Coming soon…
A sneaky peek at the new upcoming LEGO Ideas Central Perk set.
Update
Nostalgic grocery shopping
St Fagans National Museum of History is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of the Welsh people.
Gwalia Stores is a retail premises originally built at Ogmore Vale, Glamorgan, in 1880 and relocated to the St Fagans National Museum of History.
The stores closed for business in Ogmore Vale in 1973 and reopened at St Fagans in 1991. Part of the shop is still a retail premises; the rest of the ground floor is set up as it would have been during the 1920s
Photographs taken when we visited in August 2010.
His Dark Materials – the extended trailer
I have to admit I am quite looking forward to the new BBC interpretation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.
The books tell an exciting story that mixes up magic and science.
Northern Lights introduces Lyra, an orphan, who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra’s search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. In The Subtle Knife she is joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As Lyra learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds and leads to a thrilling conclusion in The Amber Spyglass.
I quite enjoyed the film, though it didn’t do well at the box office. Of course the end result was that they didn’t make anymore films. Maybe a TV series will be a better choice in telling the whole story.
It does seem quite similar in look and feel to the film, maybe that was intentional.
Visiting Chepstow Castle in 2009
In 2009 we visited Chepstow Castle which is just over the original Severn Crossing. It was a beautiful sunny day and we really enjoyed walking around and exploring the castle.
Chepstow Castle is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain.
Construction began in 1067, just after the Norman conquest by the Norman Lord William FitzOsbern.
In the 12th century the castle was used in the conquest of Gwent, the first independent Welsh kingdom to be conquered by the Normans.
By the 16th century its military importance was diminished.
The castle saw action again during the English Civil War, when it was in the front line between Royalist Monmouthshire and Parliamentarian Gloucestershire. It was held by the Royalists and besieged in both 1645 and in 1648, eventually falling to the Parliamentarian forces on 25 May 1648.
Although re-garrisoned during and after the English Civil War, by the 1700s it had fallen into decay.
It has been used for filming TV and films including the Day of the Doctor when David Tennant’s tenth Doctor was “wooing” Queen Elizabeth I.
A treasure of retail ephemeral
Most people throw away their packaging (well hopefully today they recycle it) but at Oakham Treasures in North Somerset there is a treasure trove of retail ephemeral showcasing a snapshot of grocery history that would probably otherwise have disappeared.
It reminded me if similar displays at the Castle Museum in York.
The reconstructed shops at St Fagans near Cardiff also have collections of old grocery packaging.
Do we keep todays rubbish for future generations? Will they reminisce over the stuff they use to buy? Will they be shocked at the enormous use of single use plastic? Who is going to be the guardian of today’s unwanted stuff, that will be the exhibits of the museums of tomorrow.
Tiny Bristol
Here’s Bristol in miniature, well kind of….
“Experience the world famous sights and events of Bristol, carefully crafted to give the illusion of smallness!”
Remembering the Bristol Temple Way Flyover
I moved to Bristol in the 1990s and living in Southville and working at Ashley Down meant that driving home I had the fun that was driving over the Temple Way flyover.
I remember the first time I did it, thinking, what is this, is this a real road? I would often decide to drive over it even if it wasn’t quite the best way to get where I was going.
It was never for the faint hearted, though I never heard of a car driving off the side of it.
The flyover was taken down in 1998 as part of road changes in that area.
I believe it was actually sold to another council.
Of course today there are ongoing roadworks in that area in order to improve traffic flows.
View from the Cheesegrater Bridge
The view from Mead Reach Bridge looking towards Valentine Bridge in Bristol.
Photograph was taken with an iPhone 8 and then edited in the Snapseed app.
The bridge was closed on September 18th in 2017 after a lorry tried to cross it. After 20 months it was re-opened in May 2019.
Ten more amazing sand sculptures
After last week’s ten sculptures, here are another ten.
For over ten years now, there has been an exhibition of sand sculptures on the beach at Weston-super-Mare. To call them sandcastles is a bit of a misnomer as these are truly remarkable sculptures and the artists have spent hours and days carving the compacted sand.
We have been most years and I bring my camera to capture the sculptures, here are some photographs of this year’s carvings.
Ten Amazing Sand Sculptures
For over ten years now, there has been an exhibition of sand sculptures on the beach at Weston-super-Mare. To call them sandcastles is a bit of a misnomer as these are truly remarkable sculptures and the artists have spent hours and days carving the compacted sand.
We have been most years and I bring my camera to capture the sculptures, here are some photographs of this year’s carvings.
The theme this year was “What if?”.
What if Rome had never fallen?
What if mermaids were real and were suffering due to the pollution and plastic waste in the sea.
