As is the norm for most mornings in our house, we were up very early once again – like 6am early.
For once though it was an extremely worthwhile early morning wake-up call as I got the opportunity to photograph the most amazing morning sunrise over the Swansea Valley.
Amazing or what? Needless to say I’ve now sent them off to the BBC and South Wales Evening Post to see what they think and whether they’ll publish them as has been the case previously.
In light of my Dad’s news yesterday, I felt it was imperative that I try and focus my mind and continue to go about my/our business in order to remain both positive and strong.
With this in mind, I decided to go for an early morning run. I opted to cover the same route as my run last Sunday – albeit it a slightly slower pace. Still the 32 minute 25 second had a semi-positive effect, even if I did feel ‘shot’ after it.
In the afternoon Mrs DDWT thought it would be a good idea to get out and about, so we headed off to the Swansea Sea Festival.
Unfortunately by the time we got there – gone 3pm – most of the displays had finished. We were fortunate enough to catch the Newfoundland dogs lifesaving display, which was very impressive.
DDWT Junior enjoyed the mini-pirate ship and the shanty music was quite entertaining as well. Baby DDWT spent the whole time sleeping!! So if you wanted to see pirates of all ages (and sizes) – some on stilts – then it was the place to be 
We also made yet another visit to the National Waterfront Museum, which in all fairness never ceases to amaze us with the amount of information and quality displays on offer. Here’s a tip for you, it’s a great place to take the kids especially during the summer holidays.
Whilst inevitably casting our eyes towards the sea, it was impossible to ignore the sheer height and size of the Meridian Quay development.
Looking back to a previous post I made about the development (back in April), you can see how much its come on. Quite amazing!
Phew what an eventful day I’ve had – which is the complete opposite to a normal Saturday whereby I don’t do much at all.
My first port of call was my Mam and Dad’s who needed a piece of roof fascia board replacing and a leaky window sorted. I must confess to having been a touch nervous about undertaking the task – I’m not a lover of ladders and the bit that needed replacing was literally right on the edge of the house.
After a bit of trial and error I managed to get the ladder in a safe position – the narrow pathway below was safer than the embankment further back! It was then time to start fiddling with the replacement wooden fascia. After what seemed a ‘grand old duke of york’ time going up and down the ladder – I finally got the ideal fit. It was then time to add a cement finish! I was glad to see the back of job number one, but pleased with the result nevertheless.
The leaky window fix was a darn sight easier and straightforward I can tell you. I was even afforded the luxury of having DDWT Junior supervise in his new found role of foreman!
It had been a good start to the day and my parents were happy with the jobs I’d done.
We decided in the afternoon to take a trip into Swansea to get a few jobs done rather than sit around the house and garden. These ‘jobs’ included a visit to Toys ‘R’ Us where DDWT Junior finally got another Playmobil Dinosaur which he’d been promised and Baby DDWT got a small gift for her pushchair too.
Tea time quickly arrived and as it was such a lovely afternoon/evening I suggested that we took a nice stroll from Blackpill down to West Cross – well Dick Barton’s chippy to be precise. Dick Barton’s is legendary in these parts and I don’t think I’ve set foot inside the place in over 20 years, until tonight that is.
It was actually quite nice to take the family there as my parents had done with me when I was small. So the house of DDWT can now say that they’ve all experienced Dick Barton’s – well all of them except baby DDWT.
With our tummies full it was time to make our way back to the car, but not without taking a few snaps and having a pit stop at Blackpill lido.
So all in all it’s been a busy, but very enjoyable day. I’ll have to remember days like this when I’m next lounging around at home on a weekend!
Here are a couple of rainbows I managed to quickly get a snap of after some thundery showers.
Happy New year to you and best wishes for 2008!
The house of DDWT hasn’t long surfaced this morning after an unexpected late night – the plan was to go to bed early after having a few too many late nights th elast few weeks. We ended up seeing in the new year watching ‘Hot Fuzz‘ – having now become fans of Simon Pegg since watching him on the Jonathan Ross show a few weeks back. Now there’s a guranteed laugh for you!
The plan for today is to welcome in the new year with a nice walk along the river tawe and Swansea valley canal. You simply can’t beat the fresh air and some exercise
