Personal

Sleeping out

One year ago today I did something very stupid: I locked my keys in the car. (Since then I've always known where my keys are at any time.)

That's not the end of it. I'd left them in the ignition. My spare key was at home, four hundred miles away. I had no money on me - my wallet was in the boot. It was getting late on a cold Sunday in January and all I had on was a t-shirt and trousers. Boy racers were tearing up and down the cobbled streets menacingly. My phone battery was on its last legs.

This picture was taken just seconds before I realised what I'd done. I'd seen the sun catch the band of pine trees that separate the sea from the town and raced from the car to photograph the effect, forgetting to check first that I had a way of getting back in.

Personal

Redundancy

This sign in the window of my local off-license saddened me just before Christmas. The shop's stock had been extremely limited of late so it wasn't a surprise to hear Unwins was going out of business. But it was clearly going to be hard on the staff who now recognised me when I popped in for an Irn-Bru on my way to the cinema.

So catching a glimpse of the shop open, fully stocked and with the same staff behind the till today was a delight. Redundant, then back in the same job a few weeks later. Cause for a celebratory drink if ever I saw one.

Personal

Tell-tale signs

He broke the cardinal rule of commuting by train: he said "hello". We exchanged two or three sentences before it was a case of laptops out, headphones in for both of us.

Before we'd reached Shenfield his two-fingered typing had dropped to a crawl. By Chelmsford he was regularly leaning dangerously close to the aisle before catching himself and shifting upright.

I glanced to my left. It was four o'clock but his watch said eleven.

Ah, it all slotted in to place. The long return after a business trip to the east coast of the States. I remember it well: trying to engage in any activity in a futile attempt to stay awake, even talking to strangers on the train.

I should have offered to wake him at his destination but he was already fast asleep.

Arts

On the making of ...

... stages 21-30 of the Polyphonic Spree. Be sure to check in on the Spree's recording studio blog.

Arts

Film: King Kong

Can there every be a reason for a film to last three hours? King Kong is so long that my local cinema had to put an interval in the screening - the projector can't physically hold that much film in one go.

One another point, while the special effects looked great on their own, whenever they were joined by real actors the effect was only marginally better than Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.

Feel free to say I'm prejudiced against the director. After all I've hardly been a fan of Peter Jackson's recent over-hyped handling of Lord of the Rings. But tonight I'm resolute: if it's longer than two hours it's probably time to hire an editor for your film.

Tech

Garmin news

Three exciting things from the manufacturer of my GPS receiver:

1. An exciting new toy to buy
2. News that Garmin will fully support Macs by the end of the year
3. At last - decent maps of the UK

If you're feeling generous I'll gladly tell you where to send 1 and 3 above.

Tech

Open

Open wireless access points are such a temptation.

This evening I pulled into a leafy residential street in Maidenhead. Out came the laptop and the mobile phone, ready to dial up and retrieve my email the slow way. But before I'd had a chance to connect I heard the familiar chime and noticed the "unread messages" flash on the Mail icon. My Mac had sniffed out wireless broadband emanating from one of the nearby houses, hooked up and saved me the trouble of using the mobile.

Will we see these affluent suburbs turning into temporary office space for mobile workers?

Personal

The future?

I've spent much of today in Reading. It would be quite a nice place to live wouldn't it?

Personal

Tonic

This is better. The café in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre serves a good coffee and chocolate brownie. The seat by the window offers a place in the sun and a view across the town to the sea. The undergraduates provide varied and interesting people-watching. (The guy who's tried the line "Am I following you or are you following me?" on two women so far still hasn't had any luck.)

Best of all, I'm getting my work done. It certainly beats daytime telly.

Personal

Poison

Today's lesson: daytime television is poison.

I sat down on the sofa at ten o'clock, ready to research software development on the Mac. Apart from a break for lunch I've hardly moved - and I've done almost nothing with the computer. Instead I've learnt about the dangers of pro-anorexia websites and why Tourettes might ruin someone's wedding. I've sat through half an episode of a Welsh-language version of Noddy. I've worked on the maths behind Deal or No Deal.

I've also figured out why it's a good thing I don't have a TV.

Coastwalk

Barmouth → Tywyn

Distance: 12.9 miles
Ascent: 193 metres
Duration: 4 hours 10 minutes

The bridge
« Harlech | Aberdyfi »

I've enjoyed using the train this week to take me to the beginning of each walk. The line between Machynlleth and Porthmadog is spectacular, sandwiched between the road and the sea, clinging to the side of the cliffs.

Half-way along the railway crosses the mouth of the Mawddach estuary on a half-mile long bridge. A footpath runs the length of the bridge and formed first part of this walk. There's a sixty pence toll for pedestrians but the views up the valley and across to Cadair Idris are simply stunning, even with today's overcast weather.

The middle section of the walk was far less interesting - nine miles of road walking. It would have been further still had I not looked carefully from the train on the way up for short-cuts.

If you're going to repeat this walk be sure to study the railway bridge across the Afon Dysynni just north of Tywyn. I gather there's some local pressure to construct a footbridge where an old bascule bridge took a minor road across the river. Until that time the choice is a five mile detour inland or a cheeky dash across alongside the track. A six foot high welded steel fence on the south side attempts to deter this but with a little gymnastics it's possible to drop down between the girders to the shingle below. Just don't ever expect me to climb up that way.

Coastwalk

Harlech → Barmouth

Distance: 14.8 miles
Ascent: 272 metres
Duration: 4 hours 43 minutes

Dunes
« Porthmadog | Tywyn »

Once again I'm plugging the holes in my knowledge of North Wales geography. I don't remember a time I didn't know that Harlech has a cliff-top castle. The surprise on visiting the town is that the cliff is a good half mile from the sea, separated by expansive dunes.

South of Harlech the tiny church at Llandanwg looked fascinating but was unfortunately locked. Its notice-board revealed that the chapel was founded in 435AD and that those going along to a service should remember to take a torch. I hope I'll be back some time.

Further on I made up for yesterday's road walking. After slogging my way across the towering dunes at Morfa Dyffryn the walk finished with a stunning eight-mile trek along a deserted sandy beach.

Coastwalk

Porthmadog → Harlech

Distance: 10.6 miles
Ascent: 185 metres
Duration: 3 hours 27 minutes

Along the road
« Pwllheli | Barmouth »

Two miles south-east of Porthmadog the village of Portmeirion is well known. If you're planning on visiting the village, leave the car behind and follow the first part of today's walk: across the causeway from Porthmadog then up and over the wooded headland before dropping to the village's entrance.

I spent most of the remainder of the day walking on the road. Between Ynys and Harlech it would have been possible to find a footpath slightly nearer the coastline but worried about missing the only train for three hours I opted instead for the main road.

Personal

Wide open

I've been to St David's Cathedral on a number of occasions. But not until today did I notice the way the columns in the nave lean outwards as if the cathedral's throwing its arms wide open to the sky.

To make up for my lack of observation previously I kept my eyes wide open this afternoon. I present this sign, found in a back alley in Britain's smallest city. A beautifully crafted coffin is the perfect centrepiece for any well-decorated home.

Personal

Not that curious

The tussle between curiosity and comfort has been won by comfort. Consequently the closest I'll ever come to finding out what I look like with a beard is the photo Pip took at the New Piccadilly last night.

This is a good decision. As one person put it, with a beard it'd just look as if my head was on upside-down.

Personal

Food

Po Bronson's in London today. He's in Borders doing a book signing for his new book. I found out about it when I was browsing in the shop half an hour before he was due to arrive. But I didn't stay. I had lunch with one of my favourite people and dinner with another.

Both meals were wonderful. I listened. I learnt. I talked. Ideas were exchanged. Plans were made.

Any time you like I'll gladly take chatting with friends over listening to one man talk, no matter how good his books are.

Walks

Walk: A little bit of America

Distance: 6.51 miles
Ascent: 78 metres
Duration: 2 hours 5 minutes

Walk 15: West Row and Worlington from Mildenhall

The landscape along this walk either side of the River Lark is a terrain of transition. This town in the far west of Suffolk is sandwiched between low-lying fens on the north and west, and the county's highlands on the south and west.

The view is classic England but every few minutes the indigenous sounds are deafened by the noise emanating from the little piece of America half a mile away. In West Row a jeep swerved to avoid me, its khaki-clad driver only noticing me at the last minute. He held a phone tight against his ear. That'll teach me for happening to be in the way of American Business.

A consequence of the recent wet weather was that with each step a little more of the path clung to my feet so the tarmac roads of the last two miles was a welcome relief. Probably the strangest sight on this stretch was a curious house, its windows painted pink, yellow and blue.

Not too strenuous, not too far from home, no animals to contend with; it's been a good first walk of the year.

Personal

Tomorrow

The popular question at tonight's Greenbelt Management Group meeting was, "What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

I'm still trying to get used to the fact that I have nothing planned.

These few weeks are a fantastic opportunity for me and I'm keen not to waste them. The first thing I'll do tomorrow is sketch out a plan for the rest of the month.

Arts

Book: What Should I Do With My Life?

A screenwriter turned teacher. Someone else deciding between gamekeeper and poacher. Another is financially sustained by a day-job and emotionally sustained by voluntary work. One more who's only had one employer their entire working life.

For the past six months I've been vicariously living the lives of strangers. Po Bronson's book What Should I Do With My Life? doesn't seek to answer the question but instead illuminates it with the tales of fifty people. Within the first couple of pages my mind was chiming with the voices I was reading. That resonance continued to the very end.

While at first it seemed these were extraordinary people, by the time I finished I had come to a different conclusion. As if to prove it, the final chapter is subtitled "Every story is unique". So I started looking at my own close friends.

A speechwriter turned teacher. Those who've traded the city life for pared down country living. Another who's voluntary work became their career. One more who's only had one employer their entire working life.

This year I'll be writing a little bit more of my story.

Angels

My angel

A Christmas present. At last my home on Angel Lane has its very own angel.

Arts

Film: The Constant Gardener

The Riverside Theatre was packed out tonight for The Constant Gardener. I suspect many are here for the film's political conscience - something I'd read about but which I didn't quite see on-screen.

To my mind it's a good thriller woven together with a beautifully depicted relationship between the two lead characters which just happens to be set in Africa against a backdrop of aid and the pharmaceutical industry.

The film encourages the audience to be appalled at the west's abuse of Africa but doesn't really present enough context to understand treat the issues with depth. In the closing credits after a dedication to "aid workers who lived and died giving a damn", a note confirms the author's "big-pharma bad" stance: "as my journey through the pharmaceutical jungle progressed, I came to realize that, by comparison with the reality, my story was as tame as a holiday postcard."

If the film's purpose was to draw attention to the fact that drugs have to be tested somewhere then fair enough. Personally I'd have rather seen it discuss the issue with a little more respect and intelligence.

Tech

Software update

Got a digital radio? Does it have a USB connector on the back? There might be a software upgrade available for it.

I've just upgraded my Tempus-1. The update was published six months ago but I've only just thought about checking to see whether one was available. It's a great release, extending the functionality of the radio to address all the (minor) gripes I've ever heard about the product.

It'd be interesting to discover what the uptake rate is for such upgrades. There's no real precedent for updating devices like this. It's great to see bug fixes being published but I suspect manufacturers will have to devise a better way of publicising upgrades if they're to be picked up by the majority of owners.

Website

Resolution

I resolve to forge the date on my website posts less often this year.