69 - a great position to be in :)

Escaped politics for a long birthday weekend in Breezy Brighton.

Celebrations started with a champagne breckie travelling up the amazin Brighton i360

view west beyond the pier to Seven Sisters

view east beyond Hove

view inland across Brighton

Refreshments on the Pier

Meandering The Lanes

Then rocked the night away to Jools Holland, his amazing Orchestra and Singers,Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall, Gilson Lavis on drums and The Selecter.

 

Merry Christmas Everyone

A Tribute to John

In a crowded Deyin Tai Chi Institute in Telford relatives and friends gathered to celebrate the life of John – a talented musician, arranger, instrument maker, Tai Chi teacher and latterly gardener.

John, Sue and I met in the early 70’s at the student union building Gosta Green, Aston Birmingham, and for a while John and I shared a room in Rotton Park, Birmingham, many campaigns together on behalf of Oxfam Third World First and memorable nights at the Campus folk club where John and Sue met. Over the years our paths crossed occasionally and I was devastated to hear of his early death in China on a Tai Chi training trip earlier this year.

With cameo pictures of his life scrolling on screen the air was filled with the atmospheric music from the ‘lady in white’ on her Chinese Zither.

There were many spoken tributes to John and refreshingly honest tributes from his sister and eldest son that resonated with many of us.

John’s abiding passion was Tai Chi and members of his group gave some moving performances of the art.

movement set to James Taylor - one of John's favourites.

Members of the local group joined Sue in a demonstration of the ancient art.

Thanks to all, and especially Sue,who made this a most memorable gathering and a fitting tribute to John.

Postscript: If there is reincarnation I don’t want to come back as a rabbit – don’t think I’d have the energy (you had to be there :)

So long John it was good to know you.

Winter Wonderland '19

Just got back from a pre christmas trip to London with Sis.

Met up in Euston Station where the public piano is in regular use

Saw a new production of

at the Dominion. Cracking performances from Brenda Edwards and Phil Davis.

The next day was taken up with a walking tour of Central London, taking in the sites, including a number of Christmas Markets:

Followed by a trip to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Our third visit over the years but never ceases to impress.

n spotted this little fella among the leaves

Magic Colours of Westonburt

In Dublin's Fair City

We flew from Carlisle Airport (yes Carlisle :), on the Spirit of Carlisle to Dublin – home of sweet Molly Malone and her wheelbarrow.

Stayed on the edge of Pheonix Park and had a couple of memorable trips on the Hop on/Hop off Including an infill moment when the driver lead the whole bus in a rendition of ‘Wild Rover’.



Highlights included:





Walking a crowded O’Connell Street, looking up at the Needle, or the Pole in the Hole as the north bank know it or the Stiletto in the Ghetto as the south bank know it :)

Dubliners enjoy renaming their street art. The Spirit of the Water, a reclining woman with water fountains at her back, becomes the ‘Floosie in the Jacuzzi’ :)

A guided tour of the amazingly restored Kilmainham Gaol, where the leaders of the Easter Rising were executed, an act that turned the tide of public opinion and led to the forming of the Irish Free State.

...and if you want a Cathedral we have two to spare – no, not Liverpool, Dublin. Christchurch and St Patrick’s are within walking distance of each other on the south bank. We were contemplating entering St Patrick’s when a man asked if we wanted to go ahead of him, we politely said he could go first and a hidden line of 30 odd schoolchildren trooped in behind him!

A boat trip down the Liffey

The south bank has a large area reclaimed from the estuary and is home to many tech giants. Intel being worth a mention as they use 10% of the Liffey's water as coolant and in exchange cleaned and re oxygenated a then very polluted Liffey.

A very funny, knowledgeable and reasonably priced taxi driver transported us to Dublin’s beautiful National Botanic Gardens – at around two thirds the size of Kew, with matching large glasshouses, it kept us in awe for most of the day.

and squirrels abound

and after all that there's only one place to retire to ...

Welsh Woodland Wanderings

A long lingering late summer break at Llandovery in the Brecons spent in a  glamping pod, a sort of hobbit abode with full mod cons and a balcony by the river.

Llandovery is a quiet, pretty market town nestling in the Black Mountain area of Wales. The Black Mountain has recently been named as part of the Fforest Fawr Geopark, (literally, large forest) which is itself the only site in Wales to be listed among the most exceptional geological sites in Europe.

A Drovers centre, they were key figures in rural Wales before the railways offered a new method of transporting animals, in Llandovery they are honoured with a splendid sculpture, a guest house aptly named The Drovers/Y Porthmyn and a roadside Drover’s Diner.

Llandovery Castle dominates the town centre and aside, on a partnering hill, is a giant steel statue of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan was known to support Owain Glyndŵr The people’s choice as Prince of Wales.

Our first outing was to Crychan Forest Trails starting at the Halfway Wood end. The Forest is situated at the gateway of the Cambrian mountains, on the border of the Brecon Beacons National Park. There are miles of waymarked trails that take you through grassy gorges along old drover’s routes and past cascading waterfalls. Some of the views of the surrounding mountains of Mid Wales are breathtaking.

Crychan Forest was originally part of the Glanbran estate, which at one time reached from just outside Carmarthen to Builth Wells and was owned by the wealthy Gwyn family. Trees within the forest include native oak, ash, beech and hazel of the original ancient forest and imported conifers.

Lots of beautiful hidden places to take a rest.

The evenings produced some beautiful sunsets

The following day was someone specials birthday :)

The birthday outing included a trip north of Cilycwm to the cwm Rhaeadr Forest. Approached from a small car park. Cwm Rhaeadr, which means “valley of the waterfall” in Welsh, is a remote woodland area situated in the upper Tywi valley in Carmarthenshire. There are glimpses over the unnamed main waterfall, where the Nant y Rhaeadr flows over the Craig y Rhaeadr crag into the Cwm Rhaeadr valley. The area is also popular with mountain bikers.

The base of the main fall provides an ideal opportunity to cool off the feet and take in these magnificent surroundings.

It was then back to the abode for a well earned rest before the birthday meal at the Kings Head.