Honeymoon Notes

The Pacific Coast Highway dominated the honeymoon as we travelled down California’s central coast on Highway 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles. And all point in between.

My highlights of the trip included a visit to Alcatraz and riding the cable cars in San Francisco; chilling out in laid-back Monterey; driving down the Big Sur; Hearst Castle; sunsets over Santa Monica beach; seeing the lunacy that passes for the roads in Los Angeles; staying at the Hollywood Roosevelt; and taking in a couple of baseball games.

California Dreaming

Everywhere in California has featured in a song at sometime or another. In San Francisco its Otis Redding’s Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay and the Grateful Dead. In Los Angeles it’s the Beach Boys, the Eagles and the whole Laurel Canyon scene: Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and even Frank Zappa (who apparently is the only one on this list who didn’t ingest industrial quantities of drugs).

Do You Know The Way To San Jose? Well, yes, its down Interstate 580 from San Francisco.

Coincidentally a CD which could easily have been the soundtrack of the honeymoon has just been released, called California Dreaming.

Hotel Notes

The tour itinerary was:

Chancellor Hotel, San Francisco – 5 nights
Monterey Hotel, Monterey – 4 nights
Ragged Point Inn, near San Simeon – 1 night
Hotel Oceana, Santa Barbara – 2 nights
Doubletree Guest Suites, Santa Monica – 3 nights
Hollywood Roosevelt, Los Angeles – 4 nights

It seemed that each hotel was better than the last, although all of them were good. The Hollywood Roosevelt is desperately trendy, and a place where LA wannabes go to be seen. It was so achingly hip I don’t quite know how they let us in. Poolside (the pool itself has a mural designed by David Hockney) was populated by ‘the beautiful people’, in other words anorexic chain-smokers who ever take their pagers and blackberries into the pool with them.

In the evenings there was always a queue of wannabes trying to get in so that they could hand out at the poolside bar. The velvet rope and a seven-foot bouncer kept the out. People obviously thought I must be famous when I wandered back into the hotel late at night armed with a Starbucks coffee, bypassing the queue with no more than a “alright butt” to the bouncer.

Travel Notes

Online check-in must be one of the best innovations in recent years. It turns a truly horrible experience – the airport – into just an unpleasant one. Now, if only BA could work on giving everyone a bit more space in cattle class.

We had a hire car (rental) for most of the trip. It looked like an orange hearse, which we nicknamed Orange Crush. It was a Chevy HHR, and drew lots of looks (not all of admiration).

One of the other worst travel experiences must be renting a car. We pre-booked ours and so were subject to only a few minutes of hard sell (upgrades, roadside assiatance). Some others we saw had a horrendous time: “You need to give me another $300 for a one-way drop-off or you don’t get no car.” Nice customer service, Alamo.

By the way, I’d recommend Holiday Autos which searches all the hire companies to get you a good deal.

On the whole, driving in California is a piece of cake. Away from the big cities he roads are quiet and the driving is very orderly, sedate even. But then there’s LA.

The traffic is Los Angeles was comfortably the worst I’ve ever seen. At rush hour, and several hours either side, the freeways seemed to be jammed with cars. One of the sights of the trip was turning onto the Hollywood Freeway and seeing five lanes of stationery traffic. In both directions! A five mile drive to the baseball game took 45 minutes.

Something that was new to me this trip was valet parking at some of the hotels. It’s a cool feeling to pull up outside the hotel and just throw the keys to one of the attendants. Mind you, it doesn’t come cheap.

Nut Notes

San Francisco must be the nutter capital of the world. At the bottom of Powell Street where it meets Market Street there’s the finest collection of loons you could ever wish to meet. This must be a legacy of too much drug use during the flower-power hippie years. There’s all sorts of manic street preachers and assorted mad hatters. There was a woman who stopped to stroke the tarmac as she crossed the road, oblivious to the traffic bearing own on her.

The number 71 bus to Haight-Ashbury was clearly a meeting place for the mentally unsound. Even the Kurt Cobain wannabe loon shook his head at the strange old woman with the blue wig and eye shadow and special line in mumbling disaffection. And then there was the black guy who I thought had a mobile phone. Except he didn’t. The bus was subjected to one side of a discussion he had with himself. Yikes. Worryingly we didn’t seem to attract that much attention. We must have blended in well.

Art Notes

I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like. So it was with trepidation that I went with Cath to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). There were some truly horrendous “installations” there, but the Picasso exhibit was a wonderful insight into his influences on other artists. Pop art was well represented with Roy Liechtenstein and Andy Warhol pieces. I also discovered Georgia O’Keeffe and Stuart Davis for the first time.

Lots more art in the Getty Museum which is near Bel Aire and overlooks smoggy LA. It houses one of the finest art collections in the world; Van Gogh, Degas and other masterpieces were on display, all housed in a fantastic modern building which only someone with Getty’s spare cash could have come up with.

Then there was the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in downtown LA. Some interesting and unusual pieces, but some of it was utter tosh. Toothpicks, q-tips, wire and rope do not make art. Sorry folks.

Nature Notes

At Fisherman’s Wharf in SF there is a sea lion observation deck. As we approached Cath reckoned there was a sea lion tape playing. It tuned to be hundreds of sea lions basking in the sunshine on pontoons just off the wharf.

An even more natural environment for sea lions is a beach near San Simeon which they have decided to take over. To see hundreds of females and pups coming and going into the sea or just lazing in the sun was a privilege.

In Monterey, the aquatic mammal of choice is the sea otter. A bigger and cuter version of the river otter from back home, they were one of the man exhibits at the magnificent Monterey Bay Aquarium. As well as the three in captivity at the aquarium, the guide pointed out several playing happily just offshore in the Bay.

Baseball Notes

We went to see the San Francisco Giants host the Philadelphia Phillies on the only rainy evening of the entire trip. The game lasted 3¾ hours, played largely in light drizzle. With the Phillies up 9-2 after 4 innings, SF manager Bruce Bochy took Barry Bonds and a few other stars out of the game. Despite this throwing in of the towel, the Giants rallied to get close but ultimately lost 9-7. The Giants managed to use 19 players, and the endless changes and double-switches reminded me why I prefer te DH rule and the AL over the NL.

Apart from the chance to boo steroid-ridden Barry Bonds first-hand, the highlight of the evening was the crowd reactions to score updates from the NBA playoffs. It was the night when the Golden State Warriors knocked out the Dallas Mavericks in a shock upset, and it was obvious where the crowd would rather be.

Wind forward a couple of weeks, and the second game of the trip was the Los Angeles Dodgers taking on reigning World Series champions the St Louis Cardinals. OK, so Dodger Stadium is a few years old now, but in all other respects this was a better experience. Better crowd, better atmosphere, better weather and a better game. Randy Wolf pitched well for the Dodgers, and pinch-hiter Wilson Betemit made the difference with a home run. The Dodgers ran out winners 5-4.

Breakfast Notes

Ordering breakfast can be quite an ordeal. Eggs any style; fried is far too imprecise. They can be sunny side up, over easy, over medium, etc, etc. There must be a thousand permutations for an ordinary breakfast. But them Americans still can’t do proper bacon.

My personal favourite brekkie was at Sears, a famous breakfast eatery next door to our hotel in SF. It had queues most mornings, but worth queuing for. It was a pecan waffle (drowned in maple syrup, natch). Served with a bottomless cup of coffee. If that doesn’t set you up for the day, nothing will.

A few mornings in LA started at the ihop (International House of Pancakes) where corn flakes are not served. Industrial quantities of pancakes, eggs, hash browns and bacon are served up, smothered in maple syrup (as always). I can feel my arteries hardening just writing about it. Good though.

This week's stuff

This week’s sign of the apocalypse

This past week saw the first mobile phone call made from the top of Mount Everest. British mountaineer Rod Baber also sent a text message that read “One small step for man, one giant leap for mobilekind”. Now its official – nowhere is safe from the modern irritations of life. If you want to read more (I don’t really suggest it, you’ll only get depressed) you can do so here.

Rugby Notes

This is my first chance to congratulate Ebbw Vale on their second place finish in the Principality Premiership. Great job guys. Best wishes to coach Alex Codling who has secured a new job nearer home as forwards coach at London Welsh. Good luck too to Ian George and Hywel Jenkins who appear set to follow him to Old Deer Park.

In recognition for their great season, Ebbw Vale features in the running for the Principality Premiership Awards, due to be given out this week. Alex Codling is on the shortlist for coach of the year (with Simon King, Pontypridd and Iestyn Thomas, Llandovery) and John Bowd is on the shortlist for player of the year (along with Dafydd Lockyear, Pontypridd and Morgan Stoddard, Llanelli). Good luck to you both.

Wales put up a good show in Australia on Saturday, losing 29-23 after leading right up to the last move of the game. In Bloomfontein however, the Springboks thrashed England 58-10.

Cricket Notes

Just a month ago when Cath and I set off on honeymoon the World Cup final fiasco had just finished. By the time we get back the summer test series is underway in England. There’s no break at all for test players nowadays. I sometimes wonder why they bother listing the county that each test player represents, because they never turn out for their county side.

Glamorgan have managed, as predicted here, to reach some new lows this season. This past week they lost by an innings at home to Middlesex within two days. And to add insult to injury, they have been docked eight points for the Swansea pitch being substandard.

Glamorgan are firmly rooted to the bottom of division 2, with just 14 points thus far. And in the one-day tables, Glamorgan would be bottom if it weren’t for Ireland’s inclusion in the tournament. And now there’s news that Simon Jones is injured again. It’s looking like a good decision not to renew my membership this season.

Television Notes

Watched Dr Who on BBC1 on Saturday night. Many of the street scenes for 1913 England were filmed at the National Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagans. Rhydycar Cottages and the Oakdale Institute both featured in the episode. Bringing back the Doctor was one the Beeb’s better ideas in recent years.

Website of the week

Heckle Depot has some good pieces of abuse which can be added to any sports spectator’s armoury of heckles. They’re mainly baseball-orientated, but I’m sure they can be adapted. Of course there’s always the witty banter page of the Ebbw Vale RFC website, the best rugby website in the world. Not that I’m biased, mind.

Astronomy limerick of the week

There was a young lady named Bright
Whose speed was faster then light
She went out one day
In her relative way
And came back the previous night

Of course, the second funniest joke in the world is about a limerick. The funniest is about a piano player with Tourrette’s syndrome. You’ll have to ask Rob Smith to tell you them as they certainly aren’t repeatable on a family-friendly blog!

Old joke home

“Doctor, I can’t pronounce my Fs, Ts and Hs.”
“Well, you can’t say fairer than that then.”

Things that make you go Hmm

Why do people say: “Can I ask you a question?”
Didn’t really give me much of a choice there, did you?

Why do people say: “Its always in the last place you look”?
Of course it is. Why would you keep on looking after you’ve found it?

Ode to IT

I have a spell in checker
It came with my PC
It plainly marks four my revue
Missed takes I can knot sea
I ran this poem threw it
I’m shore your please two no
It’s letter perfect any weigh
My checker tolled me sew.

Wedding

Well, here I am; three weeks a married man and no signs of wanting to drown my sorrows. I’m told it’s just a matter of time though!

I’m sure that there are lots of pictures of the wedding around, but here are a couple of links to start you off.

Robo’s photos
Our brother’s photos
The James’ photos

Prenuptial blog

Last blog as a bachelor. Because of a certain wedding and honeymoon there will be a break in transmission for a few weeks.

Rugby News

After leading the table for several weeks, it’s finally beyond us. Ebbw Vale are not going to win the Principality Premiership this season. The best we can hope for is second place, even if we win our last game of the season. On Saturday (after a three week layoff) we are at home to Llanelli. I’ll be at my own match at the Peterstone Court Hotel

Cricket Notes

The fixtures for the Haddocks have been published as we start our campaign to avoid relegation. We fortunately sneaked promotion into Division 2 in 2006, and this year I’m sure will be more in line with the club’s motto of “aspire to mediocrity”.

The fixtures can be found on the Cardiff Midweek Cricket League website.

Useless Link of the Week

If you’ve ever wanted your own gangland nickname, then here’s the website for you. Enter your name and it selects a gangster nickname for you.

Worst Lyrics?

The Times had an article about some of the worst pop lyrics even written. Here’s just a taster:

“I know that I must do what’s right/ Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.”
Toto’s Africa

“Slowly walking down the hall/ Faster than a cannonball.”
Oasis’s Champagne Supernova

“What a drag it is/ The shape I’m in/ Well I go out somewhere/ Then I come home again.”
Razorlight’s America

“He starts to shake and cough/ Just like the old man in/ That book by Nabokov”
Police’s Don’t Stand so Close to Me

“Gonna write a classic/ Gonna write it in an attic/ Boy I'm an addict/ An addict for your love.”
Adrian Gurvitz’s Classic

"He caught a plane and he got on it".
Mink DeVille's Spanish Stroll

“And fiery demons all dance when you walk through that door/ Don't say you're easy on me, you're about as easy as a nuclear war."
Duran Duran’s Is There Something I Should Know?

"I don't want to see a ghost/ It's the sight that I fear most/ I'd rather have a piece of toast."
Des'ree’s Life

Ponty Crime Wave

OK, now I’m pissed off. It’s the third time in the last six weeks that our cars have been damaged.

First, three tyres were slashed. Thanks for that yob. Called the police, a copper came up, wrote a few notes and left.

Then a few weeks ago someone put a rock through the back window of Cath’s car. Thanks again, citizens of Ponty. Called police: on hold for an eternity and then the line goes dead. So I report it at police station. Uninterested admin person writes a note on a piece of paper. Nothing further until we get a call from the police to say that they were going to call up to take a look but…are you ready for this… they “couldn’t find the house”. It’s a good job it wasn’t a 999 call, eh?

Now last night, someone drove into my car while it was parked on the side of the road. Broken back light, broken wing mirror and scratched paintwork down the side. The driver of the other car must have been seriously drunk, because it’s a well-lit and wide road. He (I assume it’s a he) left his wing mirror at the scene of the crime. Except according to the police (another wasted afternoon at the police station) it’s not a crime, it’s a “failure to stop after a road traffic accident”. I thought that was a crime too, but obviously not. When reporting the incident I was told that Merthyr Road was “off their rounds” and “yeah, they drive like idiots around there” and “there’s nothing we can do”. Ta, PC 1987.

So there we are. Crimes: three. Culprits caught: zero. Effort to catch criminals by South Wales Police: zero. Pissed off victims: two (me and Cath).

Wedding stuff

Yes, its nearly here. The social event of the year, or as its know around here, the Vealey/Janesey wedding. I know that you’re all queuing up to buy lots of toasters and tea towels, but if you are stop it right now.

About gift lists. The thing is, there isn’t one. We’ve asked people either to contribute to our photography fund, via Mark Cleghorn Photography, or alternatively to make a charitable donation. We’ve selected Mind and Hospice of the Valleys, as both are close to our hearts. Your donations would make such a difference.

Sunny Tresaith

Spent a wonderful Easter holiday break down at the caravan in Tresaith. The weather was superb for early April, with temperatures hitting almost 70 degrees (21 in new money). Marvin enjoyed frolicking on Tresaith beach and snoozing in the sun. Which is pretty much what Cath and I did too.

The only hiccup was Good Friday, which for a large part of the day was shrouded in sea fog. The photo is of nearby Llangrannog in the fog. Bizarrely it only reached 100 yards inland, and we basked in sunshine on a trip to Meurig’s cottage a little way inland. His site has got some nice pictures of the area.

Free Prescriptions

As of 2 April, Wales has become the first country in the UK to make all prescriptions free of charge. Of course, the large majority of people in Wales have always had exemption from prescriptions charges (80% or so) – those under 16 or still in fulltime education, over 60s, benefit claimants and those with certain medical conditions.

Dental and optical charges continue though, so we haven’t quite got back to Aneurin Bevan’s stated aim of medical care free at the point of service.

Smoking Ban

A huge step forward in healthcare in Wales. As of 2 April smoking in all public places is banned. It will be a pleasure to have a night out in a smoke-free restaurant or pub. Here’s the website with all the guidance.

Old Jokes Home

Q: What do you get if you cross a robot with a pirate?
A: Arrrrrrgh 2D2.

Link of the Week

Oh dear, what I have I done. Some people have realised that if I can write a blog then so can they. It’s all my fault that the Roberts boys have entered cyberspace. There’s Neil Roberts’ blog and there’s Dai Roberts’ blog. I’m sorry. I really am.

Rugby Notes

Missed Saturday’s game against Llandovery. Ebbw Vale ran out winners 28-21 in a nail-biter, recovering from being 21-7 down early in the second half. There’s a full report on the Ebbw Vale RFC website.

Scorers: Tries for lock Will Jones (on his debut), Kristian Owen, Simon Hunt and Matthew Williams, all converted by Sam Mills.

There’s just one game left for Ebbw Vale at home to Llanelli. Originally scheduled for next Saturday (which would have meant the earliest finish to a rugby season for many a year), its been postponed because of Llanelli’s involvement in the cup. No date for the game has been announced yet.

Running Notes

It’s time to register for the Swansea 10k run again. Its scheduled for Sunday 23 September, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, I’ll be there again. Here’s the link to register.

Vertical horizon

Cath and I went rock climbing for the first time last night at the Welsh International Climbing Centre in Bedlinog. It has the biggest indoor climbing wall in Europe and must be one of the undiscovered gems in South Wales.

It was fantastic fun, once you get over the terror of being at the mercy of a piece of rope. Old hands Jon & B gave us all the right pointers and encouragement, and before long we had each scampered up to the top of one of the climbing walls. OK, it was the easiest grade of all, but it was still over 50 feet up to the top. After a couple of climbs I was completely knackered and my arms were (and still are) aching. Yes, that's me looking likely to plummet at any moment.

Birthday Notes

Happy birthday to our Brother over the pond. 47 today.

Squash Notes

A tightly fought 4-0 win over Dave this week, 9-3, 9-6, 10-8, 10-8. Turning point came on a contentious let at 3-8 down in the third set.

Rugby Notes

Ebbw Vale managed a 26-26 draw at Glamorgan Wanderers on Saturday. It was a game where the Ebbw pack absolutely dominated in the set piece, demolishing the Wanderers scrum, yet squandered a lot of chances in the face of some enthusiastic defence. In the end it was a late Sam Mills penalty which earned us the draw. Good game for the neutral, but I think that both sets of fans left thinking that they could have won.

Highights: The magnificent try started from a counter attack deep in Ebbw territory. McLaughlan, Hunt and Bevan all had a hand in the break. Hywel Jenkins held off the tacklers long enough to give Nelly the easy run in.

Lowlights: Failure to capitalise when Wanderers had a prop in the sin bin. As seems to always be the case, we ship points when we have a man advantage.

Scorers: Tries for Neil Edwards and Sam Mills (great solo effort), and two conversions and four penalties for Mills.

Travel Notes

The development of the new train service is underway, but to nobodies surprise is behind schedule. This report says that passenger trains are now likely to start in October 2007. However, the Assembly is committed to paying the wages of Arriva Trains Wales from July. Oops.

Coffeenerdness

Another blow to civilisation has been struck in the past couple of weeks with the decision of Starbucks in Llantrisant to close an hour earlier, at 8pm. This has been forced upon them by the Borders store in which are located now closing at 9pm instead of 10pm.

TV Notes

This past week has seen the return of The Apprentice. On BBC on Wednesday nights it’s essential viewing. OK, so Sir Alan Sugar isn’t Donald Trump, but it’s a pretty good impersonation.

In a completely different vain, the new cartoon from the makers of Wall is BBC’s children’s show Shaun the Sheep. Brilliant five minute shows. Check BBC daytime listings and set your video/tivo/Sky+.

Baseball Notes

The boys of summer are back. The new baseball season started on Sunday. There’s extensive coverage on five (two live games a week) and NASN (umpteen live and delayed games, subscription needed). Go Sox!