Gwyn's Blog

Politics

2010-04-23T16:47:00.002+01:00

It is the way of the world that are will always be winners and losers, and the winners always come up with ways of consolidating or improving their position. There is no better example of this than the current political climate in Britain. The campaigning for the General Election on May 6th is well under way, and I can't really believe what the politicians are saying with their
promises to do this and that if they get in. I'm sorry, but I have gone beyond this kind of kidology a long time ago. No politician can deliver what you want no matter which party he is in. Politicians rub their hands in glee when they win a seat in Parliament and they know that a gravy train is waiting for them at the nearest station, though now of course they have to be a little bit careful at what they claim as expenses. No, most politicians will always look at personal opportunities first, I'm convinced of it, and the constituent will always come a distant second in the priorities race. Take Labour's time in office since 1997. Don't they remind you of a watered down version of the Conservatives? I remember the time when they won in 1997 very well. I
wrote a letter to Tony Blair on my way to work on a train to Liverpool one early morning in 1995, which I didn't send in the end, going on about how our country needs a Labour government to rid of the hated Tory rule, who had proved that they don't give a shit about the ordinary working people here in Britain. The continous relevations in the tabloids about
Conservative MP's screwing their secretaries and basically just doing what they wanted, and seemingly getting their jobs back after a spot of 'gardening leave' just pissed me off so much.
But it just wasn't the content of the revelations themselves that pissed me off. It was the blantant disregard to decency and honesty, which I believe that Tony Blair and his government would adhere to, and wanted to see in politicians. I must have been quite passionate about politics or the state of the country (which really I suppose go hand in hand) during this time. I believe it must have been the accumulation of 11 years of the Tories in power that produced this frustration and vented onto my writing pad that morning. I don't feel exactly the same way now. The hope I had back in those days has long disappeared and has been replaced by a cyncism that has almost turned to apathy. Apathy must never be reached, though. It's the rock bottom of
human experience, and would surely signal the end of human civilization if it were to become compulsory. That will never happen, certainly not as far as I'm concerned anyway. When you
study history as long as I have you get a sense or feeling on what's important, or should be important. Being apathetic means that decisions are not made and making decisions is what
changes things. Indeed history is the study of human decision making. There's almost a science attached to it. What was one of Newton's laws? For every action there is an equal reaction. Well, the history books are full of actions that provoked reactions, whether equal or not. For an effective government to function there must ALWAYS be winners and losers, the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. Take employment. There can never be jobs with decent, liveable wages for all of us. It's impossible. The competion would be cut-throat, and literaly the stress and anxiety would change our personalities so much that a 'kill' or be 'killed' behaviour would prevail. Imagine a world where everyone has degrees and were highly skilled, and all competing for the same positions. Everyone wants to better themselves, elevate to the next level in wealth and social standing, but its important for our society to work if some never find their way up the ladder. Ever wonder why people do menial jobs? It's because it has been drummed into them that that's all they are capable of, which must have started at school. We are graded and assessed in school and our path in life is pretty much established there. They are needed, because others would not do it. Where would we be without shop workers, for example? Some may say that these kinds of jobs are transient, but I've seen the same people working in the same shops for years, and apparantly quite content to carry on. Not my cup of tea, but it fits into the life plan of some people. So when a politician promises to cut unemployment or create more jobs, he's really saying he's going to cut the unemployment figures down, which are highly interpretable anyway. The words and the delivery he uses are directed at the individual because it's the individual's vote he's after. Analysing the discourse of a politician is quite fascinating. Try and hear what the politician is really saying behind the words that he chooses. They are trained to say the right things, at the right times of course, especially when an election is coming up. Still, a skilled discursive psychologist could literally read his mind.

Health. This one's easy. If everyone was healthy and living longer the population would increase so much it would place enormous pressure on resources. It is a tricky balancing act. Too many ill people and the same can happen, affecting the well being of the economy. The very profitable pharmaceutical industry can't afford to have too much healthy people about, or they would not make as much money. Think about it. People smoking has been an enormous source for raising taxes for years. If everybody stopped smoking imagine the difference it would make to the budget! It's just not in their interest to help people quit. You have to wonder why after all the years and the money pumped in as to why a cure for cancer has not been found. Imagine the effect THIS would have on so many industries if ever one was discovered. I find that strange. How many times have we heard on election campaigns that promises are made to make the health service better? Every one of them! And do they? Even today the health services are in a shambles so despite the billions spent nothing has improved. So, there's another 'promise' that I won't take too seriously either. I got a chance to see the Live Sky debate last night and I encouraged the boys to see it so that they can try and see what its all about. It's Simon's first election and he didn't have a clue who he was going to vote for. I was particularly interested in what Ben's view was, 14 and still in school so not much interest at this stage of his life about the current state of the country. To my horror his first impression was that Cameron appealed to him! Then as he viewed more of the debate he soon realised that Cameron was not for him and that Brown was the one that appeared to make sense. At the end of the debate Simon, on the other hand, told me he was more confused than ever! Which is not surprising because, of course, all 3 of them were saying that they want to do the same thing, but were saying it in different ways. All 3 parties were claiming that they had the 'winning ticket' to a better Britain, but all 3 can't be right! The confusion was heightened for Simon, I think, because they were all pretty evenly matched, so not one of them came out on top, as one of the polls suggested. In hindsight it probably wasn't the ideal debate for a first time voter to be exposed to, especially as Simon has never been interested in politics before. He would rather it all go away, but his politicisation will, I'm sure, change the way he views his world from now on.

Recycling! Recycling! Recycling

2010-04-23T16:04:00.001+01:00

Recycling! It's become a new swear word in our house recently. Our local council have really gone to town with the disposing of plastics and other re-useable material and it really has opened my eyes as to how much recycling is thrown away. Almost everything in fact! The trouble is our kitchen can't cope with the amount of re-cycleable rubbish that is generated. No space. So there is always recycleable rubbish, which normally would be safely put away in the main kitchen swing bin, in plastic bags ready to be taken out. Here's us trying to keep a kitchen tidy and there's always plastic or cardboard or tins about! What we need is another swing bin just for the recycling, but we have nowhere to place it. Small kitchen. Now you might think I'm dead against the idea of recycling, I'm not. I actually think it's a good idea, but I think the practice of recycling so much different types of material is unworkable. Certainly in our house. For heaven's sake even plastic has been sub-caterized. All the local recycling areas, which are normally near the supermarkets, won't take black or hard plastic! That will have to go to our main recycling depot at Mochdre, as does the cardboard. So not only we have to recycle the usual tins, cans, glass and paper, which get collected every 2 weeks, we now have to find space for:
Ordinary plastic
Hard plastic,
Black plastic
Juice cartons
Cardboard/card
Metal
Wood
There are others but these materials we hardly deal with, such as stone.

This is a lot of work and I can help feeling that I'm doing the binman's job for him. Most of our rubbish is recycleable so in effect I'm carting my own rubbish to the designated loading off areas! For free! This leads me to the notion of who is benefiting from all this recycling? Someone, somewhere, must be making money out of it. It's less work for the binman, because their main duties down at the depot at Mochdre include directing the public to the proper places to dump their rubbish. The ones on the waggons seem to working really hard whenever I see them every other Friday. And of course the poor old gentleman who I saw the other day working his socks off preparing huge amounts of cardboard for a press of some sorts. He looked really stressed, seeing more and more people coming into his hut with loads more work for him. His attitude seemed pretty good considering these circumstances, to be honest. The rest were wandering around checking if people are going to the right skip. Now and then they would spot some individual misdeameanor and make sure the items were deposited in the right place. To see their worried faces when I had 2 different types of recycleable material (wood and plastic) and I went up to the plastic skip first, and I caught the guy's eyes as he looked to see if I was going to chuck the wood in there as well. I'm being unkind. I would probably be monitoring just as hard if I was in their position. I know it's good for the planet but it is, I believe, used to make products. So, therefore, it is really raw materials for the production of items for selling, presumably for profit, or why would companies bother making these items. So, we can be seen as unpaid manual workers, bringing our, sometimes paid for, old recycling material to be prepared for the production of goods which are going to end up on the shelves of many supermarkets all over the country, possibly abroad, and with a marked up price because it been made from recycleable material! I have become increasingly cynical in my old age and I can't help thinking that there is an angle involved here.
Rant over!

My ancestors - beyond the Warenne line

2010-04-03T22:23:00.005+01:00

To recap from previous posts, I have recently discovered that I have an ancestor named Margaret Puleston, wife of the Baron Lewis Owen of Dolgellau. She was a grandmother of Catrin, wife of my direct ancestor, Evan Morgan, supposed son of Bishop William Morgan, the Welsh translater of the bible.

In my first post on my ancestors I outlined my connection, through Margaret's Puleston ancestry, to the Warenne family, Earls of Surrey, a family originally from a place by the river Varenne in Upper Normandy. The first Earl had familial links with William the Conqueror, through his mother Emma. William fought with the Conqueror at Hastings and thus became amply rewarded by being given many lands in the shires of England. Indeed earlier, in 1054, Warenne had aided the Conqueror, then Duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Mortemer. The then King of France sent his brother Odo and Count Rainald to lead an army against the barons of various provinces in Normandy, led by Robert Count of Eu. Their defeat resulted in William de Warenne being given Roger de Mortemer's lands.

It appears that this William de Warenne married Gundrada, claimed by many to be a daughter of William the Conqueror. Others claim that she was a step-daughter of William's, a child of his wife's Matilda's first marriage. Others say that she was no relation, but what is certain is that both William and Gundrada founded the Priory at Lewes where they were interred. Their coffins were re-discovered in October 1845 through work on a railway line and created great interest in local papers. The archaeologist Mark Antony Lower appears to believe she was a daughter of the Conqueror. He was one of the archaeologists consulted at the time. He certainly was a favourite of William the Conqueror, or he wouldn't have been so richly rewarded, so it's not so strange that he would not be allowed to marry a member of the Conqueror's family. David Charles Douglas, a critic of this theory, suggests that Gundreda couldn't be the daughter of Matilda because she would have been too young. He cites that Baldwin V and his bride Adela, Matilda's parents, did not comsummate their marriage until 1031, and 1049 was the year that William the Conqueror declared his intent to marry Matilda. It was quite normal in thise times to have marriages between minors. As an extreme example Elizabeth de Vermandois, who I will write about later, married her first husband, Robert de Meulan, at the age of 9. With Robert being 35 years her senior, this was unusual to have such an age difference, but it wasn't unusual to start having children at 14. There was apparantly a dispute with Rome over the legality of the proposed marriage. Edward Freeman, notable writer of the history of the Normans, argued that this 'complication' with the marriage was due to the fact that Matilda was already married. In fact she also had at least 2 children, namely Gerbod, his father's namesake and an Earl of Chester, and Gundrada. Why did William pursue Matilda when it would surely be easier to marry another equally worthy princess? The main reason seems to be in Matilda's lineage. Through her father Baldwin V she was a descendant of Alfred the Great, and William wanted to strengthen his claims to his intention of being King of England. On the surface this seems quite calculating by William, but by all accounts he loved Matilda and apparantly remained faithful to her during their marriage, a rare occurance especially within royal marriages. So, he appears to be one of the lucky ones, to have love AND wealth AND success!

Returning to Gundrada, the reason why some believe that she was related to the Conqueror in some way is because of a reference on a deed to the foundation of the priory of Lewes in Sussex. There is also a charter, the Cottonian manuscript, which is in the British Museum, where he refers her as his daughter. There is also the issue of Gundreda not being mentioned by the well known historians of the time. It is a pattern excercised by early genealogists of failing, or not bothering to record daughters even with the highest families in the land. In support of this, another of the Conqueror's daughters, Agatha, who married Alphonso, King of Galicia, was also omitted from accounts of Norman historians.

If the evidence does indicate that Gundrada was Matilda's daughter, if not William the Conqueror's, then it opens up a line towards Alfred the Great, through Matilda's father Baldwin V (see below).

Baldwin V - Baldwin IV - Arnulf II - Baldwin III - Arnulf I - Baldwin II m. Aelfthryth, daughter of Alfred the Great

Baldwin V married Adele of Flanders, a grandaughter of Hugh Capet, a great great great great great grandson of Charlemagne. It's really take your pick from the rulers of Medieval France from here, and there are too many individuals to mention here.

We are in the same ball park when we look at Elizabeth de Vermandois's lineage. She was the wife of the second Earl of Surrey and another ancestor, William de Warenne, who died in 1138. Her father was Hugh Magnus, of Vermandois, a crusader, who died from wounds sustained in a battle against the Turks at Tarsus. His parents were Henri I (1008-1060) and Anne of Kiev (died 1075) a Russian princess whose mother was Princess Ingegerd of Sweden. Again the possible connections to ancestors is numerous. A lot of them lead back to Charlemagne.

My ancestors - The Whitney lineage

2010-03-24T13:56:00.004Z

I hadn't intended in writing about the Whitney family line at this point in my family research but all week I have been fascinated by what I've found. My great whatever grandmother Eleanor Whitney married John Puleston, son of Madog Puleston, who was the son of Lowri sister to Owain Glyndwr. Her father was Robert Whitney, so I was intrigued by what I could find on his family. A family tree can be seen here from my website. Robert married twice, which has been firmly established, to a Constance Touchet and Elizabeth the daughter of Sir Thomas Vaughan of Hergest. In what order is still undetermined but research tends to lean towards Constance being the first. The most frustrating aspect of research into this particular Robert Whitney is the fact that it can't be assertained which of his children are attributed to the wives. Eleanor was definately Robert's daughter but who was her mother? It is such a shame because Constance's ancestry leads directly to King Edward III!

Apparently a crusading family (members of the family went on crusades that is), and the use of the name Baldwin as a christian name (no pun intended) is certainly a clue. A Sir Randolph de Whitney went with Richard I on a crusade and was attacked by Saladin's brother and 2 others. By some miricle he survived which he attributed to the virgin Mary, and when he got home he built a chapel dedicated to her at Whitney in Herefordshire. He probably wasn't a direct ancestor but a fellow called Thurstin the Fleming was. According to 'A Book of the Wye' he was involved in the Battle of Hastings and was given Wigmore and inherited Pencomb in Herefordshire by marrying Agnes, daughter of Alured of Merleburgh, as well as Whitney, which became the surname of Thurstin's decendants.

One of those decendants was a Sir Robert Whitney, born 1348 at Whitney who certainly led an eventful life. In 1368 he accompanied the Duke of Clarence, with an entourage of over 200, for his marriage to the daughter of the Duke of Milan. He was also sent to France to meet the King of Navarre In the political turmoil that engulfed England in the latter years of the 15th century, Sir Robert, a supporter of Richard II, decided to abandon him for Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV). This decision led to his death against the forces of Owain Glyndwr(a proponent of Richard) at the Battle of Bryn Glass (Pilleth) in June 1402, along with his brother and other relatives.

There was a Eustace de Whitney, born ?, who was married to Elizabeth de Freville, daughter of Sir Alexander de Freville, and researching her has opened up a lot of connections, and she can be regarded as a mini gateway ancestor. Elizabeth's mother was Joan de Cromwell (now there's an interesting name!) whose ancestry I haven't looked into yet, and her mother was a Margery de Marmion. She is often mentioned as Mazer. This connection opens up my ancestry to the Marmion family, descended from the Norman lords of Fontenay le Marmion. They were hereditary champions of the crown, which as far as I can make out is a role that is filled tb those who occupied the manor on Scrivelsby in Lincolnshire. It required the holder to challenge anyone who protests to the coronation of the new king. It is purely ceremonial and not been actually acted out as far as I know. The Marmion family carried it out in Normandy and they carried it on in England until 1377 when the male Marmion line died out. An earlier Marmion, Robert, had made an enemy of the earl of Chester, and whilst surveying the approaching earl's forces towards his castle fell and broke his thigh. Prostrate on the ground and obviously in pain, he was despatched by being beheaded by one of the earl's men.
They also gave away lands and became patrons of various abbeys, mainly because as atonement for the wrongs they committed. More than once I have read about monks being turfed out off of their land so that the new landlord can build his castle as a means of defending his new aquired land. Pretty much after they realise that what they've done isn't going to make God happy, so they quickly try to make up with the clergy and give them money to build monastries and abbeyies on the land that was theirs in the first place. Of course these buildings would occupy a small part of the land gained, most of it was still in the lord's possession. It's a con trick that still occurs today.

My ancestors - the Warenne line

2010-03-08T20:01:00.007Z

Having discovered that Margaret Puleston was my 'gateway ancestor', I carried on researching the numerous marriages along her ancestors' lineages. In my last post I described the discoveries of Margaret's Welsh connections. The research in all her Welsh forbears is incomplete because there are more lines to investigate. This post will concentrate on 2 lines that are generated from my Puleston line.

The son of the murdered Sir Roger de Pyvelisdon, sheriff of Anglesey, was Richard de Pyvelisdon, who was appointed successor to his father by Edward I. According to Robert Sewell's site, Richard had married an Angharad, a daughter of a Warren from Warren Hall, Salop. This 'Warren' has been cited as being either William or Griffith de Warren, and the existence of both Richard and his wife are quoted in Burke's Peerage. Many websites and public family trees state that Angharad was a daughter of William de Warenne, the son of John de Warenne, the 7th Earl of Surrey, which cannot be true. William only had 2 children, John and Alice (John being the future 8th earl and last of the line) and born several months after his father's death at a tournament in 1285. So where was the connection? It's also not certain if Angharad was her name. It could have been Agnes or Ankaret, and this last name I have seen frequently in my researches. It sounds like a variation of Angharad, so I would be more inclined to believe her name was Ankaret. However, the important thing is that she came from a Warren Hall, which there is now no trace. It took a couple of days of painstaking going through hundreds of PDF pages of books I downloaded from the internet, but I finally found a reference for a Warren Hall. It came from a book published in 1782, which is available for download on the Ancestry website, written by the Rev. John Watson, called "Memoirs of the Ancient Earls of Warren and Surrey and their Descendants to the present time". I quote from this book;

"Earl William (the 6th earl) had also a natural son, called Griffin de Warren...From what mother this Griffin came, is uncertain; but that he was the son of this earl, appears from Vincent's Cheshire in the Herald's office, where is a pedigree of him, and his descendants, with the arms of the families they matched with. He married Isabel sister of Robert de Pulford...By the said Isabel the said Griffin had John de Warren, who married Audela, the daughter and heiress of Griffin de Albo Monasterio (we now call Whitchurch, Shropshire ). This John was Lord of Ichtefeld, in right of his wife, whose father obtained it, by marrying Audela...In one of the Harleian Mss. No.2131, it is said, that in the county of Salop, two miles from Ichtefeld, was an ancient castle, situated on a terrible morass, by a river side, which in times past was inhabited by the earls of Warren and Surrey, and was called earl Warren's castle. Near the same, situated on a little hill, was an ancient house called Warren's Hall."

So, it appears that there was an off-shoot from the main Warren lineage which started with the illegitimate son of William de Warenne, the 6th Earl of Surrey and Warren, namely Griffin de Warenne. The Earls of Surrey had lands practically in all the counties in England, and Shropshire was one of them. This, of course, means that I have a direct line from the 6th earl back to the first one who was given the title from William the Conqueror. In the book there is a family tree which has Griffin de Warren at the top and a further 13 generations below him. The Warren that fits into my family is the grandson, also Griffin, who married Winifred daughter of William of Broxton. I have been unable to find anything substantial about William Broxton, only that he owned land. Broxton is near Chester, about 11 miles away to the south of that city and checking on Wikipedia there is a Broxton Hall, owned by the Egerton family in the 17th century. The Egertons derived their name from the de Malpas family, specifically David de Maplas or le Clerk as he was known. A daughter of David married another Puleston descendant of mine which will be explored later.
This Griffin was born around 1240, and Angharad is said to be born about 1264, so he is the likley candidate to be her father. Let's now look at the information I have found on the lineage from the 6th Earl of Surrey.

William de Warenne, 6th earl of Surrey was born in 1166. He was known as William Plantagenet because he was the son of Hamelin Plantagenet and Isabella de Warenne. Hamelin became the 5th Earl by marrying Isabella who was the daughter and heir of the 3rd Earl, also called William de Warenne. Incidently, Isabella's first husband was William of Blois, King Stephen of England's son. Most of the earls were called William so it gets confusing at times. Hamelin also took on the Warenne name so was called Hamelin de Warenne! Hamelin's father was Geoffrey Plantagenet, Duke of Anjou, and an unknown woman, but is suspected to be Adelaide of Angers. Geoffrey is more known for being the father of King Henry II, through marrying his mother Matilda the daughter of King Henry I. Geoffrey's father was Fulk V of Anjou, who, after the death of his first wife, went to Jerusalem and became its king by marrying Melisende, daughter of Baldwin II of Jerusalem. According to Wikipedia, Geoffrey's lineage goes back throught he other Dukes of Anjou, including Geoffrey I known as Greymantle, but I'd like to check whether Wiki has got it right.

Going back to the Warenne's, the 3rd earl married Adela, or Ela, as she was known, whose ancestry include Robert of Belleme, the 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Agnes of Ponthieu. The 2nd Earl of Surrey, also you've guessed it, William, died in 1138 and was married to Elizabeth de Vermandois, daughter to Hugh Magnus, duke of Vermandois, who was the son of Henri I of France. Sometimes Elizabeth is known as Isobel in some books, but there is no doubt that she is the same woman who married William. Now I regard Elizabeth as another gateway ancester because looking into her ancestry opens up a treasure chest of connections with various royal houses in Europe. For instance her paternal grandmother was Anne of Kiev, daughter of Yaroslav I (nicknamed The Wise) of Kiev, himself a son of Vladamir I (known as Volodymyr the Great). The story goes that Henri could not find a suitable wife from the eligible pool of royal daughters because of consanquinity issues (they were too close as kin to him). So the safest bet for him was to marry Anne. Her mother was Ingergerd, daughter of King Olof of Sweden. Wiki goes further but I'll stop there. I think Wiki has got it right with these connections because they were such well known personalities.

Going back to Henri I of France, his father was Robert II of France, son of Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine. Henri mother was Constance of Arles and her lieage goes back to Charlemagne, founding father of both the French and German royal houses. I'm pretty sure that given these links to various monarchs in Europe, there are other lines leading to Charlemagne, but I need to double check my research to make sure that the lines are in order. Hugh Capet's paternal grandmother, Beatrice of Vermandois also has a line to Charlemagne (her great grandfather was Bernard of Italy, a grandson of Charlemagne.

The 1st Earl of Warenne, William, married Gundred, a daughter of Matilda of Flanders. Matilda is best known as the wife of William the Conqueror, but it appears that she was married first to a Flemish gentleman named Gerbod. In some sources Gundred has been cited as the Conqueror's natural daughter, but it is likely that she was his step-daughter. There is no doubt that William was close to the Conqueror because he was given land near the battle of Hastings. Lewes Priory in Sussex was founded by the first Earl of Warenne. Also, de Warenne was associated with the family of Gerbod and inherited lands from that family. Matilda's father was Bladwin V, Count of Flanders and Adele, daughter of Robert II of France and Constance of Arles. Here we have another link to Charlemagne on Constance's ancestry. Also, Baldwin V's paternal grandmother was Rozala of Lombardy, who is also cited to be a descendant of Chalemagne! Is everyone related to Charlemagne? Seems so. Millions around the world are of course. Baldwin's gggg grandfather was Alfred the Great of Wessex or England, through Alfred's daughter Aelfthryth. Wiki has his line going back to the early 6th century, to Cerdic, King of Wessex. Again, I don't know how authentic Wikipedia's information is but this linege but must be easily available somewhere, and therefore well known. The information can actually be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which ws translated by the Rev. James Ingram and published in 1823.

There are other links stemming from my Puleston ancestry to investigate, and one in particular is of interest. Remember the Roger de Pyvelisdon from my last post who was hung by the Welsh for daring to collect taxes for Edward I's war with France? His wife was Agnes, daughter of David de Malpas, known as le clerc because he was an administrator for the earl of Chester, probably Ranulf, who inherited the earldom from his father Hugh Cyfeiliog. David's wife was Margaret daughter of Ralph ap Einion, whose wife is also said be related to the 4th earl of Chester Ranulph de Gernon. There were 2 David de Malpas so more research needs to be done to make sure that I have the right line. According to my research David's mother was Beatrix, an illegitimate daughter of Hugh, Earl of Chester. On the Peerage.com web site her name is unknown, but in Collins' Peerage Vol.5 her name is stated as Beatrix. Her husband, and father of David de Malpas, was William le Belward. William inherited the baronetcy of Malpas from his mother Lettice, daughter and heir of Robert, Baron of Malpas. So David was a grandson of Hugh, earl of Chester. I've read that Beatrix was illegitimate, but nevertheless a real catch anyway because illegitamacy wasn't so bad in them days. Hugh's father was Ranulf de Gernon, 4th earl of Chester, and his mother was Maud of Gloucester. Maud's father was Robert 1st Earl of Gloucester, one of many illegitamate sons of King Henry I, reputedly with Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, another direct ancestor (see last post). More research is needed on my possible connections to Hugh. earl of Chester, to confirm yet another wonderful lineage, though the link from Agnes to her father David le Clerk to William le Belward and Beatrix to Hugh seems pretty solid.

That's it for now. More next week.

My ancestors - the Welsh line

2010-02-28T08:33:00.012Z

In the last 3 weeks I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to delve into my family history like I have never delved before. The information I have gathered is, in a word, amazing, and it seems unbelievable that ordinary me could be related to such notable figures in history. And not only Welsh history but European. My research has led me to the geat Welsh leader Rhodri Mawr, as well as French kings such as Henri I and Hugh Capet. As to the English monarchy I get as close as to a half brother to Henry II (Hamelin Plantagenet) and Henry Tudor. However, for this post I am going to write about my research on my Welsh anscestors and show how I got there.

It all started when I bought the book 'Bywyd ac Amserau Yr Esgob Morgan' by Charles Ashton, published in 1891, from Abebooks on the internet. This is the book that I had been after for many years because I needed it to confirm my family link to Bishop William Morgan, something that I knew but wanted proof. And there it was. A family tree, just after page 115, showing my great great great grandfather Owen Evans and his wife Jane Hughes, and his parents being Margaret Morgan and Owen Evan of Ty'n Ddol, Ffestiniog. Margaret's lineage was exactly as I thought it would be, her father being William Ellis Morgan. It was his brother, John, whose papers that Ashton was relying on, and the tree descended all the way to Bishop William Morgan. At last I can feel sure that I am truly a descendent of this great man's family, though others had known this but I wanted to see physical proof for myself. It was at this point that I noticed that Ashton had indicated on the tree that the bishop had a son, Evan Morgan, also a man of the cloth. Now this has been a contentious issue with genealogists as some claim that he was a nephew of William Morgan rather than his son, which to be fair Ashton points this out. I had always assumed up to now that Evan was his nephew because I hadn't seen any evidence that William had a son. He was married twice so the chance of producing at least 1 child must be high, you would think. Ashton's reasoning is based on the known appointments and places that William Morgan had been. For instance, it is known that he was at Cambridge University from 1564,and was there for, I think, 7 years. Considering that Evan's first appointment was at Llanrhaiadr-y-Mochnant in 1588 (taking over from William in fact), Ashton deduces that he was likely to have been born around 1564. If he was born after William came back from Cambridge, Evan would have been 16 taking up this first post, a highly unlikely scenario. However, his does not rule out the possibility that Evan was the son of one of William Morgan's brothers, but Ashton was basing his research from the famly papers held by John Ellis Morgan, a gggg grandson to William, so it seems more likely to be correct. If this is the case then William Morgan was married to Ellen Salesbury, who was related to that other famous translator, William Salesbury. Her family tree is also included in Ashton's book and he has managed to trace it back to Adam de Salzburg, a relative of a Duke in Bavaria. Because of the uncertainty of the parentage of Evan, I cannot for certain rely on my connection to Ellen's ancestors. However, the Salesbury (or Salusbury) connection re-emerges later in my research.

So, Evan Morgan seemed to be the logical choice to research, and I was lucky enough to use Ashton's research again. In his book he states that Evan was married to Catherine daughter of John ap Rhys Wynn of Caer Ddinen, and Mary, who was a daughter of Baron Lewis Owen (or Lewys ap Owen). This seemed an interesting path to follow so I started looking on the internet for these people.

I must point out here that there are literally thousands's of out of copywright books available for either download or to view, for free from Google books and www.archive.org, which have fantastic information for genealogical purposes. Well worth checking if you have relatively well-known people in your family history. There is, of course, a reliance that the information written in these books are correct, but they do seem to have based their research on primary sources (original manuscripts) so we must assume that they are.

I quickly found Lewis Owen. He wasn't hard to find because he was regarded as one of the most well known men in Merionethshire in the time of the Tudors. He was appointed deputy-chamberlain of North Wales and baron of the exchequer at Caernarfon. He was also sheriff of Merioneth in 1545-6 and 1554-5, and MP for Merioneth in 1547, 1553 and 1554. On October 11th or 12th, 1555 he was murdered by the 'Red bandits of Mawddwy' at a place still called 'Llidart y barwn, near Mallwyd in Merionethshire. Apparantly it was a revenge killing because Lewis had caught, tried and hung a few of the bandits just before. His wife was Margaret Puleston, daughter of Robert Puleston, rector of Gresford and Whitford (Burke's Peerages). From another source, she is said to be not only the daughter of Robert but also the niece of Sir John Puleston of Hafod y Wern, Bersham. The first Puleston from Hafod was a Madog Puleston (Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales, Thomas Nicholas,p. 455, vol.2) and his father was Robert Puleston who married Lowri, sister to Owain Glyndwr. As a proud Welshman, this connection gladdens my heart! To have Owain as a distant uncle is fantastic. I discovered more when I looked into the family of Owain's mother, Ellen. She was the daughter of Thomas ap Llewelyn, whose ancestry I will discuss later. Thomas had another daughter, Margaret, who married Tudur Fychan ap Goronwy of Plas Penmynydd, Anglesey. At this point I knew that there was going to be another important connection. Penmynydd is synomenous with the ancestry of Owain Tudor the grandfather of King Henry VII, and so he turns out to be my 4th cousin, 16x removed. There are a few more lines to investigate in this period, which I will no doubt look into in time.

Going back to Thomas ap Llewelyn (ggg grandfather to Henry Tudor), I followed his ancestry using the various Rootsweb family trees that are available on the net. Now, caution should be taken when relying on these trees because it is research carried out by others and who knows where they have got their information from. On at least 2 occasions I was led to believe that I was related to William the Conqueror because of mistakes made from these trees. There is an awful lot of copying on the genealogical net and a quick search on Rootsweb will reveal identical info on numerous trees. There is also a temptation for some to claim direct ancestry to noble and royal families because it would be difficult to DISPROVE those findings. Not many would bother to check to see they're right. The reason I've taken so long to write this post is because I've checked and re-checked my information, and I want to find the TRUTH about my ancestors, and not find out out later that it was not the case. I am reminded here of John Hurt's experience on the BBC programme 'Who do you think you are'. He always believed that he was descended from Irish ancestery, which he was very proud of, only to find that one of these ancestors had lied about his birth. He was understandably angry and upset because he had always thought that he had Irish blood, which will have had an effect on how he perceived his 'self'. The link between identity and ancestry can be very strong, and to John Hurt it must have felt that his very personality was based on a lie. Some of these submitters on Rootsweb may want to believe they are related to notable people, but I would rather find out who my real ancestors were, whether they were ordinary peasants or members of the aristocracy. They are all important and significant because they produced me and the family I love.

So, I rechecked these Rootsweb claims by reading up downloaded books on the internet and believe I have found the true lineages that I am now stating. By the way, one of the incorrect submissions on Rootsweb was a claim that Owain Glyndwr's great grandmother was a Catherine, a daughter of Llewelyn ap Gruffydd (Llewelyn the Last) who married Eleanor de Montford, whose maternal grandfather was King John I, and this line leads to William the Conqueror. Llewelyn, as far as I know, only had one daughter, Gwenllian, who was whisked away to a nunnery by the English while still a baby, never to know her true roots. Despite finding a couple of authors writing in the early 19th century who state the existence of this Catherine, I think it's not safe to pursue. If it was true then it would be a fantastic connection to not only King John but also the de Montforts, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the royal houses of France. I believe this to be false, but any direct links to Llewelyn is still possible because I haven't explored all the lineages.

Anyway, the lineage of Thomas ap Llewelyn leads to Gruffydd ap Rhys who married Matilda de Braose, whose family I will write in a future post, who was the son of Rhys ap Gruffydd, The Lord Rhys. He was Prince of Deheubarth (modern day south west Wales) and Henry II appointed him the protector of South Wales. He, unfortunately, died of plague in 1197 and is buried at St. David's Cathedral. His grandfather was Rhys ap Tewdwr, Prince of Deheubarth, and he was killed in the Battle of Brecon in 1093, probably fighting the English again. Protecting the borders of Wales then must have been as difficult as trying to save a sinking ship. When one area is patched up there is always another ready to leak through somewhere else. Rhys ap Tewdwr's ggg grandfather was Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good), born circa. 887 and despite this apparent virtuous tag was regarded as quite ruthless. He even ordered the death of his brother-in-law, Llywarch of Dyfed. However, a great reign doesn't get built by being soft. His most well known achievement was the creation of the Law of Wales which was the foundation of Welsh unity and identity. His grandfather was Rhodri Mawr (Rodri the Great)a famous warrior who defended Wales from especially the Danes, who had continuously raided Celtic coasts including Ireland and Brittany. He was killed, together with his son Gwriad, in a battle against the English in 877.

Archives that go further back before Rhodri's time are a mixture of tales of myths and legends. Rhodri was supposed to be a descendent of Coel Hen (Old King Cole himself) and beyond this to Maelgwn Gwynedd and Cunedda and you are really in fantasy land perhaps. There's one tree on Rootsweb that leads from Rhodri to a Roman called Padarn Beisrudd. It's entirely plausible but difficult to prove. I'm quite happy with what I've found to date, and there are more discoveries to follow. The beauty of finding an ancestor who married into a notable family is that there is an excellent chance of finding more well known personalities. Such families liked to marry off their offspring to other families of equal status or better, and that has been the case with my ancestor Margaret Puleston. Bless her! The Pulestons originated from Pilsdon in Shropshire, but very soon were regarded as a Welsh family settling at Emral Hall, Flintshire. An early Puleston ancestor, Sir Roger de Pyvelisdon, was reponsible for collecting a tax from the Welsh to fund Edward I's war with France. I can just imagine his face when the king told him what he had to do! It's a dirty job bur someone has to do it! Talk about walking into the lion's den. As many I suppose predicted he and his assistants were grabbed and hung on the spot at Caernarfon. His son Sir Richard de Pyvelisdon married a daughter of a Warren from Warren Hall in Shropshire. This line of enquiry provided me with a very challenging research task, and all the reading I did paid off in a big way and will be the subject of my next post.

To finish off some loose ends, some interesting indirect connections.
Through Owain Glyndwr's parents, I have a direct lineage to Gwenllian and Susanna, both daughters of Gruffydd ap Cynan, and sisters to Owain Gwynedd. He became King of Gwynedd after defeating Trahaearn ap Caradog at the battle of Mynydd Carn in 1081, and appears to have an alliance with my other ancestor, Rhys ap Tewdwr. Gruffydd was born in Dublin and his mother Ragnaillt was the daughter of the Norse king, Olaf Sigtryggsson (Olaf of Dublin). Through the wife of Gruffydd, Angharad ferch Owain ap Edwin, there is a link to the Earls of Mercia. Owain's ggrandmother was Godgifu, Lady Godiva. So, through these lineages I have links to the Vikings. I have discovered other Viking links through Normandy connections as well but that is for another post.

If we go back to Rhys ap Tewdwr, he had a daughter named Nest. Reputedly she was so beautiful that men could not resist her, which happened quite often. She was a mistress to Henry I and produced a son. She married Gerald of Windsor and had 5 children with him. Her cousin, Owain ap Cadwgan took one look at her and decided to kidnapped her and her children, with Gerald escaping with his life going down the toilet! Quite appropriate in regards to the way his life was going I think. While in captivity she had 2 more children with Owain, who in real Mills and Boon fashioned was killed by the vengeful husband not long after. She next married Stephen, constable of Cardigan and had Robert FitzStephen. One of her grandsons was Gerald of Wales the historian, better known by his Lain name Geraldus Cambrensis.

More soon.

TV Adverts - Feb 2010

2010-02-01T19:16:00.002Z

Those I hate

All the Go Compare ads

We buy any car.com

Meerkat.com

Halifax (pretending to be DJ's)

Those I like

Barclaycard (rollercoaster with Boston's 'More Than a Feeling'

Ford Focus ad

Back Problems

2010-01-19T19:32:00.002Z

Ever since I was quite young I have always been aware that being tall will inevitably lead to problems with the back, be it in the form of muscle spasms, trapped nerves or just plain old backache. Growing up with a father who suffered with slipped disks even before I was born has made me realise that it could happen to me. My dad was having back problems from his mid twenties which eventually led to him being in traction at the army barracks cum orthopeadic hospital at Gobowen just after my birth and of course he eventually became paralysed at the age of 48, which of course he never recovered from.
Today I went to Llandudno casualty department to see what could be done for me. Since the late 90's I have had recurring back problems which have eventually gone away and life goes on. Until the next incident, usually overdoing it, lifting and carrying heavy boxes of reams of paper, dragging and folding tables for meetings, storing heavy items up the attic etc. I never used to think about it. I was never one to say no when help was needed, unlike a certain person I have previously mentioned in this blog, you know the knobhead. Well, it appears that I have a prolapsed disk in my lower back, which by all accounts is something physiotherapy can help, but if it doesn't then surgery may have to be the option. I will be going for an MRI scan at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor soon to confirm the prognosis, and then we will know the next course of action. I went directly to the hospital because a) it was near Ben's school therefore convenient, and b) I'm sick and tired of living in pain for half the year, and just putting up with it. A bit of background for you. I had a particularly bad bad back episode in 2002 when I was off work for I think at least 2 weeks. I was folding a table, clearing the room after a meeting when I could feel a tear in my back. In many cases with me in the past, a backache would come out of nowhere, no idea how I got it, it just appeared, and I would just slap on the heat pack (or cold pack, as some believe is best), pop the pain killers, and wait a few days. This was different. I remember very clearly that I could not straighten up (which is very embarassing when I had to go out in public), and most worryingly, a really bad pain in my lower back whenever I tried to walk. I'm rooted to the spot, afraid to take another step. Not a pleasant experience. It's only happened once since this time, but I guess I know what it is now. I'm a little peeved that my GP didn't take the steps that were taken today. I'm probably guessing that my present problem started then, in 2002, and all I got from my GP were pain killing tablets. They worked, and there is a tendency to accept that all is well, until the next time I decide to do something heavy. As an example of how delicate my back is, I was in ASDA yesterday and some thoughless person had left a box of quiche in a basket under the till, too lazy to put it back in the fridge. So, I bent down to get it and felt that something, not major, went. Today I have been in agony and enough is enough. This is no way to live, and despite my fears of hospitals, and what happens in them, I decided to go there and face the inevitable. I'm glad I've gone in and faced up to it, because the prospect of ending up like my poor dad could have been my future as well. I'm not afraid to admit it, but in the waiting room I became emotional, the combination of not knowing what was going to be said to me, and it was the first time back in the hospital my dad had died in 5 months ago. Every now and again he still gets to me. I suppose it's still early, the grieving period. It's hard to believe, actually, that only 5 months have gone since that awful time, and yet it feels a longer time. I suppose a lot has happened in between stretching time to last longer. Anyway, what a difference a week makes! I get a degree one week and a slipping disk the next! The highs and the lows of life. In fact, I look on today as a lucky break and am gaining strength from the positiveness of my action. I've probably been walking around with a slipping disk resting on my sciatic nerve for the last 7 years for God's sakes! I'm lucky I'm still walking, albeit a stooping one and a great impersonation of an extra from the 'Planet of the Apes' film! Wait, I think I've used that gag before!
So, I have now a great excuse to get out of the washing up, and I can feel not guilty watching DVD's!

What a win at Old Trafford!

2010-01-06T17:22:00.004Z

As bad as the old year was the new one has started pretty good so far. Leeds beat Manchester United at Old Trafford last week-end and I feel a bit of payback is well deserved for certain Manc fans. I've been a Leeds United fan since 1975 and throughout the years the times I have been ridiculed by fans of Man.Utd, Liverpool and others have been numerous. When on the odd occasion that Leeds have beaten these top teams, I haven't really gloated, not as much as I should have at least. Well, this particular win against Man.Utd in the FA Cup and at Old Trafford has a special feeling to it. Maybe it's because of the recent spectacular fall from grace of Leeds United, which saw them not only relegated to the championship (the old Division 2), but also relegated to League One (the old Third Division) 3 seasons ago, which has prompted much derision from rival fans, and media pundits as well.

Even before the match, the official Manchester United TV channel, MUTV, were saying some really disrespectful things about my team, for instance, stressing on the fact that Leeds are in League 1 and so forth. And boy did I enjoy the post mortem they performed on the match after the final whistle! As Alex Ferguson said in his rather sombre interview in the tunnel afterwards, they really didn't expect that. He knows he can't publicly praise Leeds for fear of losing his grip with Man.Utd fans. If he admitted Leeds played better than his team, he would lose the repect and hasten his exit. Well, expect a bit more matey if you play as crap as that again! Honestly, the performance was truly awful, an embarassment in fact. The game went better than I could ever hoped for, and I can say this with as much unbiasness as I can muster, we played them off the park for much of the game and could have scored a couple more if it wasn't for the width of the woodwork.

This seismic event does bring to mind of a certain person who idolised Man.Utd whom I used to work with. This win is the perfect opportunity to write about what he was like as I saw him. And all the following accounts are true. I'd love to be a fly on his wall, in fact any of his walls because this particular defeat will knarl at his gut for quite some time. I've been looking for an excuse to mention him on my blog for some time, because he was literally the ultimate knobhead! You have all met him, in your own lives that is. There's one in every workplace, whether it be male or female. You know the type, he likes to be your friend to your face but when your back's turned he will say the most awful things about you to other collegues. I know, because the dumb fuck used to say to ME what he thought of others he worked with! So, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that he was sayings things behind MY back as well. I remember him coming to my office clutching a sick note and complaining about an office assistant who had badly strained her ankle, actually accusing her of pretending to get a week off work. No benefit of the doubt, she was lying and that was it. At a christmas party he made a derogatory comment about the condition of a work collegues breasts after she had cancer and a masectomy. You get the general idea how much of a low life this guy is.

Well, fuck you, Mr. Nasty!

I hope he gets the stick that he deserves from his collegues this week. Gosh, where did that come from?! Must have been some buried repressed rage I've been feeling towards him.

Feel a lot better now that I have got that off my chest! Writing is good therapy!

I can remember that he used to take a sickie whenever Man. Utd lost at the week-end to a team like, say, Liverpool, a team well supported by a lot of his colleagues there, and he couldn't face them. As if they would forget after one day!

Be a man and stand up to them!

These things used to bother us when we were kids not now that we are grown adults. Or maybe I've hit the nail on the head there. I'm particularly picking on him because of the hurtful things he used to say about Leeds right in front of me. "Oh, I hate Leeds. I do hope they go down" was one of them, and his vile comments didn't stop with football either. Quite often he would just come out with some personal stuff as well. I could go on with other things he said and did, but I have a life to live. He was just a thoroughly nasty piece of work full stop. Oh, here's another one!
He even said to me that if he had known that I was a Leeds United supporter he would not have hired me! Skills and experience don't matter obviously but who you support is a top priority! Give me a break!

Looking back I should never have helped him out and got that spider out of the toilet so it would be safe for him to go in! Yep, that really happened.

So, I'm basking in the glow of a fabulous and well deserved win at Old Trafford in front of 65,000 Man.Utd fans. I hope Mr. Nasty was there to witness it. I'm sure he was thinking of me as the minutes were ticking away as his team were heading for defeat, cursing my name. I've been cursing the day I ever met this football bigot, but such occurances happen in life and are meant for a reason. Sometimes it's not apparant at the time but on reflection it was a learning curve for me about how shitty some people can be, though of course I have met other shitty types before, but this one would be the last one I would tolerate.

It is safe to say that I have never been nor will ever be such a person.

No-one should ever judge a person by the team they support, it is a laughable criteria! I can be a Leeds United fan AND a nice person to know!

Depression Day

2009-12-16T19:46:00.002Z

Feeling low happens to everyone. In all the years that I have been on this earth I've had my fair share of low points in my life. Especially in the last 4 years of course. Having had to give up my jobs to be a carer, the financial implications of not being able to work, the lack of contact with friends due to my inability to socialize as often as I would like, are just some of the main frustrations that I have had the misfortune to experience. The recent death of my father just adds to the mix, I suppose. It doesn't help.
Yesterday, I believe that I suffered real depression for the first time in my life. I have always been reluctant to use the word 'depression' in the past because for one thing I thought that I was immune to it because of my optimistic disposition, and secondly, I think the word has been used so flippantly by people, in some cases to describe a disappointment they are experiencing, rather than a condition that prevents normal everyday functioning. I always thought I was low, not depressed; there are always other people far worse off than me who truly are depressed and are going through their own personal hell. Well, I have always being able to lift myself soon after a low period, so that's not depression. However, I felt utter despair yesterday, of which I have never experienced before. I could not shake it off and felt that I was not in control of my thinking. It was almost as if my thought processes were fixed on one path, like a train on a single track unable to change direction. As soon as I woke up my head was pounding and I felt that nothing mattered, which lasted all day. I didn't know what to do with myself, uninterested in anything, prefering to stare into the distance for long periods, in any direction, and just do nothing, paralised in such a way that I was unable to think clearly. If I had received the letter I am expecting about my passing my exams yesterday, it could not have lifted me from my doldrums. I would have tossed it aside, not even being upset if I had not passed. Nothing mattered. It was scary, and the world that I knew was not the same anymore. It was almost as if the depression was everything, perpetuating itself in a neverending loop. I just didn't know where to start to get out of it. Scary as hell.
I could feel emotional pain welling up as the day wore on, and it was after visiting my mum late morning that the banks finally burst. I couldn't control the tears in the car at that point and when I got home I decided I needed a distraction so I watched something on my laptop. I surmise that this emotion I was feeling was linked to my recent berevement, and the thought that he would not be here for christmas. My dad always made us laugh at christmas, his inner child and inhibition ran wild. It won't be the same without him. So, this year will be a testing one for us all.
Eventually, last night, I managed to get the opportunity to talk about how I felt to my wife, and I'm inclined to believe that it must have helped, though earlier in the day I could not see talking as any help to me, and today I have felt a bit better and not so zombiefied. Yesterday I got a little insight to what many truly depressed people must be going through. The most appalling feeling is the concrete realisation that there is no escape from feeling like this; nothing that you or anyone else can do to help you get out of how you're feeling, and that you are trapped as if in a cage and there is no key to let you out.
In my experience, feelings of hopelessness and abandonment are key features of depression. They are biggies, really. We all need people to show that they care for us, in our hours of need, and if we don't it leads to a deteriorating self-esteem, and believe me that's a slippery slope. When you feel worthless and insignificant it's a sorry state of affairs. Hopelessness sets in and I believe this is when you feel you're locked up in that cell with no key. It's important that you find someone with the particular key that will help you get out. Last night, by talking to my wife I found a key, so the power of talk should never be underestimated. Hope. What a wonderful thing that is! Where would we be without it? It gives us the reason to carry on and do the things we need to do, and should never be abandoned. The question is, where do we find hope when things appear hopeless? Luckily, given good guidance, hope can be found in a multitude of places, people's hearts being one. To be kind, honest and supportive restores faith in humanity and perhaps the lack of these qualities creates the hoplessness in the first place.
If anything, this little episode has revealed to me the importance of my time at Aberconwy MIND, a place where I always encounter the results of depression. I meet people there who live with depression every day of their lives. To experience it for only one day is only a short glimpse of what it must be like for them, and I hope I don't get many days like yesterday again.

Porcupine Tree: Rock Lessons at the Academy

2009-12-13T15:35:00.005Z

Going back to the Manchester Academy to see Porcupine Tree live was like visiting a friend that I hadn't seen for a long time. Four and half years in fact. When I got to that part of Oxford Road I even discovered that that friend had moved house! It seems that finding locations where PT performs is as problematic as trying to find their CD's in local shops! The first time I saw them was back in 2002 at Academy 3 and when I recognised the familiar steps leading up to the main doors I thought I'd find them in there again. Getting our tickets out I heard a voice saying that there was a queue, and so there was. A queue going back so far I didn't know whether to feel pleased for PT for attracting such support or trepidation for the prospect of being squashed into aphyxiation when we got in. Luckily my son Simon's bladder intervened so we nipped into a MacDonalds over the road. Going back I noticed another building which had an 'Academy' look to it, and what appeared to be an A4 sheet on the glass covered entrance with Porcupine Tree and North Atlantic Oscillation start times on it. Oh joy! No queue. This is more like it, but a part of me was wondering why there weren't more people. Most of the venues on this current tour promoting the album 'The Incident' have been sell outs, which had prompted me to think that the big queue down the street was for PT. Anyhow, as I was walking in I remembered that this was just the same feeling I had when I first saw them in 2002. Plenty of personal space around, a bar in the foyer and music filtering through from the auditorium. The support act, North Atlantic Oscillation, had already started their set and I then realised how late we were. We had a bit of a struggle getting to Manchester that day. Missed the direct train from Colwyn Bay by minutes, luckily got a train not long after to Chester, changed for Crewe, then got a connection to Manchester. In the end we were 20 minutes later than we had planned, not too bad considering, but there was no stop for the Oxford Road station. Therefore we had to hike it from Picadilly. The other dampener to our evening was the fact that the last train from Manchester to North Wales was at 10:35, so we knew before we left home that we would not see the entire show. Another throwback to my first PT show. What was so annoying is that the timetable has been changed since the summer, which had the last train leaving at 11:15, which me and Simon got home from a trip to Old Trafford. If this had still be running we would have probably seen the whole show. Never mind, seeing half of PT live is better than not seeing them at all. Or for that matter some other bands in full.
Of what I heard of the support act, which must have been a good half hour, I was impressed. North Atlantic Oscillation have a good sound, catchy melodies and not predictable. I like to be surprised by bands, to make me wonder where the music is going to go. They did that. There are too many bands who tend to follow a familiar path with their music, especially with progressive music, and veer towards areas already covered by bands they are trying to be like. N A O are, I believe, ploughing their own furrow, and planting the seeds to some promising music in the future.
Porcupine Tree planted their seeds way back in the early 90's, and it has taken a long time to bear fruit but they have finally broken through the barrier of musical prejudice that once gripped the progessive rock genre. They broke through for many of their fans years ago because their albums have been consistently good since 'Up The Downstair' in 1993. Since then the Porcupine Tree sound has matured into a category that cannot be defined. File it under Porcupine Tree music!
By now the venue was pretty full, with a few hundred having joined the rest of us to see the main act. A voice spoke to the audience about the group policy of asking fans to refrain from using any type of recording devices or they would be escorted out of the auditorium. Throughout the time I was there I could see the odd jackass trying his luck to record snapshots for his posterity (one in front of me even had the nerve to stick his SLR above his head to take a shot of the band playing!) How he didn't get chucked out I'll never know. The band came on to a tremendous applause amidst a foggy stage and unleashed 'Occam's Razor', the first track of 'The Incident', whose power almost took me by surprise, even though I knew what was coming having listened to the CD often enough. The band have been playing the album in its entirety throughout the tour, which started at Seattle on September 15th. Colin Edwin's bass guitar sound was like a wave which makes your chest and stomach areas tremble! Simon was concerned of the dreaded 'brown note'! Porcupine Tree progressed through 'The Incident' flawlessly. I have to also mention the images of Lasse Hoile which were displayed in perfect synch throughout. Both disturbing and beautiful the images tend to distract you from the band, so your eyes are constantly in motion. I love the images that accompany the track 'Time Flies'. I can definately identify with my past, growing up, and experiencing the effects of the advancement of time. Personally, it has a poignant significance for me after the passing of my father last August. My first hearing of it coincided with that sad event. Back to the concert and the tracks 'Drawing the Line', 'The Incident' and 'Octane Twisted' absolutely rocked and sound even better live. Simon, being his first rock concert, was a bit taken aback with the noise and the sheer power of the band, Colin Edwin's bass rippling into us like a shock wave, and Gavin Harrison's drums booming with every beat. Steven Wilson's mastery on the guitar always amazes me. His fingers dance along the frets so effortlessly I swear he could be as good asleep! The closer 'I Drive the Hearse' is a beautiful ballad reminicent to me of something the Goo Goo Dolls were doing some years back. I knew that this song would be the last full song we would hear tonight, and I wondered where the time had flown, but it truly does go quicker when you are enjoying yourself. Reluctantly our time was up and a train had to be caught in order to prevent us from wandering Chester station all night waiting for the mail train! The 10 minute countdown of the band's re-emergence on stage was displaying on the screen and we left the auditorium with the strains of 'The Start of Something Beautiful' in the air. In fact as we were walking away from the building and with an ambulance rushing past us in full siren we could still hear the band. We managed to catch the train home at Oxford station in plenty of time in the end and practically devoid of other passengers. Overall, despite only seeing half of the show, the trip was worthwhile and anyway I needed a T-shirt!

Anticipating Porcupine Tree

2009-12-10T07:08:00.004Z

At last the wait is over! Tickets were bought months ago and now Simon and I can exchange them for a performance of the great Porcupine Tree tonight. We are going to the Academy in Manchester to witness the band playing 'The Incident' in its entirety, plus hopefully we will have time to see some of the second part of the show before we have to head off back down Oxford Road to catch the train home. Going to the venue will bring back happy memories for me. My first experience of seeing Porcupine Tree live was at the Academy but I believe that tonight's show will be in a different auditorium. The following for the band has dramatically increased in the last few years and this is reflected by the size of the audiences they have been drawing into venues on this current tour. It's good to see their popularity increasing and is continuing to increase as the years go on. Soon, gone will be the days when when people will say "who?" when Porcupine Tree is mentioned.

Dave Smith R.I.P.

2009-12-09T21:47:00.003Z

So, here I am writing about another friend who has met an unfortunate end by his own hand. Whilst my friend Brian from Aberconwy MIND was probably self inflected (no one has told me exactly what happened but he did tell me that things were not ok with him just before his death), Dave Smith's death appears to be sucide according to friends' comments on Facebook. To us his friends who were in school with him, this is hard to come to terms with. My last e-mail contact with him in July of this year talked very positively about the up and coming school reunion and coming to Rhos-on-sea. What happened in the short time since to have changed so much in his life I haven't the foggiest. I remember Dave being one of the most laid back of individuals, appearing to have not a care in the world but also intelligent enough to secure a 'golden ticket' apprenticeship with the Post Office, now British Telecom of course, when he left school, which is more than I did! A lot od us went for the apptitude tests during the last few weeks of our schooldays at Ysgol-y-Moelwyn (I went to a church in Colwyn Bay I recall, maybe Dave did as well) and he was one of the minority who managed to get in. He moved to Chester and as far as I know that was where he had been living.
I knew Dave from way back. We were together at Maenofferen primary school and I remember an incident with him near the end of the final year there. He threatened to beat me up over something (no idea what the reason was) and it wasn't a pleasant experience for me. Going into the new school at the end of that summer of 1974 I thought he would cause me more trouble. He didn't. Dave did not mention it or used it to make life uncomfortable for me, proving to me it was just one of those thngs which happen in a million schoolyards all over the world but has no real meaning nor nasty intent. I had no trouble from Dave in all the years whilst at Ysgol-y-Moelwyn, in fact he became a good person to know and a very funny guy. I was friends with Gwyn Williams Jones in the early years of Moelwyn and Dave was good friends with him so I would see him about, playing cricket and football behind the old forum. I also remember receiving from Dave a souvenir from the 1974 World Cup, which Dave's Dad had gone to, which he gave to a lot of his friends. Do any other friends remember these souvenirs?
After my family moved to Llandudno in 1982 I lost touch with most of my friends from Blaenau, including Dave, though I remember bumbing into him in ASDA Llandudno just after we moved. I believe Dave's family also moved to this area around this time. In recent years he would e-mail me through Friends Reunited, interested in any news of a possible reunion of his old schoolmates, an event that had been talked about for some years and ironically has been echeduled for April 2010. In fact, according to one of his friends I ws talking to recently from Blaenau Ffestiniog, he was so looking forward to going to it next year. He had been asking me since 2007 about this reunion, so proving that he couldn't wait to see his friends again. I for one was not only looking forward to seeing him at the reunion, but also here at Rhos where his dad lives.
Going through his page on Friends Reunited reveals a man who thought a lot of his days back in Blaenau. His photos are a reminder for all of us who knew him of the halcyon times that were our schooldays. Despite the angst of adolescence they really were halcyon days weren't they.
Let's hope that this coming reunion will kick start a continuance of contact between the friends we once knew and to remember those who we have lost, and to support those that need us in times of despair.

Beware tales of fantasy money

2009-11-28T21:48:00.002Z

Disturbingly I have been regularly contacted through my e-mail on Windows Live by certain individuals from countries in Africa, in my case Togo and Ghana, of requests to make money from the estates of dead individuals. I'd like to think that there is no-one stupid enough to actually believe this bullshit but just in case do not even think of pursuing these. It is well known that a lot of internet scams originate from Africa (Ebay used to get swamped with problems from scammers from Africa, but I think they have tightned up security now).
Here is an example of the type of letter I received today which claims to be from a Richard Ibe, an alleged attorney for some dead guy who was a contractor in his country. He goes on to ask whether you are willing to pretend to be a relative of the dead person and split the money. The story and the names of the deceased changes but the scam is the same.
BEWARE!

Gwyn's Playlist for November 2009

2009-11-28T16:10:00.003Z

1. Sleeping in Traffic, part 1 - Beardfish

2. Flame - Barbieri and Bowness

3. Cruel Melody - Black Light Burns

4. Black Clouds and Silver Linings - Dream Theater

4. Anthems for the Damned - Filter

5. Speak - No-Man

6. The Wall - Pink Floyd

7. Insurgentes - Steven Wilson

8. My Hotel Year - Tim Bowness

9. The History of Melody Nelson - Serge Gainsbourg

10. Cactus Choir - Dave Greenslade

11. Suspension & Displacement - Djam Karet

12. Between The Leaves - Deja Vu

Contact from Beyond?

2009-11-28T13:28:00.004Z

Around this time last year my dad finally decided to get a large (44inch) flat screen TV which he got mounted up on his wall. It looked great and he enjoyed watching his Sky Sports matches on there until his passing last August. After his funeral, my mum asked whether we would want it, which I gladly accepted. So its been here since September and has fitted quite well with our small sitting room. However, now and again we will want to watch a DVD with it and for some inexplicable reason we don't get the video but we can hear the sound of the particular DVD. After a few hours, though, the DVD will work, sound and vision! Now, my wife is a spirit believer and has always said that she believes my dad is still around and because of his mischievious nature when alive, is convinced that he is messing with our electrical equipment.
In fact, back in September, when my mum got our old TV (we swapped) she phoned and told us that she could not get a picture on the TV, yet it was working ok 3 hours before. So, I went over to see if I could solve the problem and found that the cables were ok and where they should be. However, the electrical plug had slightly come out, so after pushing it back fully into the socket the TV was working ok. My wife thought my dad was responsible for this. At this time I didn't, because I believe that there were a lot of reasons why the plug was half way out. Secretly I suspected that my mum had been messing about trying to fix the problem before she phoned me, but she was insistent that she had not done so. The fact that this event happened in my dad's old room, now newly decorated and all his stuff has gone, further convinced my wife that it was my dad's doing. Anyway, I can happily report that no such incidents have occurred since. Instead it may appear that my dad is still up to his own tricks only he has moved his centre of attention!
A couple of times we have not been able to figure out why at certain times we can only get sound and no vision on whichever DVD we slot in. But as usual normal service is resumed later. Why, no idea! What promted me to write about this in the blog is because I'm starting to believe that something strange is going on! This occured yesterday tea-time when the boys wanted to watch 'My Name is Earl' DVD, and sure enough we did not get a picture - blue screen and theme music. We could easily have watched something on Sky, but we switched off the TV, and talked. It is something that we don't do enough of, sadly, but we had a lively conversation and it was nice. Later on, near bedtime, sure enough the DVD player worked and the boys were able to watch 'Earl'.
This morning I was conducting a search on Twitter on family history when top of the pile was a link to The Pittsburg Post Gazette.com about a project called 'StoryCorps', where since 2003 ordinary American people have had the opportunity to go into a booth and talk about their lives, sharing experiences. Read the article here and what struck me was the fact that the central purpose of the project is to encourage people to talk to their loved ones, and that yesterday was National Listening Day. Well, yesterday we, as a family, did just that, perhaps with the help of dad through his manipulation of electrical devices which he was so good with when he was alive.

Gwyn's Playlist for Oct 2009

2009-10-25T16:22:00.003Z

1. The Incident - Porcupine Tree
2. Neu! - Neu!
3. Destined Solitaire - Beardfish
4. Gazeuse - Gong
5. Enigmatic Ocean - Jean-Luc Ponty
6. Stupid Dream - Porcupine Tree
7. Lark's Tongues in Aspic - King Crimson
8. 10,000 Days - Tool
9. Drama - Yes

New TransAtlantic album out next month

2009-09-29T22:14:00.003+01:00

This is a beautiful track performed live at Tilburg, Holland. TranAtlantic have a new album called 'The Whirlwind' coming out in October.

This song can be found on the 'Bridge Across Forever' album

Way Out of Here live

2009-09-28T19:52:00.002+01:00

Here is 'Way Out of Here' from the forthcoming Porcupine Tree live DVD.

Porcupine Tree "Way Out Of Here" Live in Tilburg

Gwyn's Playlist for Sept 2009

2009-09-27T10:33:00.005+01:00

Here is a selection of what I'm listening to this month. It's been a very good month for rock music with the new Porcupine Tree album coming out and doing so well to come in at No.23 in the charts here in the UK. I think I have underestimated the support that Muse enjoy, and was really surprised that they went straight to No.1 with The Resistence. Times they are a'changin I suppose and about time.

Milliontown – Frost*
The Resistance – Muse
The Incident – Porcupine Tree
Animals – Pink Floyd
Whos’ the Boss in the Factory – Karmakanic
Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot
Drop – O5Ric with Gavin Harrison
The Dark Third – Pure Reason Revolution
Face The Music – ELO
Black Swan - Athlete

Steven Wilson interview with the BBC

2009-09-23T10:43:00.003+01:00

Maybe now they will be invited to appear on Jools Holland's show!

It's great that Porcupine Tree have been noticed by the BBC in this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8266922.stm

Also that 'The Incident' has entered the album charts in the UK at No.23. The current album is a refreshing change to the usual tosh that are selling by the 1000's these days, and is a real listening experience. Personally I'm planning to go and see them live at Manchester in December with my son Simon; first time since April 2005.

RIP Brian, my friend

2009-09-19T21:30:00.004+01:00

Becoming a volunteer for MIND Cymru a year and a half ago was one of the best things to have happened to me. It cannot, of course top becoming a dad and marrying Tracy, but with all the things that have happened to us as a family these last 4 years, going there every Monday and Wednesday gave me a different perspective of life. I thought I was having a shitty time, it was nothing compared to the souls who were turning up there every day. To be able to be there for those who asked me for help has been the most rewarding thing ever. As with all volunteers I have favourites, people who regard me as friend as well as helper, and with whom I enjoy their company. Some of the people I have met at MIND Cymru have turned out to be some of the most honest and reliable friends I have made. One of them was Brian Williams who I learned today had died last month. I first knew Brian as a fellow trainee volunteer and we spent every Monday morning learning the in and outs of being a volunteer at MIND Cymru for about 6 weeks. He struck me as an intelligent, articulate and resourceful fellow who I quickly respected especially considering that he had suffered a serious mental health issue for many years. He had been running the Walking group at MIND for a long time and had even been invited, earlier this year to present his achievements to the MIND annual conference in Birmingham, and was praised for developing his media projects by many of the MIND ‘bigwigs’ there. The last time I saw him we were discussing plans of working together in forming a photography group (another passion of Brian’s) to show other MIND Cymru members how they could improve their digital photos by using computer software. He had a progressive mind and was always coming up with great ideas on how to generate the members’ interests in order to improve their quality of life. He was a firm believer in that. Taking up hobbies is probably what helped him and he wanted others to follow that path for betterment. In fact he was signed up to do a Digital Photography course with Llandrillo College this month, which I was keen to do but decided not to pursue because of other commitments. It’s been a while since I last saw him because back in July he had not turned up to the drop-in centre in Llandudno for some time and I thought then that this was strange. A while before this time Brian had confided in me privately that he had been having a bad time, but he soon picked himself up. Anyway, I decided to take a couple of weeks off thinking I was going down to Ipswich with the family to see Tracy’s folks when my dad took ill and went to hospital and subsequently passed away a week later. So I haven’t set foot in MIND since the second week in August, and it was a considerable shock to me to hear the sad news from Ray this morning. He will be sadly and massively missed at MIND and I will miss the chats and the hope that he emanated from our discussions.

A 'Larry David moment'

2009-09-09T16:37:00.001+01:00

Since rewatching the Larry David show 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' recently I have come across many instances commonly known as 'Larry David moments', when a ordinary normal situation eventually turns out to be one giant headache to sort out. However, there are other times, again there are many examples in the show, when Larry can't quite get why certain people act in the way that they do. Next time you go out to town, do the shopping, or take a run in the car, you are bound to meet some of these morons, who tend to do things that really annoy you.
Such a moment happened to my eldest son, Simon, this morning. Simon recently turned 18 and is quite a big built lad, and has no trouble passing himself for 20 actually. He popped out to get a Playstation magazine at our local Co-op here in Rhos-on-sea, but came back empty handed because a checkout assistant insisted on seeing proof of identity! This particular magazine is a popular one with kids obviously being a game console mag and I would imagine that kids of the age range between 10-18 would want to buy it. He could not believe that this woman had refused to sell him the magazine, so I said, come on let's go back. I want to see this! Simon picked his mag and went to the counter and was duly asked for his ID again. I was loitering trying to pretend I was not with Simon, but chipped in, "You do know that magazine is rated 15 don't you?" She replied that she has to ask because it's more than her job's worth. I said, " Yea, but you can see he's over 15, can't you?" It's policy, she said. So, you have to ask all the kids for ID before they can buy magazines now?, I said. Yes was the reply. So there you have it, if a magazine is a 12 rating, then all the 10 - 13 year olds have to show proof of age now. How many kids of that age carry ID cards? Not many. I have no problem if there is reasonable doubt in regards to someone who looks borderline, but if she thinks Simon wasn't even 15 years old today, she needs her eyes tested!

Time Flies

2009-08-09T09:41:00.002+01:00

Steven Wilson talks about the song 'Time Flies' on the Roadrunner site.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/page/News?news_id=80332

Preview music for the forthcoming new Porcupine Tree album

2009-08-09T08:38:00.003+01:00

Porcupine Tree have released various clips of music from 'The Incident' which will be released on 14 September.

http://www.myspace.com/porcupinetree

Sounds like another diverse sobic mix of brilliant music.
As always.

Music from The Engineers

2009-08-07T22:25:00.000+01:00

Engineers - Three Fact Fader (album preview) from Kscope on Vimeo.

Clip from forthcoming DVD of No-Man

2009-08-07T22:05:00.001+01:00

No-Man - Wherever There Is Light (from Mixtaped DVD) from Kscope on Vimeo.

Remembering Sir Bobby

2009-08-01T22:55:00.002+01:00

Sad to hear about Bobby Robson's death. I have a couple of memories of him because I was living in the Ipswich area from 1988 to 1990. I remember going to a Ipswich versus Man. Utd game at Portman Road in the FA cup (don't remember the round could be the third) and it was televised. I was in the crowd and I remember turning to my left where the television box was and he was sitting there (he was a guest of the BBC for the match) and thinking 'bloody hell, that Bobby Robson up there!' The rest of the crowd spotted him and they all raised their arms to salute him and he raised his arm in acknowledgment and smiled. We all cheered.
Not long after I was getting off a bus from Washbrook to Ipswich train station on my way to work at Chelmsford, when I saw Bobby crossing the road, going for the train station as well. I think England had just embarassingly drawn with Saudia Arabia and he was, as usual, being slagged off in the press at the time. As I got on the platform it was packed with waiting commuters for the London train, as it always was. Bobby was standing right at the far end, where the first class coaches would stop at, and he seemed in another world, in fact he looked like he had all the worries of the world on his shoulders. I remember thinking, this is the England manager here, catching the same train as me (and a few others of course!).
Another celebrity I saw during my Portsmouth days was the infamous David Icke, who was then a respectble BBC Sports presenter but not long after lost his way with the Purple shellsuit cult. He was very uptight, sitting in front of me as I got on the Portsmouth-London train and hardly made eye contact with any of his fellow passengers. He was wearing a long camel haired coat, like Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses... I wonder what he's doing now...

1911 census

2009-06-09T21:56:00.005+01:00

At last the 1911 census that covers the Welsh counties has arrived online which will help all Welsh family historians. It has been a long time coming, with the English counties appearing quite a few months ago. There was always this troublesome gap in family history research between 1901 and 1911, a black hole where it was difficult to prove whose children belonged to who, and the only way to find out was to buy copies of birth certificates. The cost mounts up!
I was fairly successful earlier on in finding my relatives, but because of the nature of the interface on the site it is very easy to choose the wrong name and waste credits. 10 credits will get you a copy of the transcript of the household of your relative, and 30 for the image download. To be honest the 10 credit information is good enough for me, it gives me enough to go on. I must have wasted about 40 thinking they were my relatives. Its already yeilded useful information for me.
Over the last few weeks I have signed up for Twitter. Not sure how useful it is to be on it, but I have had a good old search tonight for anything that covers my interests. One good thing about it is that it is a good source for info on absolutely anything you can think of, and I've found some interesting photography blogs (which I have provided links to on the left)if anyone is interested.

Boris

2009-05-25T14:41:00.003+01:00

Viewing a recent Steven Wilson interview I decided to check out a band he mentioned that he was a big fan of called Sunn O)) on You Tube. While I like my rock music diverse and different, droning loud guitars which seem to last for ever will take a while to catch on with me. However, Sunn O)))collaborated once with the Japanese drone rock band BORIS and so watched a few clips and you know what I like them. Do not get confused with another band called Boris, apparantly from the US who do not sound anything like their Japanese namesakes. The lead guitarist Watta is one of the best lady guitarists I've seen. In their early albums their trademark was definately drone, but lately their sound is more contemporary and worth listening to.

The year so far

2009-05-21T07:17:00.003+01:00

Well 2009 is already half way over and I've been a bit lazy in regards to writing in this blog. My main excuse is the work involved with my Psychology course which is on its last leg now (thank God!), but I am enjoying this one much, much more than last year's which was a pig of a one to do. The module is Social Psychology and it is very interesting. In fact I am in the middle of conducting research for a project which will include studying people's identity in relation to their environment. I can't say too much about it because of confidentiality restrictions, but I am looking forward to participate in it.
The year so far has been a mixture of study and family tree work. I have completed the counselling course, but I am taking on another module at the college which finish at the end of next month. With the degree course finishing this year I should be study free for the first time in 3 years, and will be taking on other projects hopefully. But no studying! Not for a while anyway.
My main interest this year on the family tree is one of my great great grandmother, whose surname I recently found out. Her name was Jane Salt, as confirmed by her marriage certificate and my great grandfather's birth certificate. She has been a bit of a mystery for quite some time,and the only information that I knew about her was that she married William Williams of Croesor in 1869, her children, which included twins with the names of James and George, and that she was buried at Llanfrothen churchyard in 1927. The mystery deepend when her marriage certificate did not reveal her father's name. A bit of back story for you. Around the 1850's, 2 brothers named George and Joseph Salt came to live in the Bangor/Bethesda area together with other members of family with the name Twigge. With Jane naming her boys George and James (James was George and Joseph's father's name) I was sure I was on the right track, with probably George being her father. Well I can't be sure, but a recent telephone conversation I had with a relative seems to indicate that George was her father but had her with a woman named Margaret Jones before he married his wife Ellen. This seems to make sense because Jane apparant birth was before his marriage, and that George and Ellen's daughter Sarah was a witness at Jane and William's marriage.
Another avenue for information may be a resident in a Criccieth home who clams up whenever anyone asks about Jane. Could there be a dark secret in my family history? I hope so!

Another rant!

2009-02-28T12:00:00.006Z

Yes it must be that time of the year again! Something irked me this morning that made me write a stinging letter to that old 'reliable' institution of ours, namely British Gas. To cut a long story short we recently found out that British Gas has been taking money from our bank account for someone else's homecare bolier service plan - since October last year. Now you would think that they would be concerned that they have done this, but apparantly not. Since they agreed to refund us they have told me that it will take a further 21 days for them to send me a cheque, which will then add another week for us to wait until we get back what was ours in the first place. Anyway I think it's outrageous, and the next time I get a call interupting my tea from British Gas wanting me to sign up with them, I will not be responsible for my actions! This is the letter.

RE: Refund

Dear Sir,

I feel that I need to write this letter to you because British Gas has taken money from my bank account without my permission. 2 weeks ago I discovered that I was paying someone else’s Homecare Plan since October last year. No explanation as to how this occurred has ever been given to me, but it sounds like you have at least one sloppy employee! Actually it makes you think why the people I was paying for their boiler to be serviced all this time didn’t spot that they were getting it for free. Boy, are they going to get mad when they have to be told that they owe you money! Anyway, I think it’s outrageous that I have to wait 21 days for what is rightly mine and then it will be in the form of a cheque, which will probably take another week to clear. A month to get my own money back, and by the way money that I cannot do without. I wish I could be generous and be able to afford to help someone else out, but unfortunately I had to give up my work in order to care for a relative, and find myself having to live on Income Support. So, I herby give you notice that if I go over my overdraft during the period I am waiting for my money, I will be sending you the bill. It’s only fair.

I also must tell you that the ‘advisor’ I spoke to today (Leslie with a Scottish accent) needs to brush up on her customer care skills. Her ‘sorry’ sounded like I was her enemy, not a customer. I have read comments by other people on the Uswitch web site declaring their disgust at the responses and lack of help they get from your telephone ‘advisors’. It seems they were not exaggerating. I pity the one who will inevitably phone me next trying to get me to switch back to British Gas for my supply! With what I have to say I’ll convince HIM to leave British Gas!

To conclude, if I was responsible for taking money that didn’t belong to me I would try and return it as fast as possible, and break my back to make sure it happened. As a customer I would expect that. However, this matter is being treated like it doesn’t matter to you. This money that you took from my account MATTERS to me. If I took 21 days plus to pay you, YOU would charge me!

I expect you to reply to this letter giving me a good reason why it takes 21 days to write a cheque to correct a mistake that British Gas was responsible for. What the hell is stopping someone higher up the corporate chain of command in getting the big fat chequebook that British Gas undoubtedly has (how many millions profit did you make recently?) and send me a measly £90 whatever, which should have stayed in my bank account anyway?

Yours sincerely,

G Hughes

I'm not holding my breath, but I recommend writing as a method of relieving stress!

Insurgentes review

2008-12-14T18:01:00.006Z

Steven Wilson’s first official solo album (I still like to refer musical pieces of work as ‘albums’ even though they are ancient history now that we are in the digital age) came out last month. A couple of trailers were released and widely available to watch on You Tube, which had diehard fans salivating for more (including me), ready to fork out whatever it cost to purchase the CD. Actually the price was too much even for me (a diehard fan remember) even as an indulgence, so I was resigned to wait until next February when the much reduced priced retail version comes out. However, it is at the moment available to pre-order and you can get a download version until the actual CD arrives. So I have succumbed to the temptation of the download I have it safely tucked away in my iPod.
Speaking of indulgence, Wilson has mentioned several times that he writes music for himself, and if the fans love it…great. If not…tough shit! It’s so refreshing to know that there are such artists out there, who don’t pander to the record executives and mass marketing pressures, and produce under the direction of whatever creative force that surrounds them. There is so much anyone can write about love and getting ‘your woman between the sheets’. It’s been done to death for the last 5 decades! Wilson writes about what he sees around him. A great example is the last Porcupine Tree album ‘Fear of a Blank Planet’ (2007). A concept album (heard of them before?) about the state of the disaffected youth of today, it is a social comment on how Wilson sees most of the youth of today behave and spend their existence. The songs deal with their preoccupation with computer games, iPods (yes even the fantastic iPods!), MTV and dependence on prescription drugs (and illegal ones I may add), which result in the aggressive and unpredictive behaviour that we read about and see on the news everyday. Pretty gloomy state of affairs really, but who can argue with him. On the day the album was released a student went on the rampage in an American University and killed many, just because nobody was paying attention to him! This subsequently resulted in the video for the opening track being withdrawn for a while because of the scenes depicting young kids wielding guns, but Wilson’s point was hammered home well and truly.

This album takes a few listens to really get into it (as do all albums really), but the opening track blew me away from the first listen. True the 1st trailer Wilson released did constitute pieces from this track, called Harmony Korine, so I had an advanced warning. It encapsulates what Wilson’s music is all about. His music always makes you wander what is round the corner, for example if he starts all mellow at the beginning, I can almost guarantee that it won’t end up mellow! A couple of minutes into this track he lets rip with trademark heavy guitar riffs, then goes back to mellow, but doesn’t forget the riff because it keep coming back. A fantastic opening track.

So, I’m thinking, if it carries on like this then I’m in for a treat, and continuous play on the old iPod. True to form, a completely different track for the second! It’s the one that is slowly growing on me, and sort of reminds me of No-Man, the band he collaborates with Tim Bowness. A haunting song, it almost ends with a heavy drone, which I think spoils the song. Overall my least liked track.

The third track, Salvaging, is back to rock territory, layers of guitars for a maximum power riff, and again you wonder where the track is going to take you. More guitars! A sort of a later Rush sort of song, and transforms to a lovely mellow and violiny direction towards the end. But that’s not the end. The final part builds into a crescendo of noise, rather like some of the tracks on his Bass Communion albums. Interesting track to listen to.

The next track starts like a re-working of the ‘The Sky Moves Sideways’ track, a 1995 album of Porcupine Tree, and the lyrics could come out of a ‘Blackfield’ album, another project of Wilson’s. This is a very well arranged track, plenty of instrumental overlays (as all of them are really). No rock parts, the track almost takes you away to a far flung island somewhere.

‘No Twilight Within the Courts of the Sun’ is the 5th track as the name suggests this is a progressive rock track, but progressive Steven Wilson style. Brilliant guitar work embedded with a killer background rock riff, a la Led Zeppelin, it takes you to No-Man territory, circa ‘Wild Opera’ for a while, then gentle harmony, which remind me of Mike Oldfield’s ‘Incantations’, with a little bit of piano that reminds me of ELP’s track ‘Trilogy’.

The sixth track ‘Significant Other’ is gorgeous and second favourite track. Brilliant opening, melodious and catchy echoy guitar, leading to a wonderous guitar riff which eventually gets heavier as the track progresses. In this track, Wilson proves that he can write brilliant catchy melodic songs, as he has done on numerous occasions with PT, Blackfield and No-Man. The track ends chaotically, imagine hurtling down to earth at great speed, and finally with a gentle xylophone. Honestly!

Only Child opens quite lazily and plods along like a Kings of Leon song. So what can Wilson do to pep it up? Not much I’m afraid. It also reminds me of later Genesis somehow, something that they did as a B side, but I can’t think of the track. It’s ok, nothing special. One of the few occasions that Wilson doesn’t follow his own template of changing music styles within a piece of music.

Twilight Coda is a lovely instrumental piece that could easily be a piece in a film soundtrack, a direction that Wilson will surely sample in the near future. In fact a lot of his music could easily find its way into film.

Some of the pieces from the next track ‘Get All That You Deserve’, was used for the second trailer and I wasn’t that enamoured with the music when I first heard it, but the track has to listened to fully to appreciate it. Again it starts off slow, painfully slow really, but builds up to a magnificently moody rock piece with Gavin Harrison’s heavy drumming complementing the chaotic and sometimes painfully sounding almost out of control guitar that ends the track. Definitely 21st century progressive rock.

The title track ends the album and it’s amazing how often Wilson will have a sad, slow and mellow track to end his albums. Refer to ‘Stop Swimming’ on the Stupid Dream album, and ‘Feel So Low’ on Lightbulb Sun. The piano at the beginning reminds me of Sarah McLachan’s ‘Possession’, a great track and one of my favourites.

Overall a very enjoyable journey into Wilson’s first foray into solo territory. I look forward to receiving the CD in a couple of months which also has an excerpt from a forthcoming documentary he made with long term collaborator Lasse Hoile which will be shown at various film festivals next summer.

It really IS the end of a nightmare!

2008-12-14T10:38:00.004Z

It seems that whenever I write for my blog the posts tend be on the negative side. I fear I’m a lot more cynical in my old age and seemingly ordinary things really fucking irritate me. I could post everyday about something that either upset me or I think ‘someone did something really stupid today’ sort of thing, but that would give people the wrong impression of me. Despite the world going to hell I am still a positive person who thinks there are a lot of good things going on, though I can’t actually think of anything at the moment! But such moments do come along and usually when least expected. A smile from a passing stranger will lift my heart and wipe away a recent disappointment or a negative thought in an instant, simple in its execution but powerfully meaningful and really makes me glad to be alive. Only the other week we had a bad overnight frost and our car needed de-icing. I had bought a couple of cans of the stuff from Halfords, and I had nearly finished on our car and I noticed that one of the residents in the block of flats nearby was struggling with a scraper to get rid of the ice on his car. I had no hesitation to go over there and give him a few squirts just to speed up the process for him. I had no idea who he was, it didn’t enter my head that he might be the worst person on earth, (a purely non-judgmental act that my counselling course tutor would be proud of me!) I think that’s the sort of thing people should do, and I think the guy was probably surprised at first, but I like to think that he thought that not everybody thinks only of themselves. Hopefully he will go away from the experience thinking the same.
Getting back to the original concept for this post, I got a letter yesterday from the Open University that I have passed the Biological Psychology course that I struggled with for most of the year (see previous post 'End of a Nightmare'). Not only did I pass but my average was above what I predicted it would be. I don’t know how and I don’t fucking care! I will never have to study the brain, and I won’t have to cross paths with that tutor anymore! I had been carrying the thought with me that I had failed this course and I would have to either resit one of the assignments or even do the course again. This would mean, of course, that I would have to wait another year before I gained my degree. Now that I have passed I can concentrate on my final course, Social Psychology, knowing that at the end of it I will have reached my goal of getting the degree that I started to study for way back in 1996! I did take 8 year break, just in case some of you think it takes this fucking long to complete a degree with the OU!
So, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel at last. The letter came when I wasn’t even expecting it to be my result. I thought it was something to do with my financial account concerning my next course. Another moment to lift my heart when I least expected it?

Apollo 11 video and the 70's

2008-11-28T07:40:00.004Z

For those who knew me in a previous life growing up in Blaenau Ffestiniog, my interests mainly covered history and sciency stuff (I'm really trying to avoid the term geek here!), and I think the reason for this unfortunate and sometimes forgotten time of my life is the whole NASA thing of astronauts going to the moon that was so awsome to these young eyes. For years I always thought that I actually witnessed the first moon landing in 1969, in front of my black and white telly I may add, but thinking about it I would have been only 6, so not really credible! I probably remember the later missions when going t the moon was old hat to most, but to me it was something that really fascinated me, the whole idea of going to the moon and back. My school books must have been covered with little drawings of spaceships and astronauts! I must add that I was into football and cricket in a big way so I had other interests. Looking back it was such an interesting place to grow up in, and of course interesting times. To me, the early 70's (of what I remember of it) was a totally different era to the late 70's, I mean in my mind I have 2 different feelings towards them. The last remnants of the 60's against the beginnings of the electronic emergence of the 80's. Being older in the late 70's also had something to do with it of course! I started drinking alcohol in 1979 (pint of lager 35p!) and smoking took a firm hold on me. Welcome to the adult world! So my childhood ended at this time. But I can remember the great landmark times of every family (getting a telephone in the house for the first time and when we got our first colour telly from Radio Rentals) in 1977. I'll never forget the first football match I saw on telly (in fact there were not many live matches in those days like today only highlights, and the pitch was so green. I used to like sliding the colour control up a bit just to see more colour! We weren't rich but overall me and my sister had a happy childhood. Bottom line is that it was a great time to grow up in and I remember back on it with great affection.
Anyway, I heard this track from Porcupine Tree (yes, them again!), and thought this subject would compliment the music. There's another track called 'Moonloop' which is even more suited to NASA video footage which can be seen on my website. The reason why I use a lot of the PT's music is that I feel that it really compliments the ideas I get for video projects. So I'm always kind of glad that I find other music for a project, which I have with the Dexter video and one I made using the music of Djam Karet

A Dexter video

2008-11-17T20:02:00.004Z

I have been busy lately watching this excellent series and have compiled some scenes from the first 2 episodes. Season 3 is crrently airing and Showtime have recently announced that they have comissioned a further 2 seasons. Devised from the novel 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter' by Jeff Lindsey, Dexter is the tale of a blood spatter officer working for the Miami PD and moonlights as a serial killer at night. He specifically kills only those who have killed but have avoided justice, this is the code that has been instilled in him since he was a boy by his foster father, a cop named Harry Morgan. Predictably there have been opponents to the series, notably the Parents Television Council, who tried to prevent the series being aired on a national broadcaster, quoting:

"We are formally asking CBS to cancel its plan to air the first season of Dexter on its television network. This show is not suitable for airing on broadcast television; it should remain on a premium subscription cable network. The biggest problem with the series is something that no amount of editing can get around: the series compels viewers to empathize with a serial killer, to root for him to prevail, to hope he doesn’t get discovered."

It does raise the point on whether Dexter is seen as a hero, which is emphazised in the second season which has Dexter, dubbed the Bay Harbour Butcher by the police, is seen as a force of good as it is revealed that he only disposes of the scum of society, and dubbed The Dark Defender by the public. In fact in reality there is an ongoing case in America where a copycat killing has been blamed on the TV series.

"Connections have been suggested between the TV show Dexter and an ongoing missing person investigation in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Mark Twitchell, has been charged with first degree murder in the disappearance of 38 year old John Altinger in what appears to be similar to Dexter's clandestine murders. Det. Mark Anstey of the Edmonton Police Service was quoted as saying "We have a lot of information to suggest he definitely idolizes Dexter." Three months prior to the murder of Altinger, Twitchell had posted on his Facebook status that he claimed to have a lot in common with Dexter Morgan."

Perhaps the PTC have a point.

A terrible tragedy

2008-10-24T22:12:00.001+01:00

On Monday night Ben lost one of his best friends from school. Reece Statham was killed with the rest of his family on the M6 motorway coming home from visiting his grandparents in Birmingham. It is such a terrible loss it has been headline news in the UK since. Four children and two adults lost due to the careless driving of a truck driver is the result of this tragedy. I hope the police throw the book on him. Understandably, Ben was distraught when the news was given to him on Wednesday, and he is still distraught as are many at the school. He has not been able to face going to school especially as poor Reece was in his form class as well as in many of his subject classes. Many will miss him as the tributes given and the flowers laid at his house in Llandudno show. Ben, together with a couple of friends and teachers, went to give flowers at Reece’s house this afternoon which was very brave of him, and it was good for him to confront the tragedy in his efforts to try and deal with his grief. Our thoughts are with his grandparents at this terrible time.

Tom's christening and that school!

2008-10-19T10:56:00.003+01:00

Last week-end we went down to Suffolk to attend little Tom’s christening. It was held at the parish church of Copdock where Tracy and I were married in 1990. It was a bit weird going there again, first time since a little after the wedding, and it seemed a lot smaller inside now than I remember it then for some reason. Am I still growing! Surely not. Tom is the son of Tracy’s niece, Emma and her husband Keith. We had a great time, it was nice to meet up with family again, and Tom was a star through the whole thing. He seems to like Ben, smiling and laughing away whenever Ben was around him. Tracy’s other niece Jessica was also there with her fiancé, Alan, recently having announced their engagement. It was good to see her happy again and moving on with her life.
It was no surprise to us that our usual thorn in the side, the boys’ school, threatened the enjoyment of this happy occasion. Nothing surprises us with that place, continually getting things wrong and seemingly trying to make life difficult for us. In the past they have reported an Education Social Worker on us because I phoned the head to inform her that Ben was having a hard time going to school. I won’t reveal the specifics but it was about a month into his first year and he was having a hard time coming to terms with the situation that had developed at home. So, thinking it was the right thing to do, I informed the head teacher and said I need help as I didn’t know how to get him over this. Without any sympathy to our plight she forcibly told me that if I didn’t get him to school the following day the school would prosecute us!! This is a head teacher dealing with a parent who actually believes in education and has children who are polite and well behaved! Needless to say we took him in and he was worse than ever, despite the head of year reassuring us during the day. Ben later told us that the method he took to check on Ben was to go to his class and ask Ben in front of the whole class if he was ok! IDIOT. Of course he would say that! He didn’t go in the following day (understandably) and was reported to the ESW by the ever so helpful Mr Parry. He really showed himself up by being the head lap dog with this little incident, and I saw him in the head’s office as we were driving from the school. So much for me getting “help” from them! Luckily there was a school nurse there who helped us pull Ben through or God knows how Ben would have turned out. She was marvellous, but I won’t go to any teacher or member of the management at the school ever again. There are loads of things the boys have told us in the last 3 years of incidents that have happened which they have witnessed themselves, that would make any parent of a child in that school shudder, but perhaps all schools are like this, which if true is disturbing to say the least.
The week leading up to the trip is a typical example of the incompetence displayed on a regular basis. After writing letters to the form teachers of the boys at the beginning of the week to inform them that they had been invited to the christening, they were told to fill in a holiday form. Now bearing in mind that they were only going to be away for 2 school days, we did fill in the form anyway. We noticed that it said on the form that it was meant to be used for annual family holidays only, but hey, they know what they are doing, right? Sent it in and waited for a response. Got a letter from an assistant head to say that we need not have filled in the form and that a letter to the form teachers would be sufficient, and a reminder that it was not advisable to take pupils out of school during term time. HELLO! IT WAS FOR A CHRISTENING IN SUFFOLK! TAKES HALF A DAY TO EVEN GET THERE! What goes through these people’s minds? Do they expect us to leave the kids at home or with other relatives, while Tracy and I go down without them? Wouldn’t our relatives be wondering where they were and be upset that they were not there? So, after receiving the letter I phoned the school to sort the mess out, and that we had already written letters to the form teachers. I got told that everything would be sorted and that the boys would be registered as away due to family commitments. Finally, we can rest easy that the school knew and had recorded the correct information. Really? Too good to be true, I’m afraid! We went down by car, got booked in the hotel, and went to visit Tracy’s parents. Tracy checked her mobile and what do you know, a message from the school made at 2.50 enquiring that they were worried that Ben had not turned up to school! Ten to three they phoned! He had been missing since quarter to nine! And why were they phoning anyway? We had told them about the christening, remember?
So, I phoned again on the Monday morning to straighten things out again. When we got back they gave us more grief, regarding Simon’s EMA payments. The agony just goes on…! So, visit the blog next time to read the next hilarious chapter! What a Carry On… as

The end of a nightmare

2008-10-01T20:51:00.002+01:00

Well, I finally did it! No, I didn’t strangle my next door neighbour, I finished my Brain Biology course with the Open University. Sent the offending last assignment yesterday and now awaiting the dreaded result. I sucked this year big time, couldn’t get anywhere near my usual standard. I think it was a combination of my head not being focused this year and the fact that I had a crappy tutor. I met him only the once, and that was enough for me. Only 2 of us turned up (same number as the one before that) and the first thing he told us was this war of words he was having with a student on another course he was tutoring. THEY LET HIM LOOSE ON 2 COURSES!I had a slight unpleasant exchange with him by e-mail when he refused to help me with re-sending an attached file I had lost. He kept going round the houses telling me to join a forum where all the files would be found, which I couldn’t get right at the time, and all I wanted was the file re-sent! So I went to the tutorial to see who this dick was, and found him to be prejudiced, to his own Liverpudlian roots (hated the people who are still in Liverpool) and ready to argue the toss with students. I told him I was experiencing health problems due to stress and this sort of thing does not help, especially as the piece of work was important as it contributed to all our 2nd assignment (an experiment). He told me ‘let me worry about things’! Great advice, pal, great advice! I haven’t heard from him since I got my 3rd assignment back in early August. I missed my 4th (I forgot!) and have just completed the End of Course Assignment. He obviously is not worried about me! For all he knows I may have left the course or even be dead! Anyway I hope I have passed this one as I sure don’t want to do it again, or have him as my tutor. Rebecca Pleasant (Child Psychology), now there was a good, caring tutor. Apparently, my next tutor is an ex-con with a quick temper so that should be interesting! Social Psychology is more up my street. Brain biology is interesting, don’t get me wrong, and I did learn a lot even though I found the assignments hard. And I did read all the course books, despite what my tutor says on my work. I made more notes on this course than on any, so there! So, my Social Psychology course starts in February next year, and I will have been on my counselling course at Llandrillo about 5 months. Yes, old glutton for punishment here has already undertaken another course! This is the follow up to the counselling course I took earlier in the year, but I am looking forward to it. Last week was the first and it served as an introduction for everybody. Seems like a nice crowd (again), and I could not help but think of the nice bunch I was with on the earlier course, and the fact that not any of them managed to get on this one. So, its time to forge new friendships again, and I’m sure it will be fun while it lasts.
I keep telling myself, there is a purpose for all this hard work, isn’t there!
I bet you’re wondering why I want to strangle my next door neighbour! And there’s three of them, so … which one?

Goo Goo Dolls

2008-07-16T22:02:00.004+01:00

Here is a band I have enjoyed listening to ever since I borrowed a CD of their album 'Dizzy Up The Girl' from my friend Dewi, from Bangor. Not that well known here in Britain but huge in the States. Click on the You Tube clips above for more

Simon's first goal

2008-07-16T21:48:00.005+01:00

We have been taking Simon to football training for the last 3 weeks now, a village by the name of Betws yn Rhos by Old Colwyn, and after a couple of weeks of settling in and getting to know the other lads, he scored his first goal tonight. I know it's only training sessions, but it will do the world of difference to his confidence. A few more sessions and I'm sure he will become an asset to the team. He is not short on determination and I'm sure he will give it his nest shot.

These trips to Betws yn Rhos are quite good as there is an excellent pub there so Tracy and I can have a whole hour and a half there!

It's her birthday tomorrow so we might go back there for a meal.

Psychology course

2008-07-06T17:07:00.003+01:00

This module of my Psychology degree with The Open University I have to say is the toughest of all the ones I have attempted. I have just finished the 3rd (out of 4) assignment and I am finding it a struggle, and it is only a half course! I had to answer some question on the visual pathways to the brain and how and why neurons do what they do. Then I had to submit an outine for an experiment that will be part of the 4th assignment, to do with possible effects of caffeine on memory. I had a bit of a panic moment this afternoon as my lovely new laptop (this one) decided to behave strangely on me and I lost the last part of my work. I managed to recove what I had lost and finally its finished. Anyway it's been sent to the University and I don't really care at the moment what mark I get! I probably will next week I'm sure.

I'm trying to make out why I'm struggling this year with my studies. Last year was also ok with the assignments, I was quite comfortable with the work but really struggled with the exam and I was expecting a resit to be honest. But passed I did (maybe someone was looking over me). I need such guidance for this year's module, I feel. I am really glad that there is no exam for this year's course, as I would not be very confident of passing. Biological Psychology is fascinating, don't get me wrong, but the course is so full of scientific expressions and terms I feel lost in a sea of cellular lexicon. It's almost like reading a technical manual, geared towards medical students rather than an historian like me! The irony is that if I had not taken such a big break in my studies (1998-2007) I would have completed the degree ages ago, and I would not have had to take this module (it was introduced as a compulsory component of the Bsc Psychology course last year! My last course next year will be on Social Psychology, a full course, 6 assignments, easy!!

George Benson in concert

2008-06-29T21:22:00.006+01:00

Going in I still thought the gods would conspire to stop us from going in. The tickets were ok after being scanned by a steward, and we made our way to our seats. Unfortunately there was
no support act and Gerge was obviously thinking of a cup of cocoa and an early night as he was going to play from 7:50 and finish at 9:30. So an hour and a half of concert time. A bit disappointing considering the day we had. Still, we weredetermined to enjoy it. It turned out that he would not start till 8, in fact he came on at 8:15. And almost from the start people got on their feet to clap and dnce. Tracy was no exception, and it was great to see her enjoying herself. Even Simon got on hs feet, and Ben was swinging clearly having got over his malady of the previous days. What was so remarkable was the absolute freedom to take photos and videos. I thought that this was a no-no and was only expecting to take photos of the family before and after the concert. In fact I could have videoed away for the whole show, but guilt kept telling me to stop now and then. The evening went so quick and the backing band were so good. Lots of class in the line up, having been involved with the likes of Barbara Streisand, Earl Klugh, Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder amongst others. There was a wonderful encore with George playing On Broadway, one of my favourites. I had hoped that he would play 'Breezin'' and Tracy her favourite song song 'This Masquerade'. Otherwise it was a great experience and even more so after the day of drama we had endured. To top the concert experience off George Benson came over to our side of the stage and people rushed forward to shake his hands. To her credit and realising that it was a chance of a lifetime, Tracy surged forward to join them and actually managed to shake his hand and congratulate him.
When we got back, Tracy and I managed to get out for half an hour for a drink at the Old Orleans, next door to the hotel. This would be the place where we would be having breakfast the following morning. This is a tale of perserverence, and the way we as a family adapting to a situation we had not experienced before. Breaking down on the road has NEVER happened to us and in fact we never even thought it would happen to us, so reliable was our car. Thank God we were covered by the RAC, and had a brilliant mechanic, without whom we would have missed that concert and would now be miserably sitting here full of regrets and cursing our luck. Thank God also that we had sufficient cover for our car to be towed back to our house, and Paul the RAC man even phoned me to say that he had done that, easing our minds about our Clio. Reaching that concert not only gave us a wonderful experience of seeing a true giant in the world of popular music, but also gave this family that we can overcome anything that life hurls at us. It would have been too easy to just give up on that road at 1 pm on that Saturday afternoon. But we didn't, and we have learned that there is always a way to overcome misfortune.

What a week!

2008-06-29T19:44:00.005+01:00

I often get asked by people 'what are you doing next week, Gwyn?' or 'do you fancy going out sometime?' Now, I am glad that I get asked these kind of questions, but inour current circumstnces I find it impossible to plan ahead. Now take this past week, for instance. To go to a concert held in Birmingham there has to be planning involved, book hotel, get tickets etc. So we decided almost 2 weeks ago that we would bid for 4 tickets to see George Benson at the National Indoor Arena for the 28th (last night). Got the tickets at face value by contacting the seller on E-bay, received them in good time and I booked a room for us at a hotel quite near the venue (3 minutes by taxi). Baring in mind these are 2nd row tickets and that we have never been this close to a stage seeing a world class performer before.

Last Monday started ok, kids went to school as normal, then Tuesday Ben has tonsilitis. Now, he has a history of sore throats but in the last 2 years they have left him alone. By Wednesday he is in a bad way, raging throat, unable to swallow liquids very well, and very lethargic, lying on the sofa all day watching cartoons all day. I can recommend Sponge Bob and the old Tom and Jerry cartoons by the way! We are now beginning to think that this is a threat to our brief visit to Birmingham. By Thursday it's time for drastic measures and go to the doctor. By now we think we will have to miss the concert as no way Ben can get better in time. We get anti-biotics for him which we play the placebo game and stress toBen that this is 'magic stuff' which will get him better fast. It's a sickly pink liquid, tastes of orange and indeed is magic stuff. We see an improvement certainly by tea-time and by the following morning he is regaining his own self again. By Friday the concert is on again and Ben is almost good as new. Remarkable really considering what he was like only 2 days earlier.

We had planned to start for Birmingham about 11:30 - 12:00 which would give us plenty of time to get there, prepare for any bad traffic, and settle in to our room and get ready for the concert. I said before about planning things ahead for us is virtually giving the kiss of death to any ideas of things to do and place to go. Well our little car which has been impecable since the day we got it, died on us just on the turning off the A55 to Glan Clwyd Hospital. Opposite us is the sign for Bodelwyddan Castle, so those who know the area will know exactly where I mean. The RAC came out in really good time and gave us the dreaded verdict - the car was unrepairable and the trip looked doomed. We had accepted it, reluctantly, that we were not destined see George Benson. Tracy was crying, though she wastrying to contain the tears, and the boys were still in a bit of shock from the incident that had just happened. The car had made a brief noise and immediately lost power. Tacy did well to steer the car to the hard shoulder, and we were lucky that there was no car behind us as its driver would not see any brale lights coming on to indicate deacceleration. The problem? The cam belt had snapped and the Clio would have to go to a garage. We told Paul the RAC man where we were going and how disappointed we are for not only not going to see George Benson, but we stood to lose the money I had paid for the tickets and for the hotel. I had tried to phone the hotel but could not get through. I tried all afternoon, by the way, and still couldn't get through. The reason for this would become clear later on. This is when Paul suggested we try and hire a rented car to still make the concert. He even phoned some companies up for us, but all seemingly had closed at noon. The jinx seem to be holding its grip on our fortunes, trying its best to prevent us from going ahead with our plans. We were by now discussing the best way to get the car to Gwyn's garage opposite our house. By this time Ben was getting upset, always been a sensitive lad, probably realising that with all his efforts for getting better, we were still not be able to go. Paul then suggested that he knew someone else who could help us with getting a hired car and he was located in Rhos-on-sea. After discussing this with Tracy who was suffering from shock herself from the incident, and was unsure about going on, we went back with Paul anyway and left the boys in the stricken car in a safe road off the A55. We figured we had to get a car anyway as the boys needed to go to school on Monday. After much forking out for deposit and hire of a rented car we set out to get the boys. Tracy, understandably, was nervous about taking a car she had not got used to, to a destination she had never been, and a city to boot. So, by this time, and it was ticking away, we still weren't sure if we were going, but I kept encouraging her and told her that this was HER car, and that she was well capable to do this. Bythe time we got to the boys, she felt more comfortable about going and actually found that it was an easy car to get used to. We transferred our bags and other things to our rented Corsa and decided to at least ty and make it to Birmingham. By this time it it was 3:15 and doubts were raised if we could still make it. The car was more powerful and I had confidence in Tracy and I said it would not matter if we were late, we would still be able to go to the concert. We arrived at 6, despite our sat nav losing signal as we were entering a very busy area near the hotel, which was located off Broad Street in the Ladywood district of Birmingham. We got there, that's the main thing, and I can't praise Tracy enough for her bravery and sheer guts to get us there. We checked in and thankfully everything was ok, including the fear that the sat nav had led u to the wrong Premier Inn (there are 3 all very near to each other). The reason why I couldn't get through on the phone? The receptionist appeared to be speaking to a friend when we arrived so I asume that's why I could not get through.

We had 45 minutes to get ourselves ready and book a taxi which wasn't bad going. We booked a taxi and 3 minutes later we were going up the steps of the National Indoor Arena...

New Flickr account

2008-05-25T09:25:00.002+01:00

My photos, past and present, can be seen on my page on Flickr. My user name is, Gwyn Hughes, so just I should be easy to find! Hope you like them. Here is the direct link if you want to go there now.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26888284@N07/?saved=1

Aberconwy MIND

2008-05-22T16:12:00.003+01:00

As some people probably know I completed my basic counselling course at Llandrillo College about a couple of months now. I think I'll be getting an interview for the intermediate course next month, though I haven't got the official ok. To help me get on this course, where every applicant is highly scrutinised and it's really tough to get on it, I have been a volunteer for Aberconwy MIND for the last 4 or 5 weeks. I only do a couple of hours on Monday and Wednesday mornings and I help out by talking to the members, and listening to what they have to say. It is surprising how effective giving attention and conversing can be to a person. I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will continue to help out as much as I can. The drop in centre has an open door policy (anyone can walk in no questions asked) and is located above the Alice in Wonderland museum on Trinity Square.

Updated video for Janet's web site

2008-05-22T14:47:00.005+01:00

Here at last, after a lot of deep thinking and image manipulations, is the definitive video intro to Janet's web site on her family history...I think! No, seriously this is it, it won't get changed again. I wasn't that happy with the previous version, so a rethink was needed. I am pleased with my effort and of course I'm hoping Janet and her family are too. I'd heard from her that her dad had seen the previous version and was pleased with it. This new version is more representative of the family occupations, being the maritime and the coal industries, and the video is more consistently spread out throughout. I've tried to co-ordinate the music to particular scenes on the video. For instance when the sailors fall into the sea, the perccusion (the cymbols more accurately) chime in just at the right moment. I particulary love the moment when the miner smiles to the camera the tinkling of the cymbols can be heard. I look forward to trying my hand at other projects such as these, and I would be glad to make more for anybody who is interested. Just get in touch with me through this blog.

Leeds gets through to Play off final!

2008-05-15T22:28:00.003+01:00

Leeds pulled off one of their best performances of the season to pull back a 2-1 deficit from the Elland Road leg to win tonight with a score of 2-0. Jonny Howson was the hero who grabbed a goal in both halves, the second coming in the 91st minute. Now they are off to Wembley to play either Doncaster or Southend a week on Sunday. Expect a massive Leeds crowd in London that day.

A new home

2008-05-12T09:43:00.003+01:00

After 44 years and a lot of memories my parents in law, Stan and Joy, have moved home. They are now residents of Capel St Mary and it looks like they will settle in well to their new community. We all wish them well in their new home and hope to go down and visit very soon.

New video for a web site

2008-05-11T18:01:00.004+01:00

Here is a new video for a web site I am developing for a lady from Portsmouth. It will be the opening page to her family history website, pending her approval of course. It's a mixture of video and photos sent to me from Janet.

Band of the Week - Billy Cobham

2008-04-08T14:18:00.004+01:00

Not strictly a "band" as such but I thought this guy deserves to go on my blog. One of my favourite drummers, Cobham's jazzy style of playing is easy on the ears, but he is renowned for his big fills and can rock with the best of them.

Check out his site at http://www.billycobham.com/ and the links to You Tube above.

Podcasts

2008-04-08T12:43:00.004+01:00

Over the last few weeks I have been checking out the astronomical array of different podcasts that are available as downloads on the net. Having recently bought an iPod with a pretty decent memory, I thought it would be great for keeping in touch with my many interests, as things change over time. So I've subscribed to quite a few including the one in the photo on the right. I've loved history since I was a kid in primary school and Dan's podcast is delivered just like history should be. Well researched, enthusiastically delivered, and asks the the question which ultimately fascinates me - the what if? I can really recommend this podcast not just for history lovers but also those who enjoy good storytelling. Dan site is at http://www.dancarlin.com/ and you can subscribe to his podcasts by installing iTunes on your computer and subscribing from there.

The BBC have good podcasts and I enjoy the Radio 5 Live movie reviews with Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo. I also listen to the highlights of the week from Radio Cymru, important if I want to find out what's happening in Wales. BBC podcasts can be found here.

I try to find out what's happening in the States and This American Life podcast is excellent, full of topical and intriguing stories thatare bound to keep anyone listening.

For music, I download The Rogue's Gallery, the best progressive rock show on the net. It's a long show, sometimes as long as 4 hours, but there are often some gems played and bands that you will never hear on commercial media but are a 1000 times better in quality and talent.

If I find any more interesting podcasts I'll post them on here. If anyone knows of any please let me know.

New band of the week

2008-03-15T20:28:00.002Z

New band of the week (or is it the month!) which features The Flower Kings, a progressive band from Sweden. Their influences definately hark back to the days of Genesis and Yes, and are currently the best exponents of the traditional prog rock style of the 1970's.

Check them out here.

www.thedoorway.be/.../The%20Flowerkings.htm

Wales win Grand Slam

2008-03-15T19:51:00.002Z

A fantastic achievement by the current Wales rugby team!

Grand Slam winners of the 6 Nations Championship of 2007. Click here to see highlights of the match.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/7298904.stm

Great Auntie Olwen

2008-03-06T12:17:00.004Z

Last Saturday afternoon I poped in to see my grandfather's sister, Olwen, who lives not far from where my parents live, in Craig-y-don. She is now 86 years old and I am glad to report that she is in relatively good health. As I had not seen her in quite some time we had a nice chat and a cup of tea and cake. We also got round to talking about the family and she was quite interested in my recent findings, especially those from across the water. She was particularly interested in what I had found about Morris Owen Evans, who was an uncle to her mother, Grace Ellen Evans. In fact she wants me to get copies of various documents. It's hard to believe but her father was born as long ago as 1870! Her grandfather Evan in 1841! So obviously she will know quite a bit about family history. She went to California in 1972 and met with family over there, including her auntie Mabel's brother, Milton who drove her to various places for visits. One of the visits, she recalls, is to a cousin she had not met before, Maggie. This would be her auntie Margaret's daughter who had emigrated to Kentucky in 1913, then moved to Akron, Ohio in around 1920. I have not yet tracked down this particular family and Olwen does not know anything more. So, next task on the family history trail...

Happy Birthday, Dad

2008-02-22T17:15:00.003Z

Today is my dad's 76th birthday. It's hard to believe but he has been a paraplegic since 1980, so long time in a wheelchair.

He's been through a lot over the years. If being disabled was not enough, he is in constant pain due to nerve damage to his spinal column, he's on gadzillion tablets, has diabetes, one kidney and prostrate cancer. But despite all this he is always cracking jokes and has a smile on his face.

Penblwydd Hapus Dad!

Wales win at Twickers!

2008-02-02T18:40:00.000Z

Well, it has to be recorded.

England 19 - Wales 26

A magnificent second half performance by Warren Gatland's boys stunned the Twickenham crowd. They completely turned the game from 19 - 6 down to win. Click here to read all about it.

Courses

2008-02-01T11:00:00.000Z

Well, it's study time again with the next instalment of my Psychology degree course. Miraclously I passed my exam last October, so glad I don't have a resit to think about. This year I have chosen to do a half course (a recent addition to the degree programme and mandatory), Exploring the Brain.
I have also started my Basic Counselling Skills course at Llandrillo, every Wednesday evening. Hopefully the combination of both will steer me towards a career in counselling.

Heroes

2008-01-31T22:11:00.000Z

Spending my birthday money can be an excersise of tricky decision making. I assess everything in order to get the best value for money and consequently I get most of my stuff from the internet.

It's funny that a simple trip to ASDA for bread can end up with me parting with precious money on little treats for myself. This massively wealthy supermarket had the TV series HEROES for a mere £37.97. My brain kicked in with other price comparisons (including the internet) and it was the cheapest out there at the moment. Let me say that this series does not dissapoint. Simon and I were looking forward to seeing it as it had loads of plaudits, and we are Sci Fi fans. Tracy turns her nose up on things Sci-Fi (I keep telling her it's only drama set in the future, but she doesn't buy it), but even she was hooked by the end of the second episode. In fact we watched it as a family and loved it. Good news that there is a second season, though it has been held up by the long-running writer's strike over in America.

Money well spent!

Biffy Clyro

2008-01-20T13:04:00.000Z

A new band of the week!
Scottish band Biffy Clyro remind me of Green Day, Snow Patrol and a touch of the great Goo Goo Dolls. Their latest CD 'Puzzle' is really good and it has one of the most unusual opening tracks I've heard since 'Even Less' on 'Stupid Dream' by Porcupine Tree. It really caught my attention and I'll try and put a video of the song later.

My Birthday

2008-01-13T10:39:00.000Z

Yes, I am 45 today. The weather is miserable but we are going out for lunch.
These are other people who share my birthday:

Stephen Hendry (Snooker player)
Orlando Bloom (actor)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine in 'Seinfeld')
Robert Stack (actor)
Hedd Wynn (Welsh poet and ancestor)

When I was growing up in Blaenau Ffestiniog, it almost always snowed on my birthday so the school would be closed and I would have a day off! The snow was regular as clockwork back then. Nothing but rain since then!
I'd like to say thanks to my family and friends for thinking of me on this day. Thanks Rich and June for the surprise visit yesterday, you're always welcome anytime, and hope to see you down in Blaenau soon.

New updates on my web site

2007-12-27T16:46:00.000Z

After long last I have sorted my computer problems and got my site up and running again. I have recently added a couple of updates on the family history page and hopefully will keep adding from now on.
Hope everyone had a good Christmas. I have recently changed my ISP from Tiscali to BT and we are now gone wireless. The BT hub works brilliantly and it was quite easy to set up. I would recommend them if you are going down that road.

2007-12-02T21:04:00.000Z

I became a big fan of Genesis in 1980 when their album 'Duke' came out. Phil Collins' career took off after this and he became a big icon of the 80's. Of course, 'In The Air Tonight' was a big favourite of mine and many of my friends at the time. It's nice to hear the song again in the Cadbury's advert, but this clip is regarded as his best performance of the song live. Would you believe it, the Cadbury advert has just come on the TV right now!
Enjoy

Raising Sand

2007-12-02T20:34:00.000Z

I must praise the new album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand. It's the second best album of the year for me (Blackfield being my favourite) and perfect for relaxing to in the evening. I often listen to it when I want to unwind. Here is a video I found on You Tube of the song 'Stick With Me Baby'.

2007-12-02T16:47:00.000Z

You know, there are times that I get great ideas for blog posts, usually when I am nowhere near a computer! Today, I wake up at 6 and had this one. So here I am sitting up in bed having rushed down to get my Toshiba laptop in case I forgot what I had in mind to write!
I was listening to Radio 5 Live the other night and they interviewed the comedian Jim Davidson. I met him a few years ago when he stayed at the Empire Hotel when I was employed as the Bars Manager there. He was doing a pantomine at the theatre in Llandudno, and I remember him sitting in the lounge with a tall blonde by his side, possibly Penny Lancaster, who I believe was in the panto with him. He was there a week, so one night I was behind the bar when he came up for a drink. He was wearing an 80's type kakhi parker jacket and ordered a soft drink. The hotel had been quiet that week, and on this night there seemed to be more people about (possibly the weekend influx of residents). As I was serving him he said to me ' who are all these people staying at my hotel?' I don't remember what I replied, probably just laughed at his comment unable to come up with a witty retort. I probably should have said 'Haven't you heard, Jim, there's a Jim Davidson convention in town, they're all here to see you!' Or 'the blokes are all the husbands of the women you've shagged in the last few years, and they've come to meet you!'

Another very famous face to grace the Empire was Tom Jones. Llandudno was on his way to his destination and the Empire Hotel just happened to be classy enough for him to stay. He stayed one night which included dinner, then brandy and cigars in the elegant furnished lounge. Guess who had to serve him the brandy and cigars? A sudden nervous tension developed when it finally sunk in that I would take the tray to him. Being face to face with the famous is nerve racking, believe me! When these chances come up you don't want to fuck it up! I could see it now. Tom Jones on some chat show being asked , 'Tom, what was the most embarassing moment in a hotel?' Well, David, there was this night I stayed at this Welsh hotel when the waiter spilled...' Thankfully, Mr. Jones did not get brandy all over his kegs that night, but I did get an autograph for my father-in-law.

'Your father-in-law? he said with a chuckle. What's his name?'. I'm sure he was wondering why I wasn't getting one, but, sorry, not my scene, man.

Later on in my shift, patrolling the lounge making sure every think was hunky dory, it was great to see him and his entourage chatting with guests.
The following morning I was cleaning the beer pipes when I saw Tom Jones come into the bar area, wearing his leathers, and it appeared that he was thinking of staying for lunch. Then he changed his mind stating that it was too hot. How many times did the staff complain that the heating was up way to high in the hotel? Loads, but Mrs Maddocks would not listen to us minions. It took a superstar to tell her the truth, and she drove him away because of her stuborness. I could not resist a wry smile to myself as I was cleaning behind the bar.

Another memorable night at the Empire was when a couple of Hollywood stars dropped by, in the middle of filming in Conwy. I had been asked to work that night and for once I was glad I did. Patrick Bergin and Theresa Russell were the two famous actors, later joined by young Welsh actors and actresses, who had parts in the film called The Proposition (1997). I seem to recall it had something to with drovers. Patrick Bergin has appeared in many big Hollywood films such as 'Sleeping with the Enemy' and 'Patriot Games'. Theresa Russell recently played Flint Marko, aka The Sandman's wife Emma, in Spiderman 3, but I remember her in a film called 'Insignificance' (1983). It was probably the most enjoyable night I worked there as the banter was great to eavesdrop on. It's amazing really but any local could have come in for a drink that night and enjoyed the company of two Hollywood stars. As I recall I don't think any did, which was a pity. Patrick Bergen was a really a polite gentleman, and recited Irish poems to us all night, and Miss Russell a bit more Hollywoody but not over the top. She liked her white wine, I seem to remember, and bought 2 that night. I had not realised it but by the time she decided to go to her room, she was plastered! This was about 1 o'clock in the morning and I was checking other actors in at the time. While I was at the main desk sorting out the new arrivals, I heard the lift door open and who staggered out was Theresa Russell - unable to find her room!
'Excuse me, young man, but could you PLEASE help me find my room!' she slurred. She must have been up there for about 10 to 15 minutes trying to find her room! So, I took her up in the lift and directed her to her room.

I was at the Empire for about 18 months and to be truthful glad I got out, though the owners did show their appreciation by giving me a £100 leaving bonus and an anniversary dinner on the house with champagne for my wife and I. I was also told that I had kept a good bar, so I knew that I had done a good job there. But there were times... maybe another time!

Starting to feel like Christmas!

2007-12-02T15:50:00.000Z

While on our way to the ALDI store in Llandudno this morning we happen to pass quite a site. Unfortunately I did not get a photo to record it, but there were hundreds of santa clauses running along the prom, no doubt a charity run. It was a bitterly cold morning and I wasn't surprised to find that they had all gone by the time we were finished with the shopping.
A story that has caught the news here is the one about the primary school kids from San Sior in Llandudno who were told to tone it down by shopkeepers in the Victoria Centre. They have subsequently been invited to sing at the Savoy Hotel in London. Click here for the full story.

Expensive Britain

2007-11-26T11:48:00.000Z

Does anyone get the feeling that our country is going downhill lately? And I mean more than usual! The recent cock-ups from our government and the alarming upsurge in petrol and diesel prices is plain to see and ring alarm bells for all us ordinary folk. Prices seem to go up every day. Today, round our way, petrol is now well and truly settled itself above the £1 a litre mark, and looks set to stay. Diesel a whopping £1.06 a litre. When will it end? When people can't afford to go to work, that's when. The hardest hit are those who travel 20 plus miles to work everyday, and at this rate they won't be able to sustain this expense. Train travel will become equally expensive as diesel costs are taking care of that. If people can't afford to go to work because petrol is too expensive, that's a sorry state of affairs. So, I am sure that the bubble will burst before the economy disappears down the pan, and normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. But you can't get away from the thought that someone or some company always manages to cream off the hard earned labour of the working man and woman. We get conned every way we turn! There are so many stealth taxes in Britain today I'm surprised this government hasn't placed one on the air that we breathe. Or have they? I may have let that one slide by from my radar. Hang on, they have you know! It's entwined in the taxes we pay depending on where we live, noticably the council tax. The air in Rhos-on-sea is more expensive than the air that is breathed in, say, Colwyn Bay, because it's cheaper to live in Rhos. So, it's an ultra stealth tax, which is hidden away and written in the small print on the contract of everyday living.
I despair when I turn on the telly or the radio today. I think James Whale of TALKsport radio is right when he says that the wrong people are in charge of the most important positions in the government. He is well worth listening to at 10 every evening, and he is getting more angrier by the night. I'm sorry to say but (I can't believe I'm even thought about it) I can't see Labour getting in again at the next General Election. That means Tory rule again, and I have bad memories of the dark days under Margaret Thatcher, where it was difficult finding a job. Times have changed but Tory values never have, so they will be taking care of their own as usual. When Labour got in, back in 1997, I felt a genuine relief that Tory rule was finally over, and Tony rule was here, I even wrote a letter (which I didn't send) to Tony Blair thanking him for delivering us from the hated and corrupt Tories. Well, since then I have learned many valuable lessons in life, and one of them is never trust a politician as they are essentially corrupt to the core and only after self fulfillment. It is such a let down to realise that this is indeed true. New Labour? More like an offshoot of Toryism! I suppose a degree in social history has helped me to see the wood from the trees (or something like that!) and I have developed a keen sense of cynicism on such matters as politics and economy. Also a keen sense for justice, which I don't see a lot of in today's Britain. Of course, it must happen in other countries, and quite possibly situations are worse than in Britain, but we do not hear all of what goes on from our heavily biased and restrictive news channels (BBC a prime culprit). Just this morning I heard (on TALKsport of course) that an innocent Austrian holidaymaker playing golf and minding his own business, was shot dead for no reason in South Africa. And this is where the next football World Cup is going to be staged in 2010. Would you feel safe there supporting your country in the tournament? Count me out, if Wales make it (!) I'll be cheering them on from the comfort of my living room, or, depending on what happens to Britain in the next 4 years, in front of a Radio Rentals TV shop!
However, I firmly believe that greed is the root of all our problems (wasn't that the mantra of the 80's - greed is good?) we all want everything now. I, unfortunately, am no exception, as I have been busy lately buying stuff from Ebay, purely to satisfy my desire to obtain wonderful new gadgets that I have been deprived of for so many years. I have come to the conclusion that we must live for today, as tomorrow may never come. So, I have gone on a spending spree to satisfy my lust for new technology and bought a digital SLR camera, a new Nikon coolpix compact camera, another mobile phone and a leather coat from the States. Now you might think that I have gone completely mad and have developed some sort of an OCD thing. Well, I have legitimised this apparent rash behaviour by putting up a few items of my own for sale, to lessen the blow so to speak. In fact I have 5 items for sale now and more to come. I will blow my own trumpet (doesn't happen a lot) and say that I am a pretty shrewd operator on Ebay, and have an eye for a bargain. Those items I mentioned were bought at prices I am very proud of, and they are items that I will use for the various projects that I intend to undertake in the near future. A digital SLR was essential for me as I want to seriously take up photography again, and 35 mm film just doesn't cut it any more. So, expect a few decent photos to come up here and on my poor neglected website. I have also signed up with flickr to house my photos. The trouble is, however, is that you intend to go on ebay to look for christmas presents for others, but it always turns out that you see something good for yourself! I intended to see if I could get a decent compact camera for my father in law, and ended up buying one for myself.
So, that's it for now. All I have to say is this:
"Don't let the bastards grind you down!"

Just when I was in the groove!

2007-11-23T14:36:00.000Z

Lately, I have to confess, that I have not felt the need to keep taking my anti-depressant tablets, and for some reason I have felt pretty good about myself, so why take them. Last week I was in such a positive mood (I was getting up early, having breakfast, doing chores around the house and generally being organized) that my wife asked me (twice!) if I was feeling ok. 'Yes' I said, 'I haven't felt like this in years! I feel great, must be the porridge I have every morning!' So, with my brain sharp, new ideas springing up inside , I went to sort out the house with some new furniture (courtesy of Argos) with vim and vigour. All went well as I quickly constructed 2 of the units I had bought, and then I felt it. Yes, my old friend, or should I say enemy, came back to pay me a visit. Sciatica is not a good thing to have, and I tend to get it when I'm feeling all vim and vigourly! I dare say it was a sort of friend to me when it meant at least 2 weeks off work, but now that I was in the mood to get things done, an untimely interuption. So, for this week I have been taking it easy and I must say rest is the best thing for it. First couple of days though I was walking with a bigger stoop than Galen on 'Planet of the Apes' (my wife unkindly compared me to Urko but I prefer Galen!). Unfortunately Moday I had to sign on at the Job Centre which was a little tricky, but I made it with little derision from the yobs and the delinquents hanging around. I did get the suspicious look from the assistant in there and was asked how I got the bad back, but not too much of a grilling!
So, I have to find that groove again, and carry on where I left off. There's much more to do, but the house does look like we can be proud of it again.
Now, where did I leave that screwdriver...

Band of the Week

2007-11-10T20:51:00.000Z

About time I put the Ozrics up for band of the week.

A couple of their tracks are on the fireworks video I posted the other day.

Their website can be found here.

A Family visit

2007-11-10T20:36:00.000Z

A couple of weeks ago my 2 cousins came to visit my mum and dad at their home in Llandudno. Paul has been living in the south of England for many years and works at restoring houses, and Wena has recently returned to live in North Wales with her husbad Graham. I hope to see them again soon.

In this photo:

Wena, Paul, Me, Linda (my sister), my dad

Photo taken by Paul's wife, Dianne.

Blackfield Video

2007-11-08T21:20:00.000Z

Here is a video I found on You Tube of 'Once' live from Greece recorded in August this year. There is an official Blackfield live in concert available, but this is a pretty good version compared to some recordings found on You Tube. Enjoy!

Fireworks display on Llandudno Promenade

2007-11-08T16:28:00.000Z

Last Monday night we went to mum and dad's house and had fish and chips from Glyn's in Craig-y-Don. Simon had been on to us all half term that he wanted to have some before he went back to school. Well, fireworks night was just right. After finishing off the grub we went on to Llandudno promenade to watch the annual fireworks display being fired off the pier. It was a bitterly cold night with waves reaching at least 10 feet at times, but I was determined to have a video of it. My hands were frozen as it lasted

about 20 minutes! Anyway, I have put together a video with 3 tracks (2 from Ozric Tentacles and 1 from Porcupine Tree). It's quite long, but I hope the music helps. Originally there was too much noise from the gale. There was a good crowd on the prom (as there usually is every year). The video was taken with my Sony Ericsson phone so quality will not be fantastic.

Djam Karet

2007-10-23T11:13:00.000+01:00

This band has captured my imagination since I discovered their music (through the internet of course), and they still push the boundaries of progressive rock in a way that is unique and unrivalled. If you truly have an open mind about music then be prepared for a journey that will take you to distant places. I sound like a tripped-up hippy, I know, but they are so eclectic, their music could sound like anything from beautiful soundscape laden synths to ethic African dance beats! Djam Karet is Indonesian for 'elastic time' which is pretty descriptive of their music. Based in California they have an extensive back catalogue, and have recently provided music for the film 'The Black Dahlia Movie' directed by Ramzi Abed.

More of their music can be heard on their MySpace page.

Stresses and strifes!

2007-10-18T09:10:00.000+01:00

Well, apologies for being non-existant lately. I get these periods of inactivity sometimes which I put down to severe non-motivation driven by certain distractions that get thrown at me. Our latest 'distraction' is the fact that we have had no central heating since Monday last week. Some of you out there in colder climes may say ' boo hoo' so what. I can tell you that you miss it when you ain't got it! And nothing is simple with us. When something goes wrong in this house, we feel sometimes that there is a higher power, and boy does he have a grudge against us! We have been forced to go on the British Gas contract to solve our heating problem, and this morning will be our 4th visit from one of their engineers since last Friday. Before we went with them we got a local guy called Wilson (the only one who picked the phone out of many listed in the Yellow Pages) whose ethics and practices were definately questionable. He made appointments which suited him (3 o'clock every time) which he turned up when we didn't expect him, and the last appointment we agreed with him was 4 o'clock on Thursday, after we come back from picking the boys from school. In fact Simon was home with a chest infection, and when did he turn up? 3.30!! He was effing away to his mobile. When he came to our house he really creeped me out. Always criticsing some little thing. He even told me off for turning the hot water tap too strong!! We shouldn't do this, shouldn't do that. Fuck off, this is our house! I phoned him up and he said he couldn't make it till the following day. Guess when. Yep, 3 o'clock! Handy, I think, as it was probably on his way home. In fact he was home when I rang him. This guy said to me that he could fix any problem within an hour, and that's why the next hour was free. Well, he didn't say that it would probably take about 10 visits to fix the problem! We dumped him, waster!
So, it's British Gas' problem now. Should have been fixed Monday, but it broke down half an hour after the engineer left. Got another British Gas engineer in later that day. Come back with a part tomorrow. Another cold night in prospect. He came early next morning, guess what. The new circuit board was faulty (he hoped). Comeback tomorrow. In case you are losing track it's now yesterday! Then he didn't show up. Reason? He didn't have all the parts delivered to him. All parts, I said? Yes, he was to replace 4 parts not just the PCB (the board). One of them didn't arrive for him, so he didn't. He'll come tomorrow. TODAY! So with all this going on, it's hard to concentate. Oh, and my tablets weren't ready at the chemist because the medical practice had not signed my prescription. Do they want me get better?! So as a result I ran out of them last Friday and didn't get any till Tuesday. I put the repeat prescription in the chemist the week before! These tablets leave my system after only 2 days, so from Sunday onwards
I am back to square one. These are my anti-stress tablets, so...!
Oh, I have an important exam tomorrow afternoon, which could decide whether I get a degree or not. Least of my worries, eh!
I have no idea how it's going to go tomorrow. I would feel better if I could mentally focus on it but it's just not been possible with all that's been going on. I do know that when I am in exams I do get the job done and I seem to get it together. I can waffle about Psychology so maybe I will hit the right notes. I do know this though. I will not give up on it. I have invested too much time, money, and miserable Summer Schools to come this far and fail. If I pass this it will go down as one of my best achievements.
When this is over tomorrow, I will head on straight to pursuing more pleasurable pursuits. Back on the family history trail, drafting an article on my Cwm Celyn connections, and most exciting (well it is to me!) a visit to Caernarvon and the archives. Me and my assistant (Tracy!) will head off hopefully next week to try and nail this connection with Bishop William Morgan once and for all. If it's not true, then so be it, but I'm hopeful. I have recently been delving into Tracy's Suffolk family and have come up with some more surname connections, and one find in particular could turn out to be a fantastic one, with a potential GGGG grandmother with the name Pretty going back to the 16th century. I will be updating my web site more regularly as hopefully I will have more to put in.
A couple of beers tomorrow night I think.

Cherokee summer!

2007-10-07T16:41:00.000+01:00

Well, this fine summery weather we have been enjoying here in North Wales has been most welcome. Going into Llandudno the other day and there were people sunbathing on the shingle! That's how warm it's been. This is a photo I took on Friday evening when we went for a walk along Rhos promenade.

I had a rare opportunity to go for a drink with a friend on Wednesday lunchtime, which I took advantage of. We met at The Ship, a pub up a hill from where I live. Dewi was an old work collegue of mine at the Education Department, which I left in 2002. It was nice to catch up with old times and I'm sure that we will make it a regular occurance.

My Cricketing heroics!

2007-09-29T21:18:00.000+01:00

I was rumaging through trying to look for a birth certificate of Simon's today and found this clipping from, I think, The Cambrian News. It was around 1978 if I remember correctly, and I'm quite proud of it. It certainly made me think that I could be successful in cricket, but it wasn't to be. What was remarkable about our team is that we had on average about 4 school kids playing regularly. I was 15, Aled and Ian were 13, and Ian's brother Wyn was 12! I really enjoyed my time with the team and because of Blaenau's notorious weather, we hardly played home games! I can remember playing once that season at Dolawel! The team pulled out of the league the following season because of lack of funds due to the fact that we could not stage any home games!

The scorecard image will enlarge when double clicked.

YYZ animation video

2007-09-25T18:07:00.000+01:00

This is great. Found it on You Tube and it was made by Bobby Standridge. His web site can be found here. Animation video of Neil Peart performing the Rush instrumental 'YYZ'

A great Genesis tune

2007-09-25T17:13:00.000+01:00

One of my favourite Genesis tunes, 'Entangled' is taken from 'A Trick of the Tail' album. This amazing video is a decent of a Space Shuttle back to Earth which I found on You Tube.

iPlayer from the BBC

2007-09-24T16:47:00.000+01:00

Handy thing I learnt about today. You can watch any BBC programme within the last 7 days on your computer by logging on to their iplayer site. An e-mail is sent to you with registration details and an easy step by step instructions. I personally don't watch as much BBC programmes as I did, but there are the odd occasions when there is something good on. For instance, last Thursday there was a real clash in our house where 3 of us wanted to see different programmes. Actually I wanted to see 2 of them (Wales versus Japan and Who Do You Think You Are?), Simon wanted to see the Rugby, and Tracy the What Not To Wear programme. All were on at the same time. This doesn't happen very often, not like the bad old days when Top of the Pops always clashed with The Six Million Dollar Man back in the 70's! So, I am attempting to download last Thursday's programme at this moment.

Useful PC information

2007-09-24T14:38:00.000+01:00

Today I picked up a couple of PC mags to see if I could get some (ok, I admit it!) free stuff for my laptop. They are a bit costly, especially on limited income, but I saw some possibility of obtaining handy little tips. I purchased 'PC Advisor' and 'PC Answers'.
An add in 'PC Answers' caught my eye from the off. A free anti-spyware programme called 'Spyware Terminator' seemed a handy tool. Download it from http://www.spywareterminator.com/ and you won't be sorry. I have run a full spyware scan and it found loads of unwanted stuff. It even keeps running in the background so full protection is guaranteed, which the free Adaware doesn't do. To date there has been over 9 million downloads in September alone! 9 million! In this month's issue, there are very useful and simple tips on how to look after your computer, such as speeding up the start up (due to the many applications running in the background). Also there is a list of the 10 best free programs (I hit gold!) out there, and some of them surprised me. There is also a great article on how to use Windows Movie Maker, with some new applications that I didn't know about.
I've yet to read all of 'PC Advisor' but it too looks packed with some useful information. My friend Rich from Blaenau would find it useful, so get yourself a copy, mate!

Leeds United march on!

2007-09-22T18:04:00.000+01:00

Leeds United won again today!

Their defeat of Swansea with a 2-0 scoreline equals the best start to a season by a Leeds United side. That was in 1973 in the Revie years. After having the punishment of being docked 15 points at the start of this season they have rammed those points down the throats of their opponents. With an appeal on the way let's hope that the season can get even better.

Our Wedding Anniversary today

2007-09-22T14:12:00.000+01:00

We were married in 1990 at 2:30 at Copdock church near the village of Washbrook. It was the last day of summer and a bit on the cold side. In fact Tracy caught a chill because the photographer was such a perfectionist! This resulted in us missing our honeymoon in Paris, so instead of walking along the Seine, we stayed in sleepy old Washbrook for a week!
A few days after the wedding we were walking along the confines of the church and along the cemetery, when I stumbled on the edge of a grave. I looked at the headstone and the person had died on 13 Jan. 1963. The day of my birth! A truly spooky moment.

New movie!

2007-09-21T21:12:00.000+01:00

I think I'm getting the hang of this! The track is called 'Last chance to evacuate planet Earth before it is recycled' and one of my all time favourites of Porcupine Tree, taken off the album 'Lightbulb Sun'. The naration used by the band was taken from a video made by the leader of the cult Heaven's Gate, who all committed suicide by being convinced that they were going to hitch a ride on a spaceship in Halley's comet back in 1986.

My next project will be a video of the Genesis track 'Entangled'.

A Blaenau connection from down under

2007-09-19T09:54:00.000+01:00

Glad to see an old (not really!) school mate has joined the blogging fraternity. Tracy is living in Australia with his family and had a long career in the Welsh Guards. I look forward to his posts and hope some other old friends will do the same soon. A link to his blog has been added to my list.

Time out!

2007-09-18T11:50:00.000+01:00

I had a rare opportunity last week to visit a pub in Llandudno! That may not be a big deal to most people, but with the current situation at home it was a great feeling just walking into the Albert pub (pictured) and having a pint of bitter. The situation arose through chance as my son Simon was not well at school and we went to pick him up. I had an appointment with Cam Ymlaen at 11 so Tracy decide to take him home. I stayed on for the appointment and intended to catch a bus home to Rhos-on-Sea. Tracy has OCD so it was a big test for her to drive home without me.

As it happens I needed change for the bus and I was standing around the same place as where this photo was taken, wondering where could I go to buy something for loose change! No contest! The pint of smooth John Smith's tasted magnificent, and I spent around 20 minutes just savouring the atmosphere. I have been going into this pub for over 20 years and remember how it used to be before it was refurbished. Some happy memories. I met my old college mate Dave Bland here for an afternoon drinking session back in 1988, just before graduation. He was in Llandudno for the week on a driving course. It's still a decent pub and one of my favourites to visit, with good food.

Family photos movie

2007-09-18T10:22:00.000+01:00

This is a little movie I put together on Windows Movie Maker which has some of the photos I have acquired from my family history research. The song is called Sentimental by Porcupine Tree.

Best Progressive band in the US?

2007-09-14T14:58:00.000+01:00

Band of the week this time is Spock's Beard, who play progressive music as it did, so if you like Genesis, Yes and even Emerson, Lake and Palmer, then there will be elements in their music that can be appreciated. They have lost their main creative force, Neal Morse, who left to do his solo career. He has carried on making prog music but with religious overtones. God did tell him to leave Spock's Beard after all! Neal also formed the group TransAtlantic, which produced some of the best progressive music in years. They produced 2 albums.

The Beard's drummer, Nick D'Virgilio played on Genesis' last album 'Calling All Stations'. Click on the link below for some great drumming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDSTbnQsje4&mode=related&search=

Here are some links from You Tube for future reference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9NLFpzh9d4&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77B0LTxG5bM&mode=related&search=

Weird past experiences!

2007-09-14T13:13:00.000+01:00

Okay, trip down memory lane again!

When my family moved to Llandudno in 1982, it was quite an exciting experience, possibly not so for my sister who took a while longer to adjust. She was losing school friends who were close to her and still in the Blaenau area, whilst most of mine had moved on, but nevertheless I had (and still do) have a great friend in Richard, who has never let me down and kept in touch over the years. I certainly missed him, but I wasn't too far away and I got down to Blaenau pretty regularly until I moved to Portsmouth to study. During this period of time (1982-1986) I became open minded about the world, possibly because Blaenau wasn't the centre of the universe any more; Llandudno was a lonely place with friends that would come and go, and I was jobless (don't forget that it was Thatcher's Britain), and I became self sufficient or even self indulgent, in respect that I had no real resposibilities as such, only myself to think of. Anyway, more on my depressing, lonely time at the beginning of the 80's another time (bet you can't wait for that rivetting tale!). The reason why I go back to this period is the fact that I used to read more and in particular about the paranormal. I knew all about UFO and abductions long before Fox Mulder came on the scene! I told you I was more open minded didn't I! There just seemed to me that there was some pretty strange stuff going around, but the more I read there seemed to be a secret history of the world that not a lot of people knew of. An example of the books I was reading was the Charles Berlitz series on The Philadelphia Experiment and the famous Roswell incident of 1947, among others. I also read about spiritual phenomena, the possible existance of life after death, and these things certainly seemed plausable to me at the time. Why not!

Anyway, we go forward to 1987 and I am in Portsmouth, in my 2nd year of my Historical Studies degree, and have agreed to take part in a seance with some friends. Now, I can't remember why this happened or who suggested it. I think we were at Gary Parker's flat on the South Parade in Southsea, and he was on my History course. He and his girlfriend dropped out of the seance early as they didn't take it seriously, so that left me, my course mate Simon Oliver, and a lass from Liverpool, whom I have forgotten her name. As soon as the disbelievers had gone, we started the proceedings with the usual 'Is anybody there?', which come to think of it was not the correct phrase as there couldn't possibly be a body there! Anyway, the glass started moving around the makeshift board (letters written on pieces of paper), and I remember looking over to Simon and asking him to stop playing about, and I was convinced that it was him doing this, as he had told me and the girl earlier that he had done 'loads' of seances before, and told us tales of horror, with bad spirits coming through, chucking knives about. So, I was sceptical, let's say.

Then, a while later, Simon went to the toilet and it was just me and the girl (I wish I could remember her name, it's gonna bug me!), AND THE GLASS WAS STILL MOVING! This, you can imagine, freaked us out! I looked at her, she looked at me, and we both shouted 'SIMON!' He came back, cool as a cucumber (nothing could phase him!) sat down, and just carried on asking questions, with a look on his face as if to say 'see I knew what I was talking about'. We decided to see if we could get further verification of what we were experiencing, and asked other questions. I remember asking about my gran's brother David, who had passed away in late 1982, and got the message back from beyond that he could not come through. I suppose he was too busy playing snooker up there and just could not tear himself to speak to his great nephew! I must admit I did feel a bit deflated as it's not often I dabble in the occult and I didn't know when I'd get the chance again. As it happens I have not tried again, so I guess he'll just have to wait!The girl that was with us tried to get in touch with a relative and did get through to an uncle who had died in Germany while in the army. He gave her a message for her not to go to Africa as she would be killed. She looked up and her mouth fell lower than it usually did. This was her final year in university and she was intending to go to Africa to do volunteer work. So, that changed her plans! When I saw her the following year she was a barmaid at a local snooker club! I guess the seance did change her life and scared the hell out of her.

However, for me the clincher was this. We asked the spirit (the girl's uncle) if anyone we knew secretly fancied any of us. Simon got a girl in our History year, the girl from Liverpool some lad she knew, and I got my landlady's daughter! This is a true story I swear. The spirit even got her surname right - Inkpen. Even her first name, Rose! I would ask questions mentally and the spirit would answer by moving the glass to the appropriate letters. So, that's how they do it. They can read minds. Simon nor the girl could know my landlady's surname, and let's face it, not the most widespread of names. So this carried on till about 4 in the morning, and after a very exciting and fruitful night we agreed to do it again the following week. It did happen but I was away that week-end visiting Tracy up in Suffolk. When I got back on Monday morning, Simon told me that even though they started off ok, but there was another person who joined them instead of me, and she got so upset and histerical they had to stop proceedings. News of her imminent death is what was the cause of her freaking out, which I'm glad I wasn't there for that! We never attempted this sort of thing again, but it will remain with me till the day I die...and beyond obviously!

A footnote: A few weeks later I was home for Easter and unfortunately there was a young girl I knew before I went to Portsmouth was murdered in Rhos-on-Sea. The police came to question me on my wherabouts on that night, so I told them, I was at a seance in Portsmouth till 4 am! They looked at me, as you can imagine, as if I was making it up so I had to give names of people I was with to prove where I was. I said Simon, this girl from Liverpool, and her uncle! He was there in spirit, I added!

School

2007-09-12T09:46:00.000+01:00

My kids have been back to school now for a whole week, and after a long break (longer for Simon) it's amazing that things settle down quite fast. After a couple of days of readjustment at the beginning, things have, thankfully, gone back to normal The summer is already a distant memory, and the realisation of its twilight period (darker evenings, christmas cards in the shops etc.) is starting to kick in. Ben is in a much better form class than last year, where it was the worst that teachers had seen, which says something about the general behaviour of the kids going there. Simon, being in the sixth form, was taken aback at the 'pep talk' given to them by the head teacher, who basically warned that some of them were lucky to be there and laid into those taking history as there were too many taking the subject! I, as a parent, would have liked a few encouraging words for them and congratulations for getting there, inspire them rather than drag them down. What do I know, eh?
Is this a record I wonder? Barely an hour and half into his new school, a lad was permantly excluded from John Bright School, for setting off a fire alarm. They are pretty strict on this misdemenour because of an epidemic of such incidents when the new school was started. Mind you, fire alarms were being deliberately set off in the middle of exams last summer term. I have some pretty strong views on school policies but I know that complaining and giving an opinion to those 'in charge' is a waste of breath; I've tried and it makes no difference and it just frustrates you to hell! Simon was attacked by a pupil in the middle of a PE lesson, with 2 teachers present, and the person we reported it to kept it quiet from the head for 3 MONTHS! And all the time we thought that the school were dealing with it! By the time the head did find out it was near the summer holidays, and she excluded him for just 2 weeks. The teacher who was at fault was retiring so she obviously tried to ride her time out and had no concern for Simon's welfare. This an incident that has affected Simon deeply, and for a long time was very bitter about everything. By going to 6th Form is a sign that he is getting over these experiences.

The joy of work!

2007-09-11T13:16:00.000+01:00

Being forced to give up work through difficult circumstances has been a tough adjustment. Having worked non stop since 1988, and most of those years with a second job as well, it was bound to be a strange experience. The motivation is of course money and the hope that progression will follow to a higher level and earn even more money. This never happened to me, sorry to say, so I don't know what it feels like to get a promotion. The second thing you hope for is good environment to work in and that you don't have to work with assholes. Unfortunately, I have worked with prize assholes and it is a shame that promotion does not come your way through the suffering! So, at this moment in time I have mixed feelings about returning to work again, which will I'm sure happen quite soon. When you have had a period out of work the one thing you do have is the time to reflect on your experiences, which has good points and bad. On the negative side, there are doubts that creep in now and again at whether you can cut it again, whether you can fit in to a completely new group of people, and of course the ultimate worry, can you get a decent job. Well I never was in a 'decent' job, so the only way is up! On the plus side, there are organisations out there who do want to help you get back, and I don't mean the Job Centre! They just want to push you to ANY job just to get you off their books. There is such an organisation here called Cam Ymlaen (Welsh for Step Ahead) who will support you in obtaining the confidence to go back to work. I will be starting an 8 week course this Friday at Colwyn Bay and I am hoping that it will help me get back on track. Furthermore, they will assess my strengths and help me get what I want to do. In a strange way, the unfortunate turn of events that we have endured in the last 2 years may be a blessing in disguise, and I am determined to forge something positive from this. I have already signed up for a course in basic counselling skills which will start in January and I intend to carry on this path afterwards.

Talking about work environments has made me think of the best one I ever had. This is easy. From 1988 to 1990 I worked for Essex County Council, with their Historic Buildings Section, a part of the Planning Department. If circumstances had been different I would have stayed here a lot longer. I was 25 years old just received my degree that summer and this was my first proper job since leaving University. I had been working for the Post Office in Ipswich just before and was only there for about 6 weeks. I remember going for the interview for the Essex job whilst I was on strike instigated by the Post Office union, and accepted the job while still stiking. So it was sort of a relief that I was leaving that place. I digress, the job at Essex was, how should I put it, flexible, easy going, fun. I have so many happy memories there, the only down side was my salary. I started on less than £7,000 per annum, hardly enough to get married on! I had my own desk! I had my own drawing board! And I could claim expenses whenever I went on site! I started at the same time as another graduate, Nicola Mawer, we were the junior members of the section but we were always included, even attended planning meetings. It was a nice feeling belonging to this group and we were surrounded by very knowledgable conservationists. In fact these people were the original conservationists in terms of preserving historic buildings and conservation areas as this section was the first one to be set up in the local council framework. They were consultants and were called in to assist planning applications received by the district councils of Essex. Therefore, for instance, our section head had the Rochford, Southend districts, and Judy Enticknap, the grants officer, had Saffron Walden. Nicola and I would go along with these officers and it was wonderful to experience the Essex country settings and witness some truly historic buildings. I can remember going with Dave Stenning (in charge of Colchester area) and visiting the Red Lion hotel which was being renovated. Every time the place was undergoing work, there was the chance to look at a Roman mosaic underneath the foundations. It was very rare to see this and I was just lucky to be there at this time. The site visits were great, and always included a visit to some pub. Don't get the wrong idea here, we did get the job done. There was just this easy going attitude that went with the job. the building we were based at was called Globe House, an old ball bearing factory converted into offices. On our floor, there was also other sections, such as Forward Planning and archaeology, and...a social club! Yes we had a pub down the corridor! Many a time was spent there having lunch, enjoying a pint (or two) or playing darts, pool and a couple of snooker tables. One time my boss, Peter, asked me if I wanted a game. Yeah, why not, I said. We were there till 3 o'clock, drinking pints and sinking snooker balls! We should have been backat least 2 pm, but what the hell I was with the boss, so...! There was another time when some of us went to watch a football international on the telly. Game did not finish till 4pm! So, you get the idea how relaxing it was working there. I doubt that there will be anywhere like this around now. A couple of days before I left, a collegue of mine suggested we go down the pub, so we went out at 11am and didn't come back till 5pm! To this day I think it was a liberty step too far and feel a bit ashamed for treating my colleagues with a bit of disrespect, but that was the mood I was in and I was leaving anyway. I still feel bad about it though. Still the memories of working and being involved with Essex County Council are happy ones for me and my only regret is that I left when I did. My next post was supposed to feel like a promotion but in hindsight was a big let down...

Blackfield live DVD out in October

2007-09-10T09:40:00.000+01:00

Great news that this superb band have a DVD out on the 15th October (UK). There is a clip available to see on their MySpace website.

The site has a lot of information on the band and some killer tunes to listen to.

Band of the week feature

2007-09-06T18:00:00.000+01:00

From this week I will be introducing some bands, unknown to some perhaps, which I think are good and deserve some exposure. I have always been an admirer of musical acts who are different, unique, original and who offer superb instrumentation.

This week it's Oceansize, a band from Manchester, and I rrecommend their first album, Efflorescence.

http://www.oceansize.co.uk/

Here is a link to a page from You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Oceansize+-+One+Day+All+This+Could+Be+Yours&search=Search

Michael Connelly novels

2007-09-06T16:23:00.000+01:00

Back in June I posted that I had picked up a few Michael Connelly thrillers, from which I was going to read 'The Poet' a novel he wrote in the mid 1990's.

I did find the beginning a bit of a plod, but it got better, and in the end I was racing through it. Very well thought out and a convincing twist at the end. I have since started to read 'The Concrete Blonde' which was written before 'The Poet'.

He writes with authority as he knows all the ins and outs of police and judiciary procedure having been a crime reporter before he turned in novels.

Childhood memories of Tanrallt Terrace, part 2

2007-09-06T12:17:00.001+01:00

Looking at this picture I can see where some of my closest relatives lived. We lived at N0.4, whilst my nain Williams lived at the other end at N0.9. She recently moved to a bungalow near the centre of town. Behind Tanrallt is Richmond Terrace and my great aunt May lived there for many years, the house 3rd from the end. Right in the distance at the top left hand corner of the photo, you can just see a propertyin the distance. My great grandparents, Thomas and Mary Williams lived here, a small farmstead, and my dad lived there for a while when he was a toddler. It got burned sometime in the 70's by Welsh extremists (Cwmdeithias yr Iaith) because it was a holiday home. Beyond this farm, is a mountainside covered in delicious bilberry. We used to spend most of a sunny day, with our empty ice cream tubs, trying to pick them and take them down so our mothers could make pies with them. This was very hard to do, as they tasted so good we were always tempted to eat what we picked! Purple stains around our mouths would reveal our crime and usually a trip back up the mountains the next day!

In winter, weather in Blaenau is something else! When fog used to descend it stayed for days! I remember standing in front of our gate looking towards the other end of Tanrallt (in the direction where nain Williams lived), and not being to see anything beyond the road that split Tanrallt down the middle. A pea souper as ever as I've seen!

The mountain in the distance were great for walkers. It led to Llyn Dwr Oer and Llyn Manod beyond that. As a family we used to go to Llyn Manod to have picnics, and try to fish. We never caught any, and I doubt that there were any there anyway! Llyn Dwr Oer was popular for swimming, great on a hot day, though I don't recall swimming there myself. The road that led to these places was known to us as the 'Roman Road', and was essentially the way quarrymen walked to work every day. When they finished their shift a few used to use what was known as 'y car gwyllt' (the wild car), which was basically a set of wheels on a railway track, with the quarryman riding what looked like a wheel. Looks pretty uncomfortable on the old movie footages!

That's it I think. Mostly happy memories, close neighbours, good community spirit.

Childhood memories of Tanrallt Terrace, part 1

2007-09-05T13:57:00.000+01:00

This a photo I took last year when we visited Blaenau Ffestiniog. This is Tanrallt Terrace where I grew up in, and our house is the one with the flat roofed porch, the second house on view from the left hand bush. It was 1967 when we moved here and we left in April 1982, to live in Llandudno. When I looked at this photo last week I was reminded of so many memories.
Where do I begin? Well, the rock from which this photo was taken semed to attract kids. Whether it was to climb it or slide down the side of it or what, but many a time I would look out of my bedroom window and see someone attempting to climb it. This was our Everest, it had easy faces and of course difficult ones, but even the simplest route to the top could have easily ended up in tragedy. If you carried on walking in the direction the photo was taken, there was a slide to our left, but also a precarious route to get to it. This was the way I often went, but I shudder to think what would have happened to me if I had missed my footing. The more adventurous of us would tackle even scarier ways up. For instance to the right of this photo was a drop to the High Street. I can remember seeing a lad named Derek Jones actually succeeding to climb up this way with the traffic going by below him! And this was with no equipment, harness and no hooks. Just relying on his feet and hands! Why did people do such things? I presume because the rock was there, and it was sheer luck (and skill I suppose) that no one was killed.
The road outside our house was used for sports matches as well as a car park. God knows how we managed to find the room to play matches on it I will never know! But play we did, football, obviously, and cricket. The neighbours were nervous wrecks worrying if their cars were going to be damaged! Everytime someone hit a windscreen or the top of a car, we would all turn our faces with grimaces on them and expect the owner to come out and tell us off. We were so sports mad we would play anywhere. See that rock in the distance just beyond the top row of houses? Well we would play football there! The unfortunate and annoying thing about the place was the fact that at one end of the pitch there was a sheer face, and if someone happened to kick it wildly that way (or score a goal with a hard shot) the ball would sail over the edge and down to the bottom field. If the ball didn't catch on something, like a ditch, it invariably continued to roll down Richmond Terrace and beyond! Of course, the one who initially kicked the ball over would have to retreive it, which meant running down the grassy side and trying to get to the ball before it reached the Terrace below. The architecture of the terraces where we lived was so zig zagy that the poor unfortunate lad could end up right down to where the main road was, and believe me that was some climb back to the playing area! By the time he got back up there he would either collapse with exhaustion or find that the rest had got fed up and gone home for lunch! By the end of the game, everyone would have had to go through this as we all had a wild shot in us during the football game, and not only we had our fill of football practice we also got in a dose of athletics as well!
Another playing area we used a lot was the patch of field at the end of Tanrallt Terrace. This was a multi-purpose area for the community. It served as a place for the mothers to hang their washing to dry, and there would be up to at least 5 different sets of washing. In the middle was the street cricket pitch, and even this would be prone to disaster. To the right of this patch of grass would be the back doors of the houses in the high street, and almost all of one would be enclosed. Except for one! And that was the end one, right where mid on (cricket term) would be. This would be a favourite shot for most and if you got it right it would mean that it would head towards the exposed edge of this end house, and if this was the case the cricket ball would trickle down right to the bottom where their back door would be. And to make things worse there would usually be a sheepdog down there! At the time, being bitten by a sheepdog at the age of 4 was still a fresh memory for me (this story I will relate at a later date), so we would hope that Dafydd (the owner) would come out and give us back our ball. If not, and we didn't have another cricket ball, then game over.
I had an unfortunate encounter with one of those washing lines. On one occasion I was running about the area, I jumped across the ditch that surrounded the washing line field and didn't see the steel wire that was hung from one post to the other that was the washing line. I didn't see the wire as it was probably camuflaged with the dull, grey sky that seemed to permanently reside over Blaenau. It caught my throat and swung me into the air and I landed on my back on the field. I was lucky I wasn't decapitated! Fortunately I was ok and a little shocked more than injured.
I also saw my taid Hughes for the last time from this field. It was February 1974 and I saw him on his way home to Hafod Druffydd and we waved. He died a week later of a heart attack. Unknown to me at the time he was suffering from heart problems, ever since he saw me being mauled by a farmer's sheepdog back in 1967. It happened right in front of his house and unfortunately he witnessed this event and obviously was shocked at what he saw. I will post some more of my taid in a future post.
More later...

Video Clips

2007-09-02T21:40:00.000+01:00

Video has arrived to my blog!

On the left hand side of the page I will be placing some video clips which I hope people will find interesting. The first one I've found is this wonderful images of my home town Blaenau Ffestiniog from the air. Just click and move to the top of the page.
I wonder what else I can find?

Additional:
I have included clips of some of my favourite media interests.

Seinfeld - in my opinion the funniest TV show ever from America. If you like good comedy and surrealism to boot, then you will laugh your socks off! There haven't been many funny shows where all 4 main characters are as equally funny as each other. That's some achievement in my book.

Red Dwarf - What can I say? Probably the funniest show from OUR side! Not really a sci-fi show, just a very funny show which happens to be set in deep, deep space!

Porcupine Tree - Very underated rock band, unfairly labelled as 'progressive', but actually masters of all music genres. Steven Wilson is a musical genius and very prolific in his output. I first heard of them from a 30 second clip on Amazon.co.uk (of the song 'Lightbulb Sun') and was instantly converted. In recent albums they have moved over to the metal side and have aquired a lot of new fans, but they still churn out classic ballads and moving music. Quite melancholic in their music, but this only serves to heighten the emotional mood of their songs. Click on the video clips below and try them out. Serious music lovers only!

Blackfield - A side project of Steven Wilson and again melancholic in nature. Very profound song writing and killer melodies. A live DVD of a concert if theirs in New York is due out in October and by all accounts an outstanding performance. Aviv Geffen, an Israeli songwriter is his co-member and some of the songs have been transformed from Hebrew versions of Aviv's.

Frank Caliendo - Recently found out about this guy. Does very funny impressions of well known American media personalities, such as Robin Williams, Robert de Niro and John Madden. Does killer impressions of George W Bush and William Shatner, and also does all the characters in Seinfeld - including Newman. Check out the Seinfeld clips before watching him if you have never seen Seinfeld before.
Enjoy!

Visiting Cwm Celyn

2007-09-02T14:52:00.000+01:00

Today I finally visited the farmstead called Cwm Celyn. For many years it was the home of my great great grandparents Evan and Grace Evans and their family. The present owners, Ian and Abigail had kindly invited us to go up and have resided there for 4 years.

We came off the main road just after passing the Fairy Glen Hotel on the A470, which can take you to Dolwyddelen and Blaenau Ffestiniog, and found Abigail and her husband waiting for us in their landrover. It was just as well, Cwm Celyn was a further 3 miles up a track that weaved and meandered through the pine trees that formed part of the Gwydir Forest. We passed the spot where Evan rescued an American lady from the hands of her newly wed husband, beaten to an inch of her life with a boulder. We found out later that the poor lady was pregnant at the time and contributed to the husband's decision to murder her. No doubt that this event made Evan headline news in his local community, but it also reached the national attention as The Times newspaper also reported it.

When we reached the top the house looked impressive, and the extension caught my eye, possibly because the only image I had previously seen was the half finished construction Evan was in the middle of building in the 1890's photo. The inside of the house has not changed a lot and is as authentic as a 19th century farmhouse can be. It is a credit to Abigail and Ian that they have not altered it too much nor do they wish to. They clearly enjoy being in these surroundings and are also very enthusiastic about the history of the building and the previous occupants. As Abigail commented she knows more about the Evans' than her own family! The age of the house goes back to at least 1680, and they both have accumulated an impressive amount of research. Rest assured that Cwm Celyn is in good hands!

Ian showed us the work that is ongoing in converting the barn/stable which is quite roomy. I can't wait to see it when it's completed. What is also interesting that they have saved some original stones from the walls which have initials carved into it. Evan Evans built the extension originally and has engraved his on the wall that still stands. On loose stones kept by Ian, there are M.O. and J.H. engraved. The M.O. could have been marked by either Margaret Owen or her daughter Mary Owen who lived nearby at Llanerch Elsi. It depends when the marks were made but stikes me as something a child would do so my guess would be Mary Owen, who was born in 1892. Mary and her family would emigrate to the United States in January 1913 on the same ship as Mary's uncle and younger son of Evan, Owen Evans, and start their American adventure at a place called McRoberts, a small mining town in Kentucky. Mary and her sister Margaret both married while they were in Kentucky but eventually moved to Akron, Ohio. Mary married Morgan L Boone, a descendant of Samuel Boone, brother to the famous frontiersman Daniel. Owen eventually settled at Glendale, Los Angeles with his new bride, a Welsh lady named Mabel Canfield from Pontypridd. He started a thriving construction business at Glendale.

We plan to go again (hopefully when the weather will be better) as there are other places to see around Cwm Celyn. I am amazed at how far the children had to walk to school every day and Evan used to work in the slate mines of Blaenau Ffestiniog. They just had to do it, no other choice, and I doubt that they ever complained about it.

Interesting characters in my family

2007-09-01T14:50:00.000+01:00

Over the last year of researching, I have discovered a few interesting characters who I want write about.

A distant relation was Rebecca Stuart Clark, a cousin to my great grandmother Laura Morris. Born in Pwllheli in 1863, she became an entrepreneur in the fishing industry and is credited with the industry in Pwllheli lasting as long as it did. By the early 20th century, the fishing industry was in decline due to competion from other fishing fleets around the country. In a book by D. G. Lloyd Hughes on Pwllheli he comments:

'By the 1920's the town's fishing industry was a sorry sight with only a handful of boats, the popular nobbys, remaining. Most were owned by one fishmonger, the redoutable Rebecca Clark...But for her there would have been virtually no fishing of note from Pwllheli by the 1930's. Had someone of her calibre and financial backing taken an interest when catches were at their highest during the 1870's there might have been a chance that the industry could have been placed on a firmer footing'.

In the early 19th century Rebecca was living with Ellen Ann Morris, her cousin and sister to my great grandmother. Also living with them was a Eliza Ellen Roberts, daughter of Samuel Roberts and Cathrine Williams. It looks like both of Eliza's parents died in the 1890's, Samuel at St. Asaph Lunatic Asylum in 1897. Samuel was a brother to Rebecca's mother, Ann.

Rebecca lived to a good age and died a wealthy woman. My mother remembers meeting her at her fishmonger's shop when she was a little girl living with her aunt Elizabeth.

My family connections, part 1

2007-08-31T20:52:00.000+01:00

My recent researches into my family history has revealed some interesting connections. Many years ago I was told that one of these was a link to David Lloyd George. This was pretty exciting hearing this but no one in the family quite knew how we were related. So one of my goals was to find this elusive connection, and all I had to go on was a remark from an American relative said to my great aunt Olwen. At the time I only knew of one family, in Los Angeles, that were related to us. Today I know of many, residing in different parts of the US, and there are more that I don't know of yet. However, researching this link with one of Wales famous men was long and many dead ends were reached. Eventually, I decided that there was no link and went on other areas of research involving other ancestors. I went on the hunt for other American cousins when I discovered, quite by accident, that we had ancestors in Vermont. There was a sister of my great great grandfather, Mary Lloyd Williams, who I could not find in the 1881 census. I knew she had married a Griffith Isaac Roberts, a slate miner from Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog, and had 2 young children by 1871, the whole family could not be found 10 years later. This prompted me to think that they had emigrated. Fortunately the 1880 US census is free (on the family search website), and I found them there. They had emigrated in 1874 and had started to have American children. Eventually they would have 6 surviving infants, one other, Jane, died soon after birth and is buried in Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Researching the survivors has not been easy, though with the help of Ancestry.com I have managed to find who they married. Further information can be found on my web site at http://www.gwynhughes.co.uk/ . Obtaining the death certificate for Mary has helped me clear up the mystery of where the connection with David Lloyd George is. With the name Lloyd in my mother's family the assumption was that the great man was linked to us somehow. Now, I knew that Mary's father was a William Williams born in Penrhos, near Pwllheli. What I didn't know was her mother Jane's maiden name. The death certificate revealed all! She was Jane Lloyd! This is how the Lloyd name was introduced to many future Williams decendants, including my mum's brother, John Lloyd Williams.
So, this proved that there was no familial link to David Lloyd George, and that the Lloyd name in our family originated from a family from Llanfrothen. Luckily, there is a pedigree link to Jane Lloyd on the Family Search website, therefore more information was available.
However, a few months ago I researched into another ancestor, a brother to my great great grandmother Grace Evans, Morris Owen Evans. He was a congregational minister, born at Ty'n Ddol, a farmhouse in Tanygrisiau, in 1857. I found out that he married a Katherine Daniel, born near Bala and she had a brother David Robert Daniel. Here, at last was the link to David Lloyd George! Not a family one but nevertheless a link. DR Daniel will be found in all books on DLLG as they set up a newspaper together, Yr Utgorn Ryddid, at Pwllheli. He went on holidays with DLLG and friends, and was a close confidant to his family. This explains why DLLG was regarded highly by my ancestors, and I hope to find out if Morris was involved and included in the sphere of influence that his brother-in-law was involved with. He and his family also emigrated, to Cincinnati, Ohio.
More ineresting family links soon.

Creating your own family tree website

2007-08-29T15:01:00.000+01:00

This is a handy little web site I've found that anyone can use for free and start their very own family tree. I have been looking around to show graphically my family tree that is easy on the eye. This is it, and can be found on Tribal Pages.com . It's easy to register and you can control the privacy of the site by registering an administrator and a visitor password. I chose the standard privacy option so that I could share certain information on the web, but there are other options available.
You can also link with other trees (just as Genes Reunited do) and search for your ancestors.
Worth a try!