Quiet day

Today we have done almost nothing at all except watch Doctor Who and some other stuff on the TV. Rosie is back to work for a day tomorrow and Jennie is in pantomime for the afternoon performance.

The Christmas whirl

This is about the first time I have sat down and had a little time to myself for a week. Rosie is catching up with some sleep by going to bed at 6.30pm, for an hour or so. Jennie is in the bath relaxing and I am typing my blog. We have had a great Christmas, much of it with Chris Jackson of the Welsh Mountain Zoo and his two sons, Rob and Ben and Rob's girlfriend, Claire. There is not news on this front, but that can wait.

We had Christmas dinner at Chris' house and he gave us an excellent and delicious spread of pork with wonderful crackling - even if he did forget the stuffing, about which he was ribbed for much of the evening.

The day before yesterday Rosie's brother, Andy, and his wife, Joan, arrived from near Bolton with their two daughters Gemma (the one in the Royal Navy) and Kitty (the one living at home and trying to select a university). We had a great time with them, including going to the pantomime to see Jennie acting as one of the seven dwarves. We took Chris and Ben with us for this too. Good fun and not too long.

Last night Rosie's sister, Elspeth, joined everybody else at our house with her two offspring, Hannah and Alex. Her husband, Neil, was ill in bed. We all feasted on a buffet at home and the younger generation went to the pub. The YG got back sometime after 11.30pm and retreated to bed and the older generation stayed up to about 3.30am putting the world to rights, as you do.

Kitty's boyfriend, James, joined us yesterday too. He had been galavanting around, sharing his time between various parts of his family elsewhere.

Today was our turkey dinner, which I cooked for about 4.00pm. Success. Now everyone is replete and has gone home and Chris has phoned complaining of a sore throat and saying that Rosie gave it to him. Ah, well, what would we do without family and friends?

Royal Naval Auxiliary Service RNXS

I was just looking at the photo of me which I used to have on the 'about me' section on this blog and I think I looked really grumpy so I have changed it to one of me in a Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) uniform, probably taken about 15 years ago. They closed the RNXS down in some random round of defence cuts not long after that. Odd really, as we were all unpaid volunteers. I suppose the base in Llandudno must have cost a couple of pounds a year to maintain, but nothing much. We used to run ports and anchorages and there was an 'afloat unit' at Menai Bridge which had a vessel like the one in the photo here, I think.
I guess the Royal Navy may manage without the RNXS, at a push.

Christmas and New Year and Toc H

Christmas and the New Year are just around the corner. Are you ready? We aren't! I am also not convinced that we will get all the cards written...

As there are a couple of comments about Toc H on this post, here is the movement's lamp to which I refer.

Top Cash Back - again

Further to the earlier post, there is a very positive write-up of Top Cash Back in the January 2009 Which? magazine.

Christmas greetings

An early Happy Christmas - Nadolig Llawen
Rather than writing one of those Christmas circulars to old friends and family I have decided to include this blog address with Christmas cards. People will be able to keep up with goings-on if they choose, and not if they don't. Freedom of choice is what it's about.
We have been trying to get our Christmas cards written this weekend as there are just too few days left before the big event. Also, the tree needs to go into the drawing room and it will need decorating and I said I would roast a chicken this evening too. I think I may be running out of time...again.
Talking of hens, we are still mulling over whether to keep some in the garden.

Gemma passes out

Our neice, Gemma, passing out into the Fleet Air Arm as an Air Engineering Technician in 2007 (I know it is out of chronological order), but just got this picture from her father, Andy. She is the one in the middle at the front. She is now qualified and working on the Lynx helicopter.

Horwich

We find ourseves in Horwich celebrating Rosie's brother's birthday and messing about on the computer. Jennie and Joan are making arty crafty things and looking very industrious...

I think we have now sorted out Christmas with Andy and Joan coming on Boxing Day for the pantomine. Turkey will be a day late therefore. We are with our neighbour on Christmas Day itself, with his two sons.

WCVA

I said I would let you know which WCVAs I know. They are the the Wales one and the Winant Clayton one.

Good news from my father

I have been a little worried about my natural father, who is an American in his mid 70s living in Redmond, Oregon. He was complaining of various ailments which led him to travel to the Portland VA Medical Center for checks. As he is a veteran he gets this treatment free, which is a rare treat in the USA. Fortunately they found nothing wrong with him so we can all relax again...

How is he a veteran? Well he served in the US Airforce in England in the mid 1950s. Hence, me. I'll get round to explaining all that sometime.

He and his wife had a great Thanksgiving weekend by the sound of it.

The Surrey Connection

Last night Rosie and I met Chris and Mandy for dinner at La Dolce Vita in Rhos on Sea. What a delicious meal and what good company! We all have Surrey connections and wandered down memory lane as well as laughing a lot.

Top Cash Back

I have been using Top Cash Back for some months now for a variety of online purchases. It pays back a small percentage of what you spend with its associated retailers, many of which are High Street shops of all sorts. It doesn't cost anything to join. There are other cashback sites too, but I don't know those so well. I have received £53.84 since February 2008, which really is a pretty good free lunch.

I will leave a semi-permanent link to this site in the 'links' list on this blog.

Spatial planning

I enjoyed the meeting of the North East Wales Spatial Plan officials' group this morning in St Asaph. I was able to make a few important points which were, I hope, taken on board. Work is very busy at the moment...

Toc H - click to see website

I was deeply involved in the work of Toc H for nearly 25 years, man and boy, as a volunteer and as a staff member, and I had a huge emotional as well as practical commitment to it. I am sorry to hear that it is now struggling to survive. I gather this is due to an allegedly unwise commitment to put £1 million into a city academy in Bradford. Oh dear...we will see...

At least Talbot House, Poperinge, in Belgium, seems to be going from strength to strength. This is where Toc H started in the first world war and we were last there as a family in October this year. Such nostalgia. It felt like coming home.

Have you heard the phrase 'dim as a Toc H lamp'?

Columbia River

This bridge joins Washington State (far bank) and Oregon in the pacific north west of the USA. The Columbia River is the state line. We were there in the summer - and I have just discovered how to upload photos to this blog!

Highland Airways - click to view website

Anglesey Airport has to be one of the smallest commercial airports in the world. Am I wrong? Of course, it is also a pretty big RAF base.The only civilian flights from there are to Cardiff, about 40 minutes away by air, but you take off past a row of RAF jets - sleek and powerful looking - which could probably get you there in about 12 seconds or so. They probably don't use those because there wouldn't be time for the coffee and biscuit. Anyway, Highland Airways isn't the RAF. Pity.
I quite like the prop driven aircraft actually, because you have time to see Snowdonia and mid Wales or the cotton wool tops of solid cloud. But it is noisy. Also, the carbon footprint is pretty small and delicate, so I don't feel guilty about using it.

Staying at the Copthorne in Cardiff

Well the Copthorne Hotel was a hit, but not a musical one. Instead of the musical theatre performance I had a delicious meal in the restaurant - yummy soup with specialist breads, partridge, and an apple based light pudding. Between each course I was brought a nibble with the 'compliments of the chef'. I just had a jug of iced water because the manager had left an open bottle of wine for me in my room as a way of apologising for the cancelled performance.
I didn't have to pay for the dinner as it was included in the 'dinner bed and breakfast' relatively cheapo theatre package which I had booked. To be honest, I was happy to do without the music, because I listened to a conversation being held by some people from a major cancer research body on another table about forthcoming loss of funding for some research or other. What a familiar story that is to those of us in the voluntary sector. I shall refrain from mentioning the name of the person with the loud and clear voice who was clearly a VIP in the field.
Dining alone can be a rather sad business but at least I don't feel self conscious about it any more. I only do it when I am working. This was an interesting conversation to listen to, though, and it wasn't interrupted with dreadful canned music....maybe it was a 'ban all music' night.

uppers and downers

The ‘downer’ is that I have had a phone call from the Copthorne Hotel Cardiff saying that, as there is only one of me, I cannot attend the musical performance at the hotel this evening. Nobody has ever suggested that I be cloned, but it is something to think about, then there could be lots of me. No rude comments please! Anyway, I was about to launch into a lengthy rant about discrimination against sad and lonely people when away from the warmth and cosiness of home and favouring couples over everyone else. But then I realised she meant I was the only person who would have been in the audience. Nobody else had booked. No rant then, just a negotiation over dinner and prices and the suchlike. I will dine, I will sleep, I will break the fast in the morning. Perhaps someone could sing me a lullaby?

The ‘upper’ is that one of my colleagues in west Wales is writing the WCVA evidence for the National Assembly for Wales inquiry into ‘overview and scrutiny’ at local government level. That takes a little pressure off me, which is helpful, because I have to pen a response to two other consultations and the deadlines loom. Oh, yes, this WCVA is the Welsh one, not the Windy City one.

Northern Ireland

I flew over to Belfast recently for a meeting of the UK Volunteering Forum and met with the CEOs of Volunteering England, Volunteer Development Agency (NI), Volunteer Development Scotland and numerous civil servants from those national governments and assemblies. It was very constructive and enjoyable. At that time there was political deadlock over policing and justice in Northern Ireland and the whole devolution programme seemed very precarious. But now the deadlock is broken and devolution in NI has a future – let’s hope it is a long one.

WCVA

Seems there are numerous WCVA organisations. I have had considerable contact with two of the ones to which I have put links on the right. Can you guess which? I'll let you know later....

topic to discuss - Haringey

There are so many world and local events to chose from - the virtual collapse of the capitalist world; the President Elect of the USA; child care, or otherwise, in Haringey - maybe that's one to pick up on.
For all the council may have been at fault in not picking up on the severity of the abuse which Baby P suffered, the abuse itself was not done by them. It was the people living with the baby who abused and who are truly at fault and should suffer the consequences of their actions to the full extent of the law. Of course we need efficient and effective services to intervene in dreadful cases like this, but let's blame the right people for this murder.

telling people about my blog

I suppose there is no point in doing a blog if you are not going to tell people about it. It is hardly a private diary, is it, with the whole world able to look? So, I have mentioned it to our ICT bod at work. He is a sociable sort of person and will probably mention it to someone else. It's OK, Nick, you can.
However, this may mean I need to make this a little less verbose or a little more generally interesting - not just about my life events. Now let's see...

Mandy and distant friends

Just had a call from Mandy, who I haven't seen for some time and who learnt Welsh with me some years ago. She is good fun and we have arranged to go out for an Italian meal - she and her husband and Rosie and me.
It is difficult to know whether to maintain contact with friends we haven't seen for ages. With too many people things have come to a mere exchange of Christmas cards. This doesn't apply to Mandy because she is local, but rather to folk who live some distance from here - in London and south east England mainly. I am not hard hearted enough to be able to just let go of people of whom I am fond.

Goths and Betws y Coed

We went to have lunch at the Best Western Hotel in Betws y Coed to celebrate our friend Graham's birthday yesterday. The carvery was OK, but for some reason the pate was served with no toast or bread. That's like beef with no yorkshire pudding or a car without wheels. They put it right when asked.

The shops in Betws are so geared to tourists, but there is one I like which sells Goth-style clothing. I like the look. It reminds me of the Hammer Horror films and Frankenstein. One of my natural cousins is a Goth and works as a biologist down in the south of England. Haven't seen her for ages, so I must look her up.

On reflection, I will stick with the old 'smart casual' look at work. I won't go Goth - it might shock some people.

topic to discuss - wind turbines

I am sitting at home looking out of the window at the new bases of wind turbines which are being built out to sea. For months now they have been working on them and they are on the horizon from the beach but mid-sea from up here on the hill above the bay. I cannot yet decide whether I like them or not. It was great to look out on open ocean, but perhaps more interesting to have some movement. There are no sails yet, but they will come soon. I will keep you up to date with this.
I approve of this way of generating electricity, just not sure if I am a bit NIMBY about it.

funeral

Shaftesbury is a long way to drive from north Wales and I didn't manage to leave work until about 3pm because of a meeting which went on longer than expected. I arrived, at my cousin Jenny's house, about an hour after she had planned to have the evening meal, which was an embarrassment, albeit I had warned her.

Anyway, it was a great pleasure to see my cousins Jenny and Peter and their respective families. Jenny is married to a retired Colonel, Gordon, who is responsible for the MOD estates abroad. Peter, his wife Rosemary, and their three daughters, are living in Ireland, Rosemary's childhood home. Peter runs his own wine business there.

Aunt Margaret's funeral went without a hitch and was moving, with an excellent tribute paid by cousin Jenny. It poured with rain!

After the crematorium commital I drove back to North Wales via a short stop to see folk in Salisbury. Got home about 9.15pm. Knackered, but pleased to have gone.

Rhayader and other stuff, including SatNav

It was a windy and windy drive from North Wales to Rhayader and back (in other words twisty with gales) but there was a good turnout of County Voluntary Councils (CVCs) to talk about stuff with Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) civil servants. I won't go into the detail. I said I would note down key actions and then ended up writing about 6 pages of comment. I will edit it before circualtion. I am not really very keen on minute taking because it inhibits contributing to the discussion, but someone needs to do it and this is the only meeting I do this for on anything like a regular basis. Do you need to know this?

I have not decided yet how I am going to use this blog. Perhaps it doesn't matter really and I can just ramble on.

Oh, the SatNav (GPS). I am pleased with the MP3 player part of this. It broadcasts not only the driving directions, but also my music, to the radio. I can blast out Duffy or relax to Rutter's Requiem, depending on mood and road conditions. Hmm, what did I do before GPS? Used a map, I guess, and it seemed to work...but this is so easy. I bet new drivers will begin to lose map reading skills - if they haven't already.

Last reflection - It was good to speak a little Welsh today. I am not fluent, but it keeps my brain in gear.

Disability Wales dinner

Just back from a delicious dinner with most entertaining and interesting company, where I learned about beach wheelchairs. These have wide low pressure tyres which can be used on sand. They are hard going on tarmac, but the tyre pressure can be increased to help. Clever stuff!

Time for bed as I am going to Rhayader tomorrow to meet representatives of the County Voluntary Councils. Lots of travelling this week.

natural family

...I have many in an older generation still going strong in my natural family both in the UK and the USA - mainly the latter. More of that anon...suffice it to say, for now, that I was adopted as a baby, had a happy upbringing and then traced my natural family...

I realise I have not been in touch with the States lot since Obama won the election. There will be differing opinion on this, some of it strong.

funeral

I am going down to Shaftesbury (5 hour drive) on Wednesday for my late aunt's funeral. She was 96 and the last in my adoptive family of her generation. Thus passes an era. I am looking forward to seeing my cousins, but it is sad that it takes an event like this to bring us together. Hatches, matches and dispatches are key events which act as magnets to draw people. I guess that, if you are old fashioned you might prefer that to be 'matches, hatches and dispatches'.

...and a bit more

I am looking forward to going to dinner with Disability Wales at a local top hotel tonight. The invitation says it is 'smart casual' so I have asked everyone I have seen this afternoon what they think that means. It has varied from dark suit and tie to trousers and open shirt. I am going for a mid point of jacket and tie - with trousers of course - and shoes. Fingers crossed!

this is a start

Well, for some reason I have decided to start blogging, but I don't yet know why. I'm not going to be too philosophical about that, so we shall see how things pan out. I guess I will dip in and out of this process, as may you, so that's why I chose this title.