Cwrw'r Wythnos naw ar hugain

 

Frozen Shite

 

No, not Disney, but on the joy of collecting frozen dog turds off the lawn.

Perhaps I'm sad, or perhaps it's an age thing, but it gives me immense pleasure to look out the window in the morning & see a heavy frost. This means that I can collect Indy's dog eggs off the lawn without the danger of smearing, and even worse, sliding past the bag and onto my hand. Frozen poo is so much easier to collect, less hazardous, & quite satisfying as it drops in the sack to make a heavy load, ready for sneaking into the black council waste bags.

The only negative I can think of is that it can be a little nippy on the fingers - not quite a frostbite hazard, but not that warm feeling you get from fresh produce. 

A River in the sky

David Algar, of this parish, set "There-are-rivers-in-the-sky"  as his Book Club read for our next meet.. I'm not going to pre-judge our discussion here, suffice to say what an interesting life the author Elif Shafak has had. 

From Wiki:-  

Elif Shafak (Turkish: Elif Şafak [eˈlif ʃaˈfak]; née Bilgin; born 25 October 1971) is a Turkish-British[1] novelist, essayist, public speaker, political scientist,[2] and activist.

I think I'd like to share a drink with her & have a good yadda. You can read more here

Given my fascination with Istanbul & Byzantium, I've added this to my "to read" list, although she has others with a higher rating. 60 books, good grief.

How on earth authors can write in a second language will be a mystery to me. I struggle to compose correctly in my first. Let alone have an expansive vocabulary, witness this blog.....

There is a tide in the affairs of men...

It never ceases to amaze me the size of the tides in Aber Hafren, compared to, say the Med. Sitting on the side of the sea on a warm summer evening at a Cafe in Croatia, Greece or Turkey, the sea level never seems to move. Here in Langland, the difference setween High & low tide can be as much as 13m or over 40 feet of vertical movement. Famously the second highest range in the world, after Canada's Bay of Fundy, due to the unique shape and geology, creating vast expanses of sand at low tide and significant water depth at high tide.

Tide in

Tide out

Tide in

Tide out

Mr Burton

We watched Mr. Burton last night. It's an absolutely brilliant film, heartily recommend by Kim & I. 

It spun the story of the struggle of Richard Burton's early life really well. Harry Lawtey is excellent as the young Burton, visibly ageing on screen as the story develops (not a bad match for Burton, too) It's very cleverly done. Toby Jones is stand-out again, as P H Burton, Richard's mentor. (Isn't he fab in everything he does?)

The story itself is fascinating, as so many planets had to align to get Burton to achieve his destiny as Wales's most famous Actor. It's almost unbelievable. 

There is a very subtle, light touch to the question of PH's sexuality - giving it just the amount of focus it warrants, not sensationalising it, or overplaying it's role. 

The actual life story of PH himself is almost as bizarre as that of his Ward. Read more here

There is something rotten in the state of the WRU

There has been a call for an EGM to hold a vote of no confidence in chair Richard Collier-Keywood, chair of the WRU.

The call states:-

 "While we acknowledge that the situation on the back of Covid has been challenging, we're deeply concerned the current leadership have not been able to formulate and commence the delivery of a plan that sets our game in Wales on the right track to support the professional, SRC [Super Rygbi Cymru], female and community game.
"Instead, we see the meandering between different versions of a plan, causing chaos, confusion and uncertainty, spending extortionate amounts of money on external consultants, combined with the current board's inability to define and deliver a clear strategy for rugby in Wales.
"This is causing reputational damage to Welsh rugby across the world when we were once held in such high esteem."

I couldn't agree more. The WRU has proved to be unfit for use over the last 2 years. Bring it on.

Slim Seedy?

Ever wondered what your name would look like on cuneform?

Find out here!

Cwrw'r Wythnos wyth ar hugain

 

I'm dreaming of a white 3rd of Jan

 

Pretty!

Am I deep?

 

Much fun was had with the most unexpected Christmas present from my ever loving wife, of a 'Marley Rip-it-up' Bluetooth turntable. Dyl was spinning the discs like a good-un. 

The team were in agreement that the sound was definitely different to playing Spotify via the same speakers. (Sony Soundbar) The sound was sharper, deeper, and richer. Noticeably so. I never had myself down as a discerning Hi-Fi buff, so this genuinely surprised me. This setup will take pride of place in lounge 3.0 after the grand designs makeover planned for 2026... 

Stalker / Roadside picnic

 Similar, but not the same. Shared by Dr. Bob of this Parish

Happy New Year!