A painting at last

From time to time I have been known to mutter darkly about the hopelessness of trying to paint, in the small room that I call my “den”, during what are laughingly known as daylight hours in this part of the planet, especially in the winter. I have experienced a great deal of difficulty seeing colours correctly and then matching them in oil paint, and have found those aspects of painting completely impossible  by artificial light. As a result of all this I have made hardly any effort to paint during the past three or four months.
I have tried ordinary daylight bulbs as sold in art and craft shops but to no avail. A couple of years ago we started to install the new-fangled energy saving bulbs throughout our house and I began to wonder then whether I would ever find, or afford for that matter, energy-saving lighting which was also balanced for noon daylight.

A couple of weeks ago I ran a search on Google and found what seemed to be the ideal solution. Androv Medical produce a range of bulbs which include what they describe as full spectrum ionisong bulbs, which are also low energy bulbs and for which they claim a long life. Full details can be found on their website. All I will say here is that I fitted two 20 watt bulbs (equivalent to 90 watt each in old type bulbs) in our living/dining room and two 32 watt (equivalent to 130 watt old bulbs) in my “den” where I paint. Of the latter, one is in the main ceiling light and the other in a modified floodlight on its own tall stand that can be used to light objects being painted. So now I have not only ample light but also light equivalent to noon daylight (6,000K). Our bulbs fit the standard B22 bayonet fittings (they are also available for screw fittings)  and being low energy they are also saving both my money and the planet. 

 

Yesterday I put the lights to the test. I wanted to avoid dawdling over the painting but, instead, to finish it, no matter what, by bedtime, having started it in the late afternoon. Many an earlier painting, unfinished by bedtime, has waited days and weeks for the time, suitable opportunity, right frame of mind or whatever and was never finished. This year I intend to finish more paintings, even if they are not very good. Usually, my motivation to paint any particular subject is a bit shortlived, so unless I finish the painting quickly I am in danger of losing interest in it.
This was only the first trial but the bulbs have been a big success. Not only have they enabled me to paint, starting in otherwise dull daylight and finishing (after interruptions for a meal and a couple of TV shows) around 11pm, but they also produce great light by which to take photographs with my digital camera. They are not exactly cheap but if they last anywhere near as long as expected, their cost will have been negligible.

Preserving the records

Recent discussions about the decline in handwriting have highlighted a disturbing thought, namely, can digital equipment and media provide a reliable means of long-term storage for our written records, photographs and music? If my experiences have been anything to go by then the answer is no. 
My first computers were Amstrad PCWs which stored everything on removable floppy discs. Just to be awkward, these were not the same discs as used in “IBM-compatible PCs” so that when I upgraded eventually to a Dell PC it was necessary to use a special cable and software to transfer all my text discs from PCW to Dell, and then import them into Microsoft Word. Those were the days when “state of the art” so far as the general public were concerned amounted to 100mb hard drives, Windows 3.1 and the WWW was for a small minority of “anoraks”.
Now, apparently, PC floppies are obsolete though I have still a couple of dozen unused. Anticipating this, I put all my back-up storage on to CDs. Then the trouble began. Despite careful storage some CDs later proved unreadable (even in the machine on which they had been recorded). Later CD drives failed to read CDs made on earlier drives and so on. Add to this major computer/hard drive breakdowns (three in 20 years) – precisely the reasons for making back-up discs in the first place – and, one way or another I lost hundreds of digital photos a few years ago and still more files in 2006.
Fortunately, most of the really important photos and text files pre-dated the advent of home computers and are safe still in their original paper form. Now, I use a one-year-old laptop and have everything important backed up on CDs and on a less than one-year-old USB hard drive. I am reasonably confident that I will not suffer major losses of computer content during the next few years but that is not the point.

The point is that I have family photos and other documents (for example) dating back into the 19th Century mostly in their original form. They, at least, could well last for another couple of centuries or more. However, in view of the ever more widespread use of digital equipment and storage media, how can today’s text documents, photos (and music files) be stored securely for the benefit of the next four or five (or more) generations? Or are we expected to become a society which is happy to discard anything that is more than a year or two old, including all traces of our own day to day history?

To see the sea

For some time my daughter, Jennie, and I have been wanting to see what the shoreline looks like to the east of Cardiff Bay in the Severn estuary. The opportunity came yesterday when we set out on a walk, of uncertain length, in sunny, mild weather. We were accompanied by grandson Mk II (normally referred to as “Cheeky” on Jennie’s blog) who is not quite five years old but who walked most of the way with us and seemed to enjoy every minute as much as we did and we adopted a fairly slow pace for his sake.

Tredelerch Park, Cardiff. It will be interesting to see this in a couple of months when all the new foliage is growing.

 It wasn’t the prettiest of walks although it started quite well when we left the houses behind and walked past a large sports ground, over a railway bridge and into Tredelerch Park. Here a large lake supports dozens of coots and mallards and a pair of swans. There were other walkers in the park, some of them walking dogs, but it was quiet and a pleasant open space. From the park’s small car park we crossed a couple of roads at the roundabout next to the main entrance of the Lamby Road recycling centre and then walked a short distance along Wentloog Avenue before turning off on a footpath.
If the rest of the walk lacked picturesqueness it must be said that it had a certain character, offering for much of its length a panoramic view of a major landfill site and recycling centre, separated from our path by a reen. This is a man-made waterway which acts as a drain. These are numerous in the low-lying coastal area between Cardiff and Newport. Unlike many of the others that I have seen on my cycling excursions, this reen appeared to be  almost totally devoid of any form of life. Apart from two swans that we saw right at the beginning (and which may have been the offspring of the pair on the lake, driven away to make their own home somewhere else) there was no sign of living creatures.
After a long and slightly winding stroll we climbed on to the sea wall alongside the Severn, which is a few miles wide at this point, and waved at England on the other side. I don’t think anyone waved back. They probably had better things to do in England.

Looking across the wide Severn Estuary towards Weston-Super-Mare. Flat Holm island is just visible on the right.

The sea wall was like a railway embankment minus the railway. I believe that there are plans to complete a public footpath all the way around the coast of Wales within the next two or three years. I am not holding my breath but at least this sea wall will provide a fine base for such a footpath and I hope that those responsible for the development will have the vision to make it multi-purpose. There is adequate space for cyclists as well.

Cardiff from the sea wall at Rumney. Part of the Millenium Stadium can be seen near the middle of the picture and Capital Tower is to the right of the righthand pylon.

 The tide was out so that all we could see was several hundred yards of mud flats with the sea sparkling under the bright sun in the distance. After taking a few photographs it was time to go home.

Cardiff Bay Vintage and Classic

The Millenium Centre in Cardiff Bay provided a dramatic backdrop to a display of around 60 vintage and classic cars on August 10th. The event, which was expected to take place between noon and 4pm, was intended to include classic motor boats in the bay but I saw little evidence of these during the first hour. The weather was blustery with a constant threat of showers and the water in the bay was choppy, not very inviting conditions for potential exhibitors. Perhaps this also explained the modest numbers of cars present where double that number could have been accommodated easily.

I must admit that where boats are concerned, my interest has always been with sail rather than motor, so on this occasion I concentrated on the cars. It was disappointing to note that no information about the cars was displayed on several of them. If old car enthusiasts hope to encourage new recruits from among young people in particular then they must be willing to display information explaining what the car is and what is significant about it. This small niggle apart, it was an impressive display in terms of quality and variety and it certainly made my journey worthwhile. 

  

 

Summer at last

It is a bit irritating when a two-month-old bicycle starts to squeak though I suppose it has to be expected! It started two or three outings ago and it is now producing geriatric sound effects to rival even my best efforts as I drag myself out of my favourite armchair. I exaggerate of course. In the latter case I might creak a bit but it is the armchair that provides the sound effects.

It was always my intention to take the bike back to my chosen Cardiff bike shop for some after-sales service after a few weeks. The Shimano gear change mechanism needs some fine tuning and now I can add wheel servicing to the list. Apparently the spokes on the front wheel should each produce the same note when plucked like a guitar string. Mine don’t. Starting at random and plucking in a clockwise direction I was getting something quite close to the National Anthem. So far as I know there is no piano tuner near here so it will have to be the bike shop, which is several miles away across Cardiff. 

I nearly abandoned the Sunday ride this week because it was so hot, even at 10am. Then I nearly shortened it to spare the creaking spokes any further distress. Then I did the full ride anyway as I couldn’t resist the chance to be among views like the one above for an hour or so.  

This really is slow cycling at its best, stopping frequently to take a quick sip from the water bottle, snap a picture or two and then move on in a very leisurely fashion. The cattle above surprised me because they seemed quite content to bake in the middle of their field with no shade at all and I did wonder what they were finding to eat.

The reeds lining the reens were very much in flower today and even more of a visual obstacle than usual but I spotted a patch of white through a gap and kept going for a while. I was not keen to surprise a couple of adult swans who were protecting at least half-a-dozen signets. Some 50-60 yards further on a large gap in the reeds enabled me to take a long-range hand-held telephoto shot, not the sharpest picture I have ever taken but it conveys the same message. They look a bit odd, semi-submerged in a thick green soup. It is algae.

There were lots of cyclists about today, including one very large group who were obviously on a club outing. I noted a tendency for one of my theories to be confirmed – that the number of greetings/waves received or acknowledged seems to vary in inverse proportion to the numbers of cyclists in the group.  

I suspect that some of my visitors are interested in other non-motorised modes of transport as well as cycling – so I photographed these other non-motorised modes of transport especially for them.

There are still places that I want to see in the area that I have been exploring these past few weeks and I will return. I am looking forward to watching how it all changes with the seasons. In the meantime a change of scenery is needed because I ought to tackle more challenging rides.  

 

Blogging, cycling, fitness etc.

I forgot to celebrate when this blog passed the 1,000 views ten days or so ago (now around 1,330) so a Thank You is overdue to everyone who has visited and suffered my inconsequential mutterings and an extra Thank You to all who have been so impressed by my sheer cheek that they have put links to http://justwilliams.wordpress.com on their own blogs.

So why do I blog? Well, until a few weeks ago I had mixed feelings about it and would have replied that it is an excuse to write, which is something I enjoy doing because it makes me concentrate and marshall my thoughts, and there is just an outside chance that someone else might read and even respond to my ramblings. Now I have that excuse plus confirmation that it actually works. Just as I am a regular visitor (almost daily in some cases) to many of the other blogs linked here, I too have the pleasure of being visited and of receiving comments. Who knows how this might develop, given the growing popularity of cycling, or where it might go. But like cycling itself, the destination is not necessarily the important thing. What matters is to enjoy the journey.

As for my cycling, progress is being made. I am much more confident and in control than I felt just six weeks ago and while I arrive home tired after a typical ride, I feel so much better for having made the effort. I am slowly getting fitter and certainly have the weight under control. Even the fact that the weight has remained steady these past few weeks seems a good indication because I must have built or at least strengthened muscle (which is heavier than fat) and must therefore have lost a corresponding amount of fat – and trousers which were a perfect fit only weeks ago are now definitely loose. So if you are thinking about taking up cycling to improve health and fitness you can safely assume that I think it is a good idea, with the usual proviso that it would be wise to consult your doctor first if you have any health issues that raise doubts about the wisdom of cycling.

I had my usual mid-week ride again on Wednesday, from St Mellons to Marshfield, up the hill through Castleton and home again along the Newport road.  It was uneventful except that when I stopped to consult a map I had company again. This time it was a cyclist whose bike was in the back of his car. He was heading towards one of his favourite cycling places on the coast but had taken an unfamiliar route and needed directions. It was soon obvious that he knew the coastal area rather well and I will be extending a Sunday ride soon to go and have a look.

The sign said “Traffic Calming Ahead”. The hill in the picture above followed shortly afterwards and it certainly calmed me. I don’t know what the gradient was but I can manage that hill without getting off the saddle. My method on hills is to drop down through the gears early and pedal fast on a light load for as long as possible. If I find it too hard to keep going while remaining firmly in the saddle, then it is time to walk. There is no hurry.

This is Newport road at Castleton, looking towards Cardiff.  Though it is a major dual carriageway the traffic has been light between 11am and 3pm and the cycling has been quite enjoyable. 

My Raleigh Oakland having a rest before setting off along Newport Road. Whether cycling, motoring or even walking I have developed a new habit recently of looking to see what potential exists for better cycling facilities. Perhaps it is a bit tough on the Welsh Assembly Government, and on our esteemed local authority here in Cardiff, but I have only one fairly comprehensive standard by which to measure local progress towards a green and bike-friendly environment. That is the video by Professor John Pucher that was widely publicised a few weeks ago.

More rides

It doesn’t happen often but when I oversleep I tend to wake up starving and feeling awful. Last Wednesday I overslept by almost an hour, awoke feeling remarkably good and looked out on blazing sunshine and a blue sky. I needed no further encouragement to get out on the bike and try out my new saddle and a new local route.

There was time for just a short ride of about 5-6 miles. I cannot be sure of distances just yet because I managed to mess up the settings on my bicycle computer recently and have not yet succeeded in sorting it. The route was out of the east side of Cardiff, through St Mellons, to Marshfield and then a left turn towards the Newport Road and back along that road to my home. The hardest part of the route was the climb through Castleton to the junction with Newport Road.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Brooks saddle will need to become worn in to suit my shape etc. just like new leather shoes, and I expected it to be quite uncomfortable at first but it was better than the original saddle had ever been. I needed to adjust its position and  I stopped to do this on Newport Road. Two things happened on this road that set me thinking. First, when I stopped to adjust the saddle, another cyclist appeared and pulled up behind me, offering to help get me going again. What a kind thought!

Secondly, a bit further along the road I was anticipating a long climb, which ended shortly after a bus stop. A few weeks ago that slight hill had challenged me severely on one of my first rides and I clearly remember thinking that the queue at the bus stop had a perfect view of this red-faced, panting derelict and they probably thought that I ought to give up cycling forthwith, while I still had any choice in the matter. This time I was still looking for the hill as I passed the bus stop with complete ease. Needless to say, this time there was no queue. 

On Sunday I had my longer ride as usual but alone. It totalled about 12 miles. The route starts with a long downhill run along the residential Greenway Road, which must have one of the poorest surfaces in the district from the cyclists’ point of view but still enjoys the status of “Advisory Route” on the Cardiff cycling map. Then Mardy Road leads to Wentloog Avenue which passes through a semi-rural, semi industrial landscape which is neither one thing nor the other. It is a good, wide road with roundabouts and access to new-looking industrial areas and large tracts of undeveloped land. It would all look so promising were it not for various predictions concerning rising sea levels.

Having passed a vehicle dismantlers premises on the left and a scruffy looking caravan site on my right, and survived a long straight section of the wide road on which young boys were racing sulkies (pony carts comprising a frame with a seat on two wheels) flat out along both sides of the road at the same time, to the consternation of the few car drivers that were around at the time, I reached a more rural part of the ride. Now the ride took me past a few pretty cottages and where there were wide grass verges some were populated by tethered ponies.

There were very few cars about and only two other cyclists so far. The first one waved. The second one ignored me completely, no doubt because he was busily practising to be the next winner of the Tour de France.

The scene above is more typical. The area is drained by deep channels called reens which are numerous and run alongside many of the roads on my routes. All seem to have steep banks which are densely populated with reeds, sedges or rushes or all three perhaps. One day I will remember to take my Observers book with me and attempt an identification or two. And this friendly family group of cyclists came along just in time to complete my picture – in which the reen can be seen (covered in duckweed) running diagonally from the bottom left corner.

This is the vegetation which can be found on both sides of the reens. It is often 5-6 feet high. 

The Cardiff to London railway slices through the area and provides the straightest line on the map before curving around towards Newport. The few road bridges each provide a short sharp hill and great views all round. It was a good day for photographs. This train came right on cue as I stopped on a bridge for a rest.

 

Henry the Tortoise

Henry has been outside, day and night, for about a week now  (May 7th) and is enjoying the run of the entire garden for the first time in around twenty years. We arrived here in the winter when Henry was in hibernation still and since then the whole garden has been “tortoise-proofed” so that he cannot get trapped in small spaces and it is surrounded by walls so he has no chance of escape, especially as he doesn’t have a motorbike.

The space to which he has access includes a  small lawn with surrounding borders containing trees and shrubs, and an equal area of paving on various levels. It is amazing how many nooks and crannies are created by trees and shrubs and other features and when Henry couldn’t be found a few nights ago we were almost inclined to believe that he had discovered a way out, though we knew it was impossible. Sunshine the next day brought him out on to the lawn again, totally oblivious to our overnight anxiety – in fact I am sure that he was gazing around as we approached, whistling softly and with a “What me?” expression on his face.

 

We have discovered already that he has a talent for climbing and a fine sense of balance. Though the heights involved are not great, they are impressive in relation to Henry’s size but he seems less able to work out how to climb down again. So I have modified some features of the garden to allow him to climb safely while also providing an easy descent. 

 

There are quite a lot of myths and misunderstandings about tortoises. Information is available on the web and the following links would be good places to start: 

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/faq.html#numbers

http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/

We are enjoying a particularly warm spell of weather at the moment with mild nights. However, this could change quite abruptly so the weather forecasts are being watched for any indications of sudden cooling, especially at night. Henry’s indoor accomodation remains on standby just in case there is any risk of frost over the next few weeks (unlikely as it may seem).