Four Go Down To Mumbles (and do other things as well!)

… a weekend with our good friends from Leicester …

It just so happens that Rich & Ros had just arrived when I got back from a meeting (on a Friday night? Yes, I know, I must be mad!) We spent the rest of the evening (and early hours of the morning) scoffing nibbles & quaffing copious amounts of wine, beer & lager, catching up on each others news & gossip. They had brought with them a variety drink including bottled lager brewed by Singha the new sponsors of Leicester City Football club. Bed finally at 3am – well, we had a lot to talk about!

Not surprisingly we all had a long lie in Saturday and
eventually got out gone two after a very leisurely breakfast. Jeff drove us round to Knab Rock, the far side of Swansea Bay, and from there we strolled to Mumbles Pier. R&R have just recently come up with a lovely idea of visiting every pier in Britain. Armed with their book of piers, with old pictures of them all, they are also aiming to take current day photos taken as near as possible from the same spot. We felt quite honoured to be with them visiting their very first ‘collectable’ pier!

Mumbles Pier is situated just before the lighthouse, on the corner as it were of the bay. Sadly the far end of the pier is now in rather a bad state of repair although ironically it does mean you get numerous Kittiwakes nesting round all the ledges in the summer. On this occasion we walked to the end passing along it a quartet of Turnstones in winter plumage, which amazingly only flew away if you got very close. We were also lucky in that it had looked like raining but for the whole time it remained sunny, and very warm when out of the wind.

We then walked up to the road to see if we could find where the original photo had been taken, but all agreed that the actual place was no longer there. Maybe some of the cliff had been cut back to make way for the road leading to the pier, but Rich still managed to take a good enough shot. Jeff then had his ‘dose’ of the amusement arcade fun, whilst Rich & Ros looked around the Basstastic fishing shop, coming away with a new ‘toy’ – a crab & lobster basket! We had a coffee in the café with the baby grand pianola – very strange hearing music and seeing the keys moving when there’s no-one actually playing the instrument! Then back to the car for a little detour round the back of Mumbles as far as Caswell Bay.

Relaxed at home with some nibbles before dinner – a very tasty Lasagne even if I say so myself, and a nice light pudding of blueberries, strawberries, beautifully arranged by Jeff as the picture shows, and vanilla icecream drizzled with rich Belgian chocolate sauce – I sound like Masterchef!!!! Then a quick late night visit to the Brunswick for Abbott, Courage Best and Hob Goblin. It was one of those night when everyone seemed to be down there so said hello to many friends & regulars.

Back at home we had all intended to go to bed it bit earlier but somehow this didn’t quite pan out. Maybe it was because we put the telly on just for one last drink or a coffee but end up watching the footie league show. This triggered off various odd bits of football trivia and before long I had jotted down loads of possible questions to have a sports round at the November quiz we are putting on, all connected with football! Jeff then sensibly went to bed. This time the three of us left started on politics … thank goodness the clocks were falling back in the morning!

Not so late getting up, helped of course by the extra hour. After breakfast we waved them off as they went back home via pier number 2 at Penarth. Got a text later “penarth ticked off” – wonder how long it will take to do them all?!

Les X

Tywyn - A Flying Visit

This half term Jeff & I managed to sneak in a quick Autumn visit to Tywyn, just an overnight stay. At first the weather on the way there was a bit miserable – low cloud & poor visibility so not much in the way of scenery. However the trees were just about perfect, at the time of year when you get all shades of browns, reds and greens. We took the route through Ammanford, Llandeilo, Llandovery up round the Sugarloaf, then cut off the corner to head towards Rhayader. But Jeff had discovered a back road to Elan Village – very narrow with few passing places, and as I am one of the world’s worst at backing I was very grateful when he took over. (I think I get worried not so much about having a prang but of getting stuck in a ditch by the roadside in the middle of nowhere!) We reached the ‘village’, mainly a collection of buildings in old stone, pumping stations and the like all there because of the reservoirs. It was still a bit misty, and a bit mysterious, as we drove round them, but whilst the sun never actually made a proper appearance the mist did lift allowing clearer views of the mountains. You then get to this fascinating boggy expanse where the Wye is sourced, followed by a road meandering down to Devil’s Bridge, where we stopped for tea and were lucky enough to see a Vale of Rheidol train pull in – still steam albeit oil fired not coal. Then on to Aberystwyth, with a quick detour round the harbour and promenade, and coast roads up the estuary to Machynlleth, and back down again to Aberdovey & Tywyn.

Interestingly in Wales we seem to see more red kites these days than buzzards, and certainly this was the case. If the light is in the right direction they are quite beautiful to look at, and easily recognisable by their forked tail.

Over the past year Tywyn seafront has had some interesting sea defences constructed, using a pile of large boulders which it is hoped will ‘break’ the waves so they hit the main prom with less force. Bit sceptical as this pile is only at one end so not quite sure how this will help the other end!

The guest house was very comfortable, right on Tywyn High Street. We decided to drive up the valley to our favourite pub, the Railway Inn, for food. As luck would have it, the place was unusually busy as they were having an auction in the Barn – a restored building just next to the pub – and we were warned that the food would take some time. But it was worth the wait, and because it had been longer than anticipated they gave us a free bottle of wine! We then drove back to Tywyn so we could both drink, first trying out the Corbett Hotel – dead! – but ending up in the Tredegar Arms. It was quiz night but we arrived too late to actually take part, although I managed to get hold of some questions for future use in the annual quiz night I organise. And for those of you who are interested, we had Cwrw Madog & Old Speckled Hen in the Railway, Hancocks in the Corbett, and finished off with Doom Bar in the Tredegar. Unfortunately none of these were at their best, although the Doom Bar was quite reasonable.

We woke to a sunny morning which meant we had a lovely drive round our favourite route – up the back road to Bird Rock, to see Cormorants and Choughs, with the added treats on the way of a whole host of Yellowhammers, and a Jay feeding in a field then flitting through the trees. It was then back round to & a short ride along the inner coast road to a layby which gives wondrous views over Cardigan Bay. And to finish we did our usual ‘back’ coast road round to Broadwater to see if we could spot any waders. The usual Cormorants were there, a few Swans and a group of Canada Geese but other than gulls couldn’t actually identify anything else.

We ended our mini stay with a round trip on the Talyllyn Railway. I have been coming here since 1969, and even though I’ve been on the railway countless times before I still love it. It’s so worth a visit that I’ll leave it there – this way you will just have to come and see why I keep coming back year after year.

Les X

Women in Business Award Finalist – Luncheon Awards Ceremony

Jeff & I went to the luncheon awards ceremony on Thursday, and so pleased that some of the local FSB committee also came to give me their support.

Whilst I didn’t win my Go Green category, being both nominated & shortlisted has still brought business benefits as I have had quite a bit of free publicity with my name being mentioned in the Evening Post, and both article & picture – see here – in Swansea Bay Business Life Magazine. Plus I have gained a Highly Recommended plaque which now has pride of place in my office at home.

Les X

PS The overall winner of the awards was at on our table. As she also had a trophy for winning her category I went and asked her if I could have one, although in hindsight I should have asked her for the bottle of Moet & Chandon instead – but she would have said No to that as well!

PPS As you can tell by the date, still not quite managing to blog every week but have finally caught up today. So keep your fingers crossed …

Flying High

Ian has been promising to take me up in a light aircraft for what seems a very long time. Every two years he needs to do so many hours to keep his pilot's licence, but each time we've arranged a trip either one of us can't make it or the weather's poor.

But at long last it happened last wednesday - just a half hour over Gower with a couple of practice landings. But it was well worth the wait with wonderful Welsh views. Only trouble is I can't wait to go again!

Les X

Women in Business Award Finalist!

Up til last year I have nominated myself in the IT category but got nowhere. However this year it’s being run by a different sponsor and maybe because of this I decided to try for the Go Green Environment Award instead. To my total amazement I’ve actually been selected as one of the three finalists!

Since being told I’ve had some still photos taken, which hopefully will appear in the local paper and maybe Swansea Business Life magazine. I’ve also had to do a short video recording which will be shown at the luncheon awards ceremony late September - I think I may go and powder my nose when that’s happening! Jeff & I have got tickets so even if I don’t win anything it’s still a free lunch!

Wish me luck!

Les X

Puffinus Puffinus & Puffins

Last Friday Jeff & I had the afternoon off to go to Skomer for an evening trip round the island. The wind was a bit on the gusty side and a sky a tad murky, described later by the boat man as ‘dirty weather’. But we had a pleasant drive round through Loughor & Llanelli, then Kidwelly where we turned off to follow the coast lane to Ferryside. Llansteffan Castle was as usual quite enigmatic viewed from across the water. After a light bite we carried on to Carmarthen then fast road to St Clears, and slower road to Haverfordwest. We both find it quite fascinating that the roads just get narrower & narrower when finally as you approach Martins Haven where we get on the boat it's a lane with passing places as only just wide enough for cars.

As you already know we like bird watching (not twitching!) and this trip was to do just that. But before we even got on the boat there were swallows flying in & out of the public loos. Inside there were a number of nests in both the gents & ladies, but some birds were actually on top of the toilet cisterns, and others sat on the road, not being particularly bothered that there were people around. As we got on the boat something appearing to be a bottle bobbing up & down in the water turned out to be a seal – absolutely perfect example of one doing what is known as ‘bottle nosing’! Not far out to sea it started being quite choppy and we were told it was very unlikely that we could go round the island. As it happened it really didn’t matter. For a start we saw hundreds of puffins, in the water & flying together with razorbills & guillemots. Now I hate to sound a bit blazé but as much as I love them these were not what we had come to see.

A few started flying across in front of the boat - they stay out at sea as great bird rafts all day, then come back at night to roost. The ‘dirty weather’ was actually in our favour as this encourages them to return earlier, and then we saw them, I mean really saw them – thousands in the water, in the sky, all around. Puffinus Puffinus aka Manx Shearwater. For those of you who have seen the marvel of your common starling when in winter they perform in the sky late afternoon you will understand when I say that this was similar. They are superb flyers, a bit like a cross between a swallow, a swift and a tern. Just black & white yet beautiful. On the way back the boatman said that we would never see a better display of these birds and I think there is no doubt at all that he’s right.

Les X

PS It was obviously all too much for me as I slept all the way home!

Yet Another Blog!

Yes, it's true - I've set up a dedicated political blog - which you'll know to avoid if you hate politics!

But if you are interested it's at www.lesleywaltonpolitics.blogspot.com.

Les

Tallinn - a Tall Story

Yes, I know - haven't done a blog for ages! So here's an uberblog on my choir trip to Tallinn to make up for it - either that or it will bore the pants off you!!

My 'lot' : Ann, Sheila, Jeff, Denise and me







Sunday 30th May - Day 1
Left Swansea about 8.20am. For some reason there had been a cock-up over the flights so we had to leave a day sooner and this meant staying over one night in Riga, Latvia. Funnily enough as this extra day cost us nothing we weren't unduly upset at this prospect. Better still we enjoyed excellent hospitality at Hotel Tomo when we arrived at 11.00pm, more or less taking over the bar - decent beer & very tasty snacks so a great start to the week.
And another thing ...
Our guide for the week Maciej had been very organised handing out all the key cards before getting to the hotel so we could go straight to our rooms without having to check in - with a group our size this usually takes ages. One small catch to this was that he had to read out everyone's name in full including the middle one for those who had them. So we now know that there is a Rufus amongst us and better still a Barrington! But you might find the And another thing ... for Thursday funnier still.

Monday 31st May - Day 2
Had a pleasant couple of hours in old Riga - being lazy I took it very easy and just sat in the town square taking pics, drinking beer and watching numerous tourist groups go by.
Then off on the journey to our proper destination, but what can I tell you about the route, particularly in Estonia? Well, the first thing you notice is the trees. And the second thing? Well more trees! We are all used to long distance travel along dual carriageways both in this country and certainly everywhere else I've been to, but the road from Riga to Tallinn was single lane all the way. And tree lined all the way. Now as much as I love trees you can get a bit too much of a good thing!
First impressions of Tallinn? Surprisingly affluent when you consider it's fairly recent history of soviet oppression, with a lot of quite fancy new build. After decamping at the hotel I think virtually everyone decided the short walk to the old town was the thing to do. Whilst it doesn't cover a huge area it is without doubt one of the prettiest places I have ever visited. On this occasion we were just intent on getting a brief feel for the place, and finding somewhere to eat. Being reasonably warm we found an outdoor eatery, but finally ended up in a 'beer keller' with a 'jolly' waiter. We were a bit silly at his point ordering 5 'grand' beers thinking these would be equivalent to 1/2 litre, just under a pint. Our 'jolly' waiter quite fairly assumed that by 'grand' we had meant 'litre', but did pull a fast one in bringing us probably the most expensive, equivalent to about £5.60 a pint!!! Fortunately, for me at least, it was delicious - just as well at that price!
And another thing ...
I need to point out a rather disappointing fact about tour hotel in Tallinn. Now don't get me wrong - by no means are all the choir and their friends & partners desperate for the next drop of alcohol (just some of us!) but we were of course there as a group and on past trips have enjoyed all getting together, to talk & sing, and drink if we wanted to, but even then often just coffee or a soft drink. So not surprisingly we were a bit put out (well gutted really!) to find out the bar closed at 10.30! I'm not even sure you could get coffee at that time and in any case I tried it one morning - bloody awful & bloody expensive too!

Tuesday 1st June - Day 3
Coach tour round the city starting at 9.00am - interesting enough but some of it did vere a bit too much towards political propaganda. One real high spot was visiting the open air concert area which every 5 years sees a mass choir of 30000 performing to an even bigger audience. Some of you may have seen a recent TV series called 'Sacred Music' where in one episode they visited Tallinn and had shots of the festival in ull flow. The choir stood at the top of the bank and sang Steal Away - perfect!
Then a walking tour through the old town, with two groups to cater for different walking speeds - very good idea, and if you wanted to go off on your you could as we were going to make our own way back to the hotel. Personally I find guided tours extremely tiring so whilst we started off with the faster group Jeff & I then wandered off to discover the town's delights for ourselves, and quite delightful it was too, as you can see from these shots.
Concert in the evening in a place which when translated from Estonia into English included the word Blackheads - I just kept conjuring up a vision of spots! But it went down very well with the audience. A joung mixed voice Estonian choir did a stint in the middle - very good and all without music, lead by a very dynamic & friendly female conductor.
As the coach dropped us back at the hotel we decided to eat nearby at the Zebra - Ann & I were bushed from standing so long on a very hard floor.
And another thing ...
Another rather interesting fact about the hotel - it changed owners mid week, so whilst we went in to the Reval Hotel Centrale we came out of the Radison Park Inn. But at least they had the sense to improve things straightaway with a sign saying that the bar would be open til 12 at the weekends!

Wednesday 2nd June - Day 4
Full day to Parnu, about 2 hours drive south - all in all not the most successful trip ...
This time the road was not so tree lined (still plenty of them!) but the third thing you notice about Estonia is that it is very flat - a few 'bumps' but blink and you'd miss them. At least we saw some cattle & horses, farms & houses, and so on that score definitely more exciting than the other road trip. What was not so good was the incessant commentary. The very pleasant female guide was the same as on yesterdays' city tour and started off giving some more general chat through the city centre & outskirts. That would have been fine, and even she acknowledged that some of us had been looking forward to a bit more shut eye. But for some reason she carried on, and on - a bit like the Chinese water torture she'd say something, stop for a bit and we'd all think 'great she's finished' be just about dropping off when she'd say something else!! Now I realise that we were a captive audience and obviously she wasn't going to miss the opportunity to tell as many people as possible in the outside world about her country. But we were on holiday, and I for one can only empathise for so long - arghhh!!! Once she actually stopped talking politics, housing, economics, rural activities, population statistics, industries & jobs etc etc etc to point out a fox - I missed it.
Parnu like Tallinn is on the coast, and it was a lovely day. Some people would have liked to have spent the day there, but this was not to be. It would at least have been nice to have a coffee in one of the cafes on the beach - that was not to be either. Instead we had the obilgatory coach tour - it's not a big place and I'm sure we went down some streets twice - and parked 10 minutes walk from the beach, stood there for about 10 minutes on a concrete slab having to listen to this other guide ('here's the sea' - what more can you say?!) and then got marched back to the bus. What was even more ridiculous was that we then drove to within in couple of minutes of the beach - double arghhh!!!
At least we had the rest of the afternoon free time but Parnu old town is even smaller than Tallinn - half an hour should just about cover it - so we were of course obliged to spend most of the time going from one bar to the next. I did have an ulterior motive - I wanted to be tired enough to go to sleep on the way back in case our guide decided to carry on where she had left off!
Jeff & I had a stroll up to old town square but returned to join the rest for a meal again staying close to home by going to the Bospherus, a Turkish restaurant literally opposite the hotel. Ate inside but even though a cool wind blowing had our final drink for the evening out in the last of the sunshine. And as with all establishments in Tallinn they provided blankets to wrap around you as it got colder - what a brill idea!
And another thing ...
By this time I had been gradually sussing out what to do for breakfast & lunch. Not a morning person so my idea of a perfect breakfast time is no earlier than 11, but most days we were going to be out by 9 at the latest. So the cunning plan was to have a little just to keep me going and then wrap up lots of cheese, to go with my favourite biscuits that Jeff though to bring with us, and a boiled egg, to eat later - just the ticket!

Thursday 3rd June - Day 5
Full day trip to Helsinki - had to be ready to leave at 7!!! Very foggy crossing and stayed that way for a while but by late morning this had cleared to reveal a lovely sunny afternoon. A short bus tour including two memorable visits :
the Rock Church - built out of an old air raid shelter, with a ceiling made out of one piece of wire curled round - middle picture below :





and Jean Sibelius sculpture, formed using large but different sized vertical metal 'pipes' doubling up as a musical instrument for anyone who doesn't mind looking stupid sticking their heads up them and making a noise.







Dropped off back in the centre we walked round the market on the quay, full of souvenirs, fish & gulls, and reindeer products, then to the cathedral square, and on to the station, in particular the Pullman Bar. This was brilliant on two counts : the decor was fascinating, straight out of Agatha Christie, and the range of drinks quite incredible plus I had the best lager of the week.
Meandered back to the coffee shop where we had been on the way up, but this time had a couple of drinks whilst listening to live music, a singer dressed up as a Cossack with his accordian player giving a mean rendition of Monte's Shardaz.
Back in Tallinn it was up to the old town again to eat, this time in the Peppersack where all the waiters are dressed as peasants from the middle ages. There was another restaurant that apparently served entirely authentic food (such as undercooked chicken!), with authentic lighting (candles so you couldn't see what you were eating!!) but I don't think our eatery went that far although I never did get to look inside.
And another thing ...
When boarding the seacat back to Tallinn I noticed that my boarding card had left off the last two letters of my middle name, which is Virginia - go figure!

Friday 4th June - Day 6
A lie-in!!!! then Jeff & I strolled around old town again, taking a ludicrous number of photos - Jeff was trying to take 1000 for the week but failed miserably with a mere 600 or so! Met up with Ann in the Hell Hunt - a very decent bar for lunch & a beer - then taxi back to the hotel to get ready for our final concert in Rapla. It took about an hour to get there which supposedly would have given us plenty of time to rehease, get changed ready to perform at 7. Slight communication glitch - the concert started at 6 which I found out at 5 minutes before! Pleasant enough hall but personally I felt the accoustics rather poor such that we kept going flat. However the audience were appreciative enough. This time we shared with two girl school choirs combined but with the same dynamic choir mistress - again very good, no copies (I think she must be very inspirational, she even got them moving!!)
The entertainment for our last evening was at a mock traditional Estonian restaurent - all dark wooden beams (and a bright pink Ladies!) The beer was cheap (good!) the food OK, but to start with the dancing for me left a lot to be desired. However it perked up considerably when the men came on to do a formal dance routine to a heavy metal number. After that it was more fun (and I'd had a few beers by then) which included the obligatory one when they pick on poor unsuspecting members of the audience eg Jeff, to go and dance with them - always good for a laugh. We were celebrating a number of birthdays so at the end of the evening there was champagne all round, so the bus ride home was very pleasant (I felt particularly glowing!), including a good singalong with a beautiful sunset as a backdrop. And as the sign had 'promised', back at the hotel the bar was STILL OPEN!
And another thing ...
During the week I got bored with taking sensible photos, so here's a collage of some of the sillier shots :

Saturday 5th June - Day 7
Last day, and went to Catherines Palace - sunny but a cool wind. After a cafe stop & a wander Jeff & I decided to try a tram back to town - a bit confusing but funnily enough another British couple were doing the same and they got into quite a muddle. At least Jeff had remembered reading that it was a bit cheaper - and simpler - if you bought tickets from a kiosk rather than on the tram.
Had one last meal at the bottom of the old town then a final wander to town square - a bit surreal as there was a festival of music on but whereas there had been classical stuff earlier we got there just in time to hear a forces band playing McCarther Park!!!
Back to blighty but from Tallinn rather than Riga - no more non-stop tree-lined roads, for now at least.
And another thing ...
That's all folks.

Les

Election Postcript

How long will the 'marriage' last? I wonder!

Les

Election Over!

It's 5 days after the event - I'm still tired and we still don't know who's going to run (or ruin!) the country! But after the polls were supporting the Tories I'm just grateful that they haven't got an outright majority. And even more grateful that we held onto the three seats here so it's still red all across the City & County, I'm pleased to say.

But oh so close here in Swansea West! The Liberal Democrats ran a dirty & personalised campaign - not just negative spin against our candidate but a lot statements were at best misleading and at worst lies. Not surprisingly some of it stuck, and the majority was reduced to about 500 so we are going to need to do a lot more work to get out of the danger zone next time, which could of course be later this year!!

For the first time in years I didn't go to the count - a bit strange as I have always been in the building even if not eligible to go into the counting hall itself. Instead we ended up in a pub down on the Marina - drinking, eating, watching & worrying all night & on til early morning. For some reason when our result was announced it wasn't shown on TV, just a banner going across the screen. I didn't believe it at first, and funnily enough as I learnt afterwards nor did the Lib Dem candidate who apparently turned a shade of green, through the shock of losing!

So we live to fight another day, and we'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings - literally!

Les

Election Diary Day 28

They say a week is a long time in politics but my week has gone like a flash as usual, with E Day getting closer yet still generally speaking no sure outcome.

But what a week I've had! In that time I have met various politicians from Wales' 1st Minister Carwen Jones to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling. But also got a great buzz out of shaking hands with Eddie Izzard - I so wanted to quote a couple of his sketch phrases to him but fortunately didn't quite have the nerve as I suspect he's heard them all before - thousands of times before!

And of course as already 'blogged' I've yet again had some TV fame with Eggheads. So not surprisingly Saturday was a bit of an anticlimax after all that and this morning was back to the leafletting - 2 hours of direct mail trying to find house numbers, up & down steps, generally getting knackered! And as if that wasn't thrilling enough I'm now going to do the ironing!!

Les

Eggheads - at last!

Well you are all in suspense no longer - I'm no richer than I was before I went on the programme, in money terms that is. Richer perhaps for having a good day out, and even more so having lots of friends around in the pub yesterday evening sharing the occasion with me when the show was finally televised - after almost a year waiting. Although we didn't win I think we all did very well and were on the whole quite entertaining - they even kept the song in!

Among the best bits - Ann putting Dermot in his place by saying with reference to science fiction 'we prefer to call it SF' & Lyn convincing everyone, including us, each time she was going to choose between the wrong two then finally going for the correct answer.

Worst bits - well like most people I never like the way I look but apart from that, there weren't any!

Les

Election Diary Day 22

What an amazing few days in which time I have met and shaken hands with

Eddie Izzard - the comedian went to Swansea University to encourage the students to vote (preferably Labour!) then back into town to do a walkabout round the town centre which certainly seemed to be well received.

Carwen Jones - for those who may not know he is Wales' First Minister of the Welsh Assembly, taking over from Rhodri Morgan last year. He came and spoke briefly at a morale boosting members get together last night.

Alistair Darling - yes, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, second most powerful person in Britain! Now not only did I shake his hand but was one of a select few asking him questions on behalf of the business organisation I belong to ie Federation of Small Businesses. He even sat next to me - OK so that might actually be a turn OFF for some of you but from a political stand point I was quite impressed!!

Oh, and I've also caught a cold but I spose you can't have everything!

Les

Election Diary Day 16

After a wonderful week away it's back down to earth again, on the campaign trail.

Keeping a fairly low profile since putting my head above the pulpit on Monday when Nick Clegg came to town. I'm not really one for protesting but I was persuaded to go and hold a placard on the education cuts that are currently happening in Swansea. Nationally Lib Dems are saying that they are the party of smaller classrooms but while the current Lib Dem council cuts teachers jobs the exact opposite is going to happen!

But that's it for me for a while on the protest front after being haranged by this guy who was very bitter about Labour. I don't think I handled it very well - I probably should have walked away but easier said than done, particularly when someone insults you personally.

But funnily enough the person who gained the most publicity was the main Socialist Worker protagonist in town, who got pushed to the ground by a policeman for having the audacity to try and speak using a loud hailer. He was apparently dragged away and had the offending article taken off him (that's stealing isn't it?!) but by the time I got there he was back again and heckling quite loudly without it!

I'm sticking to leafletting!!

Les

Easter at Tywyn

I'M BACK!

Well in body if not in spirit. Amazingly have managed to plough through all the e-mails received (still loads even with a gone-away-back-soon message!). But back to blog business ...

I will restart the Election Diary tomorrow but thought the obvious subject for today would be the events of the last week - our all too short period of relaxation in Tywyn, Mid Wales, home of the Talyllyn Railway. Those of you who are observant will notice something tends to get mentioned rather a lot - can you spot it, I wonder?!

Saturday 10th April
Left about midday (early start was a lovely thought but my body had other ideas!), travelling up with my brother Robin, via Pontardawe then the Black mountain road to Llangadog, across to Lampeter towards the coast but cutting off the corner more or less to Aberystwyth, and finally to Machynlleth and round the coast road to Tywyn. Sat on the promenade overlooking the sunny sea. And also a pile of rocks - apparently part of the new sea defences. Mmmm!
Early evening Jeff & I drove to first layby again overlooking the sea but with a truly beautiful view, one of our favourites. Then usual road to Bird Rock, over pass to Abergynolwyn then home for Cornish Pasties & bed, but not before a visit to the Railway Inn for 2 pints of London Pride and Doom Bar.

Sunday 11th April
No rush but finally caught the 1.45 down on the Talyllyn Railway & had a spot of lunch in Wharf cafe. Then the 3pm train all the way up the line to Nant Gwernol pulled by No 7 Tom Rolt again, and a sarnie at Abergynolwyn Station on the way down. But sacre bleu, no treacle tart or bakewell tart as they've stopped doing them - shame! A quick drive down to the sea before dinner then back for an evening in with a nice roast pork meal a le chef Jeff washed down with copious amounts of red wine.

Monday 12th April
Leisurely start then drove Robin to Machynlleth (or Mach-the-Knife as we call it - easier to pronounce!) to catch his bus back home. On to Ynys Hir RSPB bird reserve but we don't often bother going round any more as you can usually see as many birds in the car park! We then tried out new Osprey project but sadly no osprey although female had been seen earlier in the day. A short walk to Dovey Junction to give us an appetite & funnily enough discovered a much better osprey nest viewing spot which we will note for the future. Had a good evening meal at the Brittania Inn in Aberdovey, with Guinness, Banks Bitter & Cockahoop.

Tuesday 13th April
Drove round the coast, stopping off at usual layby - wonderful spot whatever the weather but still fine anyway. On to Penmaenpool and a couple of walks - in woods on the other side of the valley & then along the old railway track - but not many birds. After dinner at the van went to Tredegar Arms in Tywyn and to our unexpected delight it was quiz night! Good fun even though we didn't win, but enjoyed it and the lovely beer - HB & Doom Bar.

Wednesday 14th April
Day out up & down the main line to Machynlleth, then Porthmadog - home of the Ffestiniong Railway and soon to be terminus of the Welsh Highland Railway, newly relaid. In the station pub Spooners sank two very nice pints of Summat Gold. Then a lovely walk round birdspotting a few left over winter visitors. And back to the main line for another couple in the Station Inn - Pedigree & Cwrw Eryru. Lovely ride home sitting on the west side, watching the sun & sea. Back for TV, pizza & wine.

Thursday 15th April
Spent the day driving round North Wales, visiting many of the usual haunts like Tanybwlch on the Ffestioniog Railway, in time to see two engines passing - Blanche & Dafydd Lloyd George. Lovely day, no hurry, but still managed to go as far as Caernarfon before returning back via Harlech then the coast road. Managed to get to our other favourite layby in time to watch the sun setting in a red glow. Back at the van watched the Swedish (and in my opinion much better version) Wallander followed by Shirley Valentine with a simple supper, and a lager / wine or two.

Friday 16th April
Caught the first train up the line pulled by Tom Rolt. Got off at Nant Gwernol so we could have an easy stroll through the woods by the river down to Abergwynolwyn Village. Spent a very leisurely afternoon having a very nice meal at the Railway Inn supplemented by Ruddles County & IPA. Then walked back up to the station for the last train down of the day. Not much to report after that - I fell asleep!

Saturday 17th April
Slow drive home, back by late afternoon. Amazingly one of the best bird spots of the week in our a garden - a sparrowhawk!!!

Overall I'm sure you will notice that it was very much a restful vacation summarised by : lots of little sheep, birds, daffodils, trains, & wonderful scenery, with a smattering of low flying jets (and more bizarrely a huge Hercules trying to do the same!) and a lot of much needed sleep! And what else? I wonder!

And finally for those who you who are interested here is the bird list in no particular order:
RED KITES; BUZZARD; CHAFFINCH; GREENFINCH; GOLDFINCH; MALLARD; SHELDUCK; PHEASANT; MUTE SWAN; CHIFFCHAFF; WILLOW WARBLER; TREE CREEPER; WHEATEAR; SKYLARK; WOOD PIGEON; GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER; BLUE TIT; GREAT TIT; ROOK; CROW; RAVEN; CHOUGH; JAY; JACKDAW; MAGPIE; STARLING; ROBIN; BLACKBIRD; WREN; HOUSE SPARROW; DUNNOCK; PIED WAGTAIL; GREY WAGTAIL; SWALLOW; HOUSE MARTIN; CORMORANT; CANADA GEESE; EIDER DUCK; COOT; TEAL; WIGEON; RED BREASTED MERGANSER; GOOSANDER; LITTLE EGRET; HERON; REDSHANK; OYSTERCATCHER; HERRING GULL; GREAT BLACK BACKED GULL; LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL; BLACK HEADED GULL; FULMAR plus a couple of 'not sures' as we were not able to see them for long enough to be certain - Pied Flycatcher & Yellowhammer.

Looking forward to next year already!

Les

Election Diary Day 4

One last post before I go away for a week - bliss!

Actually managed to get up at 7 this morning - am I crazy or what?! Went leafletting with my good friend and fellow politico Erika. Between us we delivered over 600 leaflets - not bad eh. Whether people will read the leaflet, understand it, take it in, believe it, agree with the comments, etc etc and then go and vote for anyone let alone 'us' is of course an entirely different matter!!

I think that is it for today. It's late and I still haven't packed so it's a 'chuck-everything-in-the-suitcase-and-see-if-it-closes' kind of thing - again!!!

Les

Election Diary Day 2

Today saw the official launch of the Labour Party campaign in Swansea, with Peter Hain, Sec State for Wales, coming over here for a walkabout around the city centre with our prospective candidate Geraint Davies. Amazingly the sun shone, and the people were pleasant (except for one heckler who kept shouting out expletives, but worse still then started playing a couple of drums - badly!)

My new claim to fame - on the local news tonight you could see the back of me as I walked past people being interviewed! And there is a possibility that I'll be in a pic in the local paper tomorrow.

Then this evening actually got 8 of us out doing canvassing & leafletting - that is almost a record!!

Les

Election Diary Day 1

You may have noticed that my promise of a blog entry every Friday hasn't quite materialised. Sadly the time warp which has before now just shifted the entry by a couple of days has now stretched to three weeks. (Where have those weeks gone?!!!) So I have a new cunning plan ...

Well it's finally here - Gordy went off to Buck Palace this morning to check with Queeny that it's OK to kick start the election campaign proper. So I had this daft idea of putting something down every day - a kind of 'diary of a seasoned campaigner' (or more to the point 'diary of a sad person who keeps walking the streets'!) But there are two flaws with this plan, the blatantly obvious one being if I haven't managed to make an entry every week what hope have I got of doing it every day. And the other one is that I'm on holiday for a week!

But have faith (or suspend reality!) as in theory it'll just be a few lines and when I'm back off hols I'll do a catch up. Ok, you'll believe it when you see it - I don't blame you!

Les

My Day!

Had an interesting day - cups of tea and presis in bed (with the cat I think jealously looking on!) followed by a good old fry-up 'brunch' courtesy of Jeff. This afternoon went with friend Twiz (staying with us) & Jeff to Gower in search of the newish 'Wildflower' garden centre. Had a short look round then coffee with a generous slice of carrot cake, plus a 'grandstand' view of birds feeding. For those in the know these included : nuthatch, greater spotted woodpecker, long-tailed tits, dunnock, and a reed bunting, plus your usual blue tits, robin etc and two greedy starlings, amongst others. Finished the drive off at Three Cliffs Bay car park hoping for Choughs but made do with loads of jackdaws instead!

Now off to the Queens for yet another quiz night (and some delicious real ale!)

Les

And yes, I know that this entry is over a week late but who's counting!!!

Policies not Personalities

I belong to the Labour Party, and as such I believe in the basic ethos of the party. It really doesn’t matter whether you call it ‘old’ or ‘new’ – that’s just semantics. I believe in a fairer society for all and that’s what I still believe the Labour Party is all about. But others, particularly the media, and sadly a lot of so-called activists, would have us all believe it’s about the leader. Well I say he or she has got little to do with it!

They will come and they will go and in the meantime are just holding the reins. So as far as I am concerned they should not be used as an excuse for joining or leaving. You either agree with the basic ethos or you don’t …

Les

And yes I know it's not Friday - I've hit that time warp again!

Cars and their Tag Lines

The other month I had the radio on and was trying not to listen to the adverts but without helping myself heard the most ludicrous & completely meaningless tag line. Since then I’ve started noticing others especially those thought up by car manufacturers. So I thought I’d share some with you, although you might not thank me …

Subaru
When You Get It, You Get It (ugh?)

Ford
Feel The Difference (from …?)

Volkswagen
Relieves Gas Pains (mmmmm, that’s better!)

Toyota
Build Your Toyota (what for? I thought Toyota built them!)

Pontiac
We Are Driving Excitement (what happened to the car?)

Kia
The Car that Cares (aargh!)

Skoda
Bigger, Better, Happier (who me, or the car?!)

Cadillac
The Penalty of Leadership (no,you’ve lost me!)

SAAB
Move your mind (I’d prefer it to stay where it is!)

Nissan
Which 4x4 are you? (none of them – I’m not a car!)

Vauxhall
Self assured with a dash of cheekiness (I give up!!!)

If you come across any others please let me know. Perhaps we could start up our own awards ceremony for the worst!

And to finish this blog entry here’s a funny story about another ad …
comparethemeerkat.com is one of Jeff’s favourites. Now we both like watching birds in our garden and one species just happens to have black feathers on its head from which it gets its name ‘Blackcap’. A couple of weeks ago before he went to work Jeff left a black cat shaped oven glove and a note headed DON’T BE CONFUSED on my desk. The note also had two arrows, one pointing to the glove with the words ‘comparetheblackcat.com’ and the other out into the garden with the words ‘comparetheblackcap.com’. I laughed out loud.

Les

PS Yes, I know it's not Friday but better late than never!