1608.16 POSTCARD FROM CEI NEWYDD

Dear all, 

We arrived safely to beautiful bright sunshine. The cottage is just as we remembered it. It's great that people know us here and are so nice to us all. We had our Sunday dinner in the Wellington Inn as usual which was lovely. We've had great weather so far with Monday and Tuesday on the beach.

On Tuesday morning we went on a boat trip. The owner remembered us from our previous visits.

Today we're going to visit some friends who live nearby. Safe to say we are all having a wonderful time and as usual we never want to come home.

See you all soon.

Love CaptainKirt™ xx

1608.13 BRACE YOURSELF WALES...

The time is upon us. It's time for our annual holiday. A lot of people I know get 3 or 4 a year but we just get one shot at this so it has to be right.

06:20 - It's an early start. The car is loaded and (hopefully) everything is prepared. We have a long journey ahead, it's a journey I really enjoy. The actual milage is about 200 miles but the miles are through Snowdonia National Park and some of the most breathtaking areas in the UK.

Rags said I should be good at Tetris. 

We were a little behind schedule getting underway leaving at about 6:55 but I expected that since I wanted to delay going to bed until I'd seen the Olympic Men's Team Pursuit Track Cycling final which resulted in a gold medal for Team GB and made Bradley Wiggins the UK's most decorated Olympian.

08:32 - We've stopped at Chester services off the M56 as we usually do. Looks like the place has had a makeover. 

Next stop will be in Wales.

10:26 - We've  stopped for food at Bala Lake just on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. Time to break out the picnic. We shared our food!

Rags feeding the ducks

10:54 - Time to carry on our journey, I get a break from driving as Morticia takes a turn (I'll be back at the helm before Aberystwyth). Time to sit back and enjoy the view.

We took a comfort stop in Machynlleth then continued through Aberystwyth at with point I took back over driving duties.  We then continued following the coast to our destination. 6½ hours on the road and 196 miles travelled. Finally at the place in the world I feel most at ease in.

Time for a pint of Brains! 

1608.12 IF IT'S NOT PACKED IT'S NOT COMING

This week has been stressful. Preparations for our week's holiday has been the forefront to our activities.

As well as the packing and prep my thoughts are with a colleague from my team at work who was bitten by an unsavoury type whilst going about his duties (can't really go to much into this as there are strict rules about what I can share).

This morning we started by getting the car wash at our local Eastern European hand wash establishment.

Then Morticia made a few sandwiches for the journey...

...yes, we could probably survive the whole week on these.

The cases were finally closed. Morticia asked if I'd got enough underpants to which I pointed out that I only had 1 arse and had packed enough for a week and a half anyway. Morticia always packs for all weather and occasions, even though she'll probably only wear a third of what she takes.

Financial matters have been dealt with via online banking (so there will hopefully be no interruptions to our break).

The last job is to buy cat food (our cat, Angel, will be well looked after by Morticia's dad) and fuel up the car...

...now all that is left is to shower and get to bed. Early start tomorrow.

1608.09 PACK and PREPARE

My holiday is almost upon us and all that is left to do is prepare and pack. For me this is easy, get my clothes out and chuck em into the suitcase. Then buy the supplies we will need such as the toiletries and food. Easy! Not for Morticia, she's stressing about the whole affair. Ok there's making sure the laundry is all done (I do my share with that) and the cat is catered for (Morticia's dad will be popping by to feed and check on her). If we all remain calm everything will just fall into place ready for our departure.

My daughters on our first visit to New Quay,
Wales back in 2004

We are off to Wales as we have done many times before. In fact, except for a couple of years in 2013-14, we've visited the same place every year since 2004. People often judge us on this fact but it's a place that invokes a certain feeling of contentment and inner calm that I never experienced anywhere else in the world (or at least the bits I've been too). 

1608.08 MONKEY MAGIC

Around the meal table at work the other day we were discussing childhood television and our favourite shows off the day. Of course there are quite a few a bit younger than me so their offerings were a bit recent or I'd not heard of them. Then someone (of similar age to me) mentioned "Monkey".

Monkey was a Chinese production which was adapted and translated into English and I think shown on BBC 2 in the afternoon. It followed a Buddhist monk (played by a girl) and the Monkey King as they ventured from China to India assisted by Pigsy and Sandy. I remember the next day at school we'd all want to play at "Monkey", acting out the fight scenes and hoping you didn't have to be Pigsy.  I do recall being very good at the cloud summoning finger blowy thing. 

It was an unlikely hit with kids of my generation giving them larger than life characters, some kung fu and a moral life lesson. What more could you ask for? Oh yes, it had an awesome theme tune too.

1608.06 A WEDDING I'M OVER INVITED TO

I'm down south for a wedding of one of Morticia's family friends. If I'm brutally honest I'm not too enthusiastic about being here especially since I will be missing my cycling club's 100 mile ride to Humber Bridge tomorrow. To add insult to injury the Olympic Men's Road Race is on whilst the service is on (and apparently it's not appropriate to watch sports in church).

The day starts early. Morticia is taking the photos as a wedding present (since she has a half decent camera and a couple of weddings under her belt) so she's going to have to go over to the bride's house before for a few snaps.

11:39 - I'm sat in my car whilst Morticia and her mum are with the bride doing whatever they are doing. It's a hot day but at least my car has air conditioning. 

13:32 - In church. I've not got a lot invested in this event. I'm just thinking about the men's cycling road race which is happening in Rio right now. Physically I'm witnessing a wedding but mentally I'm willing on Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas or maybe even Adam Yates to win gold today. I've resigned myself that I'll find out the result before I see the race. 

15:39 - I just got back from the church. If I'm honest it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be.  If I'm really honest I quite enjoyed it. I just dropped the car back at Morticia's mother's (I dropped them off at the reception venue) now I'm going to walk back. It'll give me some time to myself before the reception (it'll be about a 30 minute walk).

20:16 -  The reception is in full swing and I'm actually enjoying myself. I even got to watch the Olympic Men's Road Race on my phone (although I was disappointed with the result - gutted for Geraint Thomas who crashed on the final decent). I'm going to enjoy the party. 

23:52 - And we're done. I'm exhausted. Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. 

I'm still disappointed that I'll be missing my cycling club's 100 mile ride in the morning. 

1608.03 PUBLIC TRANSPORT HAS FAILED

Back in 1986 an act of parliament deregulated bus services in the UK. Prior to this buses were run by local authorities or the government owned National Bus Company. Back then I was 15 years old, public transport was my primary method of getting about. In fact it was a lot of people's primary method of getting about. Fares were cheap and buses were frequent, plentiful and reliable. Because of this the knock on effect was that the roads were relatively congestion free (there were traffic jams but nothing on today's scale). The government of the day thought that a free market system would be good for the system providing competition that would in turn lead to better services.

Source: Guy Arab (Flickr)

Fast forward 20 years. Has the market created a transport system that work. Has it hell! Those market forces initially saw loads of start up bus companies driving old and potentially dangerous buses (that had probably previously been sent for scrap), those companies scrambled for customers on the profitable corridors ignoring the rural and quieter routes. Fares more than doubled overnight and since that time have continued to increase. The roads have become congested as passengers move away to private cars. Most of the local authority bus companies along with the smaller operations have merged into a small number of large operators who control the majority of the UK bus companies.

Source: citytransport.info

In contrast London's model is more of a tender system where private bus companies bid to run specific routes with fares and timetables set by the local authority.

So what happens now? I hope public transport isn't dying as I would love to see it as the future of getting out and about. I don't see private cars as a sustainable transport for everyday travel. The problem is now also cultural. I know people that wouldn't dream of using public transport and see it as 'beneath them', this snobbish behaviour might be the biggest stumbling block even if investment and infrastructure is improved.

My wish is for the London model to be taken up in other urban areas across the country with fares subsidised which will in turn will mean people hopefully will choose to leave their cars at home. I used to work in a deregulated public transport industry (all be it 10 years ago) and use it regularly, my transport priorities are cycling, public transport, private car.

1608.01 HAPPY YORKSHIRE DAY

Today is Yorkshire day and as a proper Yorkshireman I am wearing my flat cap eating Yorkshire Puddings whilst feeling smug in the fact that I'm from Yorkshire!

Have a great day everyone!

1607.31 SNIFFLES and NEW TOYS

It's been a bit of a difficult week for me mainly because I contracted a bit of a cold which has slowed me down a little. Thankfully it's stayed in my head so I've managed to work and keep up my cycling all be it on a limited scale. It's also been the long week at work (it's 6 days) which has been a bit of a slog through plus all the preparation for our up and coming holiday. This has given me very little free time. Once I get through today's shift I'll only have 5 more shifts in the next 2 weeks to get through.

On a plus I have a new toy. I've pondered getting an activity tracker for a while and a heart rate monitor for cycling. I decided to get a Garmin Vivosmart HR and kill 2 birds with one stone. I know a wrist based HR monitor aren't generally as accurate as chest straps but I'm never going to be a pro athlete so that's not too important.

New activity tracker and heart rate monitor
on my extremely hairy wrist

It's also a smart watch too.

1607.28 CLASSIC COMEDIES

I was chatting with a few colleagues the other day and I'm not sure how the subject arose we started talking about old movies. I mentioned the likes of Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd and the Marx Brothers. I was surprised, no in fact I was shocked that there were quite a number of my work mates had never heard of some if not all of those that I mentioned.

I remember watching classic black and white comedies, usually shown on BBC2 in the afternoons. Why are they not shown on TV anymore? We could have a channel for them. I've looked around the internet and there are a few lurking on YouTube. It's worth searching them out, they certainly still hold their own as comedy and even surpass modern cinematic efforts. 

1607.26 TOUR WEEK 3 and ROUND UP

Week 3 saw Mark Cavendish pull out to concentrate on his preparation for the Rio Olympics and Chris Froome further his lead and guarantee his hold on the Yellow Jersey. Quintana never got his challenge off the ground and some said that the Tour lacked drama. Although the challenges rarely came, the professionalism of Team Sky and the way they kept control was amazing.

Peter Segan wiped the floor in the points (Green Jersey) competition, ever the showman he certainly entertained.

So the Tour came to Paris and Froome took (or rather kept since he had it since his stage 8 victory) the Yellow Jersey for a third time. Surely a knighthood is deserved.

My free time is free again. I can't believe another Tour is over. Roll on La Vuelta!

1607.24 TRAMLINES

Sheffield has a music festival. It's different to most music festivals because it takes over the City Centre. Everyone gets involved. It's the Tramlines Festival.

For the last few years I've worked Tramlines. Don't get me wrong it's always been a fun way of earning a living, it's always a great atmosphere. This year however I'm off and I've not been asked to change my shift or swap. So Morticia and me decided it would be great to go and enjoy what promised to be an enjoyable event.

The streets were buzzing with crowds, music was everywhere. Street music, music in the pubs and bars.

Morticia and me (being photobombed - hi guys!) 

Whilst sat in the Brewdog enjoying a drink Steve Davis (the snooker player) came in and sat next to us. Before anyone asks, no I didn't get a picture, he was in for a drink like everyone else (it would have been rude).

We were out until the early evening taking in the music, atmosphere and partaking of some wonderful beers. We bumped into a number of friends whilst out (which is amazing considering the size of the city). 

1607.21 STAR TREK TRIPLE

25 years ago as part of Star Trek's 25th Anniversary I attended a cinematic marathon where I watched Star Trek The Motion Picture through to Star Trek V - The Final Frontier, a five movie event that took about 12 hours to get through.

On Thursday, as part of the 50th Anniversary I attended my local Cineworld for a triple bill of the reboot movies which included the latest one, Star Trek Beyond - which came out today.

It was also my first time seeing an IMAX movie. This is how the evening progressed...
 

19:00 - I'm ready for 1st movie. I have my popcorn and my giant Coke Zero. Phone is on silent. No need for 3D glasses for this one.

21:14 - Star Trek has finished. Great to see it on the big screen again. Not a massive fan of 'Into Darkness', that's up next. Second giant drink purchased.

23:53 - I enjoyed 'Into Darkness' more than I expected (and I have seen it many times). I'll forgive the massive plot holes this once. I'm now waiting for the feature presentation. Third drink purchased.

Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk

2:09 - I did it. I got through all 3 movies and didn't nod off at all (like many predicted). The movie was awesome and the IMAX experience was worth the extra uplift (cost me a fiver on top of my Unlimited card). It's time for me to head home now... I have work in the morning.

The Captain's Movie Review

in Seven Words... 

FINALLY PROPER STAR TREK, FITTING NIMOY TRIBUTE

(I know the movie is also dedicated to the late Anton Yelchin but if you see it you'll understand).

1607.20 NEW TREK ARRIVING IN UK

Back in May I wrote about the exciting news (for me and other fans) about a new Star Trek television show. Yesterday I saw a teaser tweet from a certain tv streaming service and later that day read a news article stating that the new show would be exclusively shown on Netflix around the world (with the exception of the US and Canada). I'm really excited by this news - so happy I'll get to see the new show.

1607.18 BETTER THAN POKÉMON GO

Everyone seems to be talking about Pokémon Go, the game where you can capture virtual monsters using augmented reality on your smartphone.

In Sheffield, my hometown, there's a slightly different game going on - and I think it's more fun than Pokémon Go. A herd of 58 elephant sculptures and 72 elephant calves have arrived and can be found in parks and open spaces for the biggest public art mass participation event the city has ever seen.

Each elephant sculpture has been decorated by artists and are proving popular with everyone, the object is to find them all. The 'little herd' are sited at indoor venues and have been decorated by local schools.

I found my first one at the weekend outside the iconic Park Hill flats...

I've only found the 1. #herdofsheffield #sheffield #elephant #art #parkhill #betterthanpokemongo

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on Jul 16, 2016 at 5:20am PDT

Although I later found what I think will remain my favourite...

This was number 2, an At-At Elephant 🐘. #herdofsheffield #sheffield #elephant #art #Meadowhall #starwars #betterthanpokemongo

A photo posted by CaptainKirt™ (@captainkirt) on Jul 16, 2016 at 12:22pm PDT

"This exciting initiative is brought to you by The Children’s Hospital Charity and Wild in Art, uniting businesses, communities, artists and schools, leaving a lasting legacy for the city."

If you're visiting Sheffield soon it's worth a look but be aware, it's very addictive and you might forget why you originally came.  There's an app for your phone where you can earn points for every elephant you track down. Check out the Herd of Sheffield website for more info or look for #herdofsheffield on social media. The herd are out all summer until 5th October 2016.

Definitely better than Pokémon. Join the stampede!