Happy birthday, Cath. I love you.
C had a great birthday card from her mum and dad: the front read “We’re smiling because your our daughter” & inside “and laughing because there’s nothing you can do about it”.
Things I saw on my run dow the Taff Trail last night: 2 white cows, several horses (one wearing a coat), 3 rabbits, lots of sheep and little lambs, dogs of all shapes and sizes being walked by their owners (also all shapes and sizes) and 2 cyclists (one going very slowly and jovial, the other very fast and surly).
Excellent Sunday lunch at the Newbride in Tredunnock near Usk (http://www.thenewbridge.co.uk/). Beautiful setting on the banks of the Usk river, and great food too. Worth the trip.
Ebbw Vale First Responder is a great volunteer service which provides support to emergency ambulance services in critical cases. They do a superb job of supporting the scarce ambulance service in the area – Aberbeeg, Tredegar and Neviil Hall in Abergavenny. (www.evfirstresponder.co.uk)
If you want to download music to you iPod, MP3 player or just your PC and are tired of paying 99p or so for each track, here’s a cheaper alternative. AllofMP3 (http://www.allofmp3.com/) is a site which offers a huge selection of music at a fraction of the price. I just downloaded new CDs from Van Morrison and Donald Fagen for under £1 each.
Random thought – there are some great pig-related words: porcine, suckling, rasher and, of course, bacon.
TV notes
Boston Legal on Living TV is great fun. William Shatner (yes, Kirk himself) is on top form as Denny Crane, the slightly deranged lawyer.
The Apprentice – Tuan got the heave-ho this week. He really was a useless waste of space as a leader. If the others are even half-good, then Sir Alan has the opportunity to get rid of Syed. But no, someone goes & messes up so badly that he has no choice & Syed survives to give the great British public another bout of BS.
Travel notes
Aggravating I – The dualling of the Heads of the Valleys road (the A465) is moving on slowly. One stretch has been completed, between Merthyr Tydfil and Tredegar. Well, I say completed. The last half mile near Tredegar was open for a whole week before the ubiquitous cones were erected around a small landslip near the Tredegar junction, until remedial work could be done.
No problem, I hear you say. Except that these cones have been in place for almost 2 years! When traveling to Ebbw Vale this week I notice that even more cones have sprung up. Does this mean that the repairs are finally going to be done? Don’t hold your breath.
Aggravating II – Mobile phones being used in the quiet carriage of the train to/from London. They need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Cricket notes
Amazingly, Glamorgan’s Sophia Gardens has been added to the “A” list of UK cricket grounds, and are scheduled to host a Test Match between England and Australia in 2009. A bit like holding a Wagner opera at a Womens Institute hall, reckoned The Times. The current capacity is around 7,000 and they are aiming to expand up towards 20,000. So this is all subject to lots of improvement works around the ground and getting planning permission past the Pontcanna residents.
That might be tricky. They successfully saw off Glamorgan’s plans to build an ice rink at Sophia Gardens to host the Cardiff Devils franchise, and seem to have some influential contacts in the Welsh media. We’ll see.
Rugby notes
Another good win for Ebbw Vale against Pontypool in midweek. They have raced up the table to 12th, and would appear to be one win away from safety. We were down to 13 men at one stage, with bizarrely a wing and fullback yellow-carded.
Three good tries for Simon Hunt. I would heap lots of praise on him, but I met him in the clubhouse after the game and he doesn’t seem to have any problems with self-confidence! Collectively the team played their hearts out and they were out on their feet for the last ten minutes. Nevertheless, a stout defensive line kept Maesteg out.
The scheduling of the two remaining home games (Llandovery and Pontypridd) is yet to be resolved. There are issues around access to the ground with the cricket taking precedence after 1 May. So rumours abound that the games may be played at Abertilery Park. Let’s hope that Friday night games at Eugene Cross Park can be organised.
Close game on Saturday at Dave Parade where Ebbw narrowly failed to turn over the old enemy, going down 21-22. Augers well for the remaining three fixtures, starting with a visit to Cross Keys on Saturday coming.
Garden notes
The patio is now complete. C finished the planting around the pond on Saturday. See the photo post below.
