Went for a lunchtime run with a work colleague today which made a refreshing change and added a bit of competitiveness to proceedings. What made it all the more pleasant for me was the fact that this time I ran my work colleague ragged, rather than the other way around as was the case back in January when we went out running together. Not that I’m the competitive type of course!
The 24 minute run took us through Swansea Marina and past the new National Waterfront Museum. Now if you’re ever passing the museum do take the time to pop in and have a look, it’s free and well worth a couple of hours browsing around. There’s also plenty of gadgets and gizmos to have dabble with and will keep both little kids and big kids amused for quite some time! I particulary liked the ‘Networks’ display which provided a projected map with hotpots on which you could then view a short video/slideshow of. The picture below was one I took whilst looking at the ‘Transformations’ display.
Just for the record I’d like to add that I visited the museum previously not today – as I didn’t think that the sight of me wearing cycling shorts and a running vest was appropriate attire for a museum!
Being the resourceful guy that I am, I felt I had to mention a web site I came across the other day which provides email notifications of the cheapest garages (for fuel) in your local area. The site can be found at www.petrolprices.com and it’s free to register and use the service. I’ve found the prices quoted for various garages in my locality to be accurate as well, so it’s well worth a visit and could save you a few bob in the process.
Was subjected to yet another viewing of ‘Ice Age‘ today by DDWT Junior – for what must be the hundreth time! Although I shouldn’t complain really as it’s quite a funny film and is much better (in my opinion) that his last favourite ‘Finding Nemo‘. I still find it amusing that whenever DDWT Junior see’s a fish he says ‘Dory’ – those of you who’ve seen the film will know what I’m on about.
Finally got my travel arrangements sorted today for the Football League Trophy Final on Sunday in Cardiff. With the trains not running on the day, I opted for the official Swans travel club (FOSCFA) offering of a £7 return coach ticket (which is excellent value). Many thanks to Ugo Vallerio for arranging this for me. I’m sure that many Swans will know Ugo well, as he’s been running FOSCFA for donkey’s years (well at least as long as I can remember and that’s some 26 years of supporting the Swans).
The Swans go into the final on Sunday, backed by what looks likely to be in excess of 27,000 passionate Jacks and warmed up for the final with a comfortable 2-1 win over the Robins of Wrexham last night in the FAW Premier Cup Final. The result meant the Swans retained the trophy from last season in a repeat of the scoreline and opposition! Another good omen for Sunday is that Wrexham won last year’s LDV Vans Trophy (as it was called) – so here’s hoping for another Welsh team flying the winners flag for Wales this weekend.
Seeing as I’ve been sharing some of my poetry with you recently, I thought I’d continue with the arty theme and share some of my digital photographs as well. I took up digital photography seriously back in 1999, having merely dabbled in it prior to that and it all come about due to an ever increasing involvement in web development. Anyway, here are a couple of snaps to get us started.
This picture of Cader Idris – from a distance – was taken in August 2002 just before Mrs DDWT and I started the long but wonderful trek up to the summit of Cader.
Here’s a picture of the sun setting over Clarach Bay near Aberystwyth and was taken in July 2002.
Those of you familiar with Popeye will know what I mean by ‘muskles’ and it’ll come as no surprise to hear me mention spinach in the same sentence. Now you’re probably thinking that I’ve lost my marbles and think that consuming vast amounts of spinach will help build my ‘muskles’ a la Popeye, well not quite. I am indeed eating a lot of spinach, but in an effort to broaden my horizons in terms of eating what I affectionately classify as rabbit food. Rabbit food in DDWT terms are items such as celery, lettuce, cucumber, radish, spring onions, watercress, etc – basically all the salady bits you care to mention. Ever since I was a kid I hated such foods, but now at the tender age of 35 it is time to experiment – and in doing so help my health at the same time.
Whilst on the subject of muscles I did another weights session today, sticking to my training schedule religiously I hasten to add. For those of you in the know, I did some front dumbell raises, seated lateral raises, upright row and alternate dumbell curls – for those of you who aren’t I did a load of shoulder weight training exercises!
In keeping with what is quickly becoming movie week for me (it must be a record) I watched yet another film tonight – ‘Calendar Girls‘ – much to the delight of Mrs DDWT as this was most definately a chick flick. Basically a women’s WI group decide to strip naked (sorry nude!) for a calendar in order to raise money for the local hospital. It was interesting to watch (and no not for the nudity!), but the film seemed to drift off on a tangent the more it went on. I suppose this was the intention and really illustrated the point that people can often become ‘too involved’ with things and in-turn lose sight of what they originally set out to achieve. I suppose it’s a little about self-realisation. Overall though, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed with the film, especially after such a promising start to proceedings. Having said that it’s worth watching and I can see why it was so popular.
As I mentioned earlier the film is based on a true story and it’s well worth paying a visit to the website which describes the real Calendar girls and their efforts to date. You can view the site by clicking this link.
Decided to make the most of the break in what seemed an endless downpour today and take DDWT Junior to Ynystawe park, much to his delight. The park is very large and has a children’s play area, two football pitches, tennis/basketball courts and lots of grassy areas (which seem ideal for picnics in the summer!). Directions to the park can be found by clicking this link. Here are some of the snaps I took.
Also in the park is a plaque (shown below) in memory of Hopcyn ap Tomos, who was a supporter of the bardic tradition. It’s believed that in July 1403 he was summoned by Owain Glyndwr to prophesise Owain’s future.
Opted for a different lunchtime run today – so replacing the sandy beach was a muddy canal bank! The canal bank in question was the one running (pardon the pun!) between Trebanos and Clydach. I also decided to increase the intensity of the workout and in doing so reduce the runtime – to 21 minutes in this case. I’m not sure of the distance involved exactly, but a guestimate would be around 2.5 miles. True to form whilst going about my business the heavens opened and I got drenched, but I’m not complaining in the slightest – I simply love running in the rain!
Seeing as I’m in movie mode at the moment, I decided to watch ‘The Recruit‘ tonight with Al Pacino and Colin Farrell being the lead actors. The trailor and synopsis made the film appear to be well worth watching, in reality I’m afraid it wasn’t quite the case. I suppose this in itself ties in nicely with the storyline of the film, i.e. CIA agent trying to find the mole within – thus everything not always being what it appears to be. The pace of the film made me want to press fast-forward all of the time to the inevitable twist at the end – gripping it wasn’t I’m afraid.
Watched a film tonight called ‘The Terminal‘ starring Tom Hanks and Swansea’s very own Catherine Zeta-Jones. Quite a weird storyline really about a guy who takes up temporary residency in JFK airport due to not having a valid visa for entry into the USA. Reading the synopsis beforehand made the film sound quite boring, but in fact it turned out to be quite a humorous and touching tale.
It’s weird really how you can become so involved in what you are watching, even to the point that you lose all sense of reality and everyday life around you. It’s no wonder the romantics amongst us float off to dreamland when faced with a slushly romantic film – rather than sometimes facing up to the reality of life (well at least for the duration of the film). I’m sure the same can be said for fantasists out there too.
Popped into Tesco’s in Fforestfach to do some shopping today, which obviously isn’t the most exciting thing in the world to do (or blog on) but my encounter at the checkout was quite funny. I’d decided to get a stir-fry mix for supper, attached to which was a 60p coupon. So the nice lady behind the counter said “I’ll scan that coupon through for you now sir, after all 60p is 60p isn’t it” to which I replied (without thinking) – “Well, every little helps”. At the time, the cashier’s steely glare didn’t register with me – well not until I was walking out of the shop and clocked a large Tesco sign emblazoned with their slogan of “Every little helps”. It raised a smile and made me chuckle.
Just for the record I’d like to add that I visited the museum previously not today – as I didn’t think that the sight of me wearing cycling shorts and a running vest was appropriate attire for a museum!
