You Call That a Beach?

I had the whole flat to myself for the Easter weekend: Lee and Margaret were having fun in Paris, Wendy and Nicole had moved into their new flat and the new tenants hadn't moved in yet - so what did I do? Cleaning, of course!

Seeing how I'd been such an inconvenience for the last week, I figured the least I could do was tidy the flat up for when everyone arrived on Monday night. It also gave me a chance to break out the new vacuum cleaner and give it a spin. For some reason I really enjoy doing the vacuuming - I can't really explain why. Please don't ask.

That's not all I did this weekend, though. Last week, when I knew I was coming back to London, I got in touch with Kylie to ask if she wanted to catch up. The next day I realised this wasn't going to be a good idea, so I rang her to explain - to which she offered to take me to see Brighton on Saturday! So that's what we did.

One early morning train ride later (plus a short walk) and we'd arrived by the seaside. I've seen pictures of Brighton before so I knew what to expect, but it really is a strange (foreign?) experience to walk on a beach that consists of rocks. There were no waves either, which made it even stranger still - the beaches in Newcastle are the complete opposite.

The weather forecast for the day had been 20 degrees and sunny, but for most of the day it was quite cloudy and cool. This, compounded with the fact that it was Easter Saturday, meant that the crowds were out in droves. By lunch time, the beach and surrounding streets were thickly spread with people trying their best to soak in what sun there was.

As it turns out, I think the main reason Kylie was so keen to go to Brighton was to do some photography. Seeing how this has been my latest hobby while I've been away, I can't exactly complain because this is what I wanted to do as well. We wandered up and down the beach taking snaps of various things and occasionally chuckling at some of the sights we saw on the beach - sunbathers, mainly.

One of the things I experimented with during the day was trying to create some high dynamic range (HDR) photos, which is a fairly recent technique I've been messing about with the last week or so. Basically, you take the same photo with different exposure settings and use some very clever software to piece them together into one single stunning image. You really, really need a tripod to be able to do them properly, but I don't have one (yet) so I had to make do with any flat surfaces I could find that pointed at something interesting.

After some lunch, an ice cream and a big long walk up, around and through the pier, we decided to beat the crowds and head back to the flat. Having extolled the virtues of HDR photography to Kylie all day, it came as a bit of a disappointment when we viewed the final results. It wasn't a complete bust, but it looks like I still have a lot to learn as they didn't turn out quite as well as I'd hoped.

The rest of the weekend was quiet, as I started contemplating my next trip. I thought I might go on a tour this time, just to see what it's like compared to going it on my own. I've decided on a 10 day tour of Ireland that includes almost all expenses - sounds good to me. The only problem is that it leaves from Dublin, so I have to figure out a way of getting there.

Unscheduled Downtime

It's been a week, but I'm almost back to full capacity. My little bug ended up being a full-blown cold, so I've been holed up in the corner of Lee and Margaret's place with a runny nose and a box of tissues, trying my best not to annoy my extremely gracious hosts (and their guests).

I'd already been warned that this week was going to be a busy one in the flat and it would be inconvenient for me to be here, so I felt guilty as hell when my one or two days turned out to be a week. I'm going to feel even worse if anyone else ends up catching what I had - I'm already apologising profusely if I see anyone sneezing or blowing their nose.

Scaling back the clock a bit, on Saturday night we took in a musical. While I was away in Cardiff, I "borrowed" a book at one of the hostels called Wicked - the real story of the Witches of Oz. I enjoyed it a lot, so I was quite interested in seeing the musical (which was based on the book).

The show itself was quite enjoyable, with some spectacular sets and a great cast, including Nigel Planer as the Wizard of Oz and Miriam Margolyes as Madame Morrible (whose last night it was). There were huge liberties taken with the original story, but overall it was quite fun. I definitely think there's a certain mindset you need to be in to truly enjoy these kinds of musical though - by this time, though, my mind was far more concerned with how to stop my nose from running.

Nothing much of interest happened during the week, spending most of my time indoors feeling quite unwell. It's done wonders for my daily spending average, at least.

Tonight, on the other hand, was the reason I had to be back in London by, well, tonight. A few days after I arrived here, I found out Kevin Smith was doing a couple of Q&A sessions in London. When I mentioned it to Lee and Margaret, it was quickly decided we were going.

As a long term fan of Kevin Smith (I blame him and thank him for getting me fired from my post-high school job, working in a 24 hour petrol station), I was lucky enough to have caught one of his shows last year when he made his first trip to Australia, pimping Clerks 2. I liked it enough to want to go again.

The show got off to a blue beginning as one of the girls further back in the line was beckoned to the mic; first, to hear her sex talk in a British accent, and then to be probed about her proclivities in the anal department. Kevin is fascinated by the accent and is, apparently, quite keen to see some British porn - even asking couples in the audience if they'd be willing to go at it if he could just listen in. At least one couple raised their hands - and I'm almost certain they would've done it, too.

My memory has never been spectacular, so I've already forgotten a lot of the stories he told, but one that clearly sticks in my mind as the highlight of the night involved his dogs Mulder, Scully and Shecky. He began explaining how he came to own each one: Scully, the first, being a test of he and his wife's parenting skills; Mulder, as a cure to the rampant stupidity of Scully caused by excessive in-breeding; and, finally, Shecky, a miniature dachshund that was purchased by Kevin and his daughter, apparently, just to make fun of.

What began as an endearing tale of dog ownership quickly turned into a fascinating and disturbingly lurid tale of canine debauchery, perpetrated by the least likely of the Smith animal clan - I'm not sure I'm going to be able to look at dachshunds ever again the same way.

One very pleasant surprise came part-way through the show as Kevin's little girl, Harley, suddenly appeared on-stage to give her dad a massive hug - apparently, she missed him while she was out so her mum brought her by to see him (and wow, his wife is absolutely stunning in the flesh). Without skipping a beat, Kevin started proxying questions to his girl, such as what her favourite dinosaur was - a question already asked of Kevin earlier (she didn't know). She then took up the seat set up on the stage for a little while before heading off with her mum.

When I found out about the Q&As in London, it did strike me as being a little random as to why he was doing them at this time. As it turns out, the Smiths were in London so Harley could visit her best friend who is staying over here - who just happens to be Johnny Depp's daughter. He figured that, while he was over here, he might as well do something useful as opposed to sitting in his hotel room watching British porn.

The only other highlights I can remember:

- A final follow-up to the 3AM Girls incident, where one of said girls displayed her true hypocrisy by asking Kevin if he ever considered his comments might actually be hurtful to the people he's roasting.

- A very detailed description of just how much he disliked Superman Returns, including an explanation of the movie's most glaring plot hole, before declaring Superman both an emo and a rapist.

- The horror script isn't written yet, but is planned to be more visual and less dialogue dependant than his usual movies. He also cited Race With the Devil as a contemporary for his idea. And it will have gore.

- His new comedy script is finished, or close to it.

- Clerks: Sell Out has been put off due to The Weinstein Company's reluctance to fork out for the rights from Miramax. Instead, a new animated movie idea is on the burner.

Tonight's show was much shorter than the one I saw in Melbourne, which went on well past midnight but did also include a screening of Clerks 2. Tonight was wrapped up at 11pm. I think I enjoyed this show a little better as there were far fewer idiots asking stupid questions and taking too long at the mic (although tonight wasn't free of this either).

Unfortunately, I pussied out again and didn't get up to ask a question (and I had a good one this time), but as it turns out I wouldn't have had the chance anyway as there were still plenty of people lining up when the night was wrapped. Maybe next time.

Back to reality, Kylie is taking me to Brighton this weekend so I can see the English seaside. I'm looking forward to it a lot, and not just for the day out.

I've also been contacted by a German magazine to ask for permission to use one of my photos in one of their upcoming issues. My first thought was that I haven't posted any photos that a German magazine might be interested in, but when they got back to me to tell me which one they wanted it all became a lot clearer.

Pretty happy with the offer: no cash (this time), but not only do they print my photo but also a portrait of me as well as a description I get to write. The last time I was featured in a magazine was when I was co-editor of the Celluloid Superheroes mag I worked on, so it's good to be back in the printed media.

Finally, just in case anyone reads this for the Kevin Smith coverage: his favourite dinosaur is the velociraptor because it can open doors.

Back to the City

Made it back to London earlier this afternoon, all is well.

Just in case anyone is actually concerned, I'm not dying or anything - I've just been hit by some sort of bug that's made it inconvenient for me to be travelling. I tried to put up with it for a couple of days but all that's happened is I feel worse. I thought I'd head back to Lee and Margaret's for a day or so to get over it before hitting the road again.

Haven't decided where I'll go next, but I was originally hoping to return to London via Oxford and Cambridge...

I Am Not a Number!

I had to say it, I had to bloody say it. I should've gone to Portmeirion on Tuesday, when the weather was perfect. Instead, yesterday was overcast and foggy - all day. I had to say it.



Despite the weather, yesterday was a brilliant day out. I woke up early so I could get the earliest bus out there - which only goes to the front of the (mile long) driveway. That was okay, the walk was worth it.

When I made it to the gate, I couldn't resist the temptation to ask "Where am I?" - unfortunately, the guy at the gate didn't appear to understand my little joke. I'm guessing that almost everyone reading this doesn't get it either, so let me fill in some back story...



You see, Portmeirion is where the classic '60s cult TV series The Prisoner was filmed. Starring Patrick McGoohan as the protaganist - known only as Number 6 - it's a fantastically surreal and subversive series that, by the end, really has your head tied up in a twist. Naturally, I love it.

Not only was I intrigued about visiting where the show was filmed, I was genuinely interested in seeing the place for its unique architecture. It was put together over a period of 70 years by its somewhat eccentric creator, and includes his own specially created constructions along with rescued buildings from other sites, all put together overlooking the sea.



It's colourful, it's fascinating and it's beautiful. I've noticed it a lot in Wales, but pastel colours seem a popular choice for painting houses - and Portmeirion takes it to the limit. Amazingly enough, it never oversteps the mark and passes into tastless territory. The bright colours seem quite overwhelming at first, but as you walk around the area you really feel the atmosphere created by the clash of colours and architecture that it works, it really works.

Having watched the show a few times, it was a little disorientating walking around and finding buildings in different places to where I was expecting them. It turns out the creators of the show were even more inventive than I'd originally thought as they've really used the locations to their full extent. The producers were also given access to a number of areas around the resort that aren't available to normal visitors, so I wasn't able to see everywhere Number 6 had been.



What I wasn't expecting was that the Village is only a small part of the resort - the rest is taken up by a massive maze of bush-enclosed pathways that lead to various lookouts. I spent a good couple of hours just wandering around here and still only saw around half of it.

Unfortunately, as I hinted at earlier, it wasn't all perfect. Sadly, the glorious weather of the day before decided to bugger off overnight and, in its place was a thick and gloomy fog that refused to dissipate all day. Funnily enough, it actually helped create a pretty secluded atmosphere which, considering its history, was quite enjoyable. But still, I would truly have loved to be able to have a blue sky in my photos rather than the grey and white gloom I captured instead.



I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not, but there were a lot of visitors there during the day - and I'm pretty sure quite a few of them were there because of The Prisoner (at one point I was following a guy with a video camera who was singing the theme song). Apparently the annual Portmeiricon Prisoner Convention was held just the weekend gone and you could see some of their handiwork around the area - particularly the grassy section, where you could plainly make out where they'd placed the markings for the human chess game.

I also took the time to grab some souvenirs while I was there - the first time I've done so on my entire trip.



My original intention was to head home at closing, in the desperate hope that the sky would suddenly clear up and I'd get my blue sky, but by 3pm it was pretty clear it was only going to get worse so I decided to head back to the hostel, which is where I stayed for the rest of the night.

I'm very unhappy to say that I've had to cut my trip to Wales a bit shorter than I'd intended because... I've fallen sick! On Tuesday night I started to get a tickly throat and on Wednesday it'd only become worse, so today I decided to head back to Cardiff for the night before catching the train back to London tomorrow.

Gone North

I've managed to find an Internet cafe in Caernarfon, but it closes in 30 minutes so I'll have to be fast.

Yesterday I spent eight hours in a bus. No, wait, I lie - it was actually two buses. It took over four hours to go from Cardiff to Aberystwyth, then another three or so from Aberystwyth to Caernarfon. Not surprisingly, I was quite tired by the time I arrived - but I still had enough time to prowl the streets and take some pictures.

It's an interesting little town this one; it's centered around a massive castle, with the main part of the town residing inside the castle walls. The streets inside are fairly narrow, and the whole castle area doesn't take very long to walk around (I know - I did it), but it's a really nice area and I'm glad I came.

That's not how I felt yesterday afternoon after the bus ride, though.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what possessed me to come up this way - the only thing I can think of is that the Lonely Planet guide mentioned the castle and it sounded interesting, plus I thought I may as well see North Wales while I'm over this way.

The bus ride itself was exceptionally dull, made worse by the fact that every time I pulled out my book to read I'd feel sick almost instantly, so the whole trip was spent alternating between falling asleep and watching the scenery. And it's a good thing, too, that the scenery was so nice because every time I looked forward at the road, I'd start to worry.

What I haven't mentioned yet are the roads: they are not built for today's vehicles! They are extremely narrow along the back ways (which, over here in Wales, is practically everywhere) and barely have enough room for one car going one way, let alone two. That doesn't stop the drivers zooming around as fast as they can, though, especially around the tops of the cliffs I chose to look down. There were at least three times driving up here I was certain we were going to fall to our deaths.

Seeing how I was totally buggered last night, I stayed in, did some reading, then fell asleep at midnight. The next thing I knew it was morning - and 10am. I slept like a baby all night, it was great.

Taking my time to get ready, I didn't actually hit the streets until almost midday. My first stop was the tourist information centre for a bit of help deciding what to see - which, as was going to be the case anyway, was the castle. Its most recent claim to fame is that it's where Charles was crowned Prince of Wales by his mum (the Queen).

So far I've seen a few castles on this trip but, to me, this one has been the best. I've already forgotten most of the history behind it, but basically it's been around for a really long time and has been restored enough so that you can walk through most of it. There are corridors leading all through the walls, plenty of towers and turrets, and LOTS of stairs.

Once again, it didn't really occur to me as I was walking in, but once I reached the top of the towers I started to have that strange nauseous feeling again - oh wow, it's high up here. Really high. I don't like being this high from the ground. Despite the rising panic, I managed to brave the heights and take in the spectacular views.

For the rest of the afternoon I've been following the walking tour around town, given to me by the information centre. All up it's 1.5 miles, but it only took about 30 minutes or so to go around. It wasn't until the end of the tour that I discovered this Internet cafe.

Tomorrow, I'm getting up early in order to visit Portmeirion - roughly an hour's bus ride from here. I just hope the weather holds up, because today was unbelievably beautiful.

Unexpected Delights

Considering I hadn't intended being in Cardiff today, I think I made a pretty good time of it.

As I mentioned in this morning's post, I've had to book another night here so I can actually manage to get to North Wales at a reasonable hour of the day. The downside has been trying to fill another day of sightseeing in a city where, let's face it, there's not a whole lot to see.

At the bar here at the hostel they have a little book full of useful information, most importantly it includes a list of sights to see while you're here. One of them I noticed a couple of days ago, but I wasn't sure I should see it until the girl behind the bar convinced me it was worth going.

The place is called St Fagan's, and it's a living Welsh museum - by this, they mean you can wander around a real preserved Welsh village and take a look inside the buildings, and even watch people recreate how things were done back in the day - such as boot making, baking bread, that sort of thing.

For some reason I wasn't expecting a lot, but it was a big surprise - it was a lot bigger than I was expecting, there was a lot to see (not a great deal to do beyond walking around, though) and it was actually quite interesting. It sure beat the pants off the museum I saw yesterday.

I spent several hours wandering the paths, taking loads of pictures (yes, I'm one of those tourists) and generally soaking in the atmosphere. There was also another castle on the property which boasted a spectacular garden, one of the best I've seen so far.

But the best bit came after talking to one of the fellows watching over the place: it turns out the Doctor Who film crew had just been there a couple of months earlier! He said they were there some time in December, which means it was for the soon-to-be-aired third series - which means I've managed to do a pre-emptive location visit! I certainly had a spring in my step after learning this nugget of information.

Departing at closing time, I headed back to the hostel for a drink and a snack. I haven't mentioned this already, but daylight savings clicked in over here last night, so once again my body clock is a bit haywire. It also threw my evening off a little as I was planning to head back to Cardiff Bay to take some night-time pictures of the area, but it was still broad daylight - and chilly as hell. In the end I went during the light.

As I'd hoped, it was starting to turn dark by the time I arrived and I proceeded to fill up the rest of my second 2GB memory card, as well as part of my third. By no means do I consider myself a competent photographer - especially with the cheap little camera I'm using - but I'm very proud of some of the photos I've been taking, and I'm especially pleased with some I took tonight.

Almost all of today, the weather has ben quite rubbish - overcast and threatening to rain - but as I arrived at the Bay the clouds decided to part for a while and I was given some nice blue skies to photograph, which slowly turned into a wonderful night's sky.

Tomorrow I'm catching some buses up North. It should be a terminally boring day, but the days following should hopefully make up for it.

Serendipity

More mistakes have been made, but I'm recovering from them.

According to my schedule, last night I should have spent the night in the middle of Wales - in the middle of nowhere. I wasn't exactly looking forward to it to be honest, but it was the only place I could find in Wales that had a bed for Saturday night. Last night the rugby semi-finals were on and Cardiff... and Swansea... and every-bloody-where else was entirely booked out.

However, I got lucky. And not in the pants down kind of way (sadly).

While I was at the bar on Friday night, the girl working mentioned there were beds available at the backpackers' down the road - did I want one? Stupid question really, I was dreading trying to find this place and was a little worried I might end up as a steak in some demented Welsh farmer's lunch (Torchwood, you are to blame for this!).

So last night I stayed in Cardiff again, which gave me some more time to look around. On second wander, Cardiff is a little bigger than I originally thought - there's a whole area not printed on the map I was given - so I took some time to wander around there. Not a lot there, just a lot of shops.

I also took the time to look through Cardiff Castle, which was equally garish as it was impressive. The guy who used to own it was somewhat eccentric, and he'd had the place decorated to suit his rather odd tastes. It was all very impressive and ornate, but it's not the kind of place I'd be happy living in. Aside from all the Catholic hullabaloo adorning everything, every room was just so over-decorated I'd be afraid to move for fear of damaging anything.

After this I spent some time in the Art Gallery. I took a good look through the exhibit explaning how Wales was formed, but I'm sorry to say that it's hard to become entirely enthusiastic about a bunch of rocks - no matter how many fossils are embedded in them. I tried to find the paintings - apparently they have the largest collection of impressionist paintings outside of Paris - but I couldn't find them. I might head back again today, now my feet have recovered.

By now, my feet were killing me so I decided to take the open top bus tour around Cardiff to see the sights... and it turns out I've already seen the best ones already, on my own. Most of the tour was 'this used to be' or 'this is going to be' - it turns out there's not a lot of original Cardiff left anymore, and they're still busy building new Cardiff. It's probably going to be worth a visit again in another few years.

Wait a moment, I was explaining my mistakes, wasn't I?

As I was saying, today I was supposed to be in the middle of Wales, heading north to Caenarfon but, instead, I'm still here in Cardiff. I figured it shouldn't be too difficult to get a bus or train up there, but I didn't take into account one thing: today is Sunday! The only bus (that only goes half way, mind you) leaves here at 6.20pm and arrives at 10.20pm - after which, continuing on would be impossible until morning.

Hence, I'm staying another night in Cardiff - however, this has led to something better. Rather than spending one night in Caenarfon, I thought I might stay for a few days and check out North Wales. I've also discovered it's not too far away from Portmerion - the site where The Prisoner was filmed!