On Books And Wandering Along Barry Road

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Winter In Madrid by C J Sansom is a novel praised by The Guardian, The Times and The Daily Express (a publication that describes itself as "the world's greatest newspaper".....only in a parallel universe). So let's make this clear that my view is not it appears the main body of opinion of this book. But there you go.

It has been described as a "spy novel". Presumably to distinguish itself from the thriller genre. Thrills being severely lacking here as indeed is "Spy" in "Spy novel". There is a spy element set up in the beginning but then it seems to be almost forgotten until half way. Also a plot twist so obvious that it might well as been wrapped in neon. So let me make this clear. If you're considering this book for the spying part don't. You'll be very disappointed.

So what's left seems to be a checklist of things I feel I've read before. War weary central character, menage a trios, foreign location (fascist but neutral Spain in the second world war). All done better (Graham Greene came to mind - there's a Harry Lime character here as well). All in all all very unsatisfactory. There is nothing worse for the reader than the serious piece that fails.

The next book which I finished was Confessions of a Beachcomber by E J Banfield (published 1906). Not as racy a book as the title would suggest. Also more technical about the natural world of the Australian coast than I'd expected, but that's my problem not Banfield's. However mainly towards the end it was also racist in the sort of treat people with a skin darker than yours as you would a pet dog. Not a book I'll read again.

So now I'm going through The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. So far, so good. At least there's a book where I seem to agree with popular opinion.

I haven't yet had the opportunity to wander round Barry Town as I've hoped. Things just cropped up to make his impossible. The closest was on Sunday when I wandered ten to fifteen minutes along the Barry Road, off where I'm living at the moment. Hardly great explorations of our time I know, but when you're new to an area you can find interest in what's new, until you become part of the area when it all becomes mundane.

So let's start when I'm about to leave the street. An ordinary terraced road when suddenly I notice something along the pavement....a horse.

I call to the wife "There's a horse being ridden along the pavement!"

Wife tells me to shut up. "People will think you're insulting the area".

I disagree. There's a difference between insulting an area and saying "There's a horse being ridden along the pavement"

As I entered the road turned left and noticed as the journey developed noticed that further up the hill I went the type of house changed. Up the hill meant that the houses became semi detached and to my memory some were detached as well.

Starting my journey saw a café that did an all day breakfast. The sort of thing that would give you a free ticket to heart attack city if you ate it regularly but occasionally...? Must admit I'm tempted.

Passed Jenner Park Primary school which seemed to be built in a Victorian style (the bricks appeared new).I like this style. Nowadays schools seem to be built like office blocks.

Found a new and easier way to get to Jenner Park, home of Barry Town FC than I was told. Shame the season's finished. There was a game being played that day but was too busy to enquire about it.

The Park Of Jenner

I saw this a few minutes afterwards.

I didn't realise that you could include TY (house) and NEWYDD (new) as one word. After enquiring about this on Twitter it was suggested to me that it was named after a coal mining village in the Rhondda and that Barry was the port it was shipped from. I've no idea but just putting it out there.

There was a convenience store towards the end of the road. The local headlines were about a teenager who tried to commit a robbery using a fake gun and a chip shop burnt down due to an overnight fire. You might think a thousand and one jokes seem appropriate here, but livelihoods has literally gone in flames.

Opposite the store there was this chain pub restaurant.

Wonder if anyone talks Anton Chekhov here.....probably not

Later Wife/daughter and I went to have dinner here. Lighting was a bit dark. As if designed by the Addams Family. But could not fault the food or service at all.

As we walked back there was something heartbreaking. Put on a lamppost was a smiling picture of a child with some flowers and a printed note saying "We will remember" on it. Sometimes even words are not enough.....

There is a view from the road. Here it is.

Not the Rhondda. Still a good view

Hopefully on Wednesday will be able to wander round the town called Barry itself.

Until the next time.

In Which I Chat About Jane Austen,Rugby, RLS' Wife, Houses And The Disappearance Of Barry Town FC

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I woke up on Saturday, unwillingly you understand, at quarter to four in the morning. And after making a cup of tea did what I tend to do often now. Read. so Emma by Jane Austen was finished.

Speaking as I can now do,with the vast experience of having reading one of her novels, is that Jane Austen moves in with F Scott Fitzgerald and Anton Chekhov as a writer with whom I'm in literary Switzerland about. She is certainly readable. But I don't understand how she can be considered "great".

As I explained previously being neutral on a writer is a difficult position to be in. If only because not disliking one means that you can't shake off the feeling that you might be missing something. What I especially don't understand is why she's stood the test of time especially when compared to writers like the Brontes or George Eliot. But then again what do I know being a man?

The next book on the great ebook unread was Rugby Union Basics For Dummies in a day by Nick Cain and Greg Growden. It was free and to be honest after reading it was probably the best thing about it. I learnt very little about a sport whose rules I've only gleaned through osmosis. Anyway it was finished. Two books done in a day.

Did you know that Robert Louis Stevenson's wife was American? I didn't. But it's the first thing I've learnt in the latest book I'm reading The Life of Mrs Robert Louis Stevenson by his wife's sister Nellie Van De Grift Sanchez. So far so good.

On the house searching front went to see two today. Both seem genuine contenders. Wife and I are going to spend the weekend thinking this one through. We might offer on Monday. More then.

After that was done we went to see a friend who lives in Barry. She and the wife I knew would spend the afternoon chatting about the houses we've seen and the general moving situation. Knew I'd be bored.What to do?

But then a solution occurred to me. Our friend lived near Jenner Park, home of the Welsh league side Barry Town FC. As there were no more houses to watch I'd get daughter to go online, check and if they were playing at home and go off to the game.

This was done. The internet was clear. Barry Town FC would be playing Goytre United FC at two thirty. I'd be a little late, but I'd not been able to watch football for a while so it would give me a little break from everything that's swirling my beleaguered brain with regard to moving house and finding one to live in.

It wouldn't have been the first time I've been to Jenner Park. When I was courting my wife and I did crosscountry courting with my wife between South Wales and Essex (A real Gavin Stacey moment) her uncle (even more Gavin/Stacey like), a good man now sadly passed away took me to a match there between Barry Town and Flint Town FC.

I'd learnt two things from that game. One that Welsh football went far beyond Cardiff,Swansea Wrexham and Newport and the other was that Flint Town taught me that dependent on exactly where you are the North Walian accent could have a trace of Scouse on it.

As I was closer to the ground heard no sounds of a match or saw supporters moving in. Noticed ticket offices being boarded up, Eventually from a small gap I'd noticed....no football...indeed not even passing birds on the pitch. As I said on my return to our friends' house wherever Barry Town were playing it was not Jenner Park.

Further investigations by daughter revealed the phrase "venue to be decided" on the internet. I found out later that they'd played Goytre United at Goytre's ground. The opposite fixture will be next Saturday, useless to me as I'll be working.

Ah well...

Until the next time,

In Parallel Universes I Had An Interesting Saturday Going Out And Doing Things....Not This One

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

What was I going to do Saturday? Well after going out for breakfast as there was a viewing for our house at the unearthly hour of nine thirty I actually had various ideas.

Bore Coffi Porthcawl: On the first Saturday of the month in the local tabernacle church there is a Bore Coffi  (Coffee morning) between ten and twelve where over hot beverages people chat in Welsh. I'd not been there for years. Partly due to when I'd stopped learning Welsh and now because I always seemed to be working on that particular Saturday. Not this Saturday though.

Penarth Heights: Since the sale of the house had fallen through it had been pointless to go and view other houses. This though was an exception as it was a new development (as you can tell by the name - "Heights" - along with "village" names developers like to use) should we like it part exchange was an option.

It was unlikely. What we could see online suggested that the rooms, rather like chocolate bars these days, were going to be too small. Still there would be no harm in having a look.

Visiting a friend in Barry: Regular readers of this blog may remember that I mentioned a friend of my wife who moved from Cardiff to Barry in September following her divorce. I'd not been able to help with the moving as it coincided with my trip to London on the twenty fifth anniversary of my father's death.

Well I've still not visited the house. Mainly because it clashed with work. Not that I was particularly bothered. There may come a moment of I'll have to view many houses but going round one just because somebody's moved there holds no interest for me whatsoever. Even so, though I was disinterested there was no real excuse not to go and also it did link with.....

Football: The house was apparently close to Jenner Park, the home of Barry Town FC. I'd done my research ("research" meaning I went online) "Let's visit W" I'd say to my wife "Just make sure it's before two o'clock so I can watch the game". Can't say she appreciated that.

If that proved impossible I could have gone to watch Penybont FC. Ton Pentre though were playing away. One day I'll be able to become part owner (annual fee of £20) of that club.....just not this Saturday.

There we are. All those things to do. And didn't do any of them.

Let's come back to this universe. Returning to the house after having breakfast. I had to immediately go to the toilet. I will spare you full details, suffice it to say that it was graphic and I needed to take anti diarrhoea pills afterwards.

The point is that I suffer from time to time with vasovagal attacks. The thing I know about these attacks is that they occur if I'm physically weak (not necessarily ill, just weak) because of something else causing me to faint. I'd no idea whether this was going to be just such an attack but I couldn't take the risk of fainting outside of home and all the problems that would cause. So stay in we did.

The wife didn't object. She'd seen me faint often enough to know that discretion was the better part of valour. So the rest of my day was spent propped up on the settee with water and later toast to build me up.

Tried to read. Finished The Cricklewood Tapestry by Alan Coren. Can't say I liked it as much as the first two but then again wasn't really in full reading mode. Similarly tried a few pages of the Vasily Grossman, which I do like, but really wasn't up to it.

Watched about four to five episodes of The Gilmore Girls on Netfllix with the wife. I'm really into the show. Much to my (and wife/daughter's) surprise. Just Netflix you understand. Really was in no mood to chill.

So on a Saturday was the first one that went to bed, even though I would have normally stayed up to watch Match of The Day given that West Ham won. That will wait until the Sunday morning repeat which as I'm writing this is less than half an hour away.

I feel better now. Not one hundred percent but well enough to say with confidence to the wife that she can go out to watch Italy Wales play rugby at a friend's house with the girls later today.

So apologies that readers in parallel universes had a more varied post than you've got today. Let's hope the roles are reversed soon.

Until the next time,