2008-09-23 - 2008-10-10 - blog

mashoo

2008-09-23 - 2008-10-10

contents

wolverhampton station

000079f6 | 2008-09-23T08:35:00Z | location | -mt4-

birmingham new street station

000079f7 | 2008-09-23T09:20:00Z | location | -mt4-

the weather wasn't very good; i decided to learn some bartók; i removed the book from my rucksack and read the first few of his 7 sketches; the train reached its destination well ahead of time

00007a46 | 2008-09-23T10:00:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

cardiff central station

000079f8 | 2008-09-23T11:20:00Z | location | -mt4-

gran and gramps' place, cardiff

000079f9 | 2008-09-23T11:40:00Z | location | -mt4-

we listened to the swansea-cardiff football match on bbc radio wales fm in the sitting room; just like the old days (that i'm too young to remember); i was tired, so it was a good opportunity to close my eyes and rest; cardiff's performance was `poor', and they lost the match; the american who was supposed to be their saviour didn't play well; `get that american twit off' said gramps, the grumpy cardiff fan; having fed me with soup for lunch, gran fed us with the first of the week's fruit crumbles

00007a47 | 2008-09-23T18:30:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

gramps had fancied a trip to penarth pier; i didn't mind what we did, so we went with his pier idea, followed by a walk along the cliff; i had a strong memory of the cliff path stinking of dog shit, but there wasn't a trace of nastiness in the air on this day; we drove through westbourne road on the way back; a very spacious place to live, though quite grey

00007a48 | 2008-09-24T14:00:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

penarth cliffs

000079fa | 2008-09-24T14:29:10Z | location | -mt4-

brenda looks through her binoculars at a hedge full of noisy sparrows (sign; danger; cliff edge)

000079f2.jpg | 2008-09-24T14:29:12Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

lichen on the railings

000079f4.jpg | 2008-09-24T14:51:24Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

gran and gramps' place, cardiff

000079fb | 2008-09-24T17:00:00Z | location | -mt4-

again, i didn't mind what we did with ourselves; after some of my cheesy pasta smeg, we settled for a brief walk around caerphilly mountain; gramps left his binoculars in the car, so i went back for them;

gran was chatted up (as often she is) by a young, ample walker with tinted glasses; he told us about the attractions available in the area, and a walk he had undertaken one day over the mountains between machen and pontypridd; he had phoned his dad at the end of it for a lift home;

we walked to the trig point as usual, then to the dry stone seating that has been under construction for a while now; it's nice; gramps couldn't resist testing it though, attempting to get a discarded metal peg into the joints in the woodwork;

there was some good sun, which briefly made the bristol channel golden

00007a49 | 2008-09-25T13:30:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

caerphilly mountain

000079fc | 2008-09-25T14:00:00Z | location | -mt4-

trevor and brenda walk back to the car

000079fe.jpg | 2008-09-25T14:22:48Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

gran and gramps' place, cardiff

000079fd | 2008-09-25T15:00:00Z | location | -mt4-

with a little help from sous-chef brenda, i fed us with my chinese stuff at lunchtime; and then gramps drove us to southerndown; the fine weather was well established by now; the barometer (undergoing my occasional taps) had reached what gramps called its zenith;

since gramps didn't fancy walking down through the bay, gran and i left him to sit on a bench; as we descended the steps behind the shop/toilets, i tracked down one of the noisy grasshoppers for a photograph;

i was gran's handrail on the way up the other side; we passed three girls on the stone steps, one of whom was photographing the other two; i had attracted gran inland, since her wobbly progress up the sheep track by the cliff edge was unnerving, especially against that north-easterly wind;

gran didn't spot the larger, woodpeckery bird i thought i saw at the end of our trail; some lads chatted her up a bit; gramps must have sat on the bench right next to the wall, because we had been unable to spot him; but now, further along the cliff, i did recognise his sweater; our waves went unanswered;

more hand-holding as we descended; and a very photogenic scene on the field where we sometimes parked; two girls and two boys were audibly enjoying themselves, kicking a soccer ball around in the strong sunlight;

just before the gate, a lean, stately, oldish woman with dogs running around looked more at me than gran, commenting in one of the poshest accents i have heard how fine the day was; `wonderful' said i, drinking in her perfume and admiring her form;

two dog-walking girls at the top of the climb, and then back to gramps, who declared that we had been gone for an hour and twenty minutes; he had been quite comfortable and had enjoyed his time alone;

back at the car, wedding preparations appeared to be underway, with people chatting in a marquee and a photographer going about, complete with flash;

once back on the road, gramps pointed out ``you've had the simpsons now''; it was pretty late; we didn't mind; gran commented that eating one's main meal at lunchtime was a good thing, in case of such late-returning trips

00007a4a | 2008-09-26T14:00:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

southerndown-ogmore

00007a05 | 2008-09-26T15:00:00Z | location | -mt4-

trevor and brenda march toward southerndown

00007a00.jpg | 2008-09-26T15:11:46Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

grasshopper

00007a02.jpg | 2008-09-26T15:32:48Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

brenda looks east through her binoculars

00007a04.jpg | 2008-09-26T16:00:58Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

waves breaking on the cliffs; white butterfly passes through the shot

00007a0f.ogg | 2008-09-26T16:10:22Z | -no-label- | -mt2-

looking back across the bay; gramps was on a bench on the other side of that wall

00007a07.jpg | 2008-09-26T16:13:10Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

the remains of a great flight of noisy jackdaws flaps over a field of sheep

00007a11.ogg | 2008-09-26T16:46:04Z | -no-label- | -mt2-

sheep in front of the `dangerous cliffs; keep clear' signs; sun on the sea

00007a09.jpg | 2008-09-26T16:55:02Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

trevor cleans the inside of the windscreen with liquid from the windscreen spray; brenda points

00007a0b.jpg | 2008-09-26T16:58:02Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

trevor continues to clean his car with a tissue

00007a0d.jpg | 2008-09-26T17:00:08Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

gran and gramps' place, cardiff

00007a15 | 2008-09-26T17:43:00Z | location | -mt4-

trevor mock-complains that his time has been wasted putting cushions out for guests; then he realises that i'm still filming and makes to hit me with the mattresses; in the kitchen, brenda removes her shoes

00007a13.ogg | 2008-09-26T17:44:18Z | -no-label- | -mt2-

top car park, wenallt, cardiff

00007a18 | 2008-09-27T12:40:00Z | location | -mt4-

the sun illuminates a tree; trevor and brenda further along the path

00007a16.jpg | 2008-09-27T13:00:50Z | photography | -mt1-

white fungus on the branch of a tree

00007a19.jpg | 2008-09-27T13:05:00Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

white fungus on the branch of a tree

00007a1b.jpg | 2008-09-27T13:05:16Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

arrow sign, trees and light

00007a1d.jpg | 2008-09-27T13:29:24Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

trees and light

00007a1f.jpg | 2008-09-27T13:35:42Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

sunny beetle crawls through fallen leaves; wherever there was dung, there were loads of these beetles

00007a26.ogg | 2008-09-27T14:16:20Z | -no-label- | -mt2-

gramps hadn't thought to take any photographs, so, having returned to the car, we used a nearby stile for some poses; here is a serious-looking brenda, with binoculars on the stile

00007a21.jpg | 2008-09-27T14:27:36Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

trevor and brenda at the stile in the sun

00007a23.jpg | 2008-09-27T14:29:06Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

gran and gramps' place, cardiff

00007a25 | 2008-09-27T15:00:00Z | location | -mt4-

having enjoyed cardiff's slaughter of connaught the previous evening on bbc2, we had been looking forward to watching gavin henson's return to the ospreys on s4c; he came off the bench for the last 20 minutes; it was a good game, but it was the english subtitles that made it; despite watching `live at the apollo' later, nothing made us laugh as hard as they did;

during the course of the match, the ospreys were referred to as the `off sprays' and the `gas sprays', among others; one of shane williams' translated names was `jane williams'; james hook became `james hock', `james hough' and a couple of times `james fox'; while the commentators discussed his failure to kick a goal, the subtitles read `conditions are perfect for gold-diggers'; `the outside-half was cauterised in the first half ... because of the height of the arctic'; and then, when ryan jones thought he had scored, ``ryan jones thinks he's god'';

and many, many more; i hope they never get those subtitles fixed; we were nearly ill with laughing

00007a4b | 2008-09-27T16:10:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

pebbles bistro, the esplanade, penarth

00007a28 | 2008-09-28T12:00:00Z | location | -mt4-

throughout the meal (i had already eaten), i looked across the channel at a distant, misty black tower; noone knew what it was;

when i told jessica about dad's shoe-cleaning exploits (whose first installment she did not remember), she reminded me that, when she was 12, we had hidden his gold pass in the laundry basket; i did not remember it, but i had a good laugh

00007a4c | 2008-09-28T12:02:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

jean communicates with someone; dilys waits for her cigarette to be lit

00007a29.jpg | 2008-09-28T13:47:16Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

trevor and brenda interact with dilys

00007a2b.jpg | 2008-09-28T13:47:56Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

paul and john look out to sea; cool in their shades; paul had sweetly instituted a smoker's table, for the benefit of the non-smokers; it didn't catch on

00007a2d.jpg | 2008-09-28T13:57:14Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

brenda listens to mervyn

00007a2f.jpg | 2008-09-28T14:00:36Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

jean attends dilys

00007a31.jpg | 2008-09-28T14:02:08Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

dilys; snug as a bug in a rug; which reminds me; she eventually used mum's shawl to wipe her nose

00007a33.jpg | 2008-09-28T14:03:06Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

jessica listens to mervyn

00007a35.jpg | 2008-09-28T14:04:12Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

jessica says `thank you' stupidly; the coffee-drinkers drink their coffees; a cute girl arrives on a scooter

00007a43.ogg | 2008-09-28T14:06:54Z | -no-label- | -mt2-

dilys drinks her coffee

00007a37.jpg | 2008-09-28T14:14:40Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

dilys swallows her coffee

00007a39.jpg | 2008-09-28T14:14:48Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

everyone around the table we had moved to for coffee; the party we were alleged to be making way for didn't materialise; this was the second photograph i had taken of the whole group; dilys had said `take another one'; everyone's food had been enjoyed; john and paul asked about my white sandals; whether they were comfortable

00007a3b.jpg | 2008-09-28T14:20:16Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

trevor and mervyn watch the fast boats from the pier

00007a3d.jpg | 2008-09-28T15:05:22Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

jean and jessica; i had tested whether jess recalled the film that climaxes on a pier; it was mervyn that got it, albeit without the title; `falling down' (1993)

00007a3f.jpg | 2008-09-28T15:05:44Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

everyone waiting for their rides; brenda at the side of the road; dilys with her ice cream; paul and a glass of red wine; john with him; jean turning to fetch her car

00007a41.jpg | 2008-09-28T15:33:02Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

my bedroom, wolverhampton

00007a45 | 2008-09-28T23:59:58Z | location | -mt4-

neuadd arms hotel, llanwrtyd wells

00007aac | 2008-10-03T08:44:36Z | location | -mt4-

the drovers rest, llanwrtyd wells; cars, bike and bus stop

00007aa0.jpg | 2008-10-03T08:44:38Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

land rover and trailer round the sugar loaf

00007aa2.jpg | 2008-10-03T08:52:24Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

road signs under trees

00007aa4.jpg | 2008-10-03T08:55:42Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

grey skies over sunny cynghordy; telephone box; bus shelter

00007aa6.jpg | 2008-10-03T08:56:04Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

kitchen, the cottage

00007aad | 2008-10-03T09:38:06Z | location | -mt4-

pink rose and thorns outside the kitchen window

00007aa8.jpg | 2008-10-03T09:39:32Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

at about this time, mum was out of the room and i eating breakfast; attracted by the commotion in the apple tree, i spotted a nuthatch, blue tits, coal tits and long-tailed tits, and a couple of goldcrests; but i couldn't remember their name, so called mum in for a look; she hadn't seen any in a long while either

00007aaf | 2008-10-03T10:00:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

rot outside the kitchen window

00007aaa.jpg | 2008-10-03T11:17:06Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

my bedroom, wolverhampton

00007aae | 2008-10-03T17:00:00Z | location | -mt4-

on my way back from a cold, wet session with my ball, i passed a stiff old chap with two walking sticks; i wished him a good morning; he returned the favour twice; his voice had a light, optimistic quality that suggested he might have done some good for his country during the war

00007ab1 | 2008-10-04T11:30:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

i don't remember quite when, but before the afternoon was well underway i spotted something like a blackbird, eating seed i had spilled when refilling the feeders; its shape and action was right for a blackbird, but its greyish head and neck were misleading; i called from the sitting room to them upstairs; mum checked it out; then dad; our conclusion was `mutant blackbird'

00007ac2 | 2008-10-04T13:00:00Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

further to my tie fighter / chopping board thing, i have heard danny's scream in the frying pan a few times (danny out of `the shining')

00007ab0 | 2008-10-05T14:00:38Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

on

00007ab2 | 2008-10-05T14:10:52Z | radio > on/off | -mt4-

30

00007ab3 | 2008-10-05T14:10:54Z | radio > tx > power (w) | -mt4-

bx

00007ab4 | 2008-10-05T14:10:54Z | radio > repeater | -mt4-

1

00007ab7 | 2008-10-05T14:10:54Z | radio > rx > antenna | -mt4-

17m

00007ab5 | 2008-10-05T14:13:27Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

usb

00007ab6 | 2008-10-05T14:13:27Z | radio > rx > mode | -mt4-

18.160 (18.159843)

00007ac1 | 2008-10-05T14:17:42Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

[de sz7ser]

0000895c | 2008-10-05T14:17:43Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

name nikos

00007ab9 | 2008-10-05T14:19:32Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

[g0vbc de sz7ser]

0000895d | 2008-10-05T14:21:56Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

rst 54

00007abb | 2008-10-05T14:22:55Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

rst 55

00007abc | 2008-10-05T14:22:57Z | radio > comment | -mt4-

[? de sz7ser]

0000895e | 2008-10-05T14:23:16Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

17m

00007abe | 2008-10-05T14:25:37Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

off

00007abf | 2008-10-05T14:26:02Z | radio > on/off | -mt4-

long before i would like to have woken, i had dreamed, and then a clear voice said `matt-you' on a mid-range descending minor 3rd; there seemed to be no-one about, so perhaps it had come from inside my head; but it seemed very much apart from the hazy dreaming i had been doing; i wonder who had been the last person to call me `matt-you'

00007ac7 | 2008-10-06T12:32:03Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

flowers in front of the sitting room mirror; for hdr testing

00007ad9.jpg | 2008-10-07T12:06:56Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

outhouse and sunny fruits on the apple tree

00007adb.jpg | 2008-10-08T07:03:36Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

sofa and kitchen stool i stood on to photograph a small spider dangling in the sun

00007ae4.jpg | 2008-10-08T07:37:48Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

sunny tall tree and fruits on the apple tree

00007ae6.jpg | 2008-10-08T07:40:06Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

my shadow on the back door

00007ae8.jpg | 2008-10-08T07:42:20Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

sunny trees and lamppost in the churchyard

00007aea.jpg | 2008-10-08T11:04:42Z | photography | -mt1-

churchyard tap

00007aec.jpg | 2008-10-08T11:06:20Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

creeper shadows on a churchyard tree trunk

00007aee.jpg | 2008-10-08T11:09:00Z | photography | -mt1-

not going to use the ufraw auto black point now

00007ae3 | 2008-10-08T15:40:39Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

rosehips, moon and tree; even with the surrounding sky quite light (hint of yellow), it was going to be tough to reproduce the original conditions in this image

00007af1.jpg | 2008-10-08T17:42:28Z | -no-label- | -mt1-

on

00007af7 | 2008-10-09T13:08:50Z | radio > on/off | -mt4-

18.1485 (18.148343)

00007af8 | 2008-10-09T13:10:45Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

[de ut5mb]

0000895f | 2008-10-09T13:10:46Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

qrx 2 minutes

00007afa | 2008-10-09T13:11:04Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

name alexander

00007afb | 2008-10-09T13:13:36Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

[g0vbc de ut5mb]

00008960 | 2008-10-09T13:14:51Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

rst 59; name alexander

00007afd | 2008-10-09T13:15:15Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

rst 59

00007afe | 2008-10-09T13:15:17Z | radio > comment | -mt4-

[? de ut5mb]

00008961 | 2008-10-09T13:15:36Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

17m

00007b01 | 2008-10-09T13:19:49Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

5.343 (5.342954)

00007b02 | 2008-10-09T13:22:15Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

qth east ukraine, kremena

00007b00 | 2008-10-09T13:24:18Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

4.443 (4.442961)

00007b03 | 2008-10-09T14:17:41Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

morse code; rst 59+10

00007b05 | 2008-10-09T14:17:43Z | radio > comment | -mt4-

[de ?] eet aulow ywyms gtgng qrbrf xhwnk vajyi dmhhn xgluu jucxh akogr rbekz ewedb neuzu vvv bp dyfkz gpepq mrfsx nvbrp fcvbe zjhto pbsaf mirbo banuo mhxxt oiecb srdlg jrttn ltrin aaa

00007b06 | 2008-10-09T14:17:43Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

5.343 (5.342954)

00007b07 | 2008-10-09T14:19:21Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

[de v29d] radio check

00007b09 | 2008-10-09T14:58:46Z | radio > rx > message | -mt4-

there seem to have been fewer mosquitoes this year; was the poor weather to blame? or were their larvae eaten by tadpoles and water snails?

00007af4 | 2008-10-09T15:17:56Z | -no-label- | -mt4-

i don't wanna die on this bus with you assholes! you guys suck!

eric cartman, south park

00007af5 | 2008-10-09T15:21:42Z | quotes | -mt4-

off

00007b0a | 2008-10-09T16:35:08Z | radio > on/off | -mt4-

on

00007b0b | 2008-10-09T18:58:00Z | radio > on/off | -mt4-

2.274 (2.27398)

00007b0c | 2008-10-09T19:09:50Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

fishing talk of mobile phones and emails; `something i want to talk to you about'; `that sounds ominous'

00007b0e | 2008-10-09T19:09:52Z | radio > comment | -mt4-

5.343 (5.342954)

00007b0d | 2008-10-09T19:16:00Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

slash; brb

00007b0f | 2008-10-09T19:18:16Z | radio > comment | -mt4-

back

00007b10 | 2008-10-09T19:21:20Z | radio > comment | -mt4-

4.940 (4.939957)

00007b11 | 2008-10-09T19:27:12Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

[de voice of america]

00008962 | 2008-10-09T19:27:14Z | radio > comment | -mt4-

5.343 (5.342954)

00007b13 | 2008-10-09T19:30:10Z | radio > rx > frequency (mhz) | -mt4-

off

00007b14 | 2008-10-09T19:37:35Z | radio > on/off | -mt4-

contents

matthew munro, g0vbc, still photograph, movie clip

29d