#West Wales Tour

[old-transport]

GWR/BR loco No. 4699 @ Whitland shed - West Wales Tour (787) - Jun 1959 by Frederick McLean Via Flickr: An old amateur photograph of British Rail (BR) pannier tank engine No. 4699 inside the Whitland engine/locomotive shed (closed Jan 1966) in Jun 1959. This is in an old rail enthusiast photo album, on the reverse is annotated "West Wales Tour, C. F. Walklet at Whitland Shed, 7 Jun 1959". No. 4699 was a C. Collett designed class 5700 0-6-0PT engine, built at the Swindon Works, and new to Great Western Railway (GWR) in Feb 1945. The locomotive was withdrawn from service in Jun 1964, then scrapped in the August at the BR Swindon Works. Old/new overhead maps view:- maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=17.4&lat=5... If there are any errors in the above description please let me know. Thanks. 📷 Any photograph I post on Flickr is an original in my possession, nothing is ever copied/downloaded from another location. 📷 -------------------------------------------------

[aroundtheworldin80playspod]

A Christmas Cardiff (Stop 7: Cardiff)

Episode 7: Cardiff – It’s that great British tradition: a Doctor Who Christmas Special Episode! And this week, we’re bringing it to you direct from the good Doctor’s homeland, Cardiff, Wales! But which Doctor Who legend visited Sister Act the Musical this week? Find out in the final stop of leg 1!

***

Sister Act: the Musical 2023-24 UK/Ireland Tour Tickets: https://www.sisteractthemusical.co.uk/

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[fatehbaz]

Travel back [...] a few hundred years to before the industrial revolution, and the wildlife of Britain and Ireland looks very different indeed. 

Take orcas: while there are now less than ten left in Britain’s only permanent (and non-breeding) resident population, around 250 years ago the English [...] naturalist John Wallis gave this extraordinary account of a mass stranding of orcas on the north Northumberland coast [...]. If this record is reliable, then more orcas were stranded on this beach south of the Farne Islands on one day in 1734 than are probably ever present in British and Irish waters today. [...]

Other careful naturalists from this period observed orcas around the coasts of Cornwall, Norfolk and Suffolk. I have spent the last five years tracking down more than 10,000 records of wildlife recorded between 1529 and 1772 by naturalists, travellers, historians and antiquarians throughout Britain and Ireland, in order to reevaluate the prevalence and habits of more than 150 species [...].

In the early modern period, wolves, beavers and probably some lynxes still survived in regions of Scotland and Ireland. By this point, wolves in particular seem to have become re-imagined as monsters [...].

Elsewhere in Scotland, the now globally extinct great auk could still be found on islands in the Outer Hebrides. Looking a bit like a penguin but most closely related to the razorbill, the great auk’s vulnerability is highlighted by writer Martin Martin while mapping St Kilda in 1697 [...].

[A]nd pine martens and “Scottish” wildcats were also found in England and Wales. Fishers caught burbot and sturgeon in both rivers and at sea, [...] as well as now-scarce fishes such as the angelshark, halibut and common skate. Threatened molluscs like the freshwater pearl mussel and oyster were also far more widespread. [...]

Predators such as wolves that interfered with human happiness were ruthlessly hunted. Authors such as Robert Sibbald, in his natural history of Scotland (1684), are aware and indeed pleased that several species of wolf have gone extinct:

There must be a divine kindness directed towards our homeland, because most of our animals have a use for human life. We also lack those wild and savage ones of other regions. Wolves were common once upon a time, and even bears are spoken of among the Scottish, but time extinguished the genera and they are extirpated from the island.

The wolf was of no use for food and medicine and did no service for humans, so its extinction could be celebrated as an achievement towards the creation of a more civilised world. Around 30 natural history sources written between the 16th and 18th centuries remark on the absence of the wolf from England, Wales and much of Scotland. [...]

In Pococke’s 1760 Tour of Scotland, he describes being told about a wild species of cat – which seems, incredibly, to be a lynx – still living in the old county of Kirkcudbrightshire in the south-west of Scotland. Much of Pococke’s description of this cat is tied up with its persecution, apparently including an extra cost that the fox-hunter charges for killing lynxes:

They have also a wild cat three times as big as the common cat. [...] It is said they will attack a man who would attempt to take their young one [...]. The country pays about £20 a year to a person who is obliged to come and destroy the foxes when they send to him. [...]

The capercaillie is another example of a species whose decline was correctly recognised by early modern writers. Today, this large turkey-like bird [...] is found only rarely in the north of Scotland, but 250–500 years ago it was recorded in the west of Ireland as well as a swathe of Scotland north of the central belt. [...] Charles Smith, the prolific Dublin-based author who had theorised about the decline of herring on the coast of County Down, also recorded the capercaillie in County Cork in the south of Ireland, but noted: This bird is not found in England and now rarely in Ireland, since our woods have been destroyed. [...] Despite being protected by law in Scotland from 1621 and in Ireland 90 years later, the capercaillie went extinct in both countries in the 18th century [...].

---

Images, captions, and text by: Lee Raye. “Wildlife wonders of Britain and Ireland before the industrial revolution – my research reveals all the biodiversity we’ve lost.” The Conversation. 17 July 2023. [Map by Lee Raye. Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[world-of-wales]

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY TO THE SWEETEST AND CUTEST LITTLE MAN, HRH PRINCE GEORGE ALEXANDER LOUIS OF WALES (B. 22 JULY 2013) ♡

On 22 July 2013, Prince George was born to Catherine and William, then known as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in St Mary's Hospital, at 16:24 BST weighing 8 pounds and 6 ounces. He was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandmother Elizabeth II and is the first child and eldest of Will & Cat.

The little prince's name was announced on 24 July as George Alexander Louis. George is one of his paternal grandfather King Charles’ middle names and was the regnal name of Queen Elizabeth's beloved father Albert. Alexander is the masculine version of Queen Elizabeth's middle name Alexandra and was also Catherine's top choice for a baby boy's name. Louis is in honour of his 3rd-great-uncle Earl Mountbatten of Burma - Louis, his father - Prince William and King Charles.

Georgie was was christened by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on 23 October, in the Chapel Royal in St. James' Palace.

George spent the first few months of his life in Anglesey, Wales, before his family relocated to Kensington Palace in 2014. He started at West Acre Montessori School Nursery in 2016 when his family moved to Anmer Hall in Norfolk and then studied at at Thomas's School in Battersea. In 2022, George and his family relocated to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, after which he started at Lambrook School with his siblings.

Born as a Prince of Cambridge, he became HRH Princess George of Wales after his grandfather conferred his parents with the titles of the Prince and Princess of Wales. George was third in line to the throne upon his birth but is now second in line following hid dad taking over as the heir.

He made his official royal debut during the Cambridge tour of Australia & New Zealand in 2014. His first Palace balcony was in 2015 and has also joined his parents on official tours to Canada, Germany and Poland. Taking part in two royal weddings Georgie has also been a part of his great-grandmother's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 and was a page of honour at his grandfather's coronation in 2023.

George is a keen tennis and football player (a huge Aston Villa & England fan) and loves rugby, cricket & triathlons. He is adores AC/DC and Led Zeppelin & is learning to play the electric guitar. Georgie is known to love the military and wanted to join the air cadets when he was younger.

He also loves helicopters and police cars and was a fan of Fireman Sam. As per his mum, he likes thunderstorms, and when younger T-rex, the dinosaur fascinated him the most. George spends a lot of time outdoors, helping out with the farm animals & is quite a competitive gardener.

[yinandyanglifestyle]

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha

by: Icie

One thing to know about me, I was an interior design major back in my home country. I absolutely sucked at it, but I fell in love with Art History. In that minor, our professors taught us about different art styles through the ages and bit by bit I saw the progress of art through the ages. I loved the OG Gothic Style, Romanesque, was disillusioned with Baroque and Rococo from the west... It was too Western focused and it didn't interest me as much (because I was an Asian kid) until we got towards the end of the 19th century where the grandparents of weebs (of which I am a part of) hailed from and Japonisme was a thing. Japonisme inspired so much beautiful art and it triggered a domino effect that ultimately led to Art Nouveau where Alphonse Mucha was a main character.

This was it. My favourite art style! I can never go back to loving other art styles after discovering Art Nouveau. It spoke to me about how feminine it was and it awakened something from my mostly masculine soul. I wanted to see more of these beautiful girls surrounded by flowers and stars, wearing kimono-inspired clothes in pretty pastels. The macaroni hair only added to the romanticism of it all. This is what love is like, but in art form!

Fast forward to 2024, The Mucha Foundation collaborated with the Art Gallery of New South Wales to host over 200 of this master's works which was "the most comprehensive exhibition ever seen in Australia of this visionary artist's work". I had to see it. I needed to see it! I am a big fan of Mucha and Art Nouveau, and one of my dreams was to go to Paris, Brussels, and Prague for all of the beautiful swirly-whirlies. Being a Brisbanite, I was exited. Please come to my city! Please, please, please! But AGNSW said "sorry, it's exclusive to Sydney."

Dammit. It's off to Sydney I go. I donned my Sailor Moon dress, packed my bag for a 3 day trip with my partner just so I could see this legend's works and boy, I was not disappointed. I learned to love Mucha and his works even more. We landed in Sydney, didn't check in our hotel, and went straight to the main quest:

Outside, they had this big banner of Mucha's name. Inside was this glorious area that showcased Summer (left) and Rose (right). Oh wait, the exhibit is next door. So we went to the more modern building, down two floors, bought tickets, and enjoyed the art.

In the newer building next door, I was treated to pre-art nouveau Mucha. We learned about what his life was like before his popularity. He designed some clothes for a theatre, hung out with everyone's buddy Paul Gaugin, Ludek Marold and Annah the Javanese. The tour guide said, "if he wasn't a painter, he would've been a great photographer".

Then we were treated to the meat of the exhibit: the Sarah Bernhardt stuff, his lithographs, his sketches, but what struck me most were his concept art to reality. (Excuse my phone's shadow. For some reason, AGNSW decided to put these works on a 45° angle under bright lights. The girl beside me even said "fucking glare!" and I wholeheartedly agreed.)

We were treated to so many wonderful works and I cried when I saw parts of Le Pater. I'm an atheist but this made me think that maybe there is a god. Maybe. But still, beautiful artwork that left me speechless.

I got to stand next to my favourite work of his: White Star. Joy!

At the end of the exhibit, the tour guide talked about how Mucha who was somewhat influenced by Japan, now influenced Japan. Now we come full circle with anime and manga characters depicted in art nouveau styled paintings and posters. Oh boy, we had our Lord Yoshitaka Amano's works in the gallery as well. I was so lucky to see works of my two favourite artists in one day!

It was almost 2PM by the time we finished the tour. We spent at least 4 hours in the gallery after landing just because I fangirled and was willing to spend money on Mucha. Yeah, I bought stuff. A reproduction of Alphonse Mucha's original "Documents Decoratifs" which focused more on his industrial design work (jewellery, cutlery, furniture etc) which I rarely see on the internet, a set of badges and make-up from Japanese brand MilleFée.

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha and it was worth it. I end this rabid fangirling with the parting words of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' tour guide: Mucha's style has never been as well loved and as well represented as it is in Japan.

[theholmwoodfoundation]

THE HOLMWOOD FOUNDATION PILOT EPISODE CAST/CREW - PART ONE

REBECCA ROOT - MADDIE TOWNSEND/MINA HARKER

Rebecca trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for the National Theatre (UK and Ireland tour); Rathmines Road for Fishamble at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin; Trans Scripts at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts; The Bear / The Proposal at the Young Vic; and Hamlet at the Gielgud Theatre and Athens International Festival. TV, Film and Video Game credits include Monsieur Spade, This Is Christmas, Irvine Welsh’s Crime, Hogwarts Legacy, Horizon Forbidden West, Heartstopper, Annika, The Rising, Sex Education, The Gallery, The Queen’s Gambit, Finding Alice, Creation Stories, Last Christmas, The Sisters Brothers, Colette, The Danish Girl, Flack, The Romanoffs, Moominvalley, Hank Zipzer, Boy Meets Girl, Doctors, Casualty, The Detectives, and Keeping Up Appearances.  Radio credits include Clare In The Community, Life Lines, The Hotel, and 1977 for BBC Radio 4. Guest appearances include Woman’s Hour, Front Row, Loose Ends, Saturday Live, and A Good Read.  She plays Tania Bell in the award-winning Doctor Who: Stranded audio dramas. Rebecca has also recorded numerous documentary narrations, audiobooks, and voice-overs. Rebecca is also a voice and speech coach, holding the MA in Voice Studies from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

SEAN CARLSEN - JEREMY LARKIN/ JONATHAN HARKER

Born in South Wales, Seán trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. He has worked extensively in audio drama, television, theatre and film.  Seán is perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans as Narvin in the Doctor Who audio series Gallifrey and has appeared on TV in Doctor Who - The Christmas Invasion and Torchwood. Recent TV credits include Mudtown (BBCiplayer/S4C), Dal y Mellt (Netflix), His Dark Materials (BBC1), All Creatures Great and Small (Channel 5), A Mother's Love (Channel 4) and Series 5 of Stella (Sky1).  Films include supporting leads in Boudica - Rise of the Warrior Queen, cult horror The Cleansing,  the lead in Forgotten Journeys and John Sheedy’s forthcoming film ‘Never Never Never’

SAM CLEMENS - ARTHUR JONES

Samuel Clemens trained at the Drama Centre London and is an award-winning director with over twenty years’ experience. Samuel has recently written and directed his debut feature film ‘The Waterhouse’ with Take The Shot Films & Featuristic Films and represented by Raven Banner Entertainment, which is due for release this coming year.  In addition, he has directed fourteen short films, winning awards all over the world including shorts ‘Surgery (multi-award winning), A Bad Day To Propose (Straight 8 winner 2021), Say No & Dress Rehearsal’. Samuel also directs critically acclaimed number one UK stage tours and fringe shows (Rose Theatre Kingston, Swansea Grand, Eastbourne, Yvonne Arnaud, Waterloo East Theatre) and commercials include clients JD Sports, Shell and Space NK. Samuel is also a regular producer and director for Big Finish Productions & Anderson Entertainment. He has cast, directed, produced and post supervised numerous productions of ‘Doctor Who – (BBC), The Avengers (Studio Canal), Thunderbirds, Stingray (Anderson Entertainment), Callan, Missy, Gallifrey’& Shilling & Sixpence Investigate’ and many more. Samuel has directed world class talent such as, Sir Roger Moore, Ben Miles, Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Alex Kingston, Frank Skinner, Rita Ora, Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley, Rufus Hound, David Warner, Celia Imrie, Samuel West, Youssef Kerkour, Sophie Aldred, Ian McNiece, Colin Baker, Olivia Poulet, Stephen Wight, Jade Anouka, Mimi Ndwendi, Michelle Gomez, Peter Davidson, Paul O’Grady and many more. Samuel is one of the founding members and directors at Take The Shot Films Ltd and is Head of Artistic Creation and Direction. Lastly, Samuel is a regular tutor at The London Film Academy, The Giles Foreman Centre for Acting & The Rose Youth Theatre and is a member of The Directors Guild UK. As for upcoming projects, Sam is currently in pre-production on his next feature film “On The Edge of Darkness”, which is based on his dad’s stage play “Strictly Murder”.

ATTILA PUSKAS - DRACULA

Attila Puskás is a native Hungarian Voice Actor born in Transylvania – Romania, so Romanian is in his bag of tricks too, but most of his work is done in English, in a Transatlantic Eastern European Accent, but is quite capable of Hungarian, Romanian and International Eastern European accents, plus Standard American. His voice range is Adult to Middle Aged (30-40+) due to his deep voice. Vocal styles can range from authoritive, brooding to calming and reassuring and much more. He’s most experienced in character work, like Animations and Games, but his skills encompass Commercials to Narration as well. He’s received training through classes and workshops, pushing him to the next level to achieve higher standards. Now on a journey to perfect these skills and put them to good use!

PART TWO: HERE

PART THREE: HERE

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

hi Elanor! I'm going to be Wales for the first time (and am wildly excited), do you have any recommendations for things that really shouldn't be missed in the Cardiff area? (please feel free to disregard if you don't feel like being a virtual tour guide, I've just been seeing your abundant enthusiasm for Wales on my dash for years and can't wait to visit myself)

:D :D :D

I'm doing so much for the Welsh Tourist Board today! They should pay me.

Okay, let's think... A lot of it will depend what you're into. Do you like history and heritage stuff? Wales is extremely rich in castles, so there's a whole load around there - Cardiff Castle, obviously, but also Caerphilly Castle is the second largest in Europe and has a fun leaning tower, while Castell Coch is just west of Cardiff and was built by a lunatic who wanted his castle to Look Right, and so features the sorts of parapets, towers and moats that a cursed Disney princess would be happy with. Said lunatic also built the Animal Wall around Bute Park, which is a lovely park just left of Cardiff Castle in the city centre.

Also St Ffagans Museum, that's in west Cardiff - that's one of those living heritage museums, so they've taken historic buildings from around Wales and very carefully, brick by brick, moved them into St Ffagans to preserve them. They've made it into a little village though, it's so cool (honestly I could write an entire post about St Ffagans alone). Aim to get there for mid-morning so you can buy fresh bread from the popty in the village square, they've usually run out by about 1.30. The sweet shop does GREAT lemon sherbets. There's a lot to see (including a couple of Eisteddfod Chairs :D), so wear comfortable shoes for walking. They also have a high ropes course, and various specific events.

And, Caerleon Roman Museum, north Newport. The Romans built a lot of forts in the UK which became towns, but only three fortresses, and only where vitally needed because of Extremely Restive Locals. Caerleon is the biggest of the three, and in the Mabinogion, that's where King Arthur's fortress is - Caerllion. Whole sections of it are remarkably well preserved, including the little amphitheatre, but they built an actual museum over the top of a chunk of it; it's pretty cool.

OH ALSO do you want to go down a coal mine? Big Pit in Blaenavon will take you down an actual literal coal mine. You do not know darkness until you have been down a coal mine. There's also the Rhondda Heritage Centre, which doesn't take you down but has built a coal mine set above ground and last time I went featured one of those rollercoaster simulators.

Leisure stuff: four different escape rooms, if that takes your fancy; technically six but avoid City Mazes and Play At Pins. Cardiff Bay is swanky as fuck (albeit the most expensive part of Wales, which is... still less expensive than London) and includes things like the Millennium Centre, which will have various shows on. Also the Millennium Centre's cabaret area is currently liberally coated with photos of my husband. Oddly oppressive presence. Unsettling.

Cardiff International White Water does white water rafting/tubing, kayaking, that sort of thing - super fun if you aren't terrified of water. Cardiff International Pool and Gym has some fun slides. Techniquest is a big science centre.

Oh, and as ever, if you want to do one of those guided tours there are a billion to choose from in Cardiff. Including a Doctor Who one, if that floats your boat.

Anyway I hope there is something useful in there!

[charlotte-of-wales]

Happy 11th birthday to Prince George of Wales!

Born on 22 July 2013, George Alexander Louis is the eldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales, the eldest grandchild of King Charles Ill and second in the line of succession to the British throne behind his father.

George was christened on 23 October by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace. Prince George spent his first months at his parents' cottage on the grounds of Bodorgan Hall in Anglesey, Wales, before his family relocated to Kensington Palace in 2014.

He embarked on his first royal tour with his parents in April 2014, during which the Cambridges spent three weeks in New Zealand and Australia. In June 2015, George made his first public appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the Trooping the Colour parade. From 2015 to 2017, the family lived at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, where George started his education at the West Acre Montessori School Nursery in January 2016.

George started primary school under the name George Cambridge in September 2017 at the Thomas's School in Battersea. In 2022, the family moved to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park. Since September 2022, George and his siblings, Charlotte and Louis, have attended Lambrook, in Berkshire.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

‘I’ve starred in The Archers for 20 years but could never afford my own farm’

Fame & Fortune: The BBC actor on money mistakes, theatre hecklers, and his 20-year radio stint

Andrew Wincott, who plays Adam Macy on BBC Radio 4’s The Archers, joined the cast in 2003 (Credit: Gary Moyes/The Archers)

Andrew Wincott is an actor, best known for playing Adam in the BBC Radio 4 drama The Archers, which he joined 20 years ago. After studying English and then doing teacher training at Oxford, the 61-year-old taught for two years before going to Webber Douglas drama school, where fellow actors Hugh Bonneville and Rebecca Front were contemporaries.

He then worked on the regional theatre circuit, and later became a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company, before joining the cast of The Archers in 2003. The father of one lives in Clapham, south London.

How did your start in life affect your outlook on money?

My two brothers and I grew up in Oxfordshire where my parents ran a catering business.

But the 1970s were a difficult time for a lot of businesses, so after 10 years enjoying an idyllic life in the countryside, we moved into the flat above the restaurant and cake shop the family owned, Wincott’s, in Banbury.

Work always came first for my parents, so for a number of years we didn’t go away in the summer.

Did you receive pocket money?

Yes, and I spent it on Marvel comics, and later on albums like Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here, which I played endlessly in the mid-70s.

What was your first job?

After leaving school in 1978, before going to university, I worked at the Dragon Prep School in Oxford doing a variety of jobs, one of which involved keeping the headmaster’s drinks cupboard well-stocked, and serving gin and tonics at garden parties.

The G&Ts I poured were notoriously generous. Occasionally I even got to ‘sample’ the headmaster’s gin myself.

But my first proper acting job, which also secured my Equity card [a trade union for the performing arts], came after I gatecrashed an audition in 1987 and landed the part of Alec in Tess of the D’ Urbervilles at the Orchard Theatre Company in Barnstaple, which toured the West Country.

Wincott says starring in The Archers is like having ‘a second family’. Pictured here with Stephen Kennedy and Mairead McKinley (Credit: The Archers/David Burges)

How long did you work in regional theatre for? Was it lucrative?

The best part of a decade, appearing everywhere from Colchester to Perth, and Harrogate to Theatr Clwyd in Wales, doing both Shakespeare and modern plays, often playing leading roles.

Money was minimal – I was paid about £160-£170 a week on my first acting job – but the Equity Touring allowance helped.

Regional theatre allowed me to hone my skills as an actor. Once, I was heckled by an inebriated audience member who loudly greeted every entrance I made in Tess with a cry of “Asshole!”.

However, you just have to stay focused. He was gone by the interval – probably back to the bar. This was in Falmouth, now affectionately rebranded among friends as “Foulmouth”!

Have you experienced any lean times as an actor?

It took me nine months to land my first proper acting job, and until then I was working on the fringe – just earning expenses, or profit sharing if I was lucky.

Most actors have good years and bad years. So you have to set aside money to see you through the lean spells, as well as save enough to pay your tax bill at the end of the year.

How did you land the part of Adam in The Archers?

I actually played a Danish agricultural student for a few months in the 1990s – but then, a decade or so later, I was invited to audition with a dozen other actors for the role of Adam at Pebble Mill in 2003.

I heard nothing for 10 days, but was then asked to come back for a recall [second audition] and was offered the role.

Now, it's like having a second family. This month I’ve been a cast regular for almost exactly 20 years. Providing you aren’t written out (or killed off), there’s a certain security.

Coincidentally, my mother grew up on a Home Farm [a key location in the radio drama] and went to the same school, although not at the same time, as Godfrey Baseley, who created The Archers.

Does The Archers pay enough for you to buy a farm of your own?

The cast only works on The Archers for about one week in the month – we record blocks of episodes several weeks ahead of transmission – and radio pays somewhere between theatre and television.

So I doubt it would pay for a farm in the UK, though it might eventually just pay for a small farmhouse in rural Andalucia, where I enjoy spending time.

So who knows? I might become a Spanish granjero and grow olives one day.

You also find time to record audiobooks and video games?

I’ve recorded hundreds of audiobooks and video games over the last 15 years or so. An audiobook takes days, if not weeks, to prepare and then record in studio.

I’ve voiced everything from The Wind in the Willows to Nineteen Eighty-Four and the classics of Flaubert.

But it's hard work for often little reward. It can be fun creating bizarre voices for elves, orks or extraterrestrials in fantasy books, but the concentration required when the red light is on is second to none.

It's just you, the words on the page and the voices in your imagination.

In addition to his role on the BBC’s longest-running drama, Wincott has recorded hundreds of audiobooks and video games. Pictured with Stephen Kennedy (Credit: BBC/PA)

Have you got a pension?

Yes, I took out an Equity pension through my union years ago and still pay into it. I also have a SIPP.

What’s been your best investment?

The investment I made in going to drama school in the mid-1980s. Doing that gave me classical training as an actor. I probably wouldn’t be in The Archers today without that.

Do you own a property?

Yes, a second floor, two-bedroom flat in a property in Clapham, south London, dating back to the 1900s. I bought it for £60,000 in 1991, though it’s now worth a considerable six-figure sum, I imagine.

It’s an excellent location for getting in and out of town.

Are you a spender or a saver?

Instinctively a saver. As an actor you never know what’s around the corner, and we know if we're working there will be tax to pay. Not to mention investing for the future.

What’s your greatest financial indulgence?

Every now and then, I'll spend a few days in southern Spain, specifically Las Alpujarras – the foothills of the Sierra Nevada – where I can recharge my batteries, or prepare a book for audio in tranquility. I'm learning Spanish now, too.

What has been your worst financial decision?

Buying into the Woodford Equity Investment Fund, as part of my SIPP.

Although Neil Woodford was considered a star fund manager, the fund collapsed and the administrator is now embroiled in collective litigation to recoup losses. Never a dull moment.

Do you donate to charity?

Yes, Art Fund, which facilitates the acquisition of artworks for the nation. Doing so also entitles you to half-price admission to special exhibitions, such as those at the Tate, the Courtauld or the National Gallery.

Do you plan to do a June Spencer (Peggy Archer) and still be in The Archers when you’re 100?

Who knows? The Archers is an extraordinary institution, part of our cultural fabric as a farming nation – it boasts such longevity, too.

Maybe my character will outlive me? I'd like to think he will… before the next generation takes over.

The Archers, Radio 4, weekdays at 7pm; Omnibus edition, Sundays at 10am

Source: The Telegraph

[eppysboys]

Portmeirion

Portmeirion in Gwynedd, North-West Wales, a two-and-a-bit hours drive from Liverpool has a bit of interesting Beatles history attached to it. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 as an Italianate style village. He drew inspiration from a range of architectural styles, from classical and Gothic to Romanesque and Egyptian, to create the unique and eclectic village that stands to this day. (Watch him talk about the village here)

He was an advocate of rural preservation, amenity planning, industrial design and colourful architecture. "I think that Beauty, The Strange Necessity - as Rebecca West once called it - is something that matters profoundly to humanity, and that unless the race of man perishes from the earth, it will increasingly value that Grace, will seek it, and will ultimately attain it." - Sir Clough Williams-Ellis

Brian and George Martin visiting Portmeirion, 1966

Brian Epstein holidayed here often with family and friends, staying frequently until his death in 1967. Portmeirion was an important place of retreat for him. At the start of August 1966, Brian went there to recuperate from a serious bout of glandular fever after his doctor prescribed a quiet vacation to rest and recover from the intense stress he was under, among other physical ailments recieved during the tour.

Brian became good friends with Williams-Ellis. Staying in the Gatehouse cottage, close to the entrance to the village, Brian suggested that the property might benefit from a dining room where he could entertain guests. Sir Clough duly obliged, building a large and ostentatious room not entirely in keeping with the original cottage. Not only that but the fashion conscious Brian once commissioned a renovation of his room at the Gatehouse having complained that there was not enough space for his clothes when he came to stay in his cottage every summer.

Brian's room in the Gatehouse with wardrobes made to his design (photo: Alli Devine)

““He went to convalesce in Portmeirion, North Wales ... There he invited George Martin as a guest. The two men spent much time devising an idea for a new television series on pop music to rival the BBC’s existing Juke Box Jury. The essence of their programme was that a jury had to guess what the chart ratings were going to be each week. The live programme was to be geared to when the charts of the week were revealed, so that only the presenter would know the record positions. Epstein and Martin took the idea to the BBC’s Bill Cotton Jr. ‘Brian was terribly enthusiastic about it,’ says George Martin, ‘But Bill Cotton didn’t think it was worthwhile. He was working on another programme at that time.’ The Epstein/Martin programme had a suggested title of Pick the Pops. 

Brian told his mother from Portmeririon by telephone that he was bored, that a break was essential before his forthcoming American trip. But his boredom and enforced rest had lasted a weekend when a phone call from Nat Weiss forced him back to reality.” The Man Who Made The Beatles, by Ray Coleman

“He went by himself to a luxury hotel in Portmeirion on the North West coast of Wales that overlooked the Sea, and wind-swept beach, as remote a place as you could get from London. Everyone’s adcice was the same: try not to worry.” He had been there only four days before uproar errupted over John’s Jesus comments. Brian left Portmeirion right away to soothe the chaos. 

“At the time, Brian was in Portmeirion, Wales, and he was ill. As the evening went on and I was getting all these calls, I called Portmeirion in the middle of the night and said, 'Something has to be done about this.’ And he said, is it serious?’ And I said, 'I think it’s so serious that you have to come over here.’The next day he flew over and I met him at the airport. The first thing he said to me was, 'How much would it take to cancel the tour?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know. Maybe a million dollars.’ He was so concerned about anything happening to any of the Beatles.” Nat Weiss, In My Life: The Brian Epstein Story by Debbie Geller

Patrick McGoohan chose the village as the setting for his TV series the Prisoner, which started shooting there in 1966 (he had filmed scenes for an earlier series there too, Danger Man, known as Secret Agent in the US). The Beatles were fans of the show, enjoying it's other-worldly setting, intriguing concept and the anti-establishment struggle of the lead character. George mentioned the Prisoner in his book, I Me Mine. Paul has reportedly stayed there, and Mike McCartney has also stayed there and loves it.

George Harrison loved Portmeirion and famously celebrated his 50th birthday in the village in February 1993. George originally wanted to stay in the Watch House, one of the village's most popular cottages which is high up on the cliff side of the upper part of the village. However the Watch House only has a low wall around it so his security men persuaded him to stay in the much safer Peacock Suite of the main hotel, where Brian had entertained dinner guests all those years ago.

It was also during this stay in Portmeirion that George was filmed for several interviews which were used in the The Beatles Anthology and had some pictures taken in the mirror room.

More footage of the place + Beatles history here.

[old-transport]

Milford Haven engine/locomotive shed - Jun 1959 by Frederick McLean Via Flickr: An old photograph taken on a West Wales 'shed bash', of Milford Haven engine/locomotive shed (87Hs) in Jun 1959. The original single track timber shed was opened in 1863 by the Milford Railway then replaced in 1890 by a single track brick built shed. The line was absorbed by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1896, the shed was closed by British Railways (BR) in Dec 1962 and subsequently demolished. This is in a rail enthusiast old photo album, there is nothing on the photo reverse but the page is annotated "West Wales Tour, Milford Haven Shed, Two engines on - 3639 & 3654, 7 Jun 1959". Unfortunately the album owner's name is not known. Old/new overhead maps view:- maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16.6&lat=5... Nos. 3639 and 3654 were C. Collett designed '5700 class' 0-6-0PT engines, built at the Swindon Works and new to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in late 1939. In 1948 the railways were nationalised, GWR becoming British Railways (BR) Western Region, 3639 was withdrawn from service in Jan 1963 (scrapped Sep 1963) and 3654 withdrawn in Aug 1965 (scrapped Feb 1967). If there are any errors in the above description please let me know. Thanks. 📷 Any photograph I post on Flickr is an original in my possession, nothing is ever copied/downloaded from another location. 📷 -------------------------------------------------

[aroundtheworldin80playspod]

EdinBooOoorgh! (Stop 4: Edinburgh)

Episode 4: Edinburgh – Things are getting spooky in Scotland this week as Lizzie and Alfie get to know the three ghosts who haunt Edinburgh’s famous Festival Theatre. Plus, the gang return a favour to a Queen with a bus tour of Edinburgh’s superb architecture.

***

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[seabreeze2022]

Danube River Cruise, Part 4

Still in Budapest

Still doing walk about. So much to see and do in Budapest. This is their “Funnel Cake.” This is common street fare.

It is dough wrapped around a metal form and then turned over a charcoal fire. As it cooks it is periodically moved closer to the heat. Two different shapes. The one becomes a cone and can have ice cream placed in it. Mine was the “classic”, which is tube shaped, with Nutella chocolate smeared on the inside. They forgot the coconut on the outside. I think they all go through a sugar bath after cooking.

We were looking for this “Street Market” which was next door to the little food truck stop where I bought the funnel cake. The Street Market was not a Farmers market which we were expecting. Save your money on a “Bad acid trip” and visit this place.

Multiple bars and a couple of open air shops. Two floors of what you would expect to see in an opium den. A cross between Bourbon Street and Key West. I am sure it is wild at night.

This is the “Great Synagogue” in the Jewish District. Surprisingly we only saw a handful of Hasidic Jews in the district. Second largest synagogue in Europe. Lots of history and not all good. It did survive WW 2 fairly unscathed. But its people did not.

This is inside with our English speaking guide giving his talk. Very ornate. All men had to wear a yamaka. So they gave us a paper yamaka with a bobby pin. With my short hair, I more or less balanced it in place and held it on when outside in the wind. The bald guy really had problems.

This is a reminder of the Jewish hostages held in Palestine. We have seen much graffiti starting in Zurich and here of “Free Palestine” with some fighting back by the Jews. It has now been a little over a year of captivity for the hostages.

The Jewish faith forbids bodies to be buried near the synagogue. Yet there are over 2,000 bodies buried in the courtyard here. All were killed and left in the street at the end of the WW 2. Allied forces quickly buried these here in mass graves. Only half have been identified. It is also forbidden in the Jewish faith to exhume or move a body. So they are a grim reminder of what has transpired in the past.

From the Jewish synagogue we visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral. I need to specify it is St. Stephen Cathedral in Budapest. We visited several others with the same name in different cities. The largest Cathedral in Budapest. I would like to formally post my objection to the building of such tall Cathedrals. I can not get them in the photograph without it warping the image. I also have to strain my neck to see the spires and the ceilings inside.

Pictures just do not do these houses of worship justice. So much symbolism and artistry everywhere.

The Cathedral is named after King Stephen founder of the state. He died in 1038 and was later Canonized.

Before heading back we stopped by for a pint of Guinness. Which reminds of us Neil and Beverly and our trip through Anglesey, Wales.

Having a traditional Hungarian dish of pork knuckle. I can highly recommend it for meat eaters in the crowd.

Desert of caramelized strudel.

This is the after dinner drink of the local moonshine “Palinka”, no open flames please.

Next morning we toured the Parliament Building. It is so big you can not get it all in the photograph from street level. You will see the whole thing lit up when we depart on the ship the next night.

This is looking back at the front door. Unfortunately there are very few places where we can take photos inside. We saw the gold Crown studded with gems, protected by two soldiers at all times.

This is equivalent to the Senate floor. With students receiving a lecture at the time.

This is a monument of 60 pairs of shoes. Symbols of the 15,000-20,000 Jews who were required to remove their shoes, prior to being shot and their bodies dumped in the Danube. This happened during 4 months in WW 2. The shoes were considered valuable at the time.

After checking out of the “Hampton by Hilton” we took the subway to the ship. Budapest boasts about it being the second oldest electrified subway in Europe, opening in 1896. The strange thing is after buying your very small ticket above ground and riding the subway. It is not until you try to leave that you have to find the very small paper ticket in one of many pockets. Two very tough looking women, probably prior East German border guards, caught the women behind us.

We find our ship Avalon Illumination (warned: don’t call it a boat) at Dock 6. The cruise line is Avalon, which has been in tourism for 100 years. They supply us with an app that gives us all the information we need. Including the time and quickest way to find the ship if we are walking around town.

This is our sea cabin. We drop our bags and head back into the city.

We cruise through the large market two blocks away. Food stalls are on the first floor. Souvenirs and such on the upper floor. I buy some pork rinds.

Nancy finds a man with a chicken. He would not answer which came first, the chicken or the egg.

These are small pastries filled with different fillings. Walnut paste was the classic. It was a bit dry but very popular. The meat shop next door had every part of a duck on display.

This shows just how big the market is. So many people selling the same souvenirs or food, you wonder how they survive.

Back to the ship for our first night onboard. We get our safety brief and meet the Captain and crew. In an emergency we are all supposed to meet on the top deck. The Danube is so shallow there is a good chance the boat would sink to the bottom and we would still be 10 feet above the water drinking our beer and wine.

Nancy and I passed up the tours that the ship set up since we had already toured the city for two days. Instead we did a walking tour with a local woman who was passionate about history. The walking tours can really get into the specifics. This courtyard had just about all the architecture styles: Baroque, Gothic, neoclassical and neo-ugly. The far building was bombed and replaced with bland architecture, which our guide aptly labeled as neo-ugly.

This is the last day of us walking 5-7 miles a day with quick stops by the hotel room. Tours on the cruise are much less. Definitely trying to walk off as many calories as we can. So much to eat and see!

This is the “Chain bridge.” The chain refers to the links between the vertical columns. The chains are like huge bicycle chain links. Very ornate and the only bridge from Buda to Pest for years. Originally open in 1849 and one of the largest bridges in the world at the time. The bridge was destroyed by retreating Germans in 1945 and reopened 1949.

Back to the ship for our embarkation at 5:30 and sailing upstream to Vilshofen, Austria.

They dock up to 3 boats side by side. This is the bow of a second ship tied along side. We left first. So they untie from us and they move back and out a little. Then we untie from the shore, and pull ahead. They immediately retie to shore at the same dock. These guys make it look easy.

[world-of-wales]

THE PRINCE DIARIES ♔

25 APRIL 2024 || WEST MIDLANDS (2/3) : WOODGATE VALLEY URBAN FARM

The Prince of Wales visited Woodgate Valley Urban Farm, a city farm dedicated to supportingchildren and young people struggling to access education and those experiencing mental health challenges. Woodgate Valley Urban Farm runs a range therapeutic programmes for children involving children and nature. Based on a six-acre site of farm, woodlands and orchards, it is home to a variety of animals including Grey Face Dartmoor Sheep. Participants are provided one-to-one support whilst on-site, and results have shown that children regularly visiting the farm see a marked improvement in their mental health and wellbeing. During his visit, William met staff and volunteers and was taken on a tour of the grounds. He heard first-hand about the work they do with children and joined a group of participants in some of their regular programmed activities including taking care of animals.

[mattyhealythe1975]

How I'm feeling after they added loads more dates for the uk tour but none in Wales,Ireland or South West England

[darknesmoth]

Bucket list.

Go to the Bahamas.🇧🇸

Go To Atlantis, Bahamas.🇧🇸

Go to Argentina.🇦🇷

Go to Wales.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Go to Thailand.🇹🇭

Go to Ukraine. 🇺🇦

Go to Italy.🇮🇹

Go to Venice, Italy.🇮🇹

Go to Greece.🇬🇷

Go to Indonesia.🇮🇩

Go to Australia.🇦🇺

Go to India.🇮🇳

Go to Mali.🇲🇱

Go to Ireland.🇮🇪

Go to Scotland.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Go to England.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Go to France.🇫🇷

Go to Brazil.🇧🇷

Go to Egypt?🇪🇬

Go to Canada.🇨🇦

Go to Taiwan.🇹🇼

Go to Iceland.🇮🇸

Go on a Cruise.🛳️

Get out and explore the world.🌎

Go to Mississippi?🌶️

Go to Louisiana.🥂

Go to New Orleans.🎵

Go back to Martha Vineyard.🍇

Go back to The Outer Banks.🐟

Go to a convention.🏪

Go do Mischief Night in October.😏

Go to a night out on the town.🌃

Go back to California.🌤️

Go Surfing.🏄🏻

Go on a Tropical Island.🏝️

Go to Hawaii.🌺

Go to Alaska.🐻‍❄️

Go to The Pine Barrens in New Jersey.🦀

See a Tornado.🌪️

See a Meteor Shower.☄️

Go to Chernobyl, Ukraine.🇺🇦

Go to Pripyat, Ukraine.🇺🇦

See a Water Spout.🌪️

Go to Jamaica.🇯🇲

Gain Superpowers.🦹🏻

See the Dancing Lights.🌌

Go to Norway.🇳🇴

Go to Sweden.🇸🇪

Go to Papua New Guinea.🇵🇬

Go to Finland.🇫🇮

Go to Peru.🇵🇪

Go to Wyoming.🏔️

Go to The Grand Tetons/ClawTooth Mountain.🏔️

Go to South Carolina? 🌊

Go to Lamai Beach Road, Koh Samui, Thailand.🇹🇭

Go To Point Pleasant, West Virginia.🦋

Go back to Miami, Florida.🌸

Go To Sodor.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Get Abducted By Aliens.👽

Go Out of The Country.🌍

Go To Mexico.🇲🇽

See A Dust Tornado.🌪️

Go To Space.🛸

Go On Cruise. 🚢

Go To Belize. 🇧🇿

Go To Honduras. 🇭🇳

Visit Mayan Ruins. 🏚️

Visit Inca Ruins. 🏚️

Visit Aztec Ruins. 🏚️

Go Snorkeling. 🤿

Take A Tour Of A Place. ⛲️

Teleport Into A Cartoon. 🖥️