It’s raining golf balls

I though it odd that a golf ball turned up in our back garden, and now I know why.

As this report in last week’s Pontypridd Observer attests, our house has been in the firing line from a bunch of ejits who have taken to wacking golf balls from the Common high up above our road down onto the unsuspecting people, cars and houses down below.

Thankfully “nine thugs” have been arrested after a couple of local vigilantes caught the group in the act one night. Hopefully they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I guess that means a £20 fine and an admonishment of “don’t do it again”.

Restaurant Notes

Cath and I went to the Caesars Arms in Creigiau with Lorna and Uncle Wilco on Tuesday night. It’s always slightly strange to have to queue to pick your meat/fish, but on the other hand you can see the quality of what you’re going to get.

Good food and a very lively atmosphere for a Tuesday evening. Not cheap, but good.

Things you wish you could say at work…

1. I can see your point, but I still think you’re full of it.
2. I see you’ve set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
3. I’ll try being nicer if you try being smarter.
4. It sounds like English, but I can’t understand a word you’re saying.
5. I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.
6. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
7. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don’t give a damn.
8. Thank you, we are all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
9. The fact that no one understands you doesn’t mean you are an artist.
10. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
11. It’s a thankless job but I’ve got a lot of Karma to burn off.
12. Do I look like a people person?
13. This isn’t an office. It’s hell with fluorescent lighting.
14. I started out with nothing and still have most of it left.
15. Sarcasm is just one of the services we offer.
16. Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.
17. I’m trying to imagine you with personality.
18. A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.
19. Too many freaks, not enough circuses.
20. How do I set a laser printer to stun?

Global drying?

Cath and I (and baby to be) spent last weekend down at our caravan at Gwalia Falls in Tresaith. And, shock horror, we had a rain-free day on Saturday. Admittedly, heavy showers were scattered through Sunday, but given the recent weather, I’ll take 1½ dry days out of 2. Global warming must be cooling off (except in Hull-under-Humber of course).

That was probably due to the collective efforts at Live Earth, the televised concert held at Wem-ber-ley Stadium on Saturday. Didn’t see all of it thankfully, but these are my thoughts on what I did see:

Genesis needn’t have bothered reforming. Uninterested-looking, the only issue of note was cuddly Phil Collins saying “f**k” on BBC1 on Saturday afternoon. Of course, he is part of Ray’s “axis of evil” – Collins, Hucknell and Williams.

Simon le Bon asked the audience “hands up all those who didn’t come here by private plane?” and then raised his own hand. What a hypocritical ass. What about the hundreds of other private flights you've done this year, eejit?

Madonna’s eco-dirge was truly appalling.

Terrance Stamp’s ordered the stadium to turn the lights out. Well, as many as health and safety would allow. A wonderful piece of tokenism.

The Foo Fighters were by a country mile the best turn of the afternoon. Dave Grohl looked like he actually cared, as opposed to the majority of others who seemed to be going through the motions.

Boy, girl or accountant?

There’s news from the Janes-Veale household. We’re expecting. Well, actually Cath is expecting and I was just briefly involved in the process.

The baby is due in late January, hopefully clashing with a Wales game rather than an Ebbw one.

Here’s the first scan. There’s a baby in there somewhere.

Word Cloud

Wimbledon notes

C’mon Timmy. Ah, too late. Oh well, that’s all the tennis news for another year.

How not to use PowerPoint

This clip on You Tube shows US comedian Don McMillan demonstrating how not to use PowerPoint. We've all sat through one of these. More worryingly, some of it is reminiscent of some presentations I’ve done in my time.

Bet of the decade

In 1998 a Stevenage man watched his son soundly beaten in a go-kart race by a very fast young driver. He went to the bookies and asked to put a bet on this kid winning a Formula One race before he reached the age of 23.

William Hill laughed him out of the shop, but Ladbrokes gave him odds of 200-1. After this month’s Montreal Grand Prix, where 22 year-old Lewis Hamilton recorded his first victory, the chap called up Ladbrokes to claim his winnings – £40,200.

Bad joke notes

100 years ago, 20 white men chasing a black man was called the ku klux klan. Nowadays its called Formula One.

Tri Nations

All the information you could ever need for this season's Tri Nations tournament can be found on this great blog: http://mediazonerugby.typepad.com/

Derek Dougan

One of my boyhood heroes died on the weekend, aged 69. Derek Dougan was a striker for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the early 70s when I first got into soccer, and I remember well the League Cup win over Manchester City in 1974. There’s a review of his career in The Times and on the Wolves website.

His autobiography 'The Sash He Never Wore' was the first sports book I ever read, and led me down the sports fan route from which I've never recovered. Thanks, Doog.

Rugby Notes

Ebbw Vale RFC has strengthened its squad in readiness for the 2007-08 season.

The newcomers are:
Player-coach second row/number 8 Will Thomas (Cross Keys)
Flanker John McPhail (Neath)
Back row Rhys Williams (Cross Keys)
Utility back Aaron Bramwell (Neath)
Prop Anthony Lott (Bargoed)
Prop Ross Jones (Bargoed)

And from the Dragons Academy come Wales U20s flanker Dan Lydiate, Wales U19s outside half Dai Langdon, Wales U19s hooker Richard Wilkes and Wales U20s centre James Lewis.

The South Wales Andrex reports James Lewis’ brother, Rob, a scrum half will also be with Ebbw Vale. It also reports that the club is still looking for three players: a prop, inside centre and fly half (to replace Sam Mills who has joined Llanelli).

The new club captain will be outstanding flanker John Bowd.

This week’s sign of the apocalypse

On 25 June an email arrives, headed up “Xmas Do 2007”. Heck, now that the solstice has gone its downhill all the way to Christmas.

Travelling Man

Been doing a bit of travelling around in the last couple of weeks, mostly to do with work. Last week there was a trip to London and this past Monday and Tuesday I had to run some training courses in Mid and North Wales.

With that I mind…

Travel Notes

Aggravating – the London Underground is a shambles. Overcrowded, no air conditioning, and poor time-keeping makes for a hugley unpopular and unreliable service. I left home in Pontypridd at 9:45 for a 2:00 meeting in London, allowing an hour from Paddington to Westminster. Didn’t get there until 2:15. Four and a half hours of misery. And the same coming back. I finished off the day trip by getting home at 10 at night.

Enjoyable – driving around some of the wonderful countryside around Snowdonia. The road from Machynlleth to Dollgellau brings some magnificent sights into view, as above. The strangest sight of all was a herd of bison roaming the fileds near Bala.

Restaurants

Its been a while since I put any restaurant notes up, so here’s a quick update.

Thai Edge in the Brewery Quarter of Cardiff (where the Brains Brewery used to be, in other words) does some really good Asian fusion food. A good range of scoff, and very reasonable prices too.

Tiger Tiger is a bar,club and restaurant on Greyfriars Road in Cardiff. And very trendy it is too. The restaurant was just about far enough away from the ‘club’ to not prove too annoying. Clearly its te hip place to go to in Cardiff. So Cath and I blended in effortlessly when we visited with Jon and B. The food got variable reviews but my fillet steak was perfectly done. I’d say its wort a visit.

The Hall Inn appears to be nothing more than a village pub in Gwehelog, between Usk and Raglan. But the main reason for visiting is the food. Until recently a chef from the Gleneagles Hotel was there, but his apprentice clearly learned well and has carried on the good work. Excellent value if a bit out of the way.

Internet troubles

Updating the blog has been a bit hit and miss ove the past few weeks as our broadband connection has fallen a couple of times. Talking to a call centre in India doesn’t exactly help either. Anyway having done through the same steps (“Have you tried switching everhting off and the on again?” “Er, yes, several times.”) we seem to have normal service again.

Squirrel Notes

They’re back. After a whole winter of being squirrel free, the furry raiders are back at the bird table. A couple have been spotted wiping the bread we put out for the fledgling birds. Evil buggers.

Cricket Notes

Glamorgan were scheduled to play their first game of the season at Sophia Gardens on Friday with the first of the 20/20 games. There’s been a huge amount of redevelopment going on, and the latest photos are on the Glamorgan website. Of course, the game was rained off without a ball being bowled. They’ll try again on Tuesday, weather permitting.

Rugby Notes

Lots of notable changes in personnel at Ebbw Vale RFC this off-season. You can read about them all in very small font on Ebbw Vale’s website.

Life-changing gadgets

USA Today recently came out with their top 25 ‘Life Changing’ gadgets, services, and inventions since 1982.

Here is their list in their order of importance.

1. Cellphones
2. Laptops
3. Blackberrys
4. Debit cards
5. Caller ID
6. DVDs
7. Lithium rechargeable batteries
8. IPods
9. Pay at the pump
10. Lettuce in a bag
11. Digital cameras
12. Doppler radar
13. Flat-panel TVs
14. Electronic tolls
15. PowerPoint
16. Microwave popcorn
17. High tech footwear
18. Online stock trading
19. Big Bertha golf clubs
20. Disposable contact lenses
21. StairMaster
22. Tivo
23. Purell
24. Home satellite TV
25. Karaoke

Now this list and the order of importance is completely nuts. OK, perhaps this is a sign of age, but I don’t use, and have no use for, a bunch of these.

Blackberrys? Caller ID? OK, call me sociable fellow, but I’m not always on email but I don’t screen my calls.

Pay at the pump? Only at Tescos and then it only works when it wants to.

DVDs? Not so much. With Sky+ (out Tivo) I don’t have a big need for DVDs. Plasma TV? No. Lettuce in a bag? Give me a break. I have no clue what “high tech footwear” is, and I don’t think I need to know. Golf clubs, contacts and stairmasters all exist to help other people, but not me.

YouTube
The ATM
Broadband internet
The dishwasher
GoogleMaps
Vanilla coke (however shortlived that was)
E-Mail
Photoshop
Buying your tax disc online
Online banking
Amazon
Ebay
And of course blogs, especialy this one.

Earth from the air

The past week saw the start of a new exhibition at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. It features a series of photographs showing parts of the Earth in a way that tells a story about the world we live in, its natural beauty and the effects on man on the Earth. Here’s the link to Earth from the Air. I saw the exhibition in Birmingham a few years ago and it is truly amazing.

Rugby Notes

Congratulations to Alex Codling on being named Coach of the Year for the Principality Premiership. Ebbw Vale also won the fair play award for the year. Here is the report in the Argus.

Wales duly went down to Australia in the second test without troubling the scorer. They had a great chance in the first test and blew it; they were not going to be given a second chance. Incidentally, that should be the end of the Matt Giteau experiment at scrum half. Oh, and Colin Charvis can tackle for my team any time he wants to.

Its summer vacation now for the northern hemisphere second-string teams, and I’ll have to satisfy myself with the Tri-Nations to keep me going.

Not that it’s much of a summer break though. Wales has 14-plus games scheduled for the next 12 months:

World Cup warm-ups
4 August: England v Wales (Twickenham)
18 August: Wales v Argentina (Cardiff)
26 August: Wales v France (Cardiff)

World Cup
9 September: Wales v Canada (Nantes)
15 September: Wales v Australia (Cardiff)
20 September: Wales v Japan (Cardiff)
29 September: Wales v Fiji (Nantes)
& then possible quarter finals, etc.

Six Nations
Sat 2 Feb: England v Wales (Twickenham)
Sat 9 Feb: Wales v Scotland (Cardiff)
Sat 23 Feb: Wales v Italy (Cardiff)
Sat 8 March: Ireland v Wales (Dublin)
Sat 15 March: Wales v France (Cardiff)

Summer tour
7 June (tbc): South Africa v Wales
14 June (tbc): South Africa v Wales

Website of the week

I’m that at some time you’ve wondered where you would end up if you dug a hole straight down and out the other side of the world. Well, now you can find out, thanks to a Google hack (a programme built on Google maps). It’s called If I dig a very big hole. If I dug a hole starting in Pontypridd I would come out the other side 500 miles or so south of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Blog Notes

Last week was a record week for hits on the blog with more than 100 people having nothing better to do. I’m not sure that I’ve done much to earn readership in Dubai, New Zealand, Spain, Germany and Denmark this week, but thanks anyway. I’m glad that I’m not just shouting at the moon.

Fantasy Baseball News

In my absence for the past month or so the team has wallowed in mid-table mediocrity. A few changes have been rung in an effort to get up the table this past fortnight, and we don’t look too badly placed in 4th, with a pitching staff that’s yet to fire. Here’s the link to the Ponty Red Sox.

Wedding Notes

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything meaningful on the blog. But a rainy Bank Holiday Sunday at the caravan at the Gwalia Falls site in Tresaith finally gave me the chance to type some scribbles from the last month.

A lot has been happening in the past few weeks, not least of which was the small matter of getting married and we are now Mr Martin Veale and Mrs Cath Janes.

Saturday 28 April was the date when Cath and I tied the knot at the Peterstone Court Hotel near Brecon. And a wonderful day it was. The sun shone, the hotel did a great job of getting us organised, the registrar Cheryl King was excellent and everyone entered into the spirit of the occasion. I’m told that there were a few moist eyes amongst our gathered friends and family. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the day went without a hitch.

The tone for the evening was set when Karl O decided to go skinny-dipping in the hotel pool. The evening’s party was a big success, aided and abetted by ChocIce, probably the best cabaret band in the world.

Many thanks to all our friends and family who joined us at the wedding and helped make it such a special day. And big thanks to everyone for the cards and gifts that we received. We also managed to raise several hundred pounds for our nominated charities Mind and the Hospice of the Valleys.

Lots more pictures from the day will be posted on my Flickr photo site in the days and weeks to come. If anyone has any good pictures (or bad ones) of the day please send them to me and I will add them to the site. As you can see, there were quite a few taken.

Our Vows

Cath, you make me happier than I ever thought I could be. You make me feel complete. You make me laugh like no one else can. You make me stop and appreciate the world around us. You make me happy, you make me sad. You make me think, you make me feel. You make me do the washing and the cooking. But most of all, Cath, you make me.

Martin, you make me bogglingly happy and you make me hoot with laughter. You make me look forward to coming home and make me smile when I least expect it. You make me forget whatever I was doing before you came along and you make me as sensible as you make me daft. You even make filling the dishwasher fun. But most of all, Martin, you make me.

We promise that, through the good times and the bad, our life together will be filled with laughter, hope and surprises. From today we promise that we will grow old together but never grow up.