ONGOING: No.7: 50k/Miles of Weatherman Walks - No. 5 - Barry Docks to Rhoose

Hello there my beautiful blog friends!  I feel as if someone has stolen the last three months from me and also that I have been cocooned indoors for too long.  For obvious reasons fair enough. But I have definitely spent too much time indoors recently hiding away, eating badly, not sleeping, not 'living'. So I thought it was high time that I burst out of this routine and try to find a way out of a potentially negative situation, should it go on for too much longer.  It's not what this whole year of challenges is about, it's not what 'life' is about.  'Life', is about getting out there and doing, and trying and being and living and experiencing, and breathing.  Ooh - not like me to get all deep and thoughtful!

So!  Time to blow away the cobwebs and start getting my 'mojo' back.  And what better way to start than with the longest, so far, of our 'Weatherman Walks', the series of hikes myself and Stewart have been doing following in the footsteps of the legendary Welsh weatherman, Derek Brockway.   Today's hike was our first non-circular walk, and started from Barry Docks and would end up at Rhoose.   8 miles in total and it took us just under 3 and 1/2 hours - though we did stop for a coffee and a bacon butty in Barry Island.

Barry Docks train station is where we started this walk and for the most part this was a coastal walk following a fair amount of the Welsh Coastal Path Trail.  It was bloody freezing to be honest, very windy - but absolutely bracing!

From Barry Docks, we walked along the waterfront and got stymied fairly quickly.  Where Derek described wasteland that we could walk across, it's now a housing development/building site which we had to circumnavigate.  Thankfully, we're getting used to discovering that the directions for these walks are often out of date.  Still, we managed to rejoin the route and headed across the sands of Jackson Bay.  It was bitterly cold, but every now and again the light was just lovely and the sun would come out. 

It wasn't too much further along this proper coastal path until we arrived at the Valleys Mecca - BARRY ISLAND!  Home of a funfair, a really good crazy golf course, beach huts and also where the Welsh part of Gavin and Stacey was filmed!  Today though, the beach belonged to hardy dog walkers, and the funfair was shut.  We did stop here though for a bacon butty and a coffee - mainly to get a heat!

We could have stopped at 'Nessa's slots' but though the thought of spending the afternoon in an amusement arcade was tempting, it wasn't what we set out to do - maybe next weekend though!

After Barry Island, we continued mostly on beach, crossing a causeway at one point and heading towards Tower Bay.   While walking across the causeway the wind picked up and kept blowing the sand in amazing ways, tried to capture but have failed, though I haven't yet seen Stewart's photos.

We passed by Barry Lido - didn't even know they had one!  Derek mentions that this is where he learnt to swim, and Stewart remembered coming here when he was younger as well.  After Barry Lido we were heading to a very pebbly beach.  There was a wee incline beforehand when we headed up a steep footpath to the cliff top - this part of the walk felt like 'part two'.  The first half was mostly coastal and along the shoreline with defined normal paths, the second part was 'up' and off the beaten track.   Kind of more adventurous to be honest.

 






Still, once we hit this pebbled beach we were heading into the home straight and the actual goal of today, to reach Rhoose Point, the southernmost tip of  mainland Wales.  Also the end of our walk.   There is a stone circle here which I got excited about until I realised that it's not actually ancient, it was put here in 2000 by the company who were helping with the land reclamation and landscaping of the area.  The stones are made of North Wales slate.  This actual part of the coastal path consisted of lots of bigger boulders we could clamber over.  Which we did.   And then, we headed to the train station to travel home, me feeling absolutely knackered but for once in a wholesome physical way.  Look out by the way for the next of our weatherman walks - in the coup of the year we will be walking WITH the weatherman himself, oh yes, we're going to be walking with Derek 'THE Weather and the Legend' Brockway.  Ti-ra for now, as they say in the valleys. x

DONE: The New No.16: Watch 50 Childrens TV Shows from the 60s and 70s

Hello again.  So, this week's 'challenge' is a new item on the list.   I'm having to think quickly on my feet in order to come up with achievable things which can count towards my end goal of 50 Before 50.  Time is running out! 

But, this was always on my reserve list.  I suppose at this moment in time I should actually be trying to get out and about and walk and get fresh air, but what the heck, I've spent a lot of time over the last month going through childhood items and feeling nostalgic so I thought I'd indulge.  Hence this task to 'Watch 50 Childrens TV Shows from the 60s and 70s. 

I was born in 1968 so straddle both decades though really I'd have to say that I was a child of the 70s.  A cracking time to be a child, you were still allowed to donder about on your own far and wide and go on adventures and be outside nearly all the time playing - either skipping ropes, elastics, balls, hopscotch and all sorts of made up games.   As long as you were back in time for tea.

The 60s and 70s, I think, were a bumper times for childrens TV, especially here in the UK.  From cartoons, to dramas to magazine shows it was a really inventive period.  I tried as much as possible to stick with 'first' episodes, though I specifically chose the last episode of Lost Islands cos I don't actually remember ever finding out what happened to the children! Trying to whittle the list down to 50 was hard though,  I couldn't find all programmes on my initial list, the main one which has proven elusive to find was The Double Deckers.  Ach well, here's the list of the 50 I DID watch:

1. Andy Pandy                                                    
2. Bill and Ben                                                
3. Camberwick Green                                     
4. Chigley                                                       
5. Trumpton                                                        
6. Pogles Wood                                                   
7. Tales from the Riverbank                           
8. Noggin the Nog                                          
9. Ivor the Engine                                           
10. Bagpuss                                                         
11. The Clangers                                                 
12.The Herbs                                                       
13. Paddington                                                     
14. Wombles                                                    
15. Paperplay                                                       
16. Pipkins                                                           
17. A Handful of Songs                                       
18. Barnaby the Bear                                           
19. Rainbow                                                         
20. Hickory House                                               
21. Jamie and the Magic Torch                            
22. Chorlton and the Wheelies                             
23. Playschool                                                  
24. Mary, Mungo and Midge                                
25. Crystal Tips and Alasdair                           
26. Ludwig
27. Captain Pugwash
28. Hong Kong Phooey
29. Noah and Nelly
30. Rhoobarb 
31. Banana Splits
32. Bod
33. The Flumps
34. Mr Benn
35. Fingerbobs
36. Hectors House
37. Magic Roundabout
38. Mr Men
39. Grange Hill
40. HR Pufnstuf
41. Rentaghost
42. Robinson Crusoe
43. The Lost Islands
44. Wait Till Your Father Gets Home
45. White Horses
46. Why Don't You
47. Worzel Gummidge
48. Cheggars Plays Pop
49. Take Hart
50. Lizzie Dripping

And I seemed to have ended up with a number 51, How We Used To Live, which was actually a Schools history programme drama but I always loved it as a child and the episode I watched was about the suffragettes and as that was part of a long running joke/argument between me and my Mum it seems apt.

So there you go.  The complete list of programmes.   Watching a lot of these programmes were really evocative and I could just imagine sitting in front of the telly - probably black and white to begin with - eating my Freddo chocolates and drinking my cremola foam. 

What did I find most interesting watching these again as a grown up - well, I don't consider myself a grown up even now, but suppose I am compared to my 70s self - in no particular order:

Funniest - Chorlton and the Wheelies. I laughed my head off watching this, love Fenella the Welsh Witch.   Andy Pandy and Bill and Ben both came close though.   Trying watching those without laughing.
Most Disappointing - Banana Splits. This was one of my favourites as a kid but this time round I actively disliked the whole programme.
Scariest - Noggin the Nog.  Terrified me as a child, still did as an adult.  And, don't watch Lizzie Dripping on your own at night either.   The witch in it is quite frankly terrifying!
Most Annoying - Mary, Mungo and Midge.  This bothered me as a child who was themselves growing up in a tower block. She didn't have to share a bedroom AND she had a playroom AND she was allowed a pet dog!!!
BESTEST EVER - Robinson Crusoe.  Loved this a child and it is still amazing.  I even own the DVD and the soundtrack.   Best music ever though the theme tune to Lost Islands comes close.

Hope some of these bring back memories - to those of you who were lucky enough to be children in the 70s that is!!!

Lesley
xx

DONE - The New No.24: Firewalk - Dedicated to my Mum and Dad

This is the first full task I have done since losing my Mum and Dad, so this is dedicated to them...


Here Come the Hotsteppers - na, na nah, Feeling Hot Hot Hot and Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire were all going through my head when I decided to sign up for the Firewalk a wee while ago.  Why did I choose to do this?  Because I'm crazy, because I can...?  Nope, just was fascinated to find out how it's actually possible to walk over burning hot coals without ending up in A&E, and I'm sure I saw it once on the Generation Game and thought it looked cool.

So on a Thursday evening in March I trundled along to the Millennium Centre down Cardiff Bay and registered in time to take part in the hour long 'training' session.  First things first, it got official and I was given my wristband.   Oh, lord, now it seems real....

The training session was run by a world record breaking Firewalker called Scott who spent an hour explaining the science behind how it's possible to do this but also going over again and again the do's and the dont's.   He promised us that in taking part in the firewalk we would leave the event guaranteed with three things - 1) a certificate (whoop - I'd rather a shiny medal but I likes certificates too) 2) a huge smile after the walk either through sheer relief or because it actually feels empowering and 3) black feet - seriously black feet from the coal.    Fair enough.

For those who have been wondering how on earth it really is actually possible to walk over the coals I could say that it's all about mind over matter, being in the 'zone' and other such mumbo jumbo which would have freaked me out - apparently there are firewalk companies who do concentrate on the 'mind' aspect but I much preferred Scott's down to earth approach which was basically to explain the science.   Coal, is a poor conductor.   Even though the coals when we walked across them would be throwing off between 500-600 degrees of heat, the coals themselves are poor conductors - I understood at the time although I can't properly explain it now but I remember he also used the example of placing a metal spoon and a wooden spoon in a pan of boiling water and how the metal spoon would burn your hand but the wooden spoon won't. 

So, I was happy enough to rely on the science.  And his and his company's excellent track record of safety which I had researched beforehand.  He has never had anybody with an injury in a loooong time of organising firewalks.  Good enough for me.

So, while I was in the training session, Stewart, and my Welsh Mam, were outside watching preparations - which he was sending through to my phone just to really get me nervous!

It was early evening when all this was going on but as the light faded, the coals didn't!

So, the time came when the group of nutters - or rather, the group of folk who are up for new experiences - we all trundled out to face our fears, our demons whatever, and walk over burning coals.  

 

 















The main thing we had to concentrate on was to have a good steady pace, not too slow - it will burn, and not too fast - it will burn.  And then the absolute golden rule - DON'T STOP!   It will DEFINITELY burn!!!!   It's actually difficult to describe exactly what it felt like - apparently we would all describe differently to the next person.  Me?  I was aware that it was hot, but not in an unpleasant way - not quite like walking across hot sand, it was more that I felt prickles of heat.   I actually ended up going back for another 'go' and then another, so three times in total.   I was aware that on my second walk I could feel a bit of coal stick to my foot which is a danger but the other golden piece of advice he gave was that when you stepped off the coals you must remember to WIPE YOUR FEET - that meant that any wee bits of burny hot coals would immediately be brushed off.

It's difficult to see in these photos but you never walk on the huge lumps of coal - rather, the 'stokers'
spread littler bits all over the grass - shame you can't see that too well.  But, it was well worth it.  I booked this just before my Mum passed away and when I told her about it she freaked slightly and didn't want to know too many details, but, I know for sure she would have been proud as punch afterwards that I actually did it.  So that's it, another 'challenge' and that takes my completed list to 30 items.  

Oh, and by the way, this firewalk was organised to raise money for a south Wales charity, the Nolan Charity Fund.   I do have a fundraising page so if you were to feel so inclined - maybe feeling particularly generous after a few wee weekend libations?   My page to donate is here:

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/lesleyedge1

The Ultimate Challenge I Didn't Want and the 50 Reasons I Loved My Mum and Dad

So, once again, after another unexpected hiatus, hello there my friends.  A lot of you will know, some maybe not, that I, and my brother, recently faced one the ultimate challenges any 'children' can face in life.  In just under 8 short weeks we lost both of our beloved parents, my Dad on December 17th 2017 and my Mum, on February 10th 2018.  Both of them, unbelievably, passed away after having suffered sudden, and completely unexpected, massive heart attacks.  Devastation, disbelief and absolute grief does not even begin to describe how we, and our families, feel right now.

However, they would be the first ones to ask that we carry on, and strive for fulfilled and happy lives.  They were the best, most adorable parents any child could ask for and from the moment we were born, myself and my brother have felt nothing but unquestioned, undeniable love and support from both of them.  I could write an entire book just about their lives and what they mean to us.

But.  This blog is supposed to be about my 50 Before 50 Birthday challenge, something I came up with almost one year ago already.  I never in a million years would have predicted to find myself in this current situation.   One of the first 'challenges' or 'tasks' I put on the list was to come up with '50 Reasons I Love My Mum and Dad'.  Initially, I considered doing this last, I thought it would be a lovely 'thank you' to give them on the occasion of my actual 50th birthday.  A birthday present back to them almost.  Thankfully, I made the decision to have it as one of the first things I could tick off, and boy, am I so incredibly thankful I made that decision.   When I first wrote about this task on my blog I described that I wouldn't share the list as it was personal and probably wouldn't be at all interesting to anybody else anyway.  Now, I do want to share it.  It might give people insight into just what an amazing pair they were and why I feel the depth of sadness I do right now, but now this list actually brings me such an amount of comfort and happiness when I think back over the years.

Sorry this is a loooong, post, but, it feels good and cathartic to get this off my chest.

So, here it is:

1. You gave me and Tommy the perfect, happy, fun and secure childhood
2. You have always been there for me
3. You let me pad about independently, far and wide, from actually quite a young age. I think that's what has given me the resilience and independence to do things on my own
4. You never said no to dreams. You always made it seem that anything can be achieved (if achievable).  You have only ever been encouraging and supportive. Never any negativity or 'what do you want to do that for?'
5. You never let background stop me from dreaming or hold me back
6. You came to all to those dancing displays
7. You came to all those concerts
8. You went to all those Guiding services just because I wanted you to seem me carrying flags
9. You let me use your Goldbergs card (Mum - and a big Glasgow department store)
10. I loved Tuesdays when you had your day off and we had burgers in a sesame bun at lunchtime (Dad)
11. I loved when we went to the Copper Kettle for tea and cake when we were out shopping (Mum)
12. You bought me comics every week
13. You took me to the library and encouraged us to read books
14. Your way of booking holidays and accommodation was/is legendary!  It was always exciting (Dad - he never prebooked anything, we'd turn up at a British holiday destination and only then look for somewhere to stay!  We didn't have a car!)
15. One of my strongest very early memories is of you balancing on rocks in the Sunken Gardens in Blackpool (Dad)
16. I so enjoyed our day trip to Edinburgh to go and see Les Miserables
17. ...and our trip to the O2 for Neil Diamond (Mum)
18. Our holidays were always funpacked and memorable and happy
19. You went round museums and castles on holidays when you could have been sitting in the sunshine
20. You came in to the bus station with me every single freaking Sunday for an entire year (Dad)
21. I appreciate the way you taught us not to pre-judge anybody but accept people for how we find them ourselves
22. My birthday parties were awesome.  Going to Nash's for invites, table covers and paper cups was a highlight of each year (Mum)
23. Your Christmas 'displays' of presents were amazing (Dad)
24. I'm STILL convinced you told me you were a suffragette and wrote on a slate in School - I'm sorry but I LOVE it.  (Mum - this argument between us has run for over 40 years)
25. You made me go to dancing classes and I DID enjoy when I got there
26. You gave me unwavering support and love through years of depression
27. You suffered greatly when I was a complete bitch for one year in DC Thompsons and still loved me
28. I love the fact that for 30 years I've always had Dad specific phone calls
29. I sincerely appreciate the way you brought us up to believe and know that the world is an interesting place and to get out and about and 'do' things
30. I loved our collusion when Tommy had kidney stones and you had to keep it from Mum - sorry Mum
31. I love the way you told Mum that the Burnside had phoned you about a 'stamp collecting exhibition' when it was actually about her surprise birthday party
32. I loved how much you enjoyed that surprise party and didn't batter us (Mums 70th)
33. I adored all the times we spent up at the golf club and you never even knew I was drinking out the 'drip trays' when I was seven
34. I appreciate the way you taught me I can say most things 'as long as I say it with a smile' (Mum)
35. I loved being taken out to the Berni Inn for birthday and your anniversary meals
36. I still laugh at the memory of going in to Millers and you asking for sticky back plastic and the assistant was clueless (Mum- Millers was a Glasgow art shop and we wanted to make something from Blue Peter)
37. I adore my memory of sitting in the wedding car sharing a cigar and swigging whisky from your hip flask (Dad)
38. Thank you SO much for buying my wedding dress
39. I'm sorry for all the times you came to visit me in Dundee and I made you sleep on the floor and you never complained
40. I love the way you drove Stewart up the wall when he realised that it was you playing the harmonica (Mum)
41. Thank you for letting us lick the cake mixture off the spoon when you were baking (Mum)
42. I appreciate the way you brought us up to accept all people and not have any prejudices
43. You have always let me witter on incessantly abuot anything and everything
44. I love remembering about how we smuggled you both in to Belmont Halls after my 21st birthday part and all of my friends were happy to help
45. One of my favourite things was going to the SNO Proms and going for a fancy crepe and not knowing how to work the cafetiere
46. ...and going to Café Gondolfi but not realising how small an espresso would be....(Mum)
47. I loved it when you were folding sheets and I was still little enough to be swung in them like a hammock
48. I hope I have inherited your ability to get on with everybody
49. I'm so proud of the way you have, at the age of 80, gotten your own Facebook profile (Dad)
50. I always enjoyed our 'Christmas Eve's' traditions of going to Princes Square

AND ONE FOR LUCK

   51.  I LOVE YOU BOTH FOR JUST BEING 'YOU'

Crikey, typing this list out once again and the tears are streaming down my face, a mixture of sadness, and happiness.   I am definitely carrying on with this year of challenges, I'm now way off schedule unsurprisingly, but, I'll do my damnedest. They were my biggest supporters and hopefully I gave them a few laughs over the last few months.

Mum, Dad......love you both always to the moon and back.

 

ONGOING: No.7: 50k/Miles of Weatherman walks - No. 4 - Blaencwm

This is the first 'task' I have undertaken since making the decision to carry on with the 50 list.  It's part of an ongoing challenge, to walk at least 50k or miles of Derek Brockway's Weatherman Walks series of hikes around Wales.  More about the Derek 'the Weather' later.

So, this walk was a 6 mile circular walk around Blaencwm in the Rhondda Valley.  It was actually the toughest of Derek's walks that we've done to date.   The hilliest one we've done - and you should know by now how much I hate inclines - and also the roughest terrain.  But, we made it, even though I was convinced at one point we'd have to call for Mountain Rescue!   

We started in Penpych woodland car park and proceeded to climb up, and up, and up.

We were heading up to a couple of waterfalls and this part of the walk, though strenuous was alright as at least there were proper paths, unlike later on.  It's a forested area with lots of 'conifers'?   To me they just look like really tall Christmas trees, but it was pretty.

 

Eventually, after a fair amount of climbing we reached the waterfalls, pretty cool actually. The first photos are from the lower down waterfall, the next ones are from the largest one which we could get really close to.

 

 

This was actually only point two on the walking route, we'd barely got going!  Still, we climbed further up, again, and finally made it to the top of Penpych mountain, which overlooks the town of Treherbert. 

 

 



When we were at the summit I'm afraid I made an embarrassment of myself.  On the way to the starting point I'd taken part in a family conference call to discuss my Mum's ongoing care package, while on the phone my sister in law Mags, and my Mum dared me to sing the Sound of Music at the top.  So to prove I did it here it is, I don't think I'll be getting a call from Andrew Lloyd Webb any time soon.

 

 

Anyways, onwards and upwards, though from now on we were actually first of all walking along a ridge and then descending in to a valley.  The terrain was getting ever slightly treacherous now and it was easy to lose your footing and slip - which I did multiple times.  Eventually at the very bottom of the valley we reached the Rhondda river which we had to cross.

We were then trying to work out how we were going to climb up out of it.  There was no clear path at all and at was at this point that I thought 'Bugger!  We're lost'.  I have to admit I really did start to panic and call Derek the Weather all sorts of names for getting us into this mess.  Eventually though, after getting stuck in a few real boggy parts we found the 'steps' cut in to the hill.   I wouldn't exactly call them steps though.

You can see a little bit in the photo above the state of my boots after getting stuck in the mud.  I've had these beloved walking boots for 20 years and it was only today that I discovered that they are not waterproof.  It was an exceedingly muddy walk.

Anyway, we did manage to climb up out of the valley to the Rhigos Road - civilisation almost!  From there on in it was a straight and relatively easy walk back down the other side and back to the car.

 

So, a fairly eventful walk.  We worked hard, I had fun, I got scared, but, I did it. And after the last couple of horrific months it actually did me good to get out and about.  Thanks Derek!

And the List Goes On...

Hello all once again, it has been a while. There's no doubt that the last couple of months have been horrible for me, and my family.  Each time we thought life couldn't get any worse...But, my Mum is now definitely getting better and stronger and she is fighting constantly for the sake for herself, but especially for me and my brother, and our beautiful partners.

Life does naturally go on, and regardless of the sadness I feel, I've come to the conclusion that 'I've started, so I'll finish' - little Mastermind reference there! That is a bucket list challenge ticked off many moons ago - Mastermind semi-finalist 2006 no less!

The whole point of me starting this 50 Before 50 List was because I realised we only have one life, this is it, why wait around for things to happen, go out and do stuff and try stuff and live life to the full NOW! Don't put anything off, none of us know what's awaiting for us around the corner.  It's an exceedingly self indulgent thing to do but is that really such a bad thing?  My Dad, who I will never ever ever stop missing, totally got this whole idea and loved the fact that I was trying out so many new things.  I therefore decided that I truly owe it to him to keep going. So, before the horrible stuff happened I had already completed 29 individual items and had made a good start on 9 monthly and long term ongoing challenges.  I am a wee bit behind on some of these but nothing that I can't catch up on.   I will still have 13 individual one challenges to do - I'm mostly sticking to the original list but I have made some changes.  Some things under current circumstances just don't feel right anymore.   I've decided to be fairly open minded about what is left to do but I have locked down 12 items. So, without further ado, I will be undertaking the following:

Snowboarding
Pimp My Zimmer - decorate and personalise wee Joycies zimmer frame
Canoeing Down the River Wye
St Davids Day 5k Run
Velindre 5k Run
Horseride Along A Beach
Drive a Tank
Crochet an Owl or Make Felt Penguins
Feed a Lamb
Pizza Run 5k
Caerphilly 10k
Wing Walk!

The last item I haven't decided on. I'd made a start on 50 Ways to Say Hello and Cheers in different languages and I'd also promised my brother to do a comedy stand up routine but I don't feel very funny at the moment.  There was also the challenge to play My Way on five different instruments.  I don't know, it's 'my list, my rules' so I will basically make it up as I go along.

I thank you in any case for reading this.  If you read this, you get it, and I hopefully haven't bored the crap out of you.  Well not just yet.   It's roughly 16 weeks now till I actually turn 50 so I've got a lot of things to do, but that's no bad thing actually.  Hope to speak to you again soon.  Love, Lesley