Mutterings for the Minority

Wonder at the waterfront

Went for a lunchtime run with a work colleague today which made a refreshing change and added a bit of competitiveness to proceedings. What made it all the more pleasant for me was the fact that this time I ran my work colleague ragged, rather than the other way around as was the case back in January when we went out running together. Not that I’m the competitive type of course!

The 24 minute run took us through Swansea Marina and past the new National Waterfront Museum. Now if you’re ever passing the museum do take the time to pop in and have a look, it’s free and well worth a couple of hours browsing around. There’s also plenty of gadgets and gizmos to have dabble with and will keep both little kids and big kids amused for quite some time! I particulary liked the ‘Networks’ display which provided a projected map with hotpots on which you could then view a short video/slideshow of. The picture below was one I took whilst looking at the ‘Transformations’ display.

Just for the record I’d like to add that I visited the museum previously not today - as I didn’t think that the sight of me wearing cycling shorts and a running vest was appropriate attire for a museum!

Being the resourceful guy that I am, I felt I had to mention a web site I came across the other day which provides email notifications of the cheapest garages (for fuel) in your local area. The site can be found at www.petrolprices.com and it’s free to register and use the service. I’ve found the prices quoted for various garages in my locality to be accurate as well, so it’s well worth a visit and could save you a few bob in the process.

Was subjected to yet another viewing of ‘Ice Age‘ today by DDWT Junior - for what must be the hundreth time! Although I shouldn’t complain really as it’s quite a funny film and is much better (in my opinion) that his last favourite ‘Finding Nemo‘. I still find it amusing that whenever DDWT Junior see’s a fish he says ‘Dory’ - those of you who’ve seen the film will know what I’m on about.

Ticket to ride

Finally got my travel arrangements sorted today for the Football League Trophy Final on Sunday in Cardiff. With the trains not running on the day, I opted for the official Swans travel club (FOSCFA) offering of a £7 return coach ticket (which is excellent value). Many thanks to Ugo Vallerio for arranging this for me. I’m sure that many Swans will know Ugo well, as he’s been running FOSCFA for donkey’s years (well at least as long as I can remember and that’s some 26 years of supporting the Swans).

The Swans go into the final on Sunday, backed by what looks likely to be in excess of 27,000 passionate Jacks and warmed up for the final with a comfortable 2-1 win over the Robins of Wrexham last night in the FAW Premier Cup Final. The result meant the Swans retained the trophy from last season in a repeat of the scoreline and opposition! Another good omen for Sunday is that Wrexham won last year’s LDV Vans Trophy (as it was called) - so here’s hoping for another Welsh team flying the winners flag for Wales this weekend.

Seeing as I’ve been sharing some of my poetry with you recently, I thought I’d continue with the arty theme and share some of my digital photographs as well. I took up digital photography seriously back in 1999, having merely dabbled in it prior to that and it all come about due to an ever increasing involvement in web development. Anyway, here are a couple of snaps to get us started.

This picture of Cader Idris - from a distance - was taken in August 2002 just before Mrs DDWT and I started the long but wonderful trek up to the summit of Cader.

Here’s a picture of the sun setting over Clarach Bay near Aberystwyth and was taken in July 2002.

Show us your muskles

Those of you familiar with Popeye will know what I mean by ‘muskles’ and it’ll come as no surprise to hear me mention spinach in the same sentence. Now you’re probably thinking that I’ve lost my marbles and think that consuming vast amounts of spinach will help build my ‘muskles’ a la Popeye, well not quite. I am indeed eating a lot of spinach, but in an effort to broaden my horizons in terms of eating what I affectionately classify as rabbit food. Rabbit food in DDWT terms are items such as celery, lettuce, cucumber, radish, spring onions, watercress, etc - basically all the salady bits you care to mention. Ever since I was a kid I hated such foods, but now at the tender age of 35 it is time to experiment - and in doing so help my health at the same time.

Whilst on the subject of muscles I did another weights session today, sticking to my training schedule religiously I hasten to add. For those of you in the know, I did some front dumbell raises, seated lateral raises, upright row and alternate dumbell curls - for those of you who aren’t I did a load of shoulder weight training exercises!

In keeping with what is quickly becoming movie week for me (it must be a record) I watched yet another film tonight - ‘Calendar Girls‘ - much to the delight of Mrs DDWT as this was most definately a chick flick. Basically a women’s WI group decide to strip naked (sorry nude!) for a calendar in order to raise money for the local hospital. It was interesting to watch (and no not for the nudity!), but the film seemed to drift off on a tangent the more it went on. I suppose this was the intention and really illustrated the point that people can often become ‘too involved’ with things and in-turn lose sight of what they originally set out to achieve. I suppose it’s a little about self-realisation. Overall though, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed with the film, especially after such a promising start to proceedings. Having said that it’s worth watching and I can see why it was so popular.

As I mentioned earlier the film is based on a true story and it’s well worth paying a visit to the website which describes the real Calendar girls and their efforts to date. You can view the site by clicking this link.

Swings and roundabouts

Decided to make the most of the break in what seemed an endless downpour today and take DDWT Junior to Ynystawe park, much to his delight. The park is very large and has a children’s play area, two football pitches, tennis/basketball courts and lots of grassy areas (which seem ideal for picnics in the summer!). Directions to the park can be found by clicking this link. Here are some of the snaps I took.

Also in the park is a plaque (shown below) in memory of Hopcyn ap Tomos, who was a supporter of the bardic tradition. It’s believed that in July 1403 he was summoned by Owain Glyndwr to prophesise Owain’s future.
Opted for a different lunchtime run today - so replacing the sandy beach was a muddy canal bank! The canal bank in question was the one running (pardon the pun!) between Trebanos and Clydach. I also decided to increase the intensity of the workout and in doing so reduce the runtime - to 21 minutes in this case. I’m not sure of the distance involved exactly, but a guestimate would be around 2.5 miles. True to form whilst going about my business the heavens opened and I got drenched, but I’m not complaining in the slightest - I simply love running in the rain!

Seeing as I’m in movie mode at the moment, I decided to watch ‘The Recruit‘ tonight with Al Pacino and Colin Farrell being the lead actors. The trailor and synopsis made the film appear to be well worth watching, in reality I’m afraid it wasn’t quite the case. I suppose this in itself ties in nicely with the storyline of the film, i.e. CIA agent trying to find the mole within - thus everything not always being what it appears to be. The pace of the film made me want to press fast-forward all of the time to the inevitable twist at the end - gripping it wasn’t I’m afraid.

Every little helps

Watched a film tonight called ‘The Terminal‘ starring Tom Hanks and Swansea’s very own Catherine Zeta-Jones. Quite a weird storyline really about a guy who takes up temporary residency in JFK airport due to not having a valid visa for entry into the USA. Reading the synopsis beforehand made the film sound quite boring, but in fact it turned out to be quite a humorous and touching tale.

It’s weird really how you can become so involved in what you are watching, even to the point that you lose all sense of reality and everyday life around you. It’s no wonder the romantics amongst us float off to dreamland when faced with a slushly romantic film - rather than sometimes facing up to the reality of life (well at least for the duration of the film). I’m sure the same can be said for fantasists out there too.

Popped into Tesco’s in Fforestfach to do some shopping today, which obviously isn’t the most exciting thing in the world to do (or blog on) but my encounter at the checkout was quite funny. I’d decided to get a stir-fry mix for supper, attached to which was a 60p coupon. So the nice lady behind the counter said “I’ll scan that coupon through for you now sir, after all 60p is 60p isn’t it” to which I replied (without thinking) - “Well, every little helps”. At the time, the cashier’s steely glare didn’t register with me - well not until I was walking out of the shop and clocked a large Tesco sign emblazoned with their slogan of “Every little helps”. It raised a smile and made me chuckle.

Time for a change

Did you remember to put your clocks forward? We did and without a hint of hesitation. Ok, so we lost one hour’s sleep but the start of the British Summer Time (BST) more than made up for this. Besides, with DDWT Junior around, sleep deprivation is something we’re accustomed to, so one hour isn’t going to make a blind bit of difference! I do wonder what other ‘effects’ the clock change will have though.

Embarked upon my new weight training regime today, having been out of action for months (years?). So I dusted off my york weights bench and proceeded to bash a few dumbells and barbells about!

The reason behind this idea was that it occurred to me that whilst losing weight was all well and good, the thought of having a Mr. Muscle ‘esque physique (complete with white string vest) wasn’t exactly what I had in mind (seeing as I’m of large build and stand 6ft 4ins tall). So with this hideous thought in mind and the fact that with increased muscle size my metabolism would increase and thus burn more calories - I decided to devise a weight training program for myself. So I’m now on a two pronged calorie burning attack!

Once again I am pleased to report that the scales were smiling at me this morning as I weighed in at 17st 2lbs - so I’ve shed 2lbs this week. What’s more pleasing is that since January 1st, I’ve shed 26lbs. You’ll be glad to know that these are one set of pictures I won’t be sharing with you!

Poetry and motion

It’s been a while since I last shared a poem with everyone, so I thought I’d once again delve into my archives to dig one out which I wrote in the mid-80’s. This one is called ‘Memories’ and was obviously written at a time of reflection!

When you’re feeling down and out,
Nothing else seems to count.
The problems you’ve got might seem bad,
But don’t despair and don’t be sad.
Just pick up a phone and dial a friend,
They’re bound to have advice to lend.
Broken up with someone you liked?
Look back on the good things, the things you got right.
You’re not alone in this world you know,
For millions of others are said to be so.
Live for the future and not for the past,
Unless you want your depression to last.
Be happy and forget all strife,
Always look at the bright side of life.

Well enough of my poetic ramblings, it’s time to talk about my lunchtime runs again (and no I’m not talking about dysentery). Being a glutton for punishment, I decided to pound the beach once again in my quest for a leaner, fitter me and proceeded to sweat my way to a 24 minute run. Painful yes, but more importantly progress.

Lame laptop computer

I endured over 4 hours downtime today after trying to apply Windows XP Service Pack 2 to my Compaq laptop. Every time I tried to do the install, I kept getting a darn “Access is Denied” error message. So thanks Microsoft for the ‘blue screen of death‘ that ensued and for helping me to waste a complete afternoon in work. It’s no wonder that I prefer to use Linux. After this little episdoe, I’ve one thing to say to Bill Gates - fear the penguin!

In all seriousness it is incredably frustrating, especially when you are totally dependant on your laptop/PC to do your work (web development in my case). I suppose it’s testament to the reliance we place upon, what is arguably the most important work tool in decades - the humble PC.

At least the purchase of my ticket for the LDV Vans Final between the Swans and the Cumbrians of Carlisle, relieved some of the frustration I felt this afternoon.

Now all I have to do is find some form of transport to the Millenium Stadium - after Network Rail decided (in their wisdom) that no train services will be running between Swansea and Cardiff on the day of the game. Muppets.

The windy city

No not Chicago, Swansea. How come every time I decide to go out running it feels as though I’m running into a force 9 gale. Like me lugging around my extra large frame wasn’t enough of a challenge in itself. Me, aerodynamic, most definately not. No wonder there’s a street called ‘Wind Street’ in the City - which incidentally happens to have lots of pubs on it - you’d need a drink after braving the elements. That’s purely co-incidental of course *chuckle*

Perhaps I’m just paranoid. I seem to recall Aberystwyth being very similar (if not worse). Maybe, just maybe it’s because both places are by the sea - yeah that’s it surely. Mind you, if I thought running into the wind was hard work, rowing (in the irish sea) was nearly impossible!! Geez, that brought back some painful - blister related - memories from a good few years ago.

Anyway, back to the facts - I did a 33 minute run today, which I must confess to not enjoying as much as usual. It must have been the wind! I meandered my way around Swansea marina and SA1 for the best part of the run, before venturing onto the beach to finish off. It was also an ample opportunity for me to try out my new Ron Hill ‘Classic Sprint’ shorts - which were very comfy and well worth the £15 investment.

A day at the zoo

Decided to make the most of my day off today and head for Bristol Zoo, much to the delight of DDWT Junior. After coughing up some £19 odd for entry - which I thought was steep, even though the nipper went in for free - we started our way around the zoo. In fairness there is quite to bit to see and do and we spent almost 4 hours taking in the various attractions, including the pelican restaurant. A word of warning though, avoid the pure fat chips on offer like the plague!

As usual I took a few snaps, a selection of which are below.

It was disappointing for DDWT Junior not to see any elephants, orang-utans, chimpanzees, zebras, polar bears, etc at the zoo - which are usually standard fare but nevertheless he enjoyed himself, as did myself and Mrs DDWT.