http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell Sat, 04 Apr 2026 04:38:46 +0100 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3189/aliens-among-us http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3189
This evening, I am reliably informed, I should be able to look up into the night sky and somewhere near the plough see the passing of 2012. I thought that was a wish of my last New Years Eve, but I can understand that in these days of science fiction, there are many ways of seeing the passing of an era.
No, the night sky, which is actually quite clear this evening, should divulge some indication of the passing of an object universally measured as "the size of an Olympic swimming pool" to those with binoculars or small telescope. I do not intend to here dilate upon yet another system of measurement.

Well Susie has found our old binoculars in the mire and dust at the top of the basement stairs, and an hour washing and wiping have left them pristine and glistening. A nasty scare on the BBC News that the meteor had already passed Australia is put in its place as a mere rumour and the schedule is still that 2012 will pass over Llanelli between 9pm and 10pm this evening.

However, on the same day, no-one seems to have seen the link between this close passover and the real disaster in the Urals today, where a shooting star fell to earth, witnessed by so many vid cams and mobile phones, striking a frozen lake and injuring 950 people ( the current figure at 8.50pm )

Okay - the injuries are mainly cuts and bruises and the result of shattered glass, but video shows the shock wave knocking people over. The Street CCTV shows the glow as the "thing" passes - lighting up the sky. Mr Putin, the body builder leader of the metamorphosis of the USSR, promises help and Russian television is full of scared schoolchildren and Vox Pox.

However, I am totally surprised by the the lack of recognition from my Re-enactment, LARP and generally Geek friends.
I have seen this before - surely they have too?? Why am I alone in seeing what is really happening?? Is it really an age thing?

Turn back only a few decades.... well actually quite a few... 1976.
I so clearly recall the strange intervention onto the world of film when David Bowie became an enigmatic "Man who fell to Earth". Oh how we thrilled at the funny little globe thing that fitted into a small stand and played music which seemed to have no source!!!. Oh how we marvelled at the television images, not at a maximum 20 inches ( not centimetres!) but wall sized and almost, shock at the thought, in three dimensions.....
How we laughed at the ridiculous concept of private enterprise raising sufficient funds to put a commercial tourist rocket ship into space.... These things were pure science fiction and could never come to pass!

1976 (not 2012). But I also recall the start. A Meteor flying through night sky, lighting up the horizon.
All right - it was flying over the United States of America, but that was a geographical nicety, it was an American funded film, and was therefore filmed in that great country. It landed with a great explosion in a lake somewhere in the midst of remote states. Today, a flaming body passes over all those remote parts of the Urals ( they have a population but who would have thought ??) and then strikes a frozen lake in the middle of nowhere.

I am not saying that there is a connection. It is just an observation. But while we talk about 2012 passing so close that our Sat Nav satellites are further out in the night sky, my mind once again reviews the statements of the US Defense when they (laughingly) gave their reasons for not building a Death Star, and the claim that it was not Defense policy to blow up other planets. Was this their real reason??

9pm, and the sky over Llanelli has clouded over. I am not one to be paranoid, but it was crystal clear when I started writing this blog, and now, when I have the opportunity to examine more closely this body called 2012, the skies are misted and there is no way that I can examine the profile of the celestial body to see if it may be perfectly round, bristling with weapons, and hiding an asthmatic Goth leader.

No, I cannot investigate further here in Llanelli. But there are those out there who will strive for the truth. Those who may search the ice and waste of the Urals to see if we have and alien bristling with futuristic technology, or maybe an annoying golden robot and Dusty Bin on wheels.

I am not paranoid. Nor am I demented. But Mr Putin has said that he will sort everything out. The Pope has resigned. We are more worried in our press about the possibility that we are eating Horse Meat, than we are about the utterings of politicians which would better be described as bull***t. I have 200 channels on my satellite TV and nothing worth watching this evening, not even in the night sky....

They are among us!! And they do not want us to know ... tell your friends ...
From the Barkeep's Blog
]]> Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:40:16 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3168/chilled-by-the-loss-of-inches http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3168
There is a lot of snow in the States... There will be large areas of Great Britain covered with white stuff over the next few days.. but how much ??? I really do not know !!

It is not that I have not been listening to the succession of weather reports. It is not that I have somehow not listened to radio reports. If I read newspapers, which I do not as they are a good example of that oxymoron (paper I will accept - but clearly devoid of anything that could be defined as news.!!) then it would not be because I had failed to assess the content of the text.. It is the loss of the common inch that confuses me. All the snow apparently is has gone European and now not only falls in flakes that never duplicate, but also now falls in amounts that can only be understood by those in the Eurozone.

It is bad enough that they want to take over the pound and drive us into the common currency - a task in which I feel that they will fail. But afterdecimalisationand the loss of good old LSD (pounds shilling and pence not Lysergic acid diethylamide) the half crown and the florin, we have managed for the most part to resist many of the incursions into pints, pounds and ounces.



But snow??? Surely it is acceptable for snow to fall in Britain in inches!! If it is thick it certainly should be in feet!! Listening to CNN on my satellite television I do not hear that snow is falling in yards !!! but in Metres!!
My favourite weatherman here tells me that there may be 10 centimetres of snow ... How much is that ?? More or less than a banana?? It means nothing and does not inspire me to put my wellies on or get a snow plough out.

Snow is cold. I have noted the geographical penchant to vary Celsius and Fahrenheit, seemingly a national trait here in the UK to refer to cold by Celsius "it is 2 degrees today" but look at the hot weather only in Fahrenheit "It is going to be in the low seventies today"... I understand this!!. We have a climate that does not "do" extremes. Therefore it is quite acceptable that we would prefer the "hot" weather sound hotter, and the cold weather less extreme....
But snow falls by a certain volume and lies at a certain height when still. Damn it !! If it is British Snow it should damn well fall in British quantities. And that means in Inches not in centimetres.

I do not know what a centimetre is in real money. I know I have looked up the conversion rate many times but it is not something that will stick in my brain. 16 degrees Celsius is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. I can remember this. But there are no conversion from the centi-lies to inches that are exact without using those other foul calculations - the decimal point!! No good telling me that there are 2.54 centimetres to an inch.. How can that help? I know children for the last thirty years have used calculators where we used slide rule, and now probably have an "app" for it on their phone but for a simple soul, I would like to know that there will be up to 3 inches of snow ( take wellies ) 6 inches of snow (will need a shovel to get the car out) or a foot of snow ( stay in and have a cup of tea and watch television).

So, I know it is unlike me to have a rant, but surely it cannot be too much for British television and the news media in general to revert to a sensible measure.... sorry - I suppose I have just answered my question !!


So here are a few shots of snow at Furnace Quarry, nr Llanelli. I can tell you there were three inches of snow.. I measured it with my thumb, which I learned at school was three inches from tip to base...
From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 21:06:43 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3150/video-killed-the-removal-man http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3150
Well I am back this evening after ten days of hacking and coughing, and generally feeling the affects of Manthrax and Manflu, and after a day of full recovery am rather despondent that this evening I seem to have the phlegm back in the throat and am spluttering over the keyboard. There was a time when I thought it may be allergy based, but the extreme version seemed to warrant the five days of antibiotics, and the symptoms disappeared with deceptive ease.... But this evening I have the thought that I pulled down the interior canvass from the Crimson Moon Tent, and laid it out in the living room so Susie could build her chicken run for the bedroom... Yes - I know what wrote there, and it is correct, the chickens are getting to big for the incubator and warming box - and I still have not been able to clear the basement for the few weeks that is required before they get their freedom into the garden.... So .. they have to live in the spare room for a while... Rusty the dog feels that this is a good idea - well when he is allowed inside!!!


So, there is an option that the canvass has set off a reaction again... I prefer to think that rather than dwell upon actually being ill, always a downer, or the other options of allergy, the latest batch of home made wine that I have started yesterday, which we have enjoyed with the home made bread, home made cheese and home made apricot jam for breakfast, the home cured ham this evening ... No they have to be the healthy option - even if they are likely to cause my final demise through obesity....

But there is a connection with a further possible cause - which relates to the future clearance of the house, both to move the marquees to their new home, and to try to sell the house, and that is the next stage in the "boxing of 41". I spoke at an early stage of Alice and my attempt to clear 3 square feet of the basement .
But as my health started to improve, and after a foray up to Morrison's where a very nice storeman promised me all the banana boxes I need - especially if I call in themorningbefore they have to break them up, saving them an hour of effort!!! I began to look towards the top floor of the house...

Books!! Plenty of Books!! that seems to be the story of my life - indeed the storey of my life (see what I did there ?? Here all week!!) But we haven't really looked in the top bedroom for a number of years. The damp patch in the corner was new!! New to me .. if not to the house - we have had so much rain I cannot really tell if it is a problem or a symptom of the flood. But in our case - most of our books are happily esconced in a shipping container down in Pembrey so it was only three full shelves of economics reference, Norah Lofts and Lensman Series... and then - the main and daunting task that loomed on the landing that lies between the second and third storey if the house..... Not books .. No - though equally as bulky!!

The lovely thing about the eighties and nineties was the availability of being able to watch television, more than once!. The onset of the Video recorder was one of those jumps forward in technology that I embraced. Luckily, the issue about the VHS or Betamax missed me and I was able to amass my collection of VHS over many years. The early days were far too expensive forpre formattedfilms so my collection was gleaned through many hours of television watching. My music videos were compiled over weeks and months, collecting from various sources from Multi Coloured Swap Shop to Top of the Pops - but each with the aim of capturing those illusive new things - the "Pop Video" - no live performances for me ....

Of course - Youtube now provides a glimpse back into the past - but have they collected what I collected in my 193 three hour videos?? I do not know any more - I have not watched any video for at least five years since DVD cam along. But I do have a catalogue which has a full list... but though I know that the technology is out there now to transfer from VHS to DVD - that looks like another plan - as it will take a commitment of many hours. The task will be to watch all the videos and decide what cannot be duplicated elsewhere and transfer to computer medium. My daughter is particularly interested in the hours of video I took of them in their childhood - and I am concerned that it gets transferred correctly when I have the time and the equipment.. And so - two ceiling high bookshelves, double stacked with videos get transferred into banana boxes for that time in the future when I "might just get the time".

I recall when we moved into this house twenty five years ago, the removal men looked with sheer consternation at the mountain of boxes that comprised our book collection at that time. After the second hour of carrying boxes one mentioned briefly " are this lot for the rabbit to read??" after deciding to stack next to the rabbit cage. But that was twenty five years ago, and twenty five years of more book collecting.... and the videos of course!! Most of them will probably end up in the plastic recycling of course - but only after they have been carried to a new house, viewed and transferred to new media for the future...
But that means that the removal Man will be required to carry all the additional boxes. They are in a neat stack - but there are a lot of them !!! They will stay here until we are ready for the move..

But they may well be singing the new refrain - "Video killed the Removal Man !!""

From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:14:50 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3104/snow-business-show-business http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3104 Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:43:44 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3082/alice-alice-who-the http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3082

Two bags of rubbish, one full of paper for recycling of course, another full of electrical bits and pieces, again to make their was to the amenity centre. We don't have dumps any more... Would be a sad day for Arlo Guthrie to write his Massacree today "When we go to the Amenity Centre we found a chain across the drive and a sign that said "Amenity Centre closed on Thanksgiving!!"
Remember Alice?? It's a Blog about Alice..
But not that one!!

No the Alice that was brought to mind was small shop near to the end of Upper Park Street in Llanelli, on the right hand side as you left Stepney Street. Bars across the window and some form of grill. Thick glass and panes that did not appear to ever have been washed - how could you - you could not get near the inside. Alice's!! Many a time I would stop and gaze into the window at the cornucopia that was Alice's Window. I did go in on occasion, and thank my stars that I was thin in those days as there was very little room to make your way through the small front room of the shop. Often the door was locked, and I am sure that it was shut more often than it was open. But the interior was anAladdin'scave of items, stacked apparently without order, but somehow you always felt that Alice knew where everything was.



I never saw anyone come out of the shop with anything. But I never saw anything taken in their either - but there always seemed to be just a little more space for another piece of furniture, some more trinkets for the glass cabinet, another lampshade, portrait or those green glass balls that hung from fishermen's nets. I remember those Green Balls, I am sure that we have some somewhere. Probably in the next 3ft by 3ft of the basement..

It is my basement that now reminds me of Alice's.
Maybe she did not sell anything. Maybe she also just accumulated "things" that were too valuable to throw away. "Things" that might come in useful one day. "Things" that nowadays you could probably sell on Ebay. I know people who do so - but getting the first item onto the selling list is the worst. "Things" that may have once been alive. Standing at the bottom of my basement steps it is possible to conjecture that there may be "things" with their own alien life form evolving in the morass.



I never knew Alice by any other name - spoke to her seldom, but she was that strange figure, like a curator of some seventies version of Warehouse 13 museum. Reading Harry Davies' recollections in his book "Looking around Llanelli", I find that her full name was Alice Davies, and she had been in the business 40 years when he interviewed her. I read that she nearly went out of business in 1970, some six years before I would get to meet her, when she sold about half her stock including most of her African Items to a dealer in South Carolina. He, while visiting Llanelli, had made a conditional bid for all the contents at the shop. Apparently the deal was a modest down payment and a 50 percent share of profits on the sale in America. Eight days it took to load everything into crates and ship it to the States. Sadly the dealer died suddenly, the stateside business had no-one to run it and the goods disappeared into limbo. Harry tells us that Mrs Davies put it down to bad luck. "It was a heavy blow" she said, " but not so much the result of bad faith but of bad luck". A restrained way to consider your entire business ruined at the age of 57.

So looking at the timing of the article, it seems that Alice and I started our collections of various useful and possibly variable valued items at about the same time. Mine in the natural course of raising a family, and hers in the acquisition of more stock for her shop. For by the time I met her, there was no indication that she had once more started from scratch. I thought that the portal I entered in her shop had been there from time immemorial. No indication was there that it had started not only in my lifetime but in my recent history.



And so it is with my basement, I know that within living history of my children, we used to sit and watch television here. That once I traverse the next corridor, there is a bar and a three piece suite hiding under crates and marquee canvass. But, as you step carefully watching for trip hazards and peer into the rows of costumes hanging like a demented Narnian Wardrobe, it would be possible to see Alice's Tiger skin, a real one not the imitation that is in the living room upstairs. There would be swords and daggers and rifles and bayonets, relics of previous wars unlike the replicas and latex covered axes by the front door. And Assegais. African throwing spears which form the centrepiece of Harry's story - I never had one of those... Maybe they would be valuable if I collected one...

At 72 Alice was still collecting stock for her business, and presumably making a living in her small shop in Upper Park Street. Falcon Music Closed. Circles the bar closed, but Alice's seemed to just continue. Harry reported that she seemed happy as ever and showed no signs of retiring. Alice had her favourites though. She loved to collect elephants. She accumulated over 300 in her herd, china, porcelain, ivory, ebony. But were they a white elephant to her I wonder?


I will try to tackle the next 3ft of flooring in the basement tomorrow. I took a day off today because I found too many old photographs, and in the spirit of 2013, found that I had to scan them for future generations and store them in perpetuity.. by uploading them to Facebook and tagging family members. It is the modern way.
Tomorrow I will take another step towards sorting my accumulated wealth of nick-nacks. No elephants for me !! I don't have these sort of foibles - well unless you count the flying pigs that festoon the house. They don't count really..... but there are a lot ...

I didn't see when Alice's shop closed. That area of Llanelli grew shabbier and shabbier over the years. Tesco moved out and Tinopolis the TV studio took over. Stepney Hotel got demolished. Island House Public house fought to live and failed, and a new theatre complex opens with hotel and entertainment establishments. The Subway is replaced and access to Upper Park Street is difficult to find in the new road complex but maybe I shall take my camera and see if I can find where Alice once stood.



But there is hope. All the contents of her shop must have been transported, and though I do not know what happened to them, at this stage of basement clearance, the knowledge that it can be done is more important than details of what happened...

As long as it is not the City Dump.... Remember Alice ? It is a blog about Alice...


From the Barkeep's Blog
]]> Sun, 13 Jan 2013 22:25:01 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3070/an-icy-stroll-llanelli-in-the-sunrise http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3070 Unwilling to retrace my steps back up the garden, I persevere by blowing into the lock. Finally the key slides in but fails to turn in either direction. By now, Delft is bouncing on my feet and Rusty is chasing his shadow around the van. A few more gentle exhalations, and the lock releases and two canine tumbleweeds bowl in to the back lane. There is ice in the broken tarmac, and the ground is slippy. We pass cars glistening with icing sugar frosting, and agitated drivers scraping windscreens as they check their watch or phone to see how late they are....
No work this morning for us... But the light looks as though it may catch the morning scenery, so I head off past the old Stradey Grounds, up Denham Avenue and into the woodlands below Stradey Castle. The ground is crisp, but after all the rain in the last weeks, the woodland paths are saturated and muddy, the cover of the trees preventing the ice reaching the ground. Path into the Woods - Council Houses to the left & Castle to the right The grounds of Stradey Castle are private but unfenced at this point, and there is clear sign that the paths are well used, though the woodland needs clearing and the stream beds are blocked. Looking straight ahead, you travel a woodland path, but ever concious of the contrast of the Council houses to the left and the Castle to the right.
At the end of the woodland, the land opens up into fields, bordering the Castle and forming a boundary between the Stradey Welsh School and the Sixth Form College formerly known as the "Boy's Gram"
The light is just right to catch the russet glow of the trees in winter in contrast to the white frosted grass...
Crossing the fields, there are remnants of the summer growth, glistening in the sunlight.
It is at times like these that I realise why my friends - the "professional" photographers, always carry their best camera with them - but I have only brought my handheld Samsung. But, note to self, this is a good time to be up and about to get a different light. I find the fields are well fenced and stock proof and wander around looking for a way across and come across a stately old tree - lying on the ground.
Further on we skirt Stradey Castle itself, the ground too boggy to cross, so we follow the playing fields of the two schools and out towards the front entrances. The Castle can be seen through the trees, but the sun has gone by now, and it will have to be another day to try to catch the stone and setting.
The day turns cloudy, still cold, and the ice starts to soak into the feet and ankles. Time for a cup of tea and some home made bread and cheese. I think I will have to put the central heating on when I get home ...
From the Barkeep's Blog Why not visit my blog and follow ??? ]]> Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:23:40 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3069/for-ceri-old-castle-llanelli-walks http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3069
Yes , my walking friends know that I delight in the views from remote points, love the smell of the countryside and the open expanses. Yes I love these things - and normally from behind the wheel of my trusty 4 x 4. I relish in the ability to be able to take a maverick or terrano into locations that no mechanical vehicle has gone before.. in the warmth and comfort of the interior cab, and with the elements properly tamed behind the windshield...

Yet, over the last week or so, I have found myself expounding upon the history and landscape of Llanelli, with camera in hand and dogs at my side. Please accept that this is because we are within close proximity, and reasonable walking distance of the house - and not as a result of some new perambulatory perversion...

But I promised Ceri from Americymru , a fine website for ex-pat and resident Welsh people that after my walk around the Old Castle exercise track .. I would research more into the Old Castle itself.. And so, with the weather dry, and the temperature dropping - the dogs took me once more onto the Pont Agen Bridge - the best place to overlook the remnants of the Motte and Bailey that was once a mighty castle - possibly even built on Roman settlement ... but I run ahead of myself ..... From previous blogs, I have the pictures and history of Pont Agen, and as I stand upon the start of the bridge, I look behind me over the Old Castle Pond - or Pond Twym - which I learn means "Warm Pond" whichI will come back to later .

For the Motte and Bailey, the castle site itself, is in the middle of the Pond. Even with the winter sun and lack of leaves on the trees it is almost impossible to get a clear view of the island in the middle of the water. But the island is the site of the old castle itself. The Central Island - site of the Castle January Morning - Old Castle The records of Carmarthenshire state that " an early mound castle unquestionably stood at Llanelly, the name of which has fortunately survived and lead to the identification of the site". The island in Old Castle Pond ( pond Twym) was once the Motte of the castle Carnwyllion. It is believed that the Motte was established by the Normans in the late 11th Century.

The Motte would have originally had a wooden tower known as a keep with a palisade on top of the mound with , below it, a defensive "bailey" containing the main living quarters, stables and administration buildings.
The castle was attacked by Rhys ap Gruffydd in 1190 and burnt in 1215 by Rhy Ieuanc during his onslaught on the Norman strongholds of Kidwellu and Gower. In the Red Book of Hergest, a version of the Brut reads for 1215 " Rhys Ieuanc gathered a host of immense size, and gained possession of Kidwelly and Carnwyllion, and he burned the Castle"

Of course back in those days, the river Lliedi wended its way around in a different direction and the Motte and Bailey was on solid ground. Here the Lliedi river can be seen to wind around from where Old Castle road will be in the south towards where Raby street will be in the North. From here - the coast would have been visible - but access inland would also have been easy. A later map shows both streets and the new Tramway ( now the Cycle track ) before the pond was created as a reservoir for the new Tin Plate Works. Here we can see Old castle Road at the bottom and Parkview Terrace at the North, with the old course of the Lliedi River.

It is then I discover that the Old Castle Pond was created as a quenching reservoir for the tin works, and is not natural. It is called Pond Twym - or the Warm Pond as the water would raise its temperature as a result of the works in the tin plates. Other sources suggest that Goldfish were resident in the pond for many years due to the warmth of the water, and there are youtube links of giantterrapinstill in the pond - though have never seen them as I pass by.

For me, in my early days working in Llanelli, my recollections are travelling up Old Castle Road, up to the level crossing which i now know was over the Tramway - not the railway as I thought in those days.
The Old Castle Pub was the last building in the street - still there now - but a bed and breakfast now - not a pub. I have had many a pint here and more than one Christmas party. When I first knew the building the rear section was not there. I remember as they built into the back room, and then further out again. The last extension lasted about 9 years, and now is the tea room in the back.. but it is now a bed and breakfast and tea room .. as seen in the early morning And so - to retrace my steps of years before, I look once more down Old Castle Road from the level crossing that is no longer there .... Cars on pavements and for sale signs... but as I turn around - I can still see the Tin works building - now listed and protected - though finance for the development that was expected has drifted away and it now stands as a monument to the past .. stark .. but that can be the subject of another walk... I mentioned that there were Roman links to the old castle - rather than just repeat, here is the link to another friend Lyn John who knows so much more than me about Llanelli History... LINK HERE
But the rain is beginning to fall - and so I make my way back home for a fine cup of tea, an opportunity to sit in front of the computer, and reminisce and post a couple of thoughts fro the past .. and look forward to some day in the future when Ceri will pop across the pond ( the big one) and I shall show him what I have learned today ... From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Thu, 10 Jan 2013 23:00:09 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3066/llanelli-walks-old-castles-lost-exercise-track http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3066
Early sunshine rising over Old Castle ponds. Another Llanelli Blogger Robert Lloyd informs me that the Pond is over 40 feet deep in places, a place full of danger in the icy weather.
Indeed, I recall from my early days as a constable in Llanelli, assisting in the recovery of a body from the water. Details are blurred now, but the general consensus was that the deceased had fallen in, possibly drunk, while trying to climb around the metal railings that used to separate the grounds. It was a regular short cut from one end of town to the other. But the fencing required a little athletics to swing around over the water.
Yes, I was much younger then, still thinking that I would improve my general health by exercise, a concept I still endeavour to grow out of ... But the start of the Fitness Track - part of an all-Wales drive for better health as I recall -there is still a block of rock and it is clear where the plaque used to sit... Now it is but a lump of stone. once there was a sign here Looking out over the fields -a lonely post shows the start of the trail. I always used to run it anti-clockwise, I think that was the way it was laid out. And so today I follow the path - though the track itself is lost in the grass and the trees. The balance bars as still in place. Covered in lichen and a little slippery underfoot in the damp of the morning but still serviceable. This one has lost one of its struts, but it is almost at ground level. I recall them as being in a zig-zag, having to walk from one to the next - but there is little sign of this any more.
Here I think was a joint between two sets of balance bars - but only an empty pop bottle adorns the place now.
Turning the first corner and a quarter of the route completed - three lonely poles still stand proud against the treeline. Once they held bars to swing on and somersault over. The highest used to be for Chin ups. Now there are no connectors - just the three poles. Nothing else appears down this stretch. the trees are higher than I remember and there is no sign of the track which may well be hidden between those trunks. Turning the next corner, the treeline now parallels the old railway track, now the cycle path... and along this stretch are the parallel bars - still in place and still usable. Two posts however also stand along the line - and I have no idea what they were for ... no marks to show what was connected to them. And so we reach the Old Castle Ponds again and a circuit of the track has been completed. So - with one last look from the cycle track back onto the exercise fields -
I return under Sandy bridge the way I came. Certainly no fitter than when I arrived this morning, but having captured one more little part of Llanelli before it disappears entirely. Now I think I will go back to my researches and see if I can find any photographs from the past to fill in the gaps that are my memory... From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:28:45 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3065/walks-around-llanelli-sandy-water-park http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3065 We start today by Old Castle Ponds, at the base of the Agen Bridge. Where the cast iron sign post tells us that we are on route 47 - the chain links at the base holding up the details "Swansea 17 miles" Tumble 17 miles"

Climbing the unofficial pathway by the signpost up onto the Agen Bridge crossing the busy relief road from Weslec Roundabout to Union Bridge. Known officially as the Pont Agen Bridge. I note the details from the Council deliberations:

INTRODUCTION
1.1. The Leader of the Council has received a letter from the Clerk to Llanelli Town Council suggesting that the new bridge over the B4304 at Sandy Waterpark be named "Pont Agen" and that the Mayor of Agen be invited to undertake the official unveiling.
2. BACKGROUND TO THE REQUEST
2.1. Members, I believe are already aware, during a recent visit to Llanelli's twin town of Agen in France, the Agen Council magnanimously named a street in the commercial sector of the town "Rue Llanelli", to mark the tenth anniversary of the twinning link between the two towns.
2.2. The Llanelli Town Council's Twinning Committee have now discussed the desirability of reciprocating this gesture and resolved that a request be made to the County Council for the new cycle/pedestrian bridge over the B4304 at Sandy Water Park to be named "Pont Agen".
2.3. Members of the Town Council considered that it is particularly appropriate for a bridge to be named in this fashion in view of the symbolic image which the bridge represents of the link that has been forged between the two towns of Agen and Llanelli.
2.4. A further pertinent point that influenced Members of the Town Council in their decision was the fact that they have extended an invitation to the mayor of Agen and some of his colleagues to visit Llanelli during the Eisteddfod week. As the bridge is scheduled to be completed before the Eisteddfod, the Town Council consider that it would be extremely opportune for the Mayor of Agen to be invited to undertake the official unveiling.
2.5. Members will be aware that the Millennium Coastal Park Board is considering names for the facilities/locations across the park. This bridge is located just outside the park and forms part of the Council's Llanelli and Coastal Corridor Sustainable Access Strategy which is being funded by Transport Grant Package Funding from the National Assembly of Wales. Due to the proximity and linkage of the bridge to the Millennium Coastal Park I have consulted the Project Director, Mr G Phillips, over this issue. He has confirmed that he has no views on the name as long as it says "Pont D'Agen or something Welsh and French".
2.6. If the Town Council's request meets with Members approval, I will then proceed to discuss the practicalities with the Town Clerk.
3. RECOMMENDATION
3.1. That the new cycle/pedestrian bridge is named "Pont Agen" and that Committee agree to the Town Council's suggestion that the Mayor of Agen be invited to undertake the official unveiling.

But from my point of view - it is a safe route across a busy road to the Millennium Park and Sandy Water Park.

Once across the bridge, one of the many sculptures raises its head. The leek and the daffodil. On a dark winter morning it is difficult to distinguish the bright colours of the green and the yellow - but they are stark in the skyline...

As you walk around the water edge, a large mound appears ahead of you - with a strange structure on top . To the right are some standing stones, not old and ancient, I have walked here for many years without seeing any stones.. but all paths lead up to the pile on thepinnacle.

Looking down from the top - we can see the Pwll end of the lake.

The Sculpture itself appears to be a pile of ingots - cast in stone rather than steel.
The plaque reads: " Sandy Water Park..
Steel making commenced on this site in 1897 when the Llanelly Steel Company built their works on land reclaimed from the sea.


The Works underwent considerable expansion over the years and with the introduction of electric arc furnaces in 1978becameon of the most modern plants inEuropeprior to closure in 1981


The site was acquired in 1984 and developed into a water park by the Llanelli borough council and the welsh development agency as part of the coastal regeneration scheme."

But there are excellent views over the water park from the top...

looking back towards the railway and the sea - views out towards the Gower are dramatic. But of course as they say in Llanelli "If you can see the Gower from here - it is going to rain .. If you can't see the Gower - then it is raining !!"

Walking down from the sculpture there are benches and tables for the walker - though these days it seems that cyclists are more likely to be whizzing past at break neck speeds and bright in their Hi Vis Jackets. This table and seating is in the shape of a leaf and small leaves as seats. Sadly, one has been snapped off and not repaired...

Down to the water levels. In summer there are often signs warning of algaen bloom - poisons in the water from the early days of steel working I think - though how no-one thought that digging a pond on the site of a steelworks could ever provide fresh water!! I used to Wind-surf across this water, before they built the houses to watch my embarrassment !!

Now - we have the home for many swans - and this time of year they give due warning to the passer by that they do want too close a proximity.


Of course - over the later years - the houses have been built and then we had the Sandpiper - a pub with food on the site .
and then in 2012 - the final straw - a hotel on the site - Welcome to Travelodge !!

And that takes us around the whole of the park - back to the Bridge - to Weslec roundabout which I hear is soon to be a skateboard rink - but that is for the future - this is 2013 - January ... So some final views of the walk ..



Enjoy Llanelli. Enjoy the Scenery. Enjoy how history is changing. From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 22:57:54 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3060/mabonogion-the-lost-sculptures http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3060 Sandy Water Park & The Mabinogion Woods Sculpture Trail Millennium Coastal Park, Llanelli SA15 2LF.
Large lake with interesting birdlife and numerous Swans, including a trail through the woods with Mabinogion inspired sculptures.
This morning I strolled across the Agen Bridge into Sandy Water Park, once home of the Steelworks, now part of the coastal cycle path SUSTRANS, and part of the Millennium Coastal Path, the "Carmarthenshire Bit" as they say on the website. Considering that we have had the wettest year in history according to the pundits, this was the seventh day of the new year where I managed to walk without need for waterproofs. But this morning I was concerned with the heroic age or mythological past of the British Isles, the eleven stories of the Mabinogion, and the path that winds through the woods at the eastern edge of the water park. Entrance to the Path It would be quite easy to miss the entrance to the path if you are unaware of its location. It is by the car park - but there are no sings pointing to the entrance. Just a single post, and you have to get right up to it to find the writing thereon..
The carving is not very clear - but at least you now know that you are on the right road. A closer look at the post and you can see that there are further carvings at the top of the post.
As you enter the path, through the clearing you can see the first of the sculptures. A cast iron boar.
He is well weathered and I have visited him often as I walk the dogs - and he only improves with age.
The Boar The boar is in a small clearing with a two small benches suitable for sitting and contemplating the whichness of the why, but for the busy dog-walker it is back to the path and through the trees. The whole site used to be the Steelworks, and the trees and features have all been planted and grown in the time I have lived in Llanelli. I used to drive through the area in a police car in the early eighties. The Duport Electric Arc Furnace at Pwll was one of the finest in the country they say, though I recall it mainly for the sound of the locomotive pulling the metal from the interior in the early hours of the morning as I tried to sleep in the police house opposite. But the trees are fast growing and now well established.So I walked on in search of the remainder of the sculptures. I remember the stag, and the owl, had I missed any in my previous perambulations?
And so, as I got half way through the path, I came to the sad sight of the post that once held the Stag. Similar to the boar, it stood in pride of place atop another post... but all I was met with was the broken stump of the stand.
Through to the end of the path, and no sign of any other sculpture. the Owl that I recalled was nowhere to be found. No other animals or relics of Mabonigion tales to be seen . Only the simple post at the other end of the path. this too held the legend of the path... but no suggestion that the path had been denuded.
As I left the path, I met with one of the groundsmen, clearing some rubbish from the site. I asked about the stag.
"It is safe" he told me. "The post was vandalised but we managed to keep the stag and it is in the depot while we wait to see what we are going to do with it." I will try to visit the depot and see where it is...
"But the owl", he confided, "we never found.... The post was broken and the owl stolen. We haven't seen it since"

Once more, I leave my walk a little saddened.


From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:27:24 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3057/ghosts-or-players http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3057 Now, I do not consider myself to be much of a Rugby fan. Before you jump down my throat, I live in Llanelli, I have lived here for 35 years, but I am not Welsh, I was born in Glasgow and raised in London. I am not native Llanelli, and it is quite possible, though difficult, to survive in this town without having a religious fervour for the game with the funny shaped ball. There - I have said it!!! But then most of my friends know that about me already.
As a young constable in Llanelli, I tried hard to fit in and enjoy the game. But there was a tendency for one policeman to be watching the crowd when on "Crowd Control" duty. It was partly because I did not wear contact lenses in those days - they were rather new technology. And my glasses really never fitted very well under my cap. Yes, we had caps in those days before we had the "Bobby" helmet. Dyfed-Powys Police were different that way. They called us "Pongos" in training school. So watching the game was rather pointless as I could net really see the action on the field. So I watched the spectators instead.
After a few months I thought the whole matter through. Saturday afternoons were Rugby Afternoons. This involved getting to your traffic "point" for traffic control about 2 hours before the match. Best to remember to go to the loo before taking point. There is very little opportunity to relieve yourself once you are at the junction directing traffic! No extra cup of tea that morning! Then after the game starts the van pulls up and you get a lift to the ground, sneak in the side entrance by the South Stand and make your way around to the Town end, moreaffectionatelyknown as the Tanner Bank. Twenty minutes before the end, regardless of how exciting the game was, you were once more in the van heading for another two hour Traffic Point, hoping that someone would remember to pick you up - or face a long walk back to the station..
Yes - I thought it through - all self respecting Llanelli criminals were naturally Scarlet Supporters! They were little different from any other member of the populace other than their criminal activities, so they would of course be at the match. Thus, likelihood of any criminality during the match was marginal. Domestic Disputes would not really flare up until at least half a dozen pints after the match ... most shops were shut, and there were no vehicles on the road. So it seemed only natural to volunteer to "look after the town" while the match was on - an act of selfless altruism which allowed all my rugby fanaticalcolleaguesto watch the match while I took on the arduous task of finding a nice warm place with a cup of tea, radio by my side, to ensure that the town was "Safe".
And so it was for many years that I found the quietest time of the week was match day in Llanelli.
Tanner Bank But walking around the grounds now, there is a mound where the tanner bank used to be. Temporary fencing around the whole site - but gaps where the fencing has fallen and the once verdant turf is now indistinguishable from the rest of the tufts of course grass. Local complainers always said that there would be trouble trying to build housing on this site due to the drainage problems - the ground is wet but there is still history here. You can almost see the score boards in the puddles.
9 - 3 As you walk past the old North Stand area there is nothing to show that fans have stood in all weathers, muffled from the cold. There is no sign of the building or the lines. Looking out over the pitch towards Pwll End there is only the expanse of cleared ground and a distant line of houses. Sadder still is the sight of rugby Posts, denuded of their famous Saucepans, lying rusting on the ground amongst a tangle of broken railing and an old flood light. Walking past the main entrance to the ground, the Leylandii trees have grown but there is no Electricity Club hidden behind anymore - that has also been demolished. Once this was the car park and entrance - now some rubble on the left and mud on what was once the road and shop. To complete the walk back from the ground, the entrance to Stradey Park Avenue, the rails and gates are the same, but now there are blocks preventing access. So now I do not have to lean out and ask them to keep the noise down. But it is almost as though sad ghosts of the past were by my side as I wandered along the touchline once more. They were no more distinct than the players I failed to see in the past, but now as then - I feel sure that they are there.. From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Sun, 06 Jan 2013 13:17:28 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3030/of-sex-lies-and-scandal http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3030 Sun, 23 Dec 2012 00:01:23 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3026/last-day-of-the-world-you-bring-the-mead http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3026 Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:37:30 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3012/crimson-moons-last-stand http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3012 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 20:54:48 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3008/history-takes-the-biscuit http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3008 Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:46:37 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3006/an-evil-entity-in-the-kitchen http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3006
There is a simple white box on the wall of the kitchen, it says that the heating is on timer. Well when I say "it says" I do not mean that I have over-egged the intelligence bit by implying that it is actually speaking to me in a "we will take over the world Pinky" type manner. I mean that the little arrow is pointing to the "Timer" line in the LED display. There is a button next to it, and though it says ADVANCE HEATING, which might mean that it considers itself to be the height of technology, or that it wants you to move forward with the times, pressing the button simply switches a green light on with the letters ADV ( which implies it is doing whatever it is meant to ) but the radiators don't warm up, and the master mind which looks like R2D2 in the cupboard is remaining stubbornly quiet!!.

Looking at R2D2, there are some buttons saying plus and minus, and MODE - and the readout says 54 - which looks like a temperature - blooming cold !!!! Pressing the MODE button seems to do little. Though I was getting somewhere when I pressed the PLUS and the numbers started climbing. But when I stopped they kept on - up into the 70's and then into the 80's.

Forgive me if I admit that I panicked just a little. After all it is not my house. I did not put the evil entity into the cupboard, but I am not sure that it isn't blaming me anyway !!!. But if the numbers kept on climbing then the whole thing might explode!!! Okay, I know it is an exaggeration, and slightly extreme, but it seemed likely to me as I hurriedly pressed the minus button.... Yes... I watched the numbers drop into the single figures ......

But more important - the radiators are still cold!!!
and then - one radiator started to warm up - just to spite me I reckon!!!

I know all the radiators were on this morning so none have been switched off!!
So why is only one radiator warming up ?? And that is quite hot now - but I don't want to spend the rest of the day hovering over one radiator. While the remainder refuse to budge. I can't hear the boiler running - so where is the heat coming from????

Ahh - the sound of a car driving up - we may solve the mystery.........
Watch this space .....
If I don't Blog tomorrow - send help... but beware the cupboard on the left.... From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:24:34 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3001/just-a-museum-piece http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3001 National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has been a major charity that I have supported for the last 30 years, and while I am currently the President of the Llanelli and Area District, in practise - my role was much more a reprise of my other main characterisation, that of the Barkeep!!.


And so, as the great and the good, the old and the young, the fit and the infirm all trooped into the great hall my main task was to provide a glass of red, white or blush wine and or orange and apple juice....
Of course my main task revolves around having a louder voice thank anybody else, always good for calling attention to the Chairman, the Mayor, or the raffle draw.

It was then that things started to get a a little surrealistic. I know that Llanelli is a small town, and that we have been there for many years, however, as I examined the excellent displays of Llanelli Pottery and read the history of the development of that industry in Llanelli, I began to see familiar faces...

We have always laughingly referred to our local Mayors as the "Chain Gang" - after all they wear Chains and come n groups. Especially in Llanelli, where we are graced with the Llanelli Town Mayor, the District Mayor, Rural Council Mayor, used to be a borough Mayor and of course the deputies and the consorts.....
It was indeed a delight to see that they all had agreed to come along to our buffet and wine Christmas Celebration and Carol Singing - but the faces were strangely more familiar than I was expecting...
And so it was, that it slowly dawned that the last time I had seen the Town Mayor, Councillor Winston Lemon - also known as the Singing Decorator !! was when we shared the stage on Llanelli theatre (the Classic Cinema for locals which was for years our only theatre in town) , not at a fundraiser or political meeting - but South Pacific!! We both trod the boards and sang our hearts out.
It was about 25 years ago !!!
And then I looked to the next mayor - Deputy Town Mayor Roger Price, and this was a clearer view - I had been singing in the local Llanelli Folk Club in the Queen Vic in Queen Victoria Road only a few months ago. Roger has started a highly successful Folk Train Trip up the Llanelli Mid Wales Train Line form Llanelli up to Ammanford, singing on the way - stop off in the Ammanford Folk Club and back before closing time..

So there in the front row were two of my erstwhile singing companions.

Add to that, a few ex policemen and a couple of magistrates who spent some time recalling my early days as a constable long before I had a pony tail or wore a tie at social events .... and a successful raising of charity funds for my favourite Charity - a strange day ... But that is what being Welsh is all about ...
History made alive, in a great historical building...
Maybe we all belong in the museum....

From the Barkeep's Blog

]]> Sun, 02 Dec 2012 23:16:29 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3000/it-may-be-december-it-is-not-christmas-yet http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/3000 Sat, 01 Dec 2012 15:27:39 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2996/and-a-grammar-challenge-for-ceri http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2996
After starting in this fashion,it is desirable to continue onto thecoordinatingconjunctions. Although there are a number of them!! As much as I would like to list them, as long as they are contained in the sentence I suppose that is sufficient. As though I care !! Because, if we were to just list them, by the time I got to the end I would have a number of bored people. Before that happens, I will try to keep this humorous, even though it is breaking all the rules. If I was to use "in order that" or "in case" I may be breaking more rules, and that I must avoid. Lest I be called a purist, provided that you have read this far,since the purpose was to identify some conjunctions,so that we knew what to avoid, when, whenever, where and wherever they appear. Unless, and until you see these rules, while they have their place in Grammar, it seems that Ceri Shaw does not like them. Both Ceri and I agree on one thing. Either use conjunctions or not. Neither opinion nor rule should take precedence. Not only is the text important but also the meaning behind it. Whether you agree or not - I think I have lived up to the challenge. Thank you


and so we have them :


Coordinating Conjunctions
There are only seven of these!
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so



Subordinating Conjunctions

A after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though
B because, before, by the time
E even if, even though
I if, in order that, in case
L lest
O once, only if
P provided that
S since, so that
T than, that, though, till
U unless, until
W when, whenever, where, wherever, while


Correlative Conjunctions


both... and
either... or
neither... nor
not only... but also
whether... or


Grammar Explained - Conjunctions From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:58:29 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2994/on-writing-skills http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2994
AVOID ALLITERATION ALWAYS PREPOSITIONS ARE NOT WORDS TO END SENTENCES WITH THE PASSIVE VOICE IS TO BE AVOIDED AVOID CLICHES LIKE THE PLAGUE - THEY ARE OLD HAT IT IS WRONG TO EVER SPLIT AN INFINITIVE WRITERS SHOULD NEVER GENERALISE

seven: BE CONSISTENT 8. DON'T USE MORE WORDS THAN NECESSARY, IT'S HIGHLY SUPERFLOUS

9. BE MORE OR LESS SPECIFIC 10. EXAGGERATION IS A BILLION TIMES WORSE THAN UNDERSTATEMENT Maybe I should take these points on board .... From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Wed, 28 Nov 2012 23:06:11 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2987/on-leeks-and-leaks http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2987
Worse still, it seemed to be wet only where I was sleeping... Now this may seem to have taken a few minutes, but the reality was that all these thoughts went through my mind in that brief moment that you have where you transform from a heavy sleep into total awake - and also levitate from the bed and stand looking at the silhouette outlined upon the bed - like a chalk print at a murder scene.

I suppose it is best to mention at this stage that I sleep upon a water bed - and have done so for countless years. No, not one of those bright sixties water filled li-lo's that used to appear in tame B scene romps, but rather a state of the art ( well 25 years ago) frame contained, floatation chambered, heated water bed. And it seemed it had sprung a leak!!!

Of course, one of the finest things about a water bed is that it contours automatically, and if there is more than one person in the bed, it equalises nicely to fit the individual weights of the sleepers. Thus,being the heavier of the sleepers, the mattress sinks just that small amount lower around my torso, allowing a slow trickle to form in the impression.

Well I can't complain really, spending the next few hours looking through the house for the repair kit, one always arrives with a waterbed, we worked out that the last replacement mattress had been bought back in 2005, giving us 8 years undisturbed rest, but no sign of the repair kit.... Also no sign of the leak!! It had to be a small leak, as it required two people to be on the bed to push a drop of water out, and it took 8 hours of steady drip to dampen only one indentation in the bed... A needle in a haystack if you wish to mix your metaphors...

So, where do you find a good repairer for water beds in Wales??? We originally bought the bed from Leeks at Crosshands, when they decided to specialise in such things, and the sales pitch of "Your normal mattress starts failing the day you put it on the bed - and needs replacing after only a couple of years as the supports inside start to breakdown - but your water bed mattress will go on for ever (less leaks of course)...
Your normal mattress gets filled with all thedetritusof the sleepers, whereas the water bed is impervious....."
So we went for the Leek Special, and bought .Strangelyfor all those years we have never had a leak!

Of course in 2005, the flotation chambers were beginning to rot inside, and the bed was losing its firmness, and when we moved the bed into another bedroom, it did notreallymake the journey well, so we splashed out ( no pun intended) on the 2005 replacement ... I have the bill, it was 179 plus carriage...

So not being able to find the leak we decided to research a replacement mattress - and interestingly found that the cost was the same - but with free carriage!!! A sign of the times that this one area of lifestyle has not increased in price over the years.... So with a credit card payment we can look forward to a replacement without Leaks ... and then we found the hole in the mattress!!!

But still no repair kit... A good excuse to turn over the bedroom, and in the drawers I found my medals from the Police, some cufflinks I forgot I had, and 2.27p in loose change.. but no repair outfit....
But in the living room, in amongst all the accumulated "Stuff" that finds its way into various drawers and shelves, there was a pristine, unopened, universal bicycle repair outfit!!!! Well, it was not a water bed repair kit, but there are some similarities in the form of rubber tube/lining, both require a little roughening around the are of repair, apply some of the solvent glue, add a rubber match and grate the chalk over the top to take away all extra glue...... Yup - seemed to be the same process......

So, I did not write the blog yesterday, we spent most of the time running around searching the house.. and then with some trepidation, attempted another night of sleep......
I am pleased to report that the bed stayed dry... I know I sound like a proud parent of a child who has managed to go the night without pampers - but if the repair holds then when the new mattress arrives we can store it for our move to the next house - we know from the past that moving a water bed is not easy!!!

So while the weather remains poor across Wales, at last in one part of Llanelli it is dry....
Also - if your waterbed has problems.... I know of a good repair service - we also do bikes!! From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:27:10 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2982/how-high-is-the-water-mama http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2982 And t'ould chap went on to remark
That, not liking the look of the weather,
'E were thinking of building an Ark." Noah builds an ark... It is always claimed that British have little conversation skills other than to chat about the weather, too hot , too cold, too wet, too dry, too humid, too arid, too cloudy, too sunny, the hole in the ozone layer, the level of pollen, too cold for snow, too chilly for a storm.
There is a theory that the varied type of weather in the UK lends itself to becoming the central point of all discourse, and the great myth of British "reserve" has been compounded by the ability to talk inanely for hours without ever breaching a personal issue..... Well, I have just put that theory and therefore the statement "there is a theory" is 100% true....
It may not be a good theory, but as I wake this bright November morning and look at the rain pouring downthe bedroom window, snuggle under the bedclothes as I recall switching off the central heating last night in a vain attempt to reduce the forthcoming horrific fuel bills (and thank you Mr Cameron for deciding that we should all pay an additional 95 per household to help the energy companies invest in more green resources!!) my thoughts dwell upon mycolleaguesin the re-enactment and Live Roleplay & Fantasy Trading circles who are out this weekend trying to ply their trades.
Ludlow Christmas Fayre is on this weekend, just over the border from Wales, many still hold that it belongs to us, after all it still says "Croeso i Loegr" as you enter England, "Welcome to the Lost Lands".
Many friends are there and by all accounts the rain did not let up at all yesterday and the winds were horrific. Martin, of Martin's Jerked Meat (Newport) lamented that the "Trade has gone cold" and from his ramblings I don't think that was all that was cold !!! Suddenly, finishing trading at the end of October all seemed to make a little more sense, even if the money was not coming in!! Still, Caerphilly Castle at Christmas to look forward to on 8th December - I will give them that long to get the weather sorted out again - I am not an unreasonable person. [ Link to Caerphilly Fayre ]
So, it may not be Hurricane Sandy, or even Hurricane Dai, but the weather reports show a record number of weather warnings including 4 "death threatening" levels.

Though in some senses I prefer this version which has a hint of simplicity about it ...

As I look out of my bay window in Llanelli, it is currently sunny here - I hear that my Granddaughter is holding a memorial service this afternoon for Goldie the Goldfish who sadly passed away after consistent over eating - no flowers please... monetary donations only .... and I wonder whether I should wish that it be dry for the mourners, or wet in memory of poor Goldie......
Never an easy decision for the Barkeep ..... From the Barkeep's Blog
]]> Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:18:45 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2980/of-little-known-facts-guns-and-snails http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2980
Fact for t h e day... the word "Trigger" used for all our guns originated from the word TREKKER from the Dutch. [Dutch trekker , from Middle Dutch trecker , from trecken , to pull .]

T his may not seem to be a very important fact, but I was more interested that I learned it in the middle of the night while sitting at my computer, on a pop up message from a very nice and attractive young lady who had possibly imbibed a little too much of the Mead, and who decided that the early hours of the morning was a good time to contact her favourite Barkeep and discuss early century firearms. Granted that the last time I met the young lady was at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross when she pointed a very large, and unloaded I hasten to add, blunderbuss sized weapon at me - and smiled with a rather demonical look in her eye .....
It seems that it was not a blunderbuss - her weapon, which she knew with anatomical knowledge predated such a piece of mechanical engineering by a laughable number of years, and though the communication was through the little box called "Chat" upon a Facebook page, with an annoying little "Ping" sound after every T was dotted and I was crossed, it was quite clear that the tone of the missives contained an air of "You don't know even the basics !!! What kind of imbecile would make that sort of mistake !""
"blunderbusses are much later!!
I'm even pre matchlock you can call it a hangoone or a handcannon or arquebus"
I suppose that if you are the Barkeep to a Re-enactment and Live Action Roleplay Historical and Fantasy Tavern, then you just have to expect being delighted by the rich tapestry of people that you meet across the country - even if it also involves having the occasional weapon pointed at you.

I am sure that my friends and associated in the USA will support the principle that every young lady in medieval gown should have the right to bear arms. I certainly support that it makes for a more varied lifestyle - life does not get boring when surrounded by people who are involved in their hobby, and though this is the "down" season here in the UK, well for me at any case as I have no intention of putting up canvass and camping out in the rain and snow at the moment - (though arguably I did last year!!) it is a delight to still have access to the varied characters that have been our customers and friends over the last 10 years.

Oh, she also shared another interesting fact - it is the sort of thing that you do in the early hours of the morning - apparently a snail's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.....

Well that was sort of a conversation stopper!!!... From the Barkeep's Blog ]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 15:24:00 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2978/november-23rd-i-remember-1963 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/2978 Just enough time - after all it is Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey...

Taken from the .. Barkeep's Blog


]]> Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:29:58 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/1724/larp-aid-crimson-moon-in-the-land-of-azriel http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/iain-sewell/blog/1724 World famous Bard - Vollsanger ( well he was famous in that World ) who was currently disguised as Brother weaver Barrel to write a song about the dastardly deeds of the man who only fought children and the weak... This was a challenge that the Bard was not likely to run away from !! after all - it was well known in the Crimson Moon that Vollsanger will sing any song for a Copper - and move onto the next table for a Silver piece - but for the prospect of Gold - he will pen you a song there and then... To which - she further challengedhim- that her father would pay a hefty donation should the song be written - that donation going to the Charity for the Lifeboats - but that the longer it took to write - the less money would go in the pot!! So the gauntlet to thrown ... The fastest song to commemorate evil deeds of this vile serpent ... but one that must raisesufficientlaughs to ensure that the donation was matched by the hat that would be passed around the audience... a challenge indeed. But one look at theinnocencein the eyes of little Lexy... the cat-likecomplexion- the very sharp dagger and the clearknowledgethat she knew how to use it... set Vollsanger on his task.... Ten minutes later - after a quick re-write due to the problems of candle power and vision when you get to a certain age - and the need for CAPITAL LETTERS to be able to sing... and the masterpiece was completed.. Well - itmaynot be the best song that you ever hear - but for a challenge from a youngster ... and ten minute deadline.. it helped to raise part of the 1,200 that the generosity of the LARP Players of Aberddu - and all systems that assisted, which I am sure will be gratefully recieved by the RNLI. And so the song... please enjoy this bit ofdoggerelfrom Vollsanger - he is "here all week" Remember - it is always a quarter to eleven in the Crimson Moon
5 minutes before drinking up time
Just time for one more drink
Always time for one more Drink in the Crimson Moon ]]> Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:17:08 +0100