Pebble Beach, Cold Knap

 A beach just to the west of Barry.  Cold Knap is very appropriate.  There is a sea mist heading our way.  Very chilling they are.

It is now towards the end of April.......and still no spring.  Wind proofs for the fishermen are still the order of the day.

The wind sculpted tree on the right of the picture gives a pretty good idea of the how bracing it is down here. 

Caerphilly

Not the main attraction in the town, but the birth place of the annoyingly funny Tommy Cooper. I didn't know that.

The Castle with a comic character trying to upright a falling over tower.  Good luck with that my friend.

I couldn't decide which of these two images to delete.

 

So I haven't. Funny thing is, I don't remember the castle having a moat.

Cardiff Bay

The Bay at dusk.

Sons and daughters of Wales.

More conventional sculptings.  Here Lloyd George in Gorsedd Gardens, best known as the highly energetic Prime Minister (1916–22) who guided the Empire through the First World War.  Seems to be shaking his fist at City Hall. He was a key figure in the introduction of many reforms which laid the foundations of the modern welfare state

Not famous yet.

Ivor Novello in the Bay.  Born David Ivor Davies was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century, notably in Hitchcock's early UK based films.

Cardiff

Cardiff City Hall.

 

 Gorsedd Gardens six weeks late in blooming.  Trees still very bare.

Windy, quiet streets.  No cars just leg power.  A much calmer place.

Cardiff new library complete with modern sculpture for I don't know what.

Hair

 It's been windy, OK.  Very Windy

Completely ruined my Jeremy Irons look.

Looking down and up.

Coming back to the UK after a long overseas stay,  some things strike you as very 'odd'.  There are loads and loads of these redundant chimneys complete with their pots all over the place in London.  Why?  Are Londoners anticipating going back to the good old days of the coal fire?  

And the skies over London are crowded.  Apart from aircraft from the 5 London airports, I counted 8 vapour trails from aircraft over flying London 7 miles up.  Two new trails were being created as I watched.  Seemed as if the planes were in a race to America  

London Sky Lines.

Our young friend Toby has recently acquired himself a flat in Greenwich. This series of images was captured from his balcony........with a long lens.

 London's sky line is 'rojak'. All over the place,up and down, round and square.

Like some alien ship has landed.  Or a giant's pin cushion, perhaps.

Words fail me.  A case of the emperor's cloths?  Perhaps it was meant for Blackpool?

Whitstable

 I love this pub.  It is just so right. 

Neptune's location isn't bad either.  We visited the second hand bookshop in the town to collect a couple of books for this trip's dwell moments, not that there are going to be many of those me thinks.  7 pounds for 4 books, ain't bad.

Margate

Love Lane.  A reminder of Georgetown.  But much more importantly, Turner first came to the seaside town aged 11, having been sent by his parents to school in Love Lane.  Walking a street Turner walked.  Magic.

But we were here to visit the Turner Contemporary Museum. It is built on the spot where a house frequented by Turner used to stand.

This window sees the view Turner saw from his studio window in the early 19th century.

Richard and I lowering the tone of the place

Wheels

The start of our 4+ month trip to the UK. Almost the first thing to do was to pick up a hire car.  And Gek done good .........again.  This little 107 has 740 miles on the clock and is costing us 11 pounds/day to hire and 9 pounds/day to have zero insurance excess.  Cheap as chips.

 An arty-farty image for a change.  By Gek of course.

Things they are a'changing.

 

Relau used to be a very sleepy place but now it is as though a completely new town is being built around us.  We are off to the UK for 4+ months come Monday.  Lord knows what the Relau will have become on our return.  This is the new wet market and food court 5 mins walk from our place.  Guess this will be open when we get back.

And then there is the second Penang island road bridge, scheduled to be open to the public in October or may be September, they are ahead of schedule.  Around 26 KM.  That is one long bridge which snakes across the Penang straits, not straight at all.  Very appropriate in the year of the snake to have a snaking bridge.  Wonder if the planners arrange for this to be so?

 

What was PISA is now SPICE and is coming on nice.  When we return there is likely to be a very big hole in the ground in the centre of this picture.  All the conference facilities are to be underground, a reversal of normal construction practice; garden on top accommodation underneath.

 

And this strange building on the road junction opposite the Public Bank.  There is no picture board to show the architects vision so we have been left guessing as to what the heck is going on the top of this concrete monster.  Very strange it is.

 

Finally but by no means the last, The Golden Triangle.  We are learning a lot about construction practice by eying the guys working here through our binoculars each day.  With the low cost housing being built at the same time behind the  G T, there are 8 cranes working , sometimes to past 11 at night, and come rain or shine.  Don't know how the guys stand it.  I would be a goner after one day up there.

Relau's new wet market and food centre.

 

 The market was open just over 3 months ago.

Fresh food including fish and chicken, all only 15 mins walk from the apartment.

Guess who is having what for brunch?

Penang Club

Lunch at Penang Club with Chris and Ranu is always a real treat.  Lovely company, great food and

this view to contemplate.  Will Cardiff measure up to this? 

Taking over.

The only place in our place to put the two halves of the Black and White together is the living room. But it fills the place.  Thankfully Gek is very understanding about it.  Mind you she has the land title in any case!!!

Film - Lagaan

 A very engaging story of the British Raj v the Indian farmer.  A story about how the Indian's beat the English at there own game.... with a bit of humanism throw in. I enjoyed, so 3 on the door for this one.

Film - The 3 Idiots

A film we saw on video. Very funny. The story follows the undergrad lives of three friends studying Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, Delhi. The script must can only have been written by an engineer. It reminder me so much of my own undergrad days at Birmingham Uni. Chetan Bhagat is his name. Follow the link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chetan_Bhagat.  Has to be 3.5 on the door.

Film - Les Miserables

A totally sung dialog, so if you don't have subtitles or if you don't know the story by heart you will miss a lot of the plot.  But we did and we didn't.  Very powerful cinema.   Prepare to weep.

I give it 3 on the door.

The Black and White.

 

 In through the front door.

To the left the music room.

 To the right the dinning area.

 Up stairs to the second bedroom.

 The master bedroom with entertaining area.

Out onto the upper veranda.

Punch any one?

The Girls

Azni, Gek and Ranu after a buffet Sunday lunch at the Penang Club.  Such an oasis of calm. 

The main men.

 

Two epic figures of the twentieth century whose energies and drive were hijacked by their followers for their own ends: Churchill to beat fascism, Gandhi to beat the British Raj in India.  But to reinstate the Empire or to take India back to the soil, no thank you very much.

For me, Arthur chronicled the events, the ups and the downs of Churchill's and Gandhi's lives, but didn't quite explain how this con trick was achieved, the masses conning their leaders.  It is usually the other way round. 

Perhaps the answer is in the characters themselves.  There are none as blind as those who don't want to see.