David's blog

 I decided to have a day out after the March for Independence yesterday, something I had been considering for a few days. If these marches are held in the north, I usually attend. I hadn't been to Rhyl in a long time and couldn't really remember the last time I was there. Since I was going alone, I had to rely on public transport , which in Wales is currently shocking, leaving the roads clogged with cars. I needed to take the train to Llandudno Junction and change there for Rhyl. I could have taken the bus, I guess, but the journey from Llandudno to Rhyl is quicker by train. However, this weekend there were no trains running for some reason. The line between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno is constantly disrupted for one reason or another; they might as well just shut it down and replace it with a bus service. So, it was the bus for me yesterday to the junction, though I amusingly brought a USB cable, still thinking I’d be on a train. Usually, there are long waits between...

I have a slight head cold today, which is mainly bothersome when I'm trying to sleep. I asked an AI for advice, and it gave the usual suggestions of drinking plenty of fluids and resting. After all this time, they still haven't found a cure for the common cold. I don't think I have COVID, though if I do, I have no tests and won't pay for one. It seems COVID is here to stay now. The road is very quiet today. I think most of the traffic goes down the little lane on the other side of the village, as that's where the satnav directs them. The noisy metal cover on the manhole has come loose again—every few years, it works itself free, so maybe it's a good thing the road is quiet. I've been contacting the water board about it for years, but it's not an issue at the moment. I'm still waiting for the housing association to address the damp in the walls of this house. It's such a nuisance.they take so long to get round to doing something. I was due to go t...

I went to the cookery class, which is now on Thursday mornings instead of Wednesday. I wasn’t sure what I’d be making this week, but I knew I was a week behind the others. So, whatever they made last week, I’d be making this week. The problem was, I couldn’t remember what they made last week. Anyway, it turned out I was making a brownie, which I think is an American dessert that we never had when I was young. The only thing I knew about a brownie was that it had a soft center, and I thought it was made of chocolate. The first part of making the brownie was melting sugar and chocolate together. The teacher explained that I had to do this over a saucepan, not in the microwave, because using the microwave could cause the chocolate to split or get too hot. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant—maybe I’m not supposed to understand as a beginner—but apparently, it’s just about slowly heating the ingredients and nothing else. Sometimes I analyze things too much, or maybe I just want to understa...

A few months ago, I visited the local football club to discuss crowdfunding and how they could receive match funding by starting a campaign. This would not only introduce a new way of funding projects but also help sustain the club's future. They can do more match funding in the future for other projects and will understand how it works better and it can be even more successful, They agreed to try crowdfunding, which involved creating a page—a new endeavor for them. It wasn’t just a donation page; it included rewards designed to encourage people to contribute to the project.  Weeks passed without much news, except that they were still working on the page. Finally, the page is live with a few donations, but they still have a long way to go before they can afford the Veo camera they want to record training sessions. I have spread the link to the page on social media, it is going to be harder than I thought to get the required subscribers, it needs 25 at least and the next couple of m...

I woke up early today, and sleep hasn’t been coming easily lately. I dozed off in the chair for a nap, probably because of the early start. I went to my cooking class and had to get there an hour early due to the buses. This week, we worked on what the others did last week: shortbread and shortcrust pastry. I’ve tried making shortbread before, but there are helpful tips you learn when someone shows you, like cutting the butter into pieces to avoid warming it too much and refrigerating it. It’s probably all in the recipe, but it’s nice to be shown—even though you could watch it on YouTube. I moved on to the shortcrust pastry while the shortbread was in the fridge. I tried getting the breadcrumb consistency again, but it didn’t work. I ended up making more shortbread and had to restart the shortcrust pastry. I forgot the salt, so the taste will probably be flat. There’s a technique involving using a knife to cut the mixture, something about mixing it properly. I’m sure you can learn this...

I’ve been dealing with update issues on both my phone and laptop lately. Some updates are messing up the devices, and trying to remove them is quite challenging. Technical issues are  all over the place these days, I was trying to have a call on teams its was playing up like anykthing I am no technician so findi these issuex hard to oslve even when you take the issue to the shop they don't get ti right  I have bought some smalrt glasses and will no doubt have issues with them, the AI thingy which we son't get fully in this country due to some privacy shit,, is really dumb and does not understand instructions sometimes. and  it can get very frustrating and would sound wierd to someone listeneind Iike I am talking to myself  I have no intention of wearing these glasses all the time but it seems to have turned out like that they are a bit big for me but I have not got hold of some parts that help a little bit but they are still a bit big the lenses in these glasses are ...

I'm not much of a TV fan, but I watched a program last night about the Piper Alpha disaster, which happened on July 6, 1988. I vividly remember it because a friend of mine was working on the rig, and I was shocked by the news. I recall my friend Adrian and his mate Kevin going up to Aberdeen in search of work. The oil industry offered the promise of big money and a fresh start. Kevin didn’t land a job on the rigs and had to return home, but Adrian got hired. I’m not sure what his role was—there were terms like "roustabout" mentioned, which I think might mean a type of laborer. Adrian had recently married and was expecting a child with his girlfriend, whom I also knew. They were childhood sweethearts, and I imagine Adrian felt pressure or had the drive to secure a better future for his family. He wasn’t foolish; he did well in school. I first met him there—he was a few years older and had the nickname "Fido" for some reason. I remember him getting into a fight in...

I went for a walk yesterday afternoon, taking one of my usual routes, and came across a gate. There was someone working on the path nearby, so I kicked the gate open like I usually do if it's stuck. The guy on the tractor mentioned it was a bit stiff, and I replied that I didn’t see the point of having the gate there since it served no purpose. He said he liked the gate or something, but I argued that it didn’t do any good. He started talking about children or something, but I think he was just being difficult. There’s a historic easement on the path, as people have walked it for years. He pointed out the old gateposts, and I said they might have been there before the easement existed. It use to be a n old country house and maube there was no easement then and it was all private property I am not goingto dig up the place's historey But since people have been using the path for decades, it now has an easement on it.  I walked on and did not close the other gate he shouted someth...

I've been getting used to my new smart glasses, which I've had for a few days now. I took them out today, and they seem to have what they call "hallucinations." The first one sent me on a wild goose chase about a mobile phone—it claimed there was a phone on the ground near my fence, but there wasn’t. These glasses, as I mentioned, have been embraced by the visually impaired community. I heard about a man in Texas who has retired his expensive, probably cumbersome and hassle-ridden CCTV system, and now just uses the Meta Ray-Ban glasses to read his letters. It seems liberating and opens the door to other possibilities these glasses might offer in the future. It's amazing to hear these have changed some people's lives for the better under purely by accident Hopefully they will improve again as time goes by and make it possible for visually impaired people to participate in things in society which they may be closed out of now by ignorance or whatever I have been...

I recently went to see a young man perform at a local club. He has some vision issues, and while his performance was decent, there’s definitely room for improvement. His visual impairment didn’t seem to hinder him much, though the only noticeable thing was that his family had to bring him since he can’t drive. The club wasn’t very crowded, and it looks like they’re struggling to attract people. I think they might have a hard time surviving unless they start offering food. It’s a tough time for the hospitality industry. This week, I’ve been to the Eisteddfod twice, which is being held in Wrexham. Today is the last day, and it’s sad to see it end. I enjoyed going there on the coach, though the coach left a bit too early yesterday. At least I made it. It’s not easy living around here if you don’t drive and have uncooperative family members. My brother went on Wednesday and didn’t think to offer me a lift, and my sister is just being herself. It’s about two hours on a coach mostly full of ...

Ordering the Meta smart glasses was such a hassle. I first went to a shop to inquire about them, but one morning I decided to order them myself. A few weeks later, they arrived, but they were too big, and the lenses weren’t great, so I had to send them back, which was a pain. After that, I decided to return to a shop to sort it out. I asked them, and they said they’d handle it. While in another town, I visited a branch of the same shop to try on the frames since the ones I ordered didn’t fit.  The frames fit perfectly, so I went back to the original shop, and they arranged to order them from another branch. I went there today to pay for the glasses, and going through the shop saved me a hundred quid! Now I’m set to receive them this week or next, but what a palaver!  Next time, if there is a next time, I’ll go to the shop straight away. It’s not a good idea to order over the internet if you don’t know what you’re doing.  My collection of glasses is slowly growing. I might...

At the start of the week, a post appeared on social media about a man who had been missing from the village for three days, with no clue about his whereabouts. The post remained up for a few days until yesterday, when it was removed, but there’s still no sign of him. It’s assumed his wife was the one who reported him missing. At the pub last night, someone mentioned he wasn’t missing at all but had actually left his wife.   The wife will likely feel very awkward in the village now and may move on herself soon enough. Apparently, they’ve also been having issues with their neighbors. It seems the move to this village hasn’t been the best decision for these people, and considering they’re not young, you’d think they would have made better choices. On a more serious note, a child went missing on Friday in the next town. Hopefully, they’ll be found soon. I haven’t heard much more about it, which could be either a good or bad sign, I suppose. Here we are again on another Sunday, not...

I was a child a long time ago, and while that doesn't make what I'm about to say any more justifiable, I had parents who would beat and abuse their children. Dealing with one violent parent is hard enough, but having both is incredibly difficult. My father used to hit me with his hands, while my mother used objects such as sandals. My brother and sister suffered the same issues; they were also abused. This went on for years until we were too big or had left home. When confronted about it, my father would deny ever doing anything to us, which only rubbed salt in the wound and devalued us even further. I’m sharing this because I was at the pub last night, and a neighbor I grew up with was talking about how loved she was as a child. I guess it's the luck of the draw. Many people say that the abuse or violence they experienced as children did not harm them, but it’s bound to, as it’s simply not right to beat kids. After all, they’re just kids.

It seems the village fair, as it once was, is gone for good, despite my hopes to save it. Unfortunately, with the council's poor decisions and the villagers' indifference, it’s no longer possible. Maybe something new will replace it—or maybe not—we’ll just have to wait and see. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d even be interested in a new version of the fair. The village’s apathy was clear when hardly anyone showed up to last week’s meeting. Based on the feedback I got during my efforts to revive the fair—which the council has been trying to shut down for years—I thought there was genuine interest, but apparently, I was wrong. I even started the process of filing a complaint with the ombudsman, but I’ve given up on that now due to the lack of support from the village. It feels like there’s no sense of community here anymore. Maybe people have moved on from fairs, but I still feel gutted every time someone brings it up. I loved the fair; it was a real community event. Perhaps people...

Years ago, when I worked at a hospital for the elderly, there was an old tramp who was quite a character. I got a book about him a few years back, but I haven’t read it yet as it’s not the easiest to get through. I’m sure I’ll finish it eventually. Recently, I came across a song about this character, and just yesterday, I connected with the person who wrote it. I hope to see the band they’re part of at the National Eisteddfod in a few weeks. They’re playing on Saturday and Tuesday, but as usual, transport is an issue. I’m planning to look into a coach trip that might get me there. It’s interesting how a down-and-out has inspired both a book and a song, and the lyrics show that the writer really knew him.

There’s a lot of noise right now about welfare—particularly around the financial support disabled people receive. The idea that it costs more to live with a disability isn’t up for debate; it’s a reality. But the conversation around it keeps stirring controversy. having all this controversy in the news is embarrassing for didabled peopele Back in the 1990s, a social worker encouraged me to apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA). At the time I thought, “Why not?” To my surprise, I was awarded it. DLA came in two parts: the mobility component and the care component. Each had different levels of support depending on the severity of one’s condition. I received the lowest rates, which was what was available to me then. Over time, I met others in similar situations who received more support than I did. But as the years passed and I became increasingly dependent on that money, I grew too anxious to reapply. I didn’t want to risk losing what I had. I also had (and still have) a deep distr...

On Saturday, I took the bus to Porthmadog, intending to do some shopping and head back as usual. However, I changed my mind and decided to go to Caernarfon for a music festival called Gwyl Arall. It was a very hot day; the bus to Porthmadog had air conditioning, but the connecting bus didn’t, though it was manageable. When I got to Caernarfon, I wanted to find the music venue, but there were several to choose from. I grabbed lunch and wandered through the lively town, which offered more than just music—there were activities like walks, lectures, and book reviews. The gig I wanted to see was in Neuadd y Farchnad, the market hall. There was an entrance fee and a joke about my age, as I might have been one of the oldest there. I went to see some new artists on the Welsh music scene because I think it’s important to support them. The first band was decent, though the sound quality was poor, and I couldn’t hear the vocals clearly, which was also true for the second band. The third act, Elid...

**A Bonkers Week on the Buses** It’s been a properly bonkers week on the buses. Tuesday was supposed to be my gym day for some circuit training. I made it to Penrhyndeudraeth, but got stuck in a traffic jam. After a while, I realised I wasn’t going to make it on time, so I texted the guy who runs the session to let him know. We eventually got to Porthmadog—an hour or so later than usual—thanks to roadworks. They were replacing pylons with underground cables. Frankly, it seemed like a massive waste of money—probably running into the millions. People are used to the pylons by now. I did a bit of shopping before heading back to catch the bus home. That’s when someone I knew told me there’d been a crash in town and no traffic was getting through. It felt surreal, really—first being stuck trying to get *into* town, and now stuck trying to get *out*. I went for a bit of a wander to see what was going on. I have to admit, I like seeing what smashed up the poor car—stupid thing looked like it ...

**The smell in my kitchen is amazing right now—I’ve just taken a ginger cake loaf out of the oven.** I made one in class a few weeks ago and thought I’d try it again myself at home. According to the teacher, ginger cake is less hassle than other types of cake, so I figured it should be easier for me to manage. I changed a few ingredients this time—I used margarine instead of butter. It might make it a bit less rich, though I haven’t tasted it yet, so I’m not sure. I was planning to cook it in the Ninja Speedi, but the tin I have doesn’t fit. I’d hoped it would speed up the baking and save having to use the main oven. I’ll need to find a tin that fits the Speedi for next time. Things can definitely go wrong with these cakes—like forgetting an ingredient or overbaking it so it turns out dry. But if I get good at this, I might even start selling them. Homemade cakes are a treat many families miss out on these days, with so much else going on. I’ll need to do some proper road-testing first...

My laptop has been acting up for the past few days, refusing to shut down properly. I suspect it got stuck on an update. I tried restoring it but lost patience and ended up resetting it, which wiped out all my apps and data—a total hassle. On top of that, I got an email today about a pair of glasses I ordered online. Normally, I wouldn’t buy glasses this way, but it was my only option at the time. I had spoken with an optometrist about the order but decided to place it myself since it seemed they were just ordering them online anyway, and no options were available in-store. I searched for my old prescriptions at home but couldn’t find last year’s, so I had to visit the shop to request a copy. I sent it to them, but this morning I got an email saying the copy was blurry and missing key details. They also asked whether the glasses were for reading or distance vision, which I wasn’t sure how to answer because I usually just rely on my prescription. I contacted the optometrist again and fi...

Mae cerddoriaeth Soul   neu enaid yn Gymraeg am wn i,wedi chwarae rhan reit bwysig ym mywydau pobl ifanc Llan dros y degawdau.  Soul yw ffurf o gerddoriaeth boblogaidd a ddechreuodd gan gerddorion duon yn yr Unol Daleithiau o ganol yr ugeinfed ganrif ymlaen. Rhai o’r artistiaid enwog sydd wedi cyfrannu i’r genre Soul yw Aretha Franklin , Otis Redding , Stevie Wonder , a’r rhestr yn parhau. Mae’r gerddoriaeth hon wedi deillio o draddodiadau’r eglwysi yn America, sef gospel , ac hefyd o rhythm and blues . Mae cerddoriaeth Soul yn derm cyffredinol ar gyfer sawl arddull sydd wedi datblygu o draddodiadau’r blues a cherddoriaeth efengylaidd yr eglwys Ddu. Dysgodd arloeswyr Soul y 1950au – megis Ray Charles, Etta James, Sam Cooke, Clyde McPhatter, Little Richard, a Hank Ballard – gerddoriaeth trwy berfformio mewn grwpiau efengylaidd. Wrth i'r artistiaid hyn gynnwys elfennau blues a symud at eiriau seciwlar, ganwyd y genre soul. Yn y 1970au, dechreuodd cerddoriaeth Soul osod y sylfaen...