The Scenic Journey

The Scenic Journey

Fast cars, photographs, fact and opinion. Realised by SharkyUK.

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I might have cracked it…

Yes, I think I might finally be getting somewhere…

Since leaving the Game Development industry a short while back I have to admit that I haven’t had much time to indulge in my still strong passion for computer and video games. Sad, I know. This hasn’t been helped by the fact that Lynda has no interest in them whatsoever. Yet something rather special happened around Christmas time…

Console happiness!

Having been invited around to a friend’s place for the evening we all ended up playing on Nintendo’s Wii Fit thingymajig. To my surprise Lyn didn’t take much persuading to have a go (I think the event was ski-jumping) and she really enjoyed it. I saw the glint in her eye… and I saw an opportunity to try and get her further more interested in games! :lol: Naturally I kicked ass and ended up atop all the high score tables but, apparently, winning isn’t everything. Mind you, it probably helped in that I was the only real sober person there (being the designated driver for the homeward journey later y’see).

Whilst the iron was hot (or the joypad was still sweaty if you prefer) I introduced her to my Xbox360 and such engaging classic games as Bejeweled II and Hexic. I was going to suggest Gears of War 2 but I didn’t want to roadie run before I could walk. To my surprise she enjoyed the games, if only in small doses, and proceeded to whup my ass at Bejeweled II. Thankfully she was signed in under my account so that was fine by me…

Such a choice!

About two weeks ago I finally got around to doing something that I’d planned on doing a long time ago (excluding my annual bath which took place mid-December too). I finally decided to get Sky installed. Not only did I opt for Sky but I also went for the Sky+ option. Talk about state-of-the-art, huh? :lol: (Remember Lyn and I live in Wales…)

To cut a long story short we were getting fed up with AOL’s - let’s be honest - crap broadband and their even worse customer support; which we had frequently been in touch with with numerous issues (mainly loss of connection for hours on end and pitiful download speeds). They were less than useful, more than obnoxious and Lyn was paying for a part-time service that was dire at best. Something had to be done.

Seeing as we were restricted to only 4 television channels as well (BBC1 Wales, BBC2 Wales, ITV1 Wales and S4C) and the fact that we could not get cable in our area there were two options available - Freeview or Sky satellite television. Freeview? Forget it. I could pick up better signals by standing in the back garden with a coat hanger carefully arranged atop my head. So Sky it was to be. We also decided to take their telephone service too. We don’t do things by halves. :lol:

Having finally got the MAC code from AOL (to allow migration of our broadband), and having avoided the sly attempt by AOL to lock us into another 18 month contract, I contacted Sky, paid the fees and arranged an engineer to come and install the hardware a few days thereafter. As agreed the engineer arrived and set everything up as required and suddenly we were the proud owners of a new and shiny Sky system.

Sadly it isn’t all good news though. For some reason the download speeds are somewhat poor considering I opted for the 16MB connection. Ok, I don’t expect to get anywhere near that sort of connection speed but I think there’s something not quite right somewhere. Hmmm. Still, getting back to the title of this post it’s amazing the wide choice of channels I now have available at my fingertips. So many channels and so little time. Where I was once limited to 4 channels of utter drivel I am now free to choose from hundreds of channels of utter drivel. Heaven.

Better late than never, right?

Yes, I’m a little late in delivering my message of good tidings and goodwill and general goodliness but I will do so nonetheless… Merry Christmas and/or Happy Festive Season and best wishes for 2009! I hope y’all have a good one. In the words of the legendary Ringo Starr - “Peace and Love.”

How . very . frustrating .

My athlete is in serious need of physiotherapy… QWOP.

The warmth within

Following this post I am happy to report that the windows were fitted over yesterday and today and - wow - quite a difference they make, too. Gone are the draughts and rattling panes of glass and instead a lovely warmth that can’t escape (which is great as winter draws in).

I am currently sat typing this from our darkened office room and all I see out the new window is a fabulous sunset; one of the most spectacular I’ve seen in a while. It’s mesmerising and I’ve been watching it for the last 20 minutes instead of typing this. I wish I had my camera to hand. Not bad - a panoramic view of the hills and valleys of South Wales, a setting sun and witnessing this through a new window from the warm surroundings of the home office! I even have a cup of tea to hand. Perfect.

(Ignore the fact there is still a bit of cleaning and tidying up to do as that would shatter the illusion I’ve just created…)

Rebel website - first year summary

At last, I’ve just about caught up on all the posts from the previous months that kind of ‘got left behind’ as it were. All that remains outstanding now is for me to put on my geeky facade (which is difficult when I’m’ so inherently uber-cool) and sum up how the Rebel Motorsport Club website has been doing over the last year.

It’s not all about the meets and the events. Behind the scenes both Lyn and I have been working extremely hard to get Rebel off the ground. It’s been equivalent to having two full time jobs in reality! Whilst Lyn has been busy with her head buried in maps and deriving drives/routes, I’ve been hard at work on designing and coding the website/forum from web pages to custom database-driven backends for handling organisation of events, gallery images, downloads and so on. Whilst vastly different in the work we’ve been doing, our common goal has been the same; to get the Rebel Motorsport Club ‘out there’ and to enjoy our driving with likeminded people. So far I think we’ve done pretty well. :D

Since we started back in October, the Club forum has undergone a few changes and revisions. It’s currently in a state that I’m happy with but that’s not to say it won’t change in the future. It most certainly will at some point! The various pages comprising the non-forum content have been in tweaked, updated and overhauled over time. Everything is PHP coded from scratch by these very hands and fingers typing this post. God only knows how it’s lasted this long without going BANG! :lol: The gallery section contains hundreds and hundreds of photos, we have many featured cars courtesy of our members, we have the makings of an online store, a media downloads page (which does need work admittedly) so there’s a fair bit of work already gone in and a fair bit more to do in the future.

In the first year the Rebel website:

  • received 4.97 million hits
  • served 2.45 million files
  • used 132 GB of bandwidth

Sure, it’s a little geeky but I needed a stats fix!

Last year we sucessfully created our own calendar and we are in the process of doing the same again for 2009. It proved very popular, as did the stickers we created with our Club identity. Such was the uptake we have also started our own line of branded clothing and hopefully more will be available for viewing through the website in the New Year.

Carmarthenshire Show 2008

September 2008 saw us visiting the first ever Carmarthenshire Modifed Car Show at Pembrey Circuit - organised and run by G-Tec Tuning. They invited us along to set up a Club stand so we thought, “why the heck not?”

We weren’t sure what to expect and, in all truth, this sort of event isn’t the type we normally go to. But credit where credit’s due - it was well organised, had a very good turnout and we enjoyed the day. Next year’s event will probably be bigger and better still.

You can see a few images from the day here.

Hello from Portsmouth

Oh boy, what horrendous weather we are having at the moment. (All I seem to do is talk about the weather these days…) I took the drive here (Portsmouth) yesterday and stayed overnight in a hotel. It was one of the worst drives I’ve had to take. Visibility was practically down to zero and the winds weren’t kind to the car. Thankfully I made it unscathed but it just took a little longer than hoped (about 3.5 hours). Better safe than sorry though! :D

So, why am I in Portsmouth today? My car is in to see a recommended specialist hence the long journey to England’s south coast. Having become fed up and disillusioned with Renault main dealers I vowed only to ever use Renault specialists for any future work on my car - so RenTech were the specialists of choice.

After an ‘ok’ night in the hotel I arrived at the specialist around 9:00am this morning (half hour late due to the rush hour… 45 mins to travel less than 1.5 miles. Ridiculous!) I was greeted by Dave who went through the work to be carried out, the cost, estimated completion time and so forth. (It’s a full day job so there’s a bit of hanging around required!) After a brief chat - and the issuing of some Rebel Motorsport Club leaflets and business cards :wink: - Dave kindly drove me to the local train station where I hopped on a train and made my way into the city. I actually have my camera gear with me right now and was hoping to head to the docks / wharf to get some snaps but the weather is so poor it’s not feasible. As I look out the window now I cannot see more than about 50 yards as the rain is so bad.

I’ve spent the morning wandering around various shops and shopping centres and will likely do so a little while later. Having spoken to Lyn she suggested I find an Internet Cafe (great idea) and that’s where I’m writing this post from right now. I’ll spend a good hour or two here I think. I’m comfy(ish) and warm(ish) and have a decent ‘Net connection. :lol:

I’ll report back when I return home to my Good Lady and the familiar surroundings of home. No disrespect to locals and the City of Portsmouth but personally I don’t like it here. I can’t wait to get back home to Lyn and the cats. :D

UPDATE:
I arrived back in Wales an hour or so ago and I’m glad to be home. It’s been a long couple of days but at least the car is fixed and working well. :D Sadly there isn’t all that much to report and I didn’t have take a single photo - the weather really was that bad and I didn’t fancy ruining my camera!

I’m a little disappointed that they could not fit my Samco hoses but grateful that they found a major issue with the offside rear bearing. It had literally exploded and was in a mess and Mike and Dave at RenTech replaced it for me (they wouldn’t have let me drive the car without it being fixed!) Both of the guys were very polite, friendly, took time to chat with me and were extremely professional. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to Renault owners. :D It might be a 350 mile trip each time but it’s worth it and I know where I’ll be taking my Trophy in future!

To summarise:

Full health check / diagnostic (all good), filters changed, full new cambelt kit, oil and oil filter change, new sparks, new OSR bearing fitted, two new fog lights fitted, front K-TEC Racing strut bar fitted, rear upper Carbon Fibre strut bar fitted.

I couldn’t really ‘test’ the modifications on the way home but the engine note is slightly different and it’s so much smoother than before. Significantly so. I’m a very happy bunny!

Castle Combe Rally Day 2008

I had never been to Castle Combe’s Rally Day before (although Lynda had been a few times and spoke very highly of the event) so I was really looking forward to going along and soaking up the atmosphere. As always it was another early start but that didn’t matter as I was getting used to the early starts by that point! :lol:

A few of us (friends and Club members) met up at our regular meeting point, en-route to Castle Combe, and convoyed westerly towards the circuit. Once there we met up with some other friends who were also attending. For once the weather was good; as good as we’d had it all year. So rather than waste any time we immediately took to the paddock area and had a nosey and a wander around the displays and stands. After a short while we then wandered over to the track itself and took a steady walk around it - grabbing a few photographs here and there for good measure.

It was great to see Phil displaying his classic Alpine rally car… and greater still to see him taking it to the track (it’s not everyday you see an Alpine doing laps!) In fact, it was just a great day overall. Great to see friends, great to see the iconic rally cars that got me interested in performance cars all those years ago, great to get the camera out and grab some action shots… just great! :lol: And the Audi Quattro S1 was sublime… mmmm mmmm mmmm. :oops: Talking of sublime, the world-class rally driver Mikko Hirvonen was present and he wasn’t too shy to get out on track and enjoy himself in his Focus WRC!!! It’s great when such a big name in the professional side of the sport takes time out to get so involved with those who are truly passionate about the sport. His driving and car control was phenomenal! :shock: Whilst most drivers in their rally cars were taking the chicanes well and at pace, Hirvonen just flew through them sideways and in complete control; the speed was immense! (Can you tell I was blown away?!?!)

Sadly it had to end at some point but the good news is that we were able to meet up with Jackie and Dave on the way home for a couple of drinks. Having filled them in on the fantastic day they’d missed :lol: we set off on the return journey home.

Click here to see more photos from the day!

Brecon Birthday Drive

Back in August I had my 25th *cough* birthday :wink:

Despite it being my birthday it was once again an early start (as are 99.9% of our drives) and there was no lie in for me. (Sympathy if you please…) As always the weather was a concern. It had been pitiful for most of our events earlier in the year. Alas, the weather was crap; the rain was pouring down… so nothing new there, huh? We [wetly] packed up the car and set off to meet a few suckers, er, friends (Ian and Andrew) who had agreed to join us on my birthday drive and whom had not been put off by the lovely weather.

In all truth we weren’t expecting many people to turn up; it really was that miserable. But fortune favoured the br- foolhardy and it did gradually start to brighten up as we made our way to the first official meeting point. Upon arrival we pulled into the parking area and were greeted by quite an impressive sight! There were a good few cars already waiting for us and it suddenly became clear that this was probably going to be our biggest drive yet in terms of numbers of cars joining in the drive. There was the best part of 30 cars prepped and ready to roll… Two Trophy’s (including mine), several Evo’s, Nissans, Honda Type-R’s, Fords, Volkswagens, Skodas, Mira and more. Quite an impressive collection if I do say so myself. It would be an impressive convoy once we were on the move…

During the first part of the drive things didn’t go so well. We got caught up in a bicycle race and our group got split up. As a result, the leading pack ended up at Raglan Castle (as planned) whilst others went the wrong way! Luckily our good friends and members (thanks to Malc and Stuart) were able to give chase, round them up and bring them in to Raglan Castle. Sadly there were still a few who had completely lost their way but included one of our good friends and regular members whom had the sense to take them to what would be our next stopping point after Raglan Castle. A quick phone call and we had agreed to meet the ‘lost’ group at the next stage - in the mountains.

Sure enough we met them and were thankful for the sunshine as we stopped on the mountain roads to grab some photos and to have a chance to wander and chat with people. It was great seeing so many new faces as well as seeing the regulars.

Later in the day we drove over the Black Mountains and passed a group of guys from the ClioSport website/forum. They too were enjoying the roads and the views and we did the decent thing by giving them a quick ‘beep’ and a friendly wave or two (which was returned!) Once over the far side of the mountains we parked up to take a break and some of our group decided to turn back and take a second run over the mountains - which meant I’d have a chance to grab some ‘drive-by’ shots! :wink: Lynda and Jonny took my and his Trophy respectively off for another run whilst I got my camera ready. The guys in the Evo’s weren’t shy and also decided to have a second run over the mountain road. :D

It was a long day but it was also an amazing day out and I’m glad it tied in with my birthday. It was good to see so many different cars and new faces and to come away with a few more friends and acquaintances. That, at the end of the day, is what it’s all about.

The day was completed by indulging in a meal at one of our regular haunts. Colin, Ian, Ann and Malc stayed and ate with us and it afforded us a much needed opportunity to relax! I think I can safely say that everyone who turned up on the day had a great time; I know for sure that Lyn and I did. :D

Click here to see the photos from the day.

The Beach Party that… wasn’t

Slowly I’m getting through the backlog of ’stuff’ so please continue to bear with me… :D

It was yet another cold and wet start to the day (annoying considering it was July) and more weather sickness kept many a person away (and, again, I can’t say I blame them!) Unperturbed we met up with Ann and Malc and took a [very wet] drive to the picturesque West Wales. Rather than going exploring or sight-seeing we headed directly for the hotel so that we could unpack and relax a little; and from there we’d decide what we’d do next.

After a short while in the hotel there was a break in the weather…so we decided to get out and hit the beach. Whilst en-route to the beach we encountered a familiar looking Honda Civic Type-R and it just had to be one from our Club. And so it was - Jackie and Dave! This was the first time we’d actually met in person and it was obvious they were mad for even considering joining us considering the poor weather. Even madder still for joining us on the way to the beach for a dip in the sea!

Lyn and I had just returned from Greece (only a handful of hours earlier in fact) where the weather had been super hot and the sea both lovely and warm. Sadly, the weather at the beach in West Wales was a million miles away from what we’d been used to the previous week in Greecw! Chilling winds, threatening rain, dark skies and very c-c-cold sea (as Lyn and Ann found out as they went paddling…) Suffice to say we didn’t spend too long on the beach (nor in the sea) and soon returned to seek warmth and comfort back at our hotel! After a warm shower and a change of clothes we all met up and made our way to a local pub that was waiting to receive us for an evening meal.

Jackie and Dave were staying in a nearby B&B that was holding a private party that night. The party was expected to last until the early hours of the morning hence we were in no rush to leave the pub after our meal. Instead we stayed and enjoyed a few more drinks, chatting about this, that and the other and generally putting the world to rights. It was an interesting night because we quickly found out that we actually had a lot in common with Dave and Jackie and so the conversation went on and on and then on some more. :lol:

In the morning we were all a little surprised when we were met with absolutely gorgeous weather - both warm and sunny! Following a cooked breakfast we took a little pre-planned drive and stopped off at a couple of places along the way to grab a few photos and to stretch the legs. Eventually we arived at a pub where we had booked to stop and have a meal whilst we watched the Formula One Grand Prix. To our surprise we were given a private room and the controls to the sound system and massive plasma TV. How cool was that, huh? It was great being able to relax and eat a delicious Sunday Roast in comfort whilst watching the Grand Prix… and not having to worry about washing up afterwards!

Following dinner and the close of the Grand Prix we returned to the cars to continue our route home… however Malc managed to lock his keys in his car (due to an electrics fault). We had to call the AA out and - after a couple of hours or so - the very nice man finally got Malc back into his car. Patience was definitely the key here (no pun intended).

The remainder of the day stayed relaxed and fair up until the last leg of the journey whereby the Heavens opened and the rain fell in sheets. But it didn’t matter because it had been another excellent weekend with family and friends.

More pictures can be seen here.

A bit of ‘old stuff’

Time for a change of pace and a chance to show our appreciation of the ‘good old days’ - The Cardiff Vintage and Classic Car Show from earlier in the year…

A small group of us got together and made our way into Cardiff Castle grounds to give our friend, Phil, a bit of support at this show. (Phil was proudly showing his classic Renault Alpine rally car). Having arrived at the grounds and located Phil, he kindly introduced us to his good friends, Dave and Trevor. Dave is the very proud owner of a Renault 8 Gordini and Trevor has a mental Renault Turbo 2… both fantastic and truly classic cars. Following the introductions and a brief chat Phil took us on a tour around the showground and shared his vast knowledge of cars with us, and each car has an interesting story or background (as well as an often colourful and enthusiastic owner!)

Having had a wander around the cars on display, and chatting with various people who were also out enjoying the show, we left the castle grounds and went to seek a suitable food/eating establishment. We failed and ended up in Burger King (or was it McDonalds?!) but it didn’t matter as it had been a great day by all accounts.

Here are a few more photos from the day.

Wet, cold, miserable. It was great!

May 2008 saw us taking another drive through some beautiful areas of South Wales. But, sadly, we couldn’t have picked a worse day for weather!

Initially we had many, many Club members who expressed an interest in coming along and we were expecting quite a large crowd on the day. Yet due to the aforementioned poor weather conditions the majority of those suddenly developed ‘weather sickness’ and were unable to make it… not that I blame them as I would have done the same had I not helped Lyn organise it!

Nevertheless, a few hardcore Rebels (fools?) braved the inclement weather and we totalled a rather impressive group of 4! In the hope that the weather would improve we stalled the start of the drive by grabbing a cuppa at the Services… but it was to no avail. It was a rather wet and miserable day but we were determined to enjoy it (and grab a few photos along the way).

We stopped off at what is now one of our regular Café stops for hot drinks and a meal. This turned out to be great fun and we ended up staying there for a good couple of hours or more. Rob and Maria were on top form (as usual) and the rest of us were in stitches and crying with laughter! Their sense of humour and quick wit never fails to raise a few chuckles. With food in our bellies and the tears of laughter now evaporated we decided to continue the drive and to not let the continued rainfall spoil the day. And being such a small group we decided to try a few different routes to the ones we had intended to take… as it’s far easier to lead a small group of 4 cars down tight roads than it is 30 cars!

Despite the weather I have to say that this meet/drive was probably one of the best days out yet; we had many a laugh and found many new roads and locations that we need to revisit. All in all a very worthwhile and enjoyable day. I still have visions of Gethyn’s younger brother with tears streaming down his cheeks… :lol:

Pictures from the day can be seen by clicking here.

Japfest 2008 at Castle Combe

Yes, still catching up on events from earlier in the year. Please bear with me… :lol:

Back in May this year we attended one of the most popular Japanese performance car events of the year, Japfest. Although a large proportion of our members do own Japanese performance cars we didn’t actually make our presence known with a Club stand. We are trying to establish the Club as one comprised of many different marques and thus didn’t want to feel we were excluding members by insisting that only those with Japanese cars could attend. Instead we all met up beforehand and convoyed to the venue together. and enjoyed the event as a group. :D

In terms of the day itself it was very enjoyable and there were many cars on display, as well as many burning around the track (not actually burning up in flames!) There were also plenty of club stands and trade stands to keep the punters happy and involved.

Click here to see the photos from the day.

Christmas ‘08 arrived early for me today!

Woohoo! Christmas did indeed arrive early for me today. :D

Lyn and I arose early this morning as we had previously decided that today would be the day that we finished/completed our Christmas shopping. (Which I’m glad to report we pretty much did!) Obviously I can’t say much more here as prying eyes may then be able to deduce exactly what Santa will be depositing in their stockings and under their trees come Christmas morning…

Anyways, we nipped to see a friend of Lyn’s and I assumed it was to pick something up that she had ordered (which it was I guess) but I didn’t figure on it being a Christmas gift for myself. What an absolute star she is - she bought me the following:

A brand new, custom made, deliciously new-smelling Samco Hose Kit for my beloved Trophy. :D In all truth I suspected she would buy me a little something for my car but I didn’t expect anything this special. It might look like a bunch of hoses to you guys and gals out there in Interweb land, and they are, but what do you know anyway…?! :P

If you were wondering why I received them early (and I can tell you are all intrigued and wondering) it is because I’m due to have a significant amount of work carried out on my car soon and Lyn sensibly decided that it might be an idea to attempt to get the hoses fitted, too. I do hope the guys who are dealing with my car can also find the necessary time to fit the hoses. All fingers are crossed here by yours truly.

So a MASSIVE thanks to Lyn for another fantastic (and unexpected) gift. I am chuffed to bits and the car is now shaping up nicely. Thanks babe xx :D

A gruesome Halloween

Ok, so technically it’s not Halloween as this happened this morning but it is still a bit upsetting and gruesome. :(

I received a telephone call this morning from my younger sister. She was just returning home from hospital having spent the morning in Accident and Emergency. Sadly she had had an accident during her morning class. (She’s one of the country’s top trampolinists and runs / coaches her own club and students). Immediately I had visions of her with a broken arm or leg but the accident hadn’t actually occurred whilst actively performing on the trampoline itself.

The accident had taken place during the clearing away of the equipment. Sadly she got the end of her finger caught in a chain and it became trapped. The chain was under pressure and crushed and serrated the end of her finger. People were on hand to help release her finger and she was quickly off to see the first-aid officer and get off to hospital. Obviously there was a fair bit of pain and blood - poor thing :( - but she remained upbeat. It wasn’t the prettiest of sights but she arrived at hospital and went in to receive treatment.

Following a few tests and examinations, I’m happy to report that there are no crushed or broken bones and there is no need to remove any flesh, skin (or indeed the end of her finger!) as was a worry initially! But she does have to return to the hospital to have the nail removed. She informs me that it is vaguely resembling a finger again now, albeit a very painful one, and she’s on antibiotics to combat any potential infection.

Get well soon Nicola! Love and best wishes from us all here in sunny South Wales xx :D

Into Europe - Including the ‘Ring and Spa

This time we are going back to May of this year… and a little story about a priest, his adopted daughter and their prize-winning cucumber patch. However, the priest story is not suitable or appropriate right now so it will be held back until another time…

Craig, whom is a friend of ours as well as a member of our Club, arranged a little gathering that saw a group of fellow car enthusiasts head over into Continental Europe to take in both the Nurburgring and a trackday at Spa (Formula 1 GP circuit). Oh, and with a little driving and sightseeing thrown in, too.

Lyn and I took the 4 hour drive over to Craig and Michelle the night before we were due to set off on the trip. The aim was to get a decent nights sleep beforehand in the hope that we’d start afresh come the following morning. (Yeah, like that was going to happen…!) That night was relaxed and we did awake early and [reasonably] fresh the next morning - all ready to go. We met up with the other guys that were joining us and made our way to the EuroTunnel where our scheduled shuttle waited. So far so good and only one slight problem at this early stage…

…having crossed under The Channel via the EuroTunnel we had to wait in France for one of our guys to catch up. Sadly he had erroneously booked the wrong train and time, hence he would be leaving on a shuttle one hour after us. Whilst we waited we took the opportunity to enjoy the glorious weather, have a chat, take a toilet break and to grab a few photographs.

It wasn’t all that long before our lagging friend caught caught up with us and we were able to make good progress through France, Belgium and into Germany. We arrived at the Nurburgring just in time to catch the tail end of the last race of the day, and spent a little time just wandering around the place and generally soaking up the atmosphere (and race-fuel fumes!)

It had been a long first day and we headed back to our hotel in Koblenz (having checked in earlier prior to visiting the ‘Ring). The guys (and other girl!) had made plans for the night and, after sharing a drink with everyone in the hotel bar, they all made their way into town for a night out. We were dreading the sort of state they’d come back in… :lol: Not wanting to head into town and go to various nightclubs, Lyn and I instead had a lovely meal within the hotel’s restaurant and then retired for an early night…

We spent the majority of Sunday at the Nurburgring (or around that area). Due to the circuit being excessively busy there was accident after accident after accident. This caused the waiting queue of cars to get larger and larger and yet there was nowhere to go. Rather than hang around in traffic jams or sit watching an empty track (apart from the pickup trucks removing the remains of often exotic cars) a few of us decided to visit the nearby Nurburg castle; and to have a drive around and explore the area. The weather was stunning, which made for a very pleasant day, and when Lyn and I broke away from the other guys to do our own exploring, we found some great roads and locations. That night we were due to stay in a hotel in Spa so we made up a route of our own on-the-fly and took a scenic drive towards Belgium!

Having arrived in Spa (amidst major traffic chaos due to huge racing event finishing as we arrived) we had major difficulty trying to find the hotel that Craig had booked us into. We drove around Spa several times asking for help and often drew blanks. In the end we stopped at a bar/hotel and I went in to ask the owner/staff for help. I asked an older guy in there if he spoke English and if he could help me. I was furious when he said, “yes, but I’m not helping you.” Such a warm welcome… certain Belgians really have a deep-rooted hatred of the English in places. I left swathed in a cloud of red mist and Lyn, bless her, calmed me down. From there we went to a nearby police hut and asked for directions and were kindly given directions to the hotel we were seeking… but it was a long way away. However, we had already wasted 4 hours by this point trying to find our hotel so we took the advice of the police officer and, after a lengthy drive, found our hotel. But all was not well.

There was little to no activity at the hotel. In fact, it was dead (apart from a few goats and chickens running around). No sign of staff, no guests and all doors locked. Lyn and I were tired and thoroughly pissed off. We called Craig to see where they were and why they weren’t at the hotel… only to be told that *we* were at the wrong hotel. During the organising of the event we had not been informed of the change of hotel despite everybody else knowing where to go! We were very unhappy to say the least. Even more so when we found out where the hotel actually was. It was in Spa itself. When we got back to Spa the rest of the guys were eating their evening meal but Lyn and I refused to join them. Why? Simply because - you won’t believe this - the hotel that we were due to stay at was the hotel where the guy had refused to help me hours earlier! We were now very tired, extremely pissed off and in no mood to socialise. We point blank refused to stay at the hotel and Lyn drove us all the way back from Belgium to Germany to stay in the hotel we’d been in the previous night; a hotel we’ve been to a few times and really enjoy staying in. En-route I called ahead to ensure they had a room but couldn’t get through so we gambled on a room being available upon arrival.

It was late when we arrived at the hotel and were lucky to be able to get a room. Sadly, only the superior deluxe rooms were available so it cost a bit more than we had hoped for the night. We fell into bed absolutely shattered.

The following morning matters only got worse. The lady at reception recognised Lyn and I as one of the group from the previous night. It turns out that someone had not paid for their room and their bill! Unable to determine exactly who that person was (due to the booking being a group booking) I paid the outstanding bill and sort out later when we rejoined the rest of the gang at Spa. In the meantime we decided to take a trip back to the ‘Ring (which was much quieter) where we bumped into a friend who was visiting the ‘Ring for the weekend (small world!). He kindly offered us his track pass to go around the track. We also took a few pictures whilst we were there. Any excuse to get the camera out…

After a few hours at the track we decided to head back towards Spa to meet up with the rest of the guys; via the pretty route of course. It was quite uncomfortable because we had explained the situation regarding the hotel bill that needed paying and I quite simply wanted my money back (with it being a significant amount of money). Sadly, not all had kept their receipts, some had gone missing and some said they never received a receipt or invoice. Because the invoices could not be collected and produced as evidence of payment I was - once again - left out of pocket. By this point I had simply had enough (Lyn too) so we calmly said our goodbyes and made our own way back through Belgium and into France to catch the EuroTunnel shuttle.

All-in-all, it had been a good trip and an enjoyable one (especially being able to just break away with Lyn and to point the car wherever we wanted to go exploring). Yet it did leave a sour taste in the mouth due to the lack of notice about the hotel change and the fact I was left with a large dent in the wallet too. But as Lyn said to me, “you live and learn.” And she’s right. :D

More pictures from the trip are available here.

Windows, Microsoft Windows and Doors

A couple of weeks back, having returned from a short break, we noticed that the front and back doors weren’t looking too healthy. Admittedly the doors weren’t in the best of health beforehand but they were looking quite ill at the point of our return. During our time away they had been subject to some pretty foul weather (quite normal for this part of Wales) and that certainly hadn’t helped.

The wooden doors had swollen, which made opening and closing them a nightmare, and the back door appeared to have a leaking bottom (don’t you just hate a leaky bottom? I do). The paintwork had also taken on a strange bubbling appearance.

Lyn went to take a closer look and put her hand to the door, and her hand almost went straight through! :lol: The wood had become soft and sponge-like and thoroughly rotten. There was no way it would last through the winter so we decided to replace it with a completely new door and to also replace the equally poorly front door. (I would post pics but that would be a bit sad…) Soon enough the doors had been replaced and, well, the whole place looks different. First there seems to be more light and secondly it appears as if the areas of the house near the door have become larger. Maybe it is pyschological.

Alas, the windows haven’t been looking too healthy either and, with every gust of wind, we hear the rattles and wonder if the window is about to disintegrate! Having looked and thought seriously about the windows it’s painfully clear that they had rotted in places too. Consequently Lyn and I took the plunge and ordered new double-glazed windows for the entire house and these will be delivered and fitted in the next 3 weeks or so. If nothing else they will look a lot better and keep the warmth in much more effectively. We hope.

And a bit more about Windows, but this time of the Microsoft variety. Having seen a few previews of Windows 7 I must admit I like it (one such preview here). It’s built on Vista and pretty much is Vista underneath, albeit with a redesigned user interface (in a nutshell).

As always the boo-boys (and girls) who have nothing better to do than scoff at Microsoft products are lurking, ready to spread word of the evils of Windows at the earliest opportunity! This is a shame because I think Windows 7 will be very good. I think Vista is also very good. It is quite an improvement on XP (although you perhaps wouldn’t believe it given the slow uptake and highlighted issues with the operating system).

The interesting thing is that a lot of the problems with Windows Vista are due to reasons not adressable by Microsoft (although, admittedly, many are). Hardware manufacturers were slow in providing 64-bit drivers for their products that would allow them to interface with Vista, and many were poorly implemented. And in terms of software it’s surprising how many things didn’t work because of poor and dangerous coding!

Anyhoos, I’ll leave it here because it’s turning into a geek post I am not a geek… :D

Rebel April Drive ‘08

Back to April 2008 for a brief moment…

Seeing as Lyn and I already had a few friends coming from afar (to join us at Castle Combe for an event on the previous day) we decided to do a little run on the Sunday through the Brecon Beacons. Lyn, as always, planned a great route that took in many of the great driving roads in the Brecon area - the aim being to provide an enjoyable drive for all who were attending!

Sadly, the morning of the drive was a little bit foggy; not exactly the best of conditions to be driving in. It was quite bad in places and on some of the mountain roads it was difficult to see the car in front! Suffice to say many of the scenic views were hidden from view! :lol:

We stopped off at our usual Café for dinner before continuing our journey over the Brecon and Valley roads. By this point the fog had lifted and, although a little chilly, it had become a lovely clear day. It wasn’t too long before the sun made an appearance and we found ourselves in very welcome sunshine.

You can see more photos from the drive by clicking here.

Tonight I’ve got the blues…

It’s cold. Very cold. And I’m shortly off to see a talented musician play a blues set to a limited audience. I’m quite looking forward to it. What I’m not looking forward to is going out in the cold weather and the potentially late night (on a school night, too!) I’ll give a brief report when I get back… Don’t wait up y’all.

UPDATE:
As promised, here is my little report on the blues night starring the [rather good] Bob Brozman…

I set off a little earlier than planned as the venue was a good 20 miles away and it was somewhere I’d never been before (Barry, South Wales - not far from Barry Island in fact!) As it turned out, getting there was straightforward enough - apart from all the roundabouts (just go straight over everytime) and then the maze-like back streets - so I arrived in good time. Sadly the venue had no parking facilities so it was a case of find a good and safe place on the roadside and park it up! Luckily for me a car pulled out upon my arriving so I jumped in and I was set for the night. Tidy! (spoken with ‘Nessa’s accent from Gavin and Stacey - which is very appropriate seeing as Gavin and Stacey is filmed in Barry and only a street or two away from where I was parked… By the way, if you haven’t seen Gavin and Stacey then I highly recommend you watch it now. Right this minute. It’s great!)

The venue was The Castle Hotel, Barry. And my invite was courtesy of a good friend of ours - Phil. (Phil’s also known as ‘Muddy’ and works with Lyn on occasion, and he’s very much into his blues. He’s quite an accomplished blues guitarist and harmonica player the truth be told… and he’s also a valued member of our Car Club with a very special car.

As I entered the Hotel I heard guitars being tuned and volumes being adjusted upstairs. Having bought a Diet Coke I asked the landlord as to the whereabouts of Phil and was told he was upstairs sorting out the equipment, etc. and that he’d be down shortly. And sure enough he was standing with me at the bar not more than 10 minutes later. Following a quick chat he grabbed some more equipment from his car and I then followed him upstairs to the room in which the performance would take place.

Before long the room started to fill (although it was only for a small audience of around 60 people, quite cosy in fact). I noticed a familiar face among the arrivals; the face of Bob Brozman himself and I bid him a good evening. He was a strange guy - but I don’t say that with malice or in a bad way. For a guy with so much talent and musical experience he looked very uneasy and nervous; yet polite and approachable at all times. I was very much looking forward to seeing him and hearing him play by this point.

But before he took his turn under the spotlights it was a couple of local blues musicians who took centre stage first; one of whom was a friend of Phil’s and played the harmonica. Tony was very good and the sound he produced with his harmonica was spot on. His accompaniment was a guy I didn’t know, but he was a very good guitarist if somewhat lacking in the vocals. Even so, I would have happily paid for a ticket to hear these guys so the night was off to a good start.

Sure enough the time arrived for Bob to take the stage and he was greeted with tremendous applause (considering the relatively small audience). He introduced himself and (instantly) that unease and nervousness I’d picked up on earlier was nowhere to be seen. He was in his comfort zone already! :D

Around him were various stringed instruments from various parts of the world - all with unique styles and sounds. Taking a guitar from his right he began to strum a few warm up chords, adjust the tuning and broke into his first song. I was already hooked at this point! :lol:

(It’s important to point out that Bob doesn’t just ‘play’ the guitar… he uses it in many ways. Often he will tap out a percussive rhythm on the body of the guitar - whilst still plucking and strumming away at the same time - or throw the guitar into the air and balance it on his fingers, all without losing his beat or sense of rhythm).

A lot of Bob’s playing is improvised. For example, he may start playing in a particular style of blues then suddenly switch to another style, to another time/beat and even into another language in terms of the lyrics. Not once did he miss a beat. Not only was his guitar playing ability out of this world but his use of vocals was equally interesting, varied and strong.

As hinted by the range of instruments around him it was obvious that Bob has been influenced by many types of blues music from many different cultures and countries. (And those that know a little about Bob Brozman will likely know that already!) The ability he demonstrated in playing each and every instrument was phenomenal and the sounds he produced were unlike nothing I’d ever heard before. I can’t even begin to describe the sound - it was quite literally magical and an aural delight. I can’t emphasise enough how special it all was. :D

Throughout his two-part set Bob frequently invited the audience to join him in his music - whether it was singing, tapping out the beat or simply friendly banter. He had each and every one of us totally enthralled and (a quick glance around confirmed this!) the entire audience were smiling and thoroughly enjoying themselves. It didn’t matter what style of music he played (and he played some diverse styles - from Indian to Oceania to North African to ‘old man’ classic blues, even heavy metal blues) he made each song unique and interesting to all who listened. Whether that was through his pure talent in being able to play the guitar, through his novel and different ways in which he interpreted his songs… I couldn’t say. All I know is that I was equally mesmerised no matter what the song nor the origin of the song.

I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve heard a good few blues guitarists play live over the last few years - the likes of the late and great Jeff Healey, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Clapton, The Hamsters. As fantastic as those people / groups are - and I don’t say this lightly - they aren’t at the level at which Bob Brozman is at. He’s phenomenal, staggering… and any other word you can think of. I’m still buzzing! I’ve never heard anything like it but I hope I get the opportunity to see and hear this guy play live again. I was blown away by this little bearded guy!

And do you know what else? He’s also a great entertainer when not with a guitar in hand. His interplay and conversation with the crowd was excellent; relaxed and lighthearted. Heck, I’d happily have paid the ticket price to see this guy as a comedian! His jokes were funny, his wit quick and his humour made a connection with all in attendance. With respect to the ticket price it’s the best £10 I’ve ever spent. :D

When the night eventually came to an end I thanked Phil for the invite and put on my jacket to leave. But before doing so I took a moment to approach Bob and thank him for the fantastic evening. He was extremely approachable and amiable and it was quite a humbling experience to briefly speak with him. I just hope I have another opportunity to experience his live music again in the future.

(As you’ve probably guessed by now I was amazed by this guy. If you get a chance to see him live then please, please make an effort to buy a ticket and to go along to at least one of his performances. He’s really that good!)

Having bid a goodnight to the remaining few I jumped into my car and began the journey home. It was much colder than when I had arrived and I was looking forward to getting home to Lyn and a warm bed. But wow - it had been a fantastic night and one I won’t forget in a hurry.

It’s a shame that Jess isn’t over here in Wales as he’d love it. Phil and Tony (who arrange and organise these events) are looking to get regular blues nights introduced in and around Barry and South Wales. As a result there are many more blues nights coming up shortly, including open mic nights and special guest sets from the likes of Eddie Martin. I’m looking forward to more nights like this.