29th July 2007

Sunday - 6.25pm : The weather has finally turned! We haven't had a drop of rain today and it's been quite warm outside (very different from last weekend!). So my parents & I decided to make the most of the day and go for a drive.

The first stop was at Castle Caereinion (a village not actually a castle). Dad's maternal Grandmother's family came from the village and I wanted to take a look around the church yard to see if anyone with the family name was buried there. I did come across one or two gravestones, so I just need to cross-reference them with my family tree.

Next we drove over to Llanfair Caereinion. The town as a narrow gauge railway, but the train wasn't at the station when we visited. We didn't stop long, we just took a short walk across the bridge over the river.

We then decided to take the back road over to Clywedog Dam. First we took a look at the dam from the mine below it. I've seen the dam from the view point above it, but never from the old mine below. Then we went up to the view point to stop for refreshments before heading home.

It's been a lovely day and I hope this beautiful weather continues. A few dark clouds have threatened, but I'm hoping they'll disappear.

As the weather has been getting progressively better since last weekend (Why or why couldn't James Marsters' Cardiff gig been this weekend?), I've been out in the garden taking yet more photos of the flowers currently blooming after all the unseasonable rain we've been having. (Remember to click on the thumbnails to enlarge).

On a side note, I rented another 3 DVDs last weekend since I could get to town but nowhere else. I didn't enjoy Brick, in fact I turned it off half way through (unusual for me to do!). I thought Stranger Than Fiction was great and I'd definitely recommend Deja Vu. I haven't had time for any DVDs this weekend though.

Thanks to Gautami, Andrea, Cyberevolution, Bob-kat, Tiffany, Rashbre, Suzanne, Utenzi and Karen for commenting.

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21st July 2007

Saturday - 2.15pm : I'm gutted! I should be down in Cardiff right now. James Marsters is playing at The Point in Cardiff tonight and I'm supposed to be there. However, I got a few miles down the road only to find it flooded and impassable. We had to turn around and come home. It turns out the train was cancelled anyway. Chris tried getting there from where she was but when she got to Shrewsbury she couldn't get any further. So no James Marsters gig for us. There's a few others unable to go too, so I wonder just how many will be at the gig tonight.

Family Tree Magazine have been in touch again. They want me to send them some more information, which I have done. For those of you who don't know, in the July 2007 issue of Family Tree Magazine (which came out in May) Tom Wood of the "Genealogical Miscellany" section wrote that a Mrs Maggie Collyer from Kent had a very rare marriage certificate. He says what made the certificate remarkable is that the bride and groom, both their fathers and the two witnesses all shared the same surname. This promted me to grab my certificate folder and flick to Mum's side of the family. Before marriage (and, obviously, after) my Great Grandparents Henry & Phyllis shared the same surname. So I also have a certificate where the bride and groom and both their fathers have the same surname, except I have THREE witnesses who also shared that same surname! I emailed them and they originally asked for a copy of the certficate to go in the magazine, but they've emailed me back for some more information. The article should be in the October issue (which, no doubt, will be out in September).

The other day I realised I'd got a few photos on my camera that I hadn't downloaded. I've uploaded a handful of them to my Flickr account. Feel free to click on the thumbnails below to enlarge. My favourite is the one of Leo.

Thanks to Cyberevolution, Andrea, Miss M, Bob-kat and Suzanne.

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16th July 2007

Monday - 7.45pm : Yesterday I was at the Honda Racing F1 headquarters in Brackley. They were holding a Charity Open Day, so I couldn't resist getting a couple of tickets. It started at 10am, so we had to leave home at 7am to get there in time. It rained most of the way down there, but we had very little rain once there.

Before I go on... I'm not actually a fan of Honda (I'm a McLaren fan through & through), but I am a fan of F1 so I decided to take the rare opportunity to visit a F1 factory.

The event began with the special guests being announced on stage (beginning with Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson). Other special guests included Christian Klien, Mike Conway, Gil de Ferran, David Brabham and the F1 legend himself... Murray Walker. (However, news came through today that Gil de Ferran has left his position at Honda with immediate effect, so we saw him on his last day!).

There were all sorts of things going on, but we missed out on some things (including the all important factory tour) because of the amount of people there. The factory tour queue seemed endless and kept getting longer everytime we went by. I think I'd have prefered to pay twice the ticket price to get to see everything I wanted to, rather than miss out. We queued so much I've dubbed it "Honda Charity Queue Day"!

I did manage to grab Anthony Davidson's autograph in my programme and get my photo taken with him, so that was a bonus. I could have had Gil de Ferran's autograph, but I'd walked straight past him before I'd realised who it was. The kid behind me noticed him though.

I also managed to get into the Q&A session with Murray Walker (for those of you who don't know... he was a motorsport commentator for over 50 years before he retired). We sat in the front row and listened as Murray talked about his Top 5 racing drivers (which quickly grew into his Top 10 or so!), about Lewis Hamilton's season, Jenson Button and Honda's misfortune this year. He was interviewed, before the audience were allowed to asked questions. Poor Murray wasn't feeling too good (it sounded like he'd got a cold), so I hope he's feelng better (especially as he's due to commentate for the BBC at this weekend's F1 Grand Prix). When he finished the Q&A he was surrounded within seconds. Everyone wanted his autograph and he was nice enough to stop and oblige (so I got my programme signed too).

When we came out of Murray's Q&A I could see a large group of people slowly moving towards the factory. Jenson was right in the middle of it! The poor guy was being mobbed (and yes, most of them were grown men!).

So that was my weekend. This coming weekend I'm off down to Cardiff to see James Marsters. He's currently filming for Torchwood and I'm going to his gig on Saturday night. Can't wait for the new series of Torchwood - John Barrowman and James Marsters (well, for the 1st episode anyway!).

Thanks to Anne, Cyberevolution, Andrea and Utenzi for comments.

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12th July 2007

Thursday - 9.25pm : I've no real excuse for the lack of entries this month. Work is still busy, but I guess I've not had much to talk about.

I rented another 3 DVDs last weekend...

The Pursuit of Happyness is the story of Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith), a struggling salesman. Based on a true story, the film follows Chris doing his best to bring up his son and get by on the little money his work brings in. Will Smith's son Jaden makes his film debut in this one and does a wonderful job in playing the son. It's an honest and inspirational film. I'd definitely recommend this one.

For the second week in a row I picked up an Edward Norton film. Down In The Valley is the story of Harlan (played by Norton), a fantasist who likes to believe he's a cowboy. It's not a big Hollywood film, but there's something about it that I liked. Certainly worth watching.

Last but not least... I also rented Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It's a gripping film in search of freedom, family and a diamond. Some scenes were shocking, some brought back memories of news items from past years, but I was compelled to watch., One of DiCaprio's finest films (despite not being sure on his accent in the film!).

I've already got my eye on another Edward Norton film, Painted Veil. I keep seeing it in the trailers on the DVDs I've been renting. I'll have to wait a while for that one though as it's not out here on DVD until September.

I might rent a DVD this weekend, but I doubt I'll be renting 3 again. I have plans for Sunday and they don't including sitting in front of the box!

Thanks to Susan Helen Gottfried, Cyberevolution, Utenzi, Lissy, Andrea, Shopper, Bob-kat and Kenneth for comments.

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3rd July 2007

Tuesday - 9.15pm : Long time no see! Work has been so hectic lately, so I've not felt like writing here over the past week or so. The weekend was relaxing though...

Since I hadn't rented a DVD for a while I decided to pop into town on Saturday and see what was out to rent. There was quite a few I fancied seeing. Since there was a 3-for-2 offer on I decided to rent 3 DVDs.

Having seen the trailer a few times I decided to pick up The Illusionist. It stars Edward Norton as (would you believe it) an illusionist whose childhood love is of a higher social standing. She is forbidden to see him. In a chance meeting he finds her once more, but she is engaged to the Crown Prince. The Illusionist is a wonderful mystery film and I'd definitely recommend it. Just remember... nothing is what it seems.

I also rented Bobby. Based on the story of the assassination of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, this film has a cast like no other - Emilio Estevez, Martin Sheen, Christian Slater, Laurence Fishburne, Anthony Hopkins, Joshua Jackson, Ashton Kutcher, William H. Macy, Demi Moore and Elijha Wood to name but a few! Definitely worth watching.

For something a little lighthearted I rented School for Soundrels. Billy Bob Thornton is usually good for a laugh and Ben Stiller pops up too. Certainly worth giving a go.

If it's looking like this coming weekend is going to be wet again then I'll probably rent another 3 DVDs (providing they've still got the 3-for-2 offer on). There's a couple of films I've already got my eye on, but feel free to recommend some.

Anyway, I've not got much else to say so I think I'll leave it at that for now.

Thanks to Bob-kat, Foster Dogs, Andrea, Suzanne, Susan Helene Gottfried, OldOld Lady Of The Hills, Sarah, Daystar, Shopper and Diya for commenting.

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