David's blog

 Every Sunday, at certain times of the day, the church bell use to ring in the village probably to signify a service or something like that, but I remember the sound anyway.  Years went by and I forgot all about it and I came back to live in the village the was not being rang at all for whatever reason.  The church eventually closed and is being done up as building for the community, in this renevation the bell is being fixed and it has just been taken down, and is being a fixed in a foundry in Loughborough which is the biggest bell foundry in the world, which conincidentally I lived next to for a few year.  I am not sure how long the bell will be away getting sorted but it is having a few things done to as can be explained in the link Llan Ffestiniog, Gwynedd. The Former Church of St Michael. | John Taylor & Company It seems to me there will be an electronic chime on and a way to swing chime with the aid of a bellringer.  It is something to do with a magnet...

I just discussed my situation with Google Gemini about the benefit I receive, which is PIP, how it came about, the stress involved, and the change from DLA. I received empathy from Gemini, which felt strange—getting empathy from an AI chatbot—but it seemed to grasp the nuances of the situation very well. Another chatbot, however, wasn’t as good. I wonder what others make of these chatbots

I went to a rally for the Welsh language today, just a short bus ride away. On the way, I stopped at a chippy expecting the usual small portion, but not today—and ironically, I wasn’t even that hungry. Entry to the rally was free, and they handed me some things at the gate. I didn’t want to carry it all afternoon, so I stuffed what I could into my pocket and took the rest back.  I’m not sure why I’m writing this in English instead of Welsh, given I’d just been to a Welsh language rally where they spoke about how precarious the situation is for the language. I had my education, sadly, through the medium of English, and I suppose I struggle with some Welsh words. Sometimes even locals don’t understand the ones I use—like the word for “polite,” which I thought was “fanesol.” When I used it last night, a local didn’t understand me. I’m not sure what word they’d use, but I guess I should ask. I’ve since found another word, “cwrtais,” which apparently means polite. Words in Welsh and Eng...

 Well, the middle of the year is here, and so am I. It’s a nice day so far, but it’s hard to wrap my head around how quickly time passes. I went to a carnival yesterday—it was the first they’d held in about four years, though it’s been around for a long time. There used to be one in the village here, but not anymore. I’m not too sure what the tradition is all about, but there used to be a whole carnival week with different events each day. Those were good times. At the end of the week, there’d be a big parade where people dressed up and marched through the village. Sadly, there are too many rules and restrictions now for that to happen. The best part was always seeing those in costume win prizes. Lorries used to get decorated there were carnival queens, I was waiting for this carnival to start and some dutch folk asked about the tradition and i could not explain its origins or its significence it jsust went on.  This carnival was not very big due to the village not bein g that...

I’ve ordered a new pair of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, which should arrive this week. I went for the new ones because the Gen 1 version was a bit bulky. I didn’t expect to wear them as much as I do, so comfort wasn’t a big deal at first, but now it is. I chose the Blazer style this time—they fit better with no sliding down my nose.   The new glasses are a bit pricier than the Gen 1s, but they have a better camera, improved microphones, and, of course, a better fit. I’m not sure what to do with the old pair—maybe just keep them in case the new ones break.   I mostly use the glasses for the camera, capturing short videos and posting them on Facebook for the village diaspora to enjoy. Originally, I bought them to use the AI “look and see” command, but I haven’t used it much for that—except maybe for improving recipes. The glasses are also handy for making hands free phone calls and listening to podcasts and -some music sometimes and getting messages from whatsapp, I gue...

I went for a swim in the river again yesterday, having gone a couple of days before. It wasn’t quite as warm this time—the weather, not the river—so I didn’t stay long. The pool isn’t very big and it’s not always easy to find space to swim. The cold water really focuses your mind and keeps you from thinking about all the other stuff going on, and I noticed that when I got out, my head felt clearer. I can’t exactly go to the river every time I want to clear my mind, and today it’s cooler and cloudy. The heat is still lingering in the house, but I guess it’ll fade over the next couple of days.  It is nice to have warm house to get up to for a change though, as its usually cold Regarding heating I am expecting some solar panels well they have said they will give me some we shall see, this company is not the most reliable and can mess you around big time. I would not be able to go swimming this week as its wintery again all of sudden the weather has gone from one extreme to the other. ...