A Tour Round Barry Island (Gavin & Stacey!)

The last holiday we had as a family of two (rather than a family of three) happened to be here...

That was the end of April 2015. It's taken me over two years to write about it. And Gavin and Stacey was first aired over 10 years ago (say what!?)

We loved the TV show and Barry is one of those places we'd both visited when we were younger but not really visited as adults so it was an obvious place for a weekend away. We kept it cheap and cheerful and stayed at Cardiff Airport Travelodge - which is only 2.5 miles from Barry Island and not actually that close to the airport at all. It also wins bonus points as there's a Toby Carvery on the same site!

It's relatively easy to find a list of various filming locations online and I popped them into a map in preparation for the trip (feel free to use the map if you want) :-)




We tried to visit as many as we could; some we only managed to do as drive-bys though and the weather wasn't exactly great which didn't help - but here's the shots I managed to take!


Gwen, Doris and Uncle Bryn's Houses

Pam and Mick's House

Stacey's Café Job

Nessa's Arcade Job

Nessa and Dave's Wedding

Nessa's Pregnancy Announcement

Baby Neil's Christening Party

Smithy's Drunk Pub Quiz

Nessa's Living Statue Performance

Gwen's Birthday Barndance Party

Gavin and Stacey's Favourite Chippy (Boofy's)

Dave Coaches' Bus Stop

Barry Island Fairground

Barry Island Beach

There's still lots of places we didn't get to though so I reckon that probably warrants another trip there!

Recent Reads

Well, I'm using the phrase "recent" incredibly loosely here; some of these reads date back to last summer. I read a few 'pregnancy and baby' books too last year but I'll include them in a different pregnancy-themed post. I'll also try and keep these reviews short and snappy!

Fiction Books

Shoes for Anthony by Emma Kennedy
A tale of boyhood adventures, Nazis and village life set in a South Wales mining town. A really enjoyable read with very believable characters. 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

Goose by Dawn O'Porter
The second in the Paper Aeroplanes series following the lives of teenagers Renee and Flo set against a late 1990's backdrop. To be honest, I can't remember much about the storyline but I did give it 3/5 stars on Goodreads so it must have been okay.

The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman
Two sisters with different interests, an artist who likes both girls and two auctioneer-type people on the hunt for a lost painting. I was reading this during the morning sickness and tiredness bit of pregnancy which may have clouded my judgement because I remember finding this hard-going with bits of the storyline where I got lost. 2/5 stars on Goodreads.

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
A tale set after the end of civilisation where nomadic tribes roam the land and rogue groups rule towns and cities. I really enjoyed this one, there was lots of bits to the storyline but it all made sense and made you want to keep on reading. 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
I'm sure most of you have read this by now - husband and wife having trouble, husband goes away and wife rings him up only to find herself talking to the past, back before she was married. A quick and easy read with an interesting idea. 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

The Moment by Claire Dyer
Two ex-lovers meet at Paddington train station; they haven't seen each other for 25 years and their lives have moved on, what will they do? A quick read but one that seemed a bit uneventful, I kept expecting more from the story but nothing really happened or developed. 2/5 stars on Goodreads.

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St John Mandel
The author's debut novel about Lilia, a traveller who's used to leaving places and people behind. Not as good as her later book, Station Eleven but still an okay read. 2/5 stars on Goodreads.

The Mabinogion translated by Lady Charlotte Guest
The classic medieval book of Welsh mythical tales, translated by Lady Charlotte Guest. It took me a long time to read this as it's written in an older style of English but I did get a smug sense of satisfaction after I finished it. 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

The Poppy Factory by Liz Trenow
The story of two young women, one dealing with the aftermath of the First World War and one returning home in from a tour of duty in 2012, and the Poppy Factory which helped save both of them. A good story, based on a real factory and charity which was fascinating to read about. 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
A long novel set in the 1920's telling the tale of a young woman and her mum who take in lodgers and the resulting relationships between couples. A Blogger Book Club read which I enjoyed, but not as much as Sarah Waters' earlier novels (I think she gets on better writing about the Victorian times). 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

Paper Swans by Jessica Thompson
A love story between the flashy executive and the charity-worker girl. A quick and easy read with some nice twists and turns. 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

The Dark Inside by Rupert Wallis
A young adult tale about James who discovers Webster hiding in the House on the Hill. But what or who exactly is Webster? It was okay, not the greatest of YA books I've read but hey ho. 2/5 stars on Goodreads.

The Rev Diaries by Adam Smallbone
The book of the TV show (which I thought was fab), it follows all the trials and tribulations the Reverend and his wife go through. Excellent stories and written very well with lots of very funny moments. 4/5 stars on Goodreads.


Non-fiction Books

Tiny Islands by Dixe Wills
A list of 60 remarkable little islands in and around the United Kingdom. An interesting compilation with info about each island and how to access them. 2/5 stars on Goodreads.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie
Kondo
The one everyone was going on about last year, Marie Condo claims to change the way you organise your life. A very interesting read but I didn't put any of it into practice due to being pregnant. 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

Fashion on the Ration: Style in the Second World War by Julie Summers
The book that accompanied the Imperial War Museum exhibition; we saw the author do a talk at the Bath Literature Festival last year. A really fascinating book showing that society's attitude to consumerism and clothing during the Second World War wasn't too much different to today. 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

100 Acts of Minor Dissent by Mark Thomas
An account of Mark Thomas' year spent undertaking 100 acts of political dissent. Me and Andrew are Mark Thomas fans anyway and saw his show about the 100 acts a few years ago so we're a bit biased but it is a fabulous book with lots of excellent ideas that anyone could do. 5/5 stars on Goodreads.

Stuffocation by James Wallman
An author's look at people with lots of stuff and people with not much stuff. Can't really remember too much about it other than it didn't teach me anything new. 2/5 stars on Goodreads.

The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It by Owen Jones
A look at the shadowy world of the Establishment. This is a really interesting book; it kind of confirms everything you already thought you knew but there's also lots of real life dodgy examples as well. 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

Shop Girl by Mary Portas
The story of Mary's early years in the retail industry. I saw her talk about this book at Bath Literature Festival last year and although the book was quite good, I felt it was a bit light and didn't really delve deeply enough into her life. 2/5 stars on Goodreads.

The English: A Field Guide by Matt Rudd
A wry look at the English and all our eccentricities. Only mildly amusing but an easy read anyway. 2/5 stars on Goodreads.

Jambusters: The Story of the Women's Institute in the Second World War by Julie Summers
A history of the WI during WW2 with lots of archive material and quotes from people who were there at the time. I've always fancied joining the WI and this book showed what a huge role they've had throughout history. 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

Our Zoo by June Mottershead
The story of how Chester Zoo came to be - which inspired the TV series of the same name. My grandparents lived near the zoo and we visited it several times when I was young so this was a really good read. 4/5 stars on Goodreads.


So what's everyone reading at the moment? Any bestsellers I need to read?
 

Yarn Along 1

One of the things I've really enjoyed reading over the last few months are the 'Yarn Along' posts - a weekly Wednesday knitting and reading update started by Ginny from Small Things.

Elise and Jenny seem to make the most amazing knitted and crocheted patterns and I've spotted Hazel and Char joining in recently as well. I do have a Ravelry account (if anyone fancies adding me) but I think I need to get a bit more organised on there with my projects and uploading pictures.

So I thought I'd jump on the proverbial (yarn-bombed) bandwagon and share a little bit of what I'm making and reading as well. I can't promise a post every week but let's give it a go and see how far we get.

Currently knitting: a present for my sister-in-law for Christmas which I can't reveal 100% in case she's reading!

Recently though, look what I've made! An actual item of clothing! Okay, so it's for a baby but still, something which someone could properly wear! It still needs pressing and I need to sew some poppers onto the front (and don't look too closely at the seams) but I'm quite chuffed with my first attempt anyway.

And this little (or large) fella made his way up north to Spartacus Rooftops, complete with a 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' book. Sarah very kindly sent me (and Findina) a fab package of baby bits and pieces so I made a little something as a thank you gift in return. The pattern for him can be found on Ravelry.

Currently reading:  Jambusters by Juliet Summers.
The story of the Women's Institute during the Second World War and the book which inspired the ITV series, 'Home Fires'. I'm only about 30 pages in so far but it seems to be a fascinating read; I'm a fan of reading mass observation-type stuff anyway and this is filled with quotes and interviews from people who were actually there.

Linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along

7 Awesome Things to do in Anglesey (#BEDM Day 4)

Anglesey is somewhere I've been every Easter since 1987. My parents started going on holiday to Trearrdur Bay (in the far west corner of the island) over the school holiday and when I picked  up with Andrew in 2004, I told him one thing that wasn't up for discussion was a holiday to Ynys Mon each year.

I told him when I took him up there for the first time, that it was always sunny and he laughed at me, rolling his eyes and muttering "rose-tinted glasses". 10 years on though, he has admitted, I was right!


So if you're ever in that corner of North West Wales, here's seven ideas for things to do:



1. Sit wrapped in a snuggly blanket munching chips at The Harbourfront Bistro in Holyhead.

2. Get lost in and around Penrhos Coastal Park.

3. Not for the faint-hearted but go and park at Llanfair-yn-neubwll (a Wednesday or Thursday is best) and watch the trainee pilots learn to take-off, fly and land Hawks right over your heads.

4. Bask in the sun on Holyhead promenade and watch the ferries going off to the Emerald Isle.

5. Go to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, stand on the station, try and pronounce the name and then realise how much entertainment you must be providing for all the locals.

(learning how to say LlanfairPG was on my 33 before 33 list - if my dad (who's Welsh) saw this, I daresay he'd be in fits of laughter, not just at the pronunciation, but also how Somerset I sound at the end!) 

6. Watch the sun go down in Trearrdur Bay.

7. Visit the Canolfan Ucheldre Centre (the local arts centre based in a church), see a film if there's something good on and/or grab a cuppa and a cake from the Ucheldre Kitchen (and also, marvel at the range of novelty tea pots they have!)

And if anyone knows where I can buy a novelty duck teapot, let me know! :-)
 

(This post is day 4 of Rosalilium's Blog Every Day in May challenge - after sticking to the topics for the last couple of years, this year I'm going off piste)

33 Before 33

 

Updated (23/3/17) - being pregnant for two thirds of 2015 rather scuppered most of these ideas!
Even so, I still ticked off 6 out of 33 (or 8 if you include the two I did after turning 33).


1. Read 52 Books (Nope - I managed 46)
Last year I set myself a GoodReads challenge of 30 books and managed to read 47. I reckon one book a week should be easy enough don't you think?

2. Read The Mabinogion (Yes! Read the mini review here)
The Mabinogion is the earliest piece of prose writing in Britain, composed by Welsh authors around the 12th and 13th centuries (Cerys Matthews did an excellent summary of it on BBC4's 'The Secret Life of Books'). It contains 11 folk and fairytale stories and despite the fact I have a lot of Welsh family (my dad's from North Wales), I don't think I've ever actually read it.

3. Do 12 outfit posts - one each month (Umm, no)
This is blatantly copied from Jane's '32' list. I always wanted to feature outfit posts on here occasionally but at the same time I feel much more comfortable behind the camera than in front. Janet and Sophie's posts about how they can help you feel better contain lots of excellent advice so if I follow their lead, perhaps I'll be a whizz at outfit posts by this time next year.

4. Do a Gavin and Stacey tour round Barry (Yes, we visited in April 2015 although I still have yet to blog about it)
We've wanted to do this for several years now and still haven't got round to it. I'm not sure sticking it on my list is going to bring it any closer but there you go.

5. Visit Bletchley Park (No)
See above, the same reasons apply.

6. Knit an item of clothing (Yes although it was a baby cardigan)
I've managed to make a scarf and a hat but I think it'd make me feel like a proper knitter if I could knit well enough to make a whole piece of clothing.

7. Learn to count to 10 in Welsh (No)
My dad tells me I used to be able to do this when I was young but can I remember it now? Of course not.

8. Learn how to pronounce the long version of Llanfair PG (Yes! Watch the video here - and apologies to anyone Welsh...)
I've been on holiday to Anglesey every year since 1987 and often pop over to the town; I can do the Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and the Tysiliogogogoch but not the bit in the middle. If I ask my dad to do it, the name just rolls off the tongue. I reckon this is the year to conquer the middle bit (and for bonus points, remember what it all stands for).

9. Bake a rainbow cake (No)
For no reason whatsoever, just for novelty value.

10. Learn to crochet (No)
I do have some crochet hooks (they belonged to Andrew's nan) and tried giving it a go last year when I was off work. It wasn't long after I learned to knit and I got bored of crochet quite quickly, knitting seemed so much faster to do! However, that's not really a reason to give up though so I think I need to give it a proper go.

11. Make it to a Blog Club event (No)
Hayley from over at Bonjour Blogger started Blog Club this time last and lots of people on my Bloglovin feed have said how good it is,. I wasn't free to go early last year and then at the end of the year, I was free but couldn't physically get there. One day though, I will actually make it to Blog Club.

12. Visit Birmingham Library (No)
It's a library. It's new. It's beautiful. Need any more reasons?

13. Get a bra fitting (Yes but only after turning 33 and not in a shop - I'm now a 'Boob or Bust' convert!)
Yup, I'm one of those girls who've never actually had a proper fitting. I've done it myself using online calculators and I daresay I'm one of the millions of women wearing the wrong size. However, all the ones I own are pretty darn comfortable so it'd be interesting to see what a "professional" bra fitter has to offer.

14. Make a vlog (Yes but only after turning 33 - you can watch it here)
I'm sure none of you really want to listen to me witter on or prance around but I would like to have a go a making a short video (nothing that long, I promise), mainly for the reasons that I'd have to teach myself video recording and editing skills. Plus I've been told I do speak rather fast so whilst that'll probably be annoying to anyone watching, it'll also give me something to work on, trying to slow my speech down.

15. Curl my hair (No)
I've never been able to get my hair to hold a curl but I do own rollers, curling tongs, and those foam band thingies. One of them has to work surely!

16. Watch all the Tim Burton/Danny Elfman films (No)
When me and Andrew went to the Royal Albert Hall to watch Danny Elfman, it was an absolutely amazing show but also highlighted just how many of their films we haven't seen. I'd like to say I was a fan but out of the 16 films they've directed and scored together, I know I've only seen 9 of them. 2015 needs to be the year we rectify that definitely.

17. Make a really cool 1950's style Christmas dress (No)
One from last year's list, I have the fabric and a pattern, just need to get round to actually making a start.

18. Swim in the Tunnels Beaches, Ilfracombe (No)
Another one from last year's list and on the list for the same reasons as 4 and 5.

19. Visit Arnos Vale Cemetery (No)
This is sort-of on the list for the same reasons as well, although we did go there Gromit-hunting back in 2013. We only did a brief flying visit that day and kept saying we'd return for a proper nosy around but needless to say...

20. Carry on with my 2002 Golden Jubilee sampler (No)
I'm going to write a proper blog post about this in a few weeks but really, it's obscene the length of time it's taken me to do this cross stitch sampler.

21. Watch the Back to the Future trilogy (No)
It's 2015. Has to be done really.

22. Read one book a month for my Read Around the UK challenge (No)
I still think this challenge is a great idea and have actually read a couple of books towards it, just haven't got round to writing the mini reviews yet.

23. Grow some vegetables (No)
When we moved into our house, for the first couple of years we grew all sorts of things, stuff like potatoes, spring onions, beans, strawberries, lettuce, onions, tomatoes and courgettes. The last few years we've changed the garden round a bit and only managed to grow strawberries last year. We've got plans to overhaul our vegetable patch though, we just need to buy the railway sleepers and (like so many things) just do it.

24. Learn enough Makaton to sign a whole nursery rhyme or kids song (No)
My brother was taught Makaton when he was at school and the rest of the family were encouraged to learn signs to help him. He's got lazy and forgotten most of it and I can only remember a few signs myself. It's easier to learn than British Sign Language so I'd love to have a go at learning enough signs to do a whole rhyme or song - then I'd be able to join in with Mr Tumble on Something Special!

25. Go and watch a TV show being filmed (No)
Both me and Andrew love watching pretty much all comedy panel shows and quiz shows and although we've been in the audience for a radio show (BBC R4's Any Questions last year), we've never applied to sit in on a TV show. I'm imagining this is one step down from Jane's task of applying to actually be on a gameshow.

26. Have a holiday or weekend break staying somewhere unusual (No)
A yurt, teepee, treehouse. shepherd's hut, showman's wagon, any of those would fit the bill nicely.

27. Take up an exercise class that'll help my ankle (Yes kind of - it was exercise but for not my ankle - instead I did pregnancy yoga!)
When I'm nearing the end of my physiotherapy, I'm going to ask what sort of exercise would be good to do for my ankle. I wondered whether something like Pilates would work and I like swimming anyway so that might do too. I'll wait until later in the year and see what they say.

28. Reply to comments on my blog weekly (No)
I would dearly love to do this. I have every good intention to do it but life gets in the way (as I'm sure you're all aware). I do stick by my promise that every comment will be replied to, even if the reply is several months late.

29. Get into listening to podcasts (Yes, and I found a few that were very good but I still prefer listening to music, sorry!)
I feel as if this is something I should be doing; I've listened to a few TED talks and I'm planning on signing up to the The High Tea Cast's ones. My problem is that I can pretty much multi-task in every other area of my life except listening to people talk. For example, on a long car journey Andrew will be listening to something controversial on Radio 4, I'll be staring out the window and he'll ask me "did you hear that?" and I'll reply "hear what?" I can't get into audiobooks for the same reason, I can't listen to them and do something else as the same time (and if I have to stop to listen to them, I may as well read the physical book). I do think there's a lot of things I'm missing out on though and I wonder if I practise enough, maybe I'll eventually be able to multi-task with listening.

30. Make some unusual Christmas decorations (No)
Katie had some awesome (roarsome?) dinosaur decorations on her tree the other year and I'd quite like to see our Christmas tree decorated with unusual little trinkets. Mini lorry and steam engine decorations hung from the branches, that sort of thing (I'm well aware this is something I'll probably have to make myself, it is a rather niche market, I'll admit).

31. Enter more competitions (No)
I used to enter lots of competitions when I was a teenager and didn't do too badly at winning things (lots of CD's, toiletries, even a mountain bike once). That was back in the day when you used to send off your hand-written postcard in the hope of someone's hand literally pulling your name from a sack. I used to sit on my bed every Saturday morning and write out hundreds of them before my dad would drop them off at the post office (I even had a subscription to the much-missed magazine, Competitor's World). Nowadays it's all on t'interweb and social media and I don't spend nearly as much time as I should entering draws and promotions. However, I did buy some raffle tickets when we visited the West Somerset Railway back in October and just before Christmas I had a very nice phone call from a very nice man informing me I had won first prize - which turned out to be £700, which will do very nicely indeed, thank you. So yep, inspired by that, I'd like to enter more competitions.

32. Protest more (No)
I've been a fan of Mark Thomas for a while and the last two years, we've been to see his show in Edinburgh ('100 Acts of Minor Dissent' in 2013 and 'Cuckooed' in 2014). He's a political activist, comedian, actor, storyteller and presenter. Every time we leave one of his shows, we walk away saying "yes, we will petition more, protest more and do more". We already do little things, like sending back junk mail in the post, trying to shop more locally and ethically (we already avoid places like Starbucks, Costa, Apple and the like) and always completing surveys and petitions (often with our own answers rather than the tick boxes provided). They're only little things and I think we could do so much more but like most of the population, we're tied into the rat race of work/sleep/mortgage/etc. We possibly do a lot more than some people but also a lot less than others so if there's anything extra we can do (that isn't illegal or will lose us our jobs) then we should probably be doing it.

33. Submit 4 assignments for my degree (Ha, not a chance!)
I'd like to. Not sure if it's going to happen though. If I could submit 4 this year, then I'll only have 2 left to do and one study school to attend before starting the dissertation. I didn't submit anything at all last year because of the IVF treatment and then breaking my ankle so I have a lot of catching up  to do.


Hmm, I have 339 days left. Best get started then.
(and if you've read this far, you really do deserve a medal!)