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!

Lionel Vinyl still spinning

Getting out the old LP's from the loft reminded me of this guy. Lionel Vinyl. 

Back about 20 years ago, I went on a Sea Survival course @ Fleetwood College, and stayed in Blackpool. One evening, a possee of us headed into town to relax, & bumped into this guy spinning the discs in a "fun bar" (I think that's what they were called) I vividly remember his tagline about his white socks. Now, whenever I see Adam Bere, a fellow course attendee, it's a race to see who can shout "white socks" first.

A quick Google reveals that he is still strutting his funky stuff in Blackpool today, all these years later. Long may the power of the White Socks remain.

Alrighttttttt!

How low can you go?

Hari & Ows bought me a bottle of Viking Mead, made in Jorvik, to an old recipe. Katie commented that her bee-keeping collective had made some mead last year, and drank some after this year's honey harvest. She said it was like rocket fuel. This led me on to wondering what max % alcohol could be achieved by just brewing alone. I thought it was about 15%, similar in strength to this mead, Port or Sherry. I've even told kids this in lessons. 

It turns out that I was mostly correct, with a few caveats, such as special yeasts, and slow adding of extra sugar. Now, that's a challenge!

 

A Christmassy Run

Back to the land of my forefathers. 

Rhosili 

Stunning

Who'd have known they have reindeer!

Rhosili Bay & Burry Holmes

My Great Grandparents grave in Rhosili churchyard.

I think Margaret was the businesswoman, who took chickens to Swansea Market, and bought the Shop in Humphrey Street mentioned above. I guess she made enough money to buy the biggest monument in the yard. 

Oh. Run as in 2 wheels, petrol fuelled run :-)

Cwrw'r Wythnos saith ar hugain

 

Get offf my laaaaaand!

Q; What do you get if you multiuply one chain by one furlong?

A: an Acre!

Of course you do!

In the medieval mind, it seems that an important measure of area was "how much land could be ploughed by one man using a team of eight oxen in one day" I guess I can see how that would be important, for planning & taxation.

Originally, an acre was understood as a strip of land sized at forty perches (660 ft, or 1 furlong) long and four perches (66 ft) wide;^[4] this may have also been understood as an approximation of the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plough in one day (a furlong being "a furrow long").

I like the idea of a furrow long.

Raindodger

 

Skipping between the huts @ Langland to avoid a downpour. I wonder if there is another similar crescent in the UK?

Thanks to Wikipedia, I now know that there are! And not just in the UK!

Today there are believed to be around 20,000 beach huts in the U.K. Locations where beach huts can be seen include Lowestoft, Southwold, Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-Sea, Abersoch, Langland Bay, Rotherslade, Rustington, St Helens, Isle of Wight, Tankerton Slopes and Mersea Island. Locations in other countries include Wimereux, France, spectacular colorful picturesque in Cape Town, South Africa, Nesodden, Norway and Brighton and elsewhere around Port Phillip, Australia.

Nice to see Rotherslade & Langland getting a mention.

Bournemouth Beach

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas believers & unbelievers alike. Was John Lennon such a fool to wish for peace? 

Grummy Wallbanger

 

Copyright yours truly, I give you the Grummy Wallbanger:-

50ml the finest Tequila 

25ml Creme de Cassis

Over lashings of ice, 

And fresh OJ to taste

Bottoms up!

Manhattan

 

On the subject of cocktails, I tried to research a Martini Rosso one, namely:-

The Manhattan Cocktail

Ingredients: Whiskey (usually rye), sweet red vermouth, and Angostura bitters, stirred with ice and strained.

Garnish: A Maraschino cherry or lemon twist.

Style: A classic, spirit-forward cocktail, typically served "up" (chilled, without ice) in a cocktail glass.

Not convinced. Nah. Whiskey flavour is too overpowering.

I think a better partner to Martini Rosso is Gin, or Vodka:-

That's mush closer to the "Vermouth con Gin" NJB & I were bought in a coach stop on the way to Pamplona back in the day. Yes please!

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.