With the cold but sunny weather continuing during the opening few days of 2009 we decided to make the most of it with a visit to Coed Gwilym Park, Clydach in the Swansea valley.
With plenty of wide open spaces, two playgrounds, a small wood and the nearby canal there was plenty to keep DDWT Junior amused. The tennis courts also gave him ample opportunity to have a ‘dabble’ with his Christmas presents (from this and yesteryear!) – remote control cars!
Here’s a brief picture guide – but you won’t beat making a visit there yourself.
We finally got our garage back to normal after I jammed the car full with all the Christmas and New Year cardboard, plastics, cartoons, surplus clothes and headed off to the local civic amenity site.
It really is amazing how much packaging accumulates over a 2 week period and judging by the number of people at the site, I was far from being the only one who felt that way! Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see so many people using the civic amenity sites across the country, but I do wonder how much fuel, etc is being used/wasted and the environmental effect by having so many people transport their own waste to such sites.
Begs the question why the manufacturers and/or supermarkets don’t do something about the packaging materials they use at source – rather than pass it on to the customer. But hey, that’ll cost them money and cut into profits so that ain’t gonna happen is it. Cynical aren’t I.
On a more positive note, I went for my first run of 2009 today and was over the moon with my ‘achievement’. The run of 72 minutes 31 seconds was the longest continous run I have EVER done in my life and at the same time the distance of approximately 8 miles is the longest continous distance I’ve ever done.
Despite feeling leg weary at the end of it, to say I was chuffed was an undertstatement! Whilst I know it’s no mean feat really for a 37 year old man – given how many OAPs run the London Marathon, etc – it still means a heck of a lot to me personally.
Maybe my dream of running a marathon one day isn’t such a pie in the sky idea after all 
Happy New year to you! So here we are on the very first day of 2009 with lots of people probably nursing hangovers, others laden with new year resolutions and some like me just looking forward to what should hopefully be a healthy and happy year ahead.
The Mrs and I welcomed in the new year browsing and shopping online (sad but true!) in-between watching the BBC’s iPlayer coverage of the new year being welcomed in by fireworks around the London Eye.
In keeping with the theme of the day I decided to invest some time rummaging through my wardrobes in an attempt to sort out what now fits me and what doesn’t – not to mention what can be considered fashionable or not as the case may be! I’m an official hoarder you see
Now don’t get me wrong the fact that I’m now hovering just below the 16 stone mark is very pleasing, but the sheer number of clothes I’m having to get rid of is scary! Take my work trousers for example, I’m passing 13 of them onto charity, leaving me with only 4 left. Now that tells me a lot….I’ve got too many work trousers and God only knows how many other clothes will be finding themselves a new home.
Oh well my loss is someone elses gain and for me that’s a positive start to the new year.
