Newgale Sands in Pembrokeshire
An early start today as I went for my 2nd run of the holiday, as we'd planned on spending the best part of the day on Newgale Sands.
We'd had the idea of spending the day down on the beach after admiring it's beauty - albeit from afar - on our trip to St. David's a couple of days ago.
Newgale is approximately 6 miles north of Broad Haven and has pretty much everything you'd expect of a Blue Flag beach with a long golden beach, surfing waves and stunning scenery all around it's edge - as you can see from this video I did.
There is a free car park adjacent to the beach as well as toilet facilities and a small ice cream stall - which was closed when we were there (darn it!).
The beach was stunning and ideal for anything from sunbathing to flying a kite, or even in our case using the pebbles from the natural sea defences as a source for a sand dinosaur!!
I've got to say that the credit for this bit of creativity must go to my 6 year old son - not moi!
Although the day was - or at least felt - the warmest day of the year thus far, the sea breeze/wind made it feel cooler than it probably was. Having said that, it made perfect conditions for kite flying and we duly took the opportunity to give it a bash.
Thinking back, whilst it was my son's first attempt at flying a kite, it must have been the first time in donkey's years (i.e. over 25) that I'd had a go and it was great fun! In fact I'd forgotten how much fun flying a kite was/is 
Despite a sumptous alfresco lunch, it was apparent that by late afternoon that the sun had taken it's toll on us all and with enrgy levels flagging it was time to head home to recharge the batteries.
Given the clear blue skies, we made a brief stop on the way back to Broad Haven at Maidenhall - an ideal picnic spot a couple of I hasten to add a couple of miles south of Newgale - to admire the stunning coastal views from a higher vantage point.
By now my face felt like a pair of brand spanking new leather shoes... and it was a surprise that I didn't stop any traffic on the way back - such was the red 'ish amber glow to my complexion!
Thankfully Mrs DDWT's moisturiser came to the rescue and I'm hopeful of a reduced and non-blistered facial glow tomorrow morning!
St. David’s – Britain’s smallest City
With most of the holiday gang having an unexpected lie-in our planned early departure to St. David's didn't materialise and we ended up being a couple of hours late - much to the drivers annoyance 
However, once we were on our way we were all mesmorised by the wonderful coastal views and sandy beaches which we took in along the way to Britain's smallest city.
The coastal walk around Druidston Haven looked stunning as we slowly drove past and although we couldn't see how to get to the beach, I've little doubt that it was another of Pembrokeshire's hidden gems.
Next stop was Nolton Haven a small but impressively sandy and secluded spot and well worth a visit if only for a bite to eat or temporary respite from the narrow and meandering B4341. One word of advice about the road - try and avoid meeting the Pembrokeshire Coastal Bus service en route, otherwise like me, you'll need to reverse some 50 metres so it can get past!
The real stunner however was Newgale beach whose golden sands seemed to stretch for miles and was quite spectacular and reminiscent of the large sandy beaches of the Gower that I am more accustomed too.
After going through the small village of Solva we had almost reached our intended destination. It had been many years since I - or indeed the rest of the gang - last visited St. Davids and I couldn't help but feel that it had lost some of its quaintness due to becoming more comercialised with an abundance of bistro's and designer chic clothes shops.
Whilst wandering around the "city" the vast array of accents that we overheard - particulary American - gave testament to the commericial changes and I suppose any person with some business acumen would see the potential of certain establishments.
Although the weather was very sunny it was surprisingly chilly due to the blusterly north easterly wind, so we quickly headed for the sanctuary of St. David's main attraction - the Cathedral.
Here is a picture of the ruins of the Bishops Palace, which is adjacent to the cathedral.
Once inside the cathedral, we were amazed by the colourful stain glass windows that decorated the interior and the very impressive organ - which impressively overshadowed the numerous pews.
It's also worth mentioning that the St. David's cathedral website is very informative and well worth a read - especially if you intend visiting or simply wish to know more about its history.
Before concluding our visit to St. David's we took a stroll around the award winning Oriel y Parc Gallery. The gallery won the prestigious 'Rural Areas and Natural Environment Planning award' in 2009 for its use of state-of-the-art green technologies and is a well worth a visit on any day out in St. David's.
Oriel y Parc is the National Park Authority's visitor centre for St. David's and provides you with all of the information you're likely to need for your visit. You'll also find several galleries - including collections of art and treasures from the National Museum of Wales - a café and a shop. But perhaps best of all are the regular events held at the complex for children - all of which are related to the environment and its sustainability.
After returning back to base and relaxing a wee bit (i.e. stuffing our faces with some pukka tucker) we decided to round off our day with an evening stroll along the beach at Broad Haven.
Watching the sun setting over St. Brides Bay was very romantic... even if a wee bit chilly!
Exploring Broad Haven
An early start to proceedings today as I opted to go for an early morning run, the first of the holiday thus far. In typical fashion it was also the windiest day thus far and the hilly terrain provided me with an alternative run out to my usual surroundings.
My 35 minute run took in the main road between Broad Haven and Little Haven, as well as some of the surrounding lanes and tracks - not to mention what I can only assume is Broad Haven football club's home ground?
A quick shower and it was time for us all to have a much anticipated bacon butty breakfast. Not exactly in keeping with the healthy theme I know, but what the heck we're on holiday!
Next stop was Broad Haven beach with our goal today being to walk around the cove to Little Haven - tide permitting (unlike yesterday).
Thankfully a quick check on the Pembrokeshire tide tables via the internet on my mobile meant that we knew we'd have to be well on our way before the low tide at 11:30 am.
Although Broad Haven beach is wonderfully sandy there are enough rock pools near the coves to the south and north ends of the beach to make them an intriguing destination for kids of all ages (including big ones like me).
With the sun beating down on us in what felt like the hottest day of the year thus far and the kids starting to flag it was time to make a hasty retreat to the house for some much needed refreshments - but not without stopping for a dollop of Pembrokeshire's award winning ice cream from Upton Farm first though!
This evening saw a beautiful sunset and the location of our holiday home provided an ideal photograhic opportunity...
Broad Haven here we come
Phooo wee, it's been a long day but alas we're now tucked up and un-packed in our humble abode for the week in sunny Broad Haven in Pembrokeshire - the St. Brides Bay version not the other one!
Without doubt Broad Haven is a popular place mainly thanks to it being great for sun worshippers and water sports lovers. It's expanse of golden sand - which links up with nearby Little Haven at low tide - make it a great place for young families and it is widely considered as one of the finest beaches in St Brides Bay.
So eager with excitement, the house of DDWT was up at 7:30 to get ready for a proposed 13:30 departure (as we were unable to use our cottage/house before 3pm). For once we actually left on time and had a relatively easy journey with no tantrums and very little traffic, the only hold-up really being the road improvement scheme on the A40 near the Blue Lagoon Water park.
The accomodation was great and we could see why it had been given a 5 star rating. The bottle of wine provided by the owners was also a nice touch!
After unpacking, we ventured out for a walk down in order to get our bearings and check out the beach - especially with the sunset fast approaching. Although a chilly wind ensured we didn't stay very long - but long enough for DDWT Junior to 'fall' into the sea and drench himself!
With the sea air still fresh in the lungs, I then had the misfortune of drawing the short straw of deciding whom was going to do the grocery shop. I ended up in the Tesco superstore in Haverfordwest - they get everywhere don't they - and as usual lined the pocket of Tesco far too much. At least it was a short drive of only 5 miles away.
So here I am having got back around an hour or so ago and everyone is ready for bed - it's been a long day!
We did Sport Relief 2010
I'm glad to report that Team Thomas successfully completed the Swansea Sport Relief Mile 2010.
Thankfully the torrential rain of Saturday was long gone and was replaced by glorious spring sunshine by the time we ventured into Singleton Park - the venue for the Swansea Sport Relief Mile - in readiness for our family challenge.
With me opting to do the 6 miles at 11am and the rest of the Thomas clan doing the mile at noon, time was going to be tight, especially as I wanted to join them for their event.
I was hoping for a sub-50 minute time for the 6 miles, but the rather hilly setting put paid to any chances I had of doing that and I ended up coming home in 51 minutes 41 seconds.
The course was somewhat confusing as the 3 and 6 mile events consisted of doing 3.5 and 5 laps respectively - and shared with the 1 mile participants it all got a little confusing (in terms of keeping tabs on others and pacing yourself!).
In fairness the stewards did a grand job encouraging everyone and making sure that people went the right way - but the layout did nowt for my time keeping! Well I'm not going to blame my fitness levels am I
Still we had lots of fun and even the kids got in on the act with DDWT Junior running off and on for his mile (with Mrs DDWT) and Baby DDWT being quite content to walk along splashing in all the muddy puddles with me (although lagging behind somewhat!).
In fact it was fantastic to see so many families (including pets!) taking part in the events and having so much fun whilst doing so. Most of the kids seemed intrigued by the 'fire' juggler and were well chuffed to see Cyril the Swan present as well (well done Cyril for running the 1 mile event). Lee Trundle was also present to start off the proceedings at the 11am event.
The kids were well chuffed with their Sport Relief goodie bags - especially the medals, which my no doubt bring back a memory or two in years to come for both of them. I'm not sure what they made of the mini box of cereal or singular prune sachets, but they were welcome running food for me
I'd also like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has sponsored us so far. Thus far we've raised £66 - our target was £100 - but with more sponsorship pledged I'm still hopeful that we'll beat our original target.
If you'd like to donate then please feel free to do so via the Team Thomas Sport Relief page.
Cardiff city stadium here we come
Yes it's true I'm making a visit to the new Cardiff city stadium - or Legoland as us Jacks like to call it - to watch arguably the most fierce local derby in British football on Saturday, 3rd April 2010.
It has been many years since I visited our arch rivals at the old Ninian Park and I can remember the healthy amount of loose change I pocketed that day as a result of the post-match coin storm that ensued over the rear wall of the grange end!
So here I am, in 2010 making the journey once again only this time it'll be to see the Swan's very first game at the new Cardiff stadium.
Here's my bus ticker for the "bubble" trip...
The fixture has the potential to be explosive on-field encounter considering ALL of the ingredients with both teams are vying for promotion to the Premier league via the play-offs (well currently they are anyway!). The Bluebirds being at home and at their new stadium will be out for revenge having not beaten the Swans over the last 2 seasons (2 draws and 2 defeats).
From fan's perspective, it's a bank holiday weekend, it's a 17:20 kick-off and for the armchair fans it's live on Sky. I do wonder what South Wales Police make of it all though....
Whatever happens I'm in no doubt it'll be an interesting day!
World Book Day 2010
Did you know that today marked World Book Day 2010? Well nor did I until about a month ago when DDWT Junior came home from school branding a £1 book token and explanatory note!
So what is world book day? Well quite simply it is the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and Ireland.
I must confess to not being a bookworm by any stretch of the imagination but Mrs T and DDWT Junior are and I think it's great that such a 'day' exists - if only to generate interest in books for children and adults alike.
Our local school also got in on the act by asking all of the kids to dress up as their favourite character from one of the many books written by Roald Dahl - such as The BFG, George's Marvellous Medicine, The Twits, James & The Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Enormous Crocodile and many more.
Here's a picture of DDWT Junior sporting his Enormous Crocodile outfit!
Incidentally if you haven't read 'The Enormous Crocodile' - like I hadn't up until a couple of weeks back - I'd recommend it, it's quite funny for little kids and big ones!
Support the Team Thomas Sport Relief Challenge
Yes it's official, Team Thomas have decided to take part in Sport Relief 2010!
On Sunday 21st March 2010, Team Thomas - all four of us - will be heading down to Singleton Park to take part in the Swansea Sport Relief Mile in order to raise money for poor and vulnerable people.
The Swansea Sport Relief event offers a choice of distances to enter - 1, 3 or 6 miles and to make things a little more fun we've decided to do something a wee bit different.
I will kick things off at 11 am by doing the 6 mile event before joining Mrs DDWT and the little 'uns for the 1 mile event at noon. That is assuming that I run the 6 miles in under an hour of course LOL! We haven't decided if fancy dress is in order or not yet (any suggestions for costumes?).
We've never done a family fundraising event all together in the past, so we thought it was an ideal opportunity to try something different and help people both at home and overseas who aren't as fortunate as ourselves.
So why not sign up and enter the event, it's only £5 per adult and £2 for children under 16 or for just £12 you can register 2 adults and 2 children.
If you don't fancy taking part then why not sponsor Team Thomas instead? Remember every penny helps so even a £1 would be extremely welcome.
So go on you know you want too...
Plymouth Argyle v Swansea City – Championship 2009/2010
My quest to visit all 92 league grounds continued yesterday evening with a visit to the home of Plymouth Argyle - Home Park.
As it was half term week, only Conkers and myself (from the usual Dieters Bar Jacks) made the 3 hour journey down to the south west of England on what turned out to be a cold, damp and in some ways disappointing day/night out.
Leaving God's country (well a part of it) at 13:30 we made short work of the M4/M49 and were on the M5 before we knew it - as my followers on twitter were fully aware!
Our first stop - enforced toilet break - was Sedgemoor Services (South), which brought back fond memories of another Dieters Bar Jacks trip to Yeovil a few seasons back.
After this brief stop we were once again on our way and reached our pre-match meal destination - The Dartmoor Lodge - by around 16:00. Being less than 30 minutes away from Home Park we figured it was an ideal place to stock up our food and beverage reserves without the hustle and bustle.
Our refreshments arrived promptly and were warmly received - especially mine (as pictured below)!
Poor old Conkers had to make do with a pint of local ale (the name of which escapes me) and a coke (as in Cola).
We were soon tucking into a steak with ale pie and curry respectively. Conkers has a tendancy on this trips to ALWAYS sample the curry - much to the annoyance of the air pollution fraternity amongst us. It tasted good - the food that is - but for the price I paid I felt the portions were on the small side (unfortunately). Being a big old unit, I have a big old appetite!
My dessert, a pineapple and lemon gateau (above) was refreshingly sharp (as you'd imagine). Conkers went for the Lemon Meringue Pie - which he sent a picture of to @DomJolly in response to an earlier tweet about pancake day!
You can imagine how chuffed Conkers was to receive a reply back from the man himself..... "@Rhodri007 lol". Fancy making a well known comedian laugh at one of your gags!
It was now nearing 17:30 so we thought it best to continue with the last leg of our journey and we duly arrived at Home Park at around 18:00 and utilised the large (and free) car park right by the ground. It's always refreshing to see other Jacks milling around before an away game and this one was no exception.
After spending the next 30 minutes or so milling around the outside of the ground in the drizzly rain, we finally made it into the ground at 18:30 when the gates were opened. I kid you not, we were the FIRST fans into the ground!! A sad but true claim to fame?
Home Park has obviously been modernised over recent years and in some ways it was refreshing to see the old style wooden double deckered grandstand still remaining - it reminded me of the old days down the Vetch Field. However, it did make the ground look somewhat unfinished and awkward.
As for the game, the annoucement of 5 changes in the Swans line-up (from Saturday's Newcastle game) had most of the 700 odd Jacks present wondering what sort of formation we'd see. As the teams lined up for kick-off we were amazed to see that Paulo Sousa had gone for 4-4-2 instead of our usual 4-5-1.
It mattered little though as the Swans pretty much dominated the game from the start, despite what can only be described as a cow field of a pitch (for both teams).
The first half passed without much incident and little threat on our goal in particular - which was highlighted by the rather muted support from the locals. Not even a noisy away end seemed to wake them from their slumber.
The 2nd half duly arrived and before most people's cornish pasties (including mine) had had time to settle, Darren Pratley put the Swans 1 up - cue wild celebrations from the Jack Army present and on the internet LOL.
However, with 3 points looking to be in the bag things went pete tong with only minutes remaining when Plymouth were deservedly awarded a penalty due to an outrageous 'hand-of-God 'ish moment from Andrea Orlandi.
I was fortunate enough to catch the penalty on video....Dorus DeVries saved the first but amongst the wild celebrations the referree orders the spot kick to be re-taken due to DeVries moving off his line.
1st Penalty...
2nd Penalty...
Ok, you've seen them both for yourself. Yes he moved - but not a great deal - but significantly he did EXACTLY the same for both penalties. Angry and frustrated were two clean words I'd use to describe how I felt at that moment in time.
So the game controversially ended 1 a-peice and to say we were angry was an understatement. We felt robbed and the video's merely seemed to compound our misery even further.
Our night then got even worse when upon returning to the car (in the main car park) we found a note on the windscreen....from a gentleman called Tony Kelly whom had 'bumped' our car whilst leaving the car park! Conkers was not impressed with the damage to his rear end (of the car that is) as you can imagine - but in fairness at least the guy had the decency to leave his contact details. Who said society had gone to the dogs?
A few wrong turns, dense fog, heavy rain and 180 odd miles later and I was home thankfully. I think I finally hit the sack at around 01:45 this morning - feeling tired and p*ssed off to say the least but not as much as Conkers I'm sure.
Until next time....
Getting fit with Wii Fit Plus?
Getting fit with Wii Fit Plus? Well that's exactly what Mrs T is trying to do or rather is hoping it will kickstart her to do
Today has been the first proper chance that we've had to give the Wii Fit Plus and it's associated balance board a really good workout - ourselves included of course! In fact we were reliably informed by Wii Fit that it had been 16 days since we last erm, ahem, did any 'fitness' work. I must say though that during these 16 days we also managed to lose a 1lb each - well according to the Wii we had anyway.
As for the "game" itself, well as novice Wii users we aren't able to compare the Wii Fit Plus to the original Wii Fit - except to say that the cover box blurb gleefully boasts six additional exercises to the original.
Personally we were more sold by the fact that you can setup your own specialised workout, so you can completely customise your fitness program however you want.
You can also choose from aerobic and muscle exercises, yoga, balance games - heading, ski jump, ski slalom, tightrope, irritating maze, penguin game, snowboarding, meditation - and Training Plus. As you can imagine with that lot, we were knackered just reading the instructions!
Joking aside though it was great fun - even our 5 year old had a go - and it did in all fairness get the heart pumping and lungs blowing. So it got a big thumbs up from Mrs T whom is now more than happy with her new trainer partner. So if you want to have some family fun and get fit ('ish) at the same time - get yourself a Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board.
On a final note, the hula hoop exercise had me in hysterics as all I could see in front of me was a gyrating bottom - moving with great rhythym it must be said - and strains of "I see you baby...shakin' that ass" in my head