Signs of the times

A new breed of post-modern signs are appearing in Britain.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4470516.stm

What Aberystwyth students are up to at dawn

Students in some parts of the world may sleep in for as long as possible. Some may get up after noon if they can. But Aberystwyth is not like many places in the world.

This was before 8am on a Saturday. The fellow in the photograph, Chris, had been up and about since the sprightly hour of 6am. He, Harry and I made the accent of the towering peak of Pen Dinas while still the clutches of night were tight about us.

Near the summit the ice-axes which we brought in a flurry of excess seemed less and less inappropriate, and we finally managed to reach the top by canter-levering the rope around the monument at the top with a cow on the other end, to haul us up.

It was a little chillier than might have been expected, and the pressure in my gas burner was a mite lower than expected. As such, the litre of water to make tea took half an hour to become Reasonably Warm. Anyone who has made tea will know that a really good cuppa requires the water to be rather above Reasonably Warm.

It was a good laugh though, and an incredible view of a perfectly clear horizon.

The rest of the day was spent with Poppy, investigating the Land of Hills and Sheep that is the murky area south of Aberystwyth, marked on most maps as "Here Be Dragons". Luckily we had an OS. They don't descend to such frivolity.

The following sunset was of equal, if not greater impressivitude, drenching the entire westward side of the coastline in golden-orange light.

After that long day, I went and slept for 13 hours. Rock and Roll.

Putting the 'brrr' into 'Ah-brrr-ystwyth'

Short of having anything more pointful to say, I'll mention that it's been getting rather nipping in Aberystwyth of late.

On Sunday afternoon I was walking along the prom in the sunset, feeling for the first time this year that I would like to be wearing my warm hat and my fleece under my coat.

Alas, wild flowers are not in abundance in West Wales in November. Have to put off the old 'relieved from an obliging field' move on the back burner for a while. Looks like it's freshly made bakery items time. Much more practical too, as they work rather like a hot water bottle when one happens to have them in an inside pocket while waiting for their recipient from a train in the cold.

La la la la la :)

Oh, and if anyone is bemoaning the lack of pretty pictures in this blog, as it once was famed for... well, sorry. If fact, once the postperson arrives with a parcel, you should soon start to get pictures in glorious, lo-fi, analogue, manual style. That's right, Ye Olde Silver Halide.

Oooh, me 'eart

Yes, I know I'm getting old, but...

a swift ride up the hill to campus shouldn't leave me with a dull pain in my chest all day. Even if it was a record-breaking 7:02 to get from New Street to parking at the Llandinam Building.

I didn't mean to go fast - just that it was raining and I was feeling quite pumped. Somehow I 'span' (technical unicycling term) all the way up Penglais... as far as Bronglais hospital. There my gasping for breath, my racing heart and my leaden legs reminded me that there are good reasons for pacing one's self and taking it easy.

For goodness sake, that's a one mile ride. Another 0.25 miles taken slower, crossing the road and cruising across the carpark, and I could sit in the lecture and recover.

Once more my dreams of super-stardom and world-class unicycling acclaim come toppling down around the altar of lack-of-mega-fitness.

That's not to say that I don't still hope to register for UniConXIII - July 2006 in Switzerland. The one race that I feel like having a real go at, the Unlimited 10Km, is likely to be dominated by people not only super-fit, but with expensive geared unis and cool sunglasses. Something like the Swiss bobsled team in Cool Runnings.

But then that's why UniCon is great. Like the Olympics, but with plenty more Eddie the Eagles.

Sometime I'll go and try blasting off 10km of clear Welsh roads, and see just how stupid 23 minutes is.