Welsh rugby as Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan consider moving to Gloucester from Ospreys.

I can't say I blame them.

BTW, Hook is also on the coaching team @ Ospreylia, and has skin in the game, hoping that they stay an active region to ensure his job remains, perhaps?

Taking a look at the attendance figures for the 4 regions reveals the following:-

Perhaps this is why the WRU seems keen to throw the Ospreys under the bus, as despite their much better performance record than Newport, the latter seem to be getting more bums on seats.

Also, if you compare these attendance numbers to some of the Gallagher Premiership teams, it's not surprising that Welsh rugby is struggling financially. I think that the WRU itself is a money pit, as they are currently advertising for a technical director @ £160k pa. They seem to be overstuffed with staff, and overpaid staff at that.

Another factor may be being in the URC. I think the Gallagher Premiership would be a much more attractive & sensible option.

Update for those not paranoid:-

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRFqvdm1/

Cwrw'r Wythnos pump ar hugain

 

Grumble Groan!

 

How very dare they! I knew I should have trademarked Grumunkin, and Grum. Still, the name has served me well over the years, being unique enough to get as a username on any new site I've joined. Its fair to say that there's only one Grumunkin.

Interestingly, a quick Google search to check, shows how AI can get it wrong. According to them, I wrote David's book, and built Rob's model ships.....

A cautionary tale of AI fallibility:-

Auntie Who?

 

There is a superb article in Popular Mechanics about the discovery & ongoing deciphering of the Antikythera machine. I think it's worth a full read.

Extracts:-

This is the story—or at least one of the stories—­of how one of the world’s most confounding archaeological objects, the Antikythera mechanism, began its 2,000-year-long residency at the bottom of the Aegean. Pinpointing the mechanism’s origins

Milled with millimeter precision, likely using ancient tools like vertical lathes and bow drills, the device contained dozens of gear wheels that operated together in a dizzying display of astronomical information.

With insights gleaned from the fragments that remain, scientists know that a hand-cranked dial on its front side tracked the motion of the sun, the moon, and the other five planets known to antiquity: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The other side of the device housed two more circular dials. The upper dial reconciled the mismatch in periods between the lunar month and solar year, while the lower dial calculated both lunar and solar eclipses. It even contained a separate, smaller dial for marking athletic events like the Olympic Games.

Read on Here

 

They walk amongst us...

Bizarre story from the Beeb today. This chap sounds like a real Walter Mitty. 

BBC News - Teaching assistant lied to pupils about killing 250 people as a sniper

Graduation again

Back at Bay Campus this week, doing the graduation marshalling thing. I do enjoy it. 

I even got to ride the Hog in, as it's the first dry day in weeks!

The office for the Week. The warm glow of Welsh Winter Sun ☀️ 🌞🌞🌞☀️

BeerRiff - My Happy Place

This is a long overdue post about the finest little bar in the universe:-

If you thought Heaven is a Halfpipe, you were wrong. Heaven is BeerRiff

https://beerriffbrewing.com/

16 taps of bangers, with not a Carling or faux Spanish lager in sight. All keg brews, which I prefer. Usually 5 or 6 of them made in house, a Stout or two, a Helles lager, a Cider, a proper German Lager, a Sour, and a fine collection of Guest Ales from the UK'S finest Craft Breweries ranging from session pales, to full on premium IPA's. That's just as an idea of their range, as they have now made 400 different brews over the years.

Tipples like these - changing every time I visit

Even Beer & Pizza deals! (The pizza is getting better, actually)

If you are inclined, a fridge full of fine independent brews to take out (not at supermarket prices, tho), and a good selection of low alcohol brews

The taproom is now with added soundproofing, so the bar is much less echoey

The pizzas look like this

I just checked the BeerHunter, and it seems that I've tried 517 halves here over the last 7.5 years - or to put it another way, 68 per year, or 1.3 a week :-)

They also have an online shop. 

Donc. If excellent Craft ales are what floats your boat, BeerRiff is undoubtedly the finest bar in Swansea, perhaps in the Universe, and my Happy Place. 

Even Dr. Bob promises to visit one weekend..

I love this. Perfect image of Rhys - owner/brewer/creator

When is a Conspiracy Theory not a theory?

So. I dismissed the statement that there was a cabal of Zionist sympathetic peadophiles in the higher echelon of power as tin foil hat crazy. 

Then came Randy Andy, Donald Trump, Peter Mandleson, Bill Clinton, and many others linked to Ghislaine Maxwell & Jeffrey Epstein.

A private island 'Isle of babes', a private jet 'the lolita express', and procured young women. A crazy tale indeed.

Support the Sheen!

There are still tickets available for 'Our Town', one of the first productions by the newly formed Welsh National Theatre. Brief summary below:-

It runs in 4 venues, including Swansea Grand Theatre from Fri 16 - Sat 31 Jan 2026, with Sheen as stage manager and Starring. 

Cwrw'r Wythnos pedwar ar hugain

 

Men-tal-elfs

I decided to start up a 'gathering' today, taking a lead from David's comments about men's mental health, and men of a certain age. 

Men-tal-elfs.... Gettit? Men/Mental health/elves? I'll get my coat...

The idea being to set up a regular meet where us guys can chat & support each other. To do this, I think a regular date is needed, monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly as agreed by the group, otherwise it doesn't happen & ppl drift apart. My thoughts are to initially meet in a pub & then go for a curry, have a chat & a daft laff. Wednesday seems like the best plan, as it doesn't interfere with other social plans, going away at weekends, & other clashes.

So to this end, I sent the following WhatsApp to 15 or so mates/colleagues/pals;-

"Would you like to meet up once a month, for beer, curry & talking bollix? Say something like 1st Wednesday on the month, date in the diary, where us blokes could get together & have a good laugh, and do the stuff that blokes do. I'm happy to organise the first few, and then those willing could agree a date/time/frequency to suit. If you fancy this, let me know, & ill come back with a date in the new year, after the Christmas chaos, and in the cold miserable nights of January. Cheers, Chris" 

I've have had 10 positive responses so far, & am delighted. I informed David of this plan, & he said he would join in as & when he is down this way. (I didn't expect this as he lives 180 miles away!) Likewise Rob - informed but not expected due to day clashes & the distance.

Perhaps the idea may snowball, with people inviting their friends along to future gatherings. That would be grand, and may even help in some little way.

James R Kirk

 

I spotted this in episode 3 of the original series of Star Trek. James R Kirk. I didn't know he changed his middle name - perhaps by Warp Poll. Mind you, I've always thought Tiberius was a belter. 

Mmmm Christopher Tiberius Howell. Does have a kind of gravitas. Also, no-one could call me seedy any longer. I remember a friend wanting to change his middle name to James..... 

Waiting for God-knows-what

How many hours have I spent waiting?

Waiting for the bus, a taxi, an aeroplane 

Before a concert

In an exam room when finished, or waiting to go in/start

In a Doctors waiting room

In a hospital waiting for treatment 

In a car waiting at traffic lights

In a supermarket checkout queue

Waiting for a concert/play/film/match to start

In an online queue

In a restaurant or a bar waiting to order, to be seated, to get served, then to pay

At home waiting for "an engineer" 

Waiting for the late Dr Bob

Im not even going to count the times that I should be doing something, but watched the clock down instead. 

It must be days, weeks, perhaps even years

To be human is to be a waiter. I guess I should be better at it by now.....

Half-baked?

 

I must admit that I've never seen potatoes baked like this. 

Did someone actually go to the effort to manufacture this device, or is it made for another use? Bizarre.

Sorted!

My job for today & tomorrow - sorting graduation certificates into graduation order. 
 

Nice view, & nice £'s :-)