I’m spending this weekend in Bristol, down in the southwest of England. I lived in the city for a year a long, long time ago, and it was interesting visiting it again as a tourist. The city centre has changed a lot – clearly it’s benefited from the regeneration money that’s being flowing into British […]
Sunny Kent
What a relief to get out of London for a day. The sun was shining and everything was fine out in deepest Kent (well the London Borough of Bromley these days) on Sunday afternoon. We went over to Down House, the home of Charles Darwin, but arrived a little too late to spend more than […]
With A Welsh Twist
I had an interesting experience tonight – I actually went to a musical! We went to see Oliver – the current production is running at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and we had a great evening. The cast was wonderful, and although Rowan Atkinson was replaced by his understudy, Jodie Prenger starring as Nancy and […]
The Birmingham and Midland Institute
I had a great day at the Birmingham and Midland Institute in Birmingham City Centre today, where I was attending a workshop on the Government’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan consultation. The Birmingham and Midland Institute has a fascinating history. It was formed in 1854 to serve the people of Birmingham as a centre of academic […]
99 Red Kites
Well, not quite. About 30 in fact. This is another tale from Wales about the magnificent birds that come in to feed at 3pm every day at Bwlch Nant yr Arian up in the mountains inland from Aberystwyth. Red kites are huge predatory birds, with long, forked tails and enormous, almost two- meter wings. Seeing […]
Aberystwyth Castle
Standing out at the end of the promenade in Aberystwyth is its most impressive feature, the castle, which was built in 1277 by King Edward I on the site of previous defensive fortifications constructed by Llewelyn the Great. Unlike the other castles built in Wales during this period, for example at Caernarvon and Harlech, Aberystwyth […]
Petrified Forest
I said I’d talk a little about my week in west Wales. You might think that it’s not a very exciting place – well OK the population is small and there isn’t a lot in the way of exciting night life, even in it’s one substantial town, Aberystwyth (unless you’re part of the big student […]