2021 in photos

As we hit 2022 I thought it would be fun to post a photo I've taken from each of the last 12 months. These are far and away from my best shots of the year, and most if not all were either taken using or uploaded to my iPhone rather than using my "proper" cameras, but they tell a story.

January 2021

We didn't see much snow last year - this was about as good as it got, and the car not going anywhere as we were all in lockdown!

February 2021

Still in lockdown, so getting out and about largely meant walking from home. On this walk in late February in the local area, the daffodils were in full bloom.

March 2021

Lockdown is easing, but we still go for regular local walks anyway lockdown or not. It's fascinating what you can miss that's right under your nose. These stones along the coast path near Sully have nods to all sorts of "local" stuff.

April 2021

April saw us on a family walk in north Cardiff starting from one of the most iconic buildings of the area, Castell Coch. Worth a visit, even if you just park up and walk in the local woods as we did.

May 2021

In May we eventually managed to get away for our first proper break for many months on a stay in North Wales, near Caernarfon. Here's a shot of the famous Italianate village, Portmeirion, built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis with the Snowdon range in the background.

June 2021

June sees us able to start enjoying our new patio & pergola - we'd been planning to have this done for years, and finally got around to it in late spring (or rather we got someone in to do it for us!). Cheating rather, there are two photos here for June with the before and after photos speaking for themselves.

July 2021

A long time friend, Pete Colley, passed away earlier in the year from cancer. I'd known Pete for nearly 30 years, primarily through cricket and skittling. Pete was one of those people who was a true legend in "The Village" (Dinas Powys), know by or to nearly everyone. Together with his family, the cricket club held a memorial match to remember him and raise funds for Marie Curie Wales. It was of course, fabulously attended, and we all raised a glass, or rather several to our good friend. 

Another "doubler" for you.

August 2021

August, and the Covid restrictions have eased sufficiently to allow people to go on holiday. We enjoyed our annual extended family holiday in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, some camping, some in caravans and some (us) in a holiday cottage. Not sure how many there were altogether - getting on for 20! Very relaxing, quite chilled and lots of walking around the beautiful coast path. This shot is of Solva (left) and the Gwadn valley (right), with one of my favourite places in the world to sit and wonder, the Gribyn centre.

September 2021

We stay in Pembrokeshire for September's photo, although this was taken a few weeks after our family holiday, as Mrs H and I enjoyed a sneaky short break to Milford Haven. The weather was actually better than in August, and it was really warm, with shorts and t shirts all the way as we had a lovely relaxing couple of days. This photo is of the stunning Barafundle Bay.

Narrowly missing out this month were photos of a trip to Margam Park, and a visit to the RHS Malvern Autumn show with friends on the day the petrol crisis really started to bite.

October 2021

There were many contenders for October's photo. Local walks around Barry, Cardiff Bay and Dyffryn Gardens, another short break to Bournemouth and more, but it goes to my favourite shot of the year, sunset at Barry Island, looking down the Bristol Channel as a container ship makes its way to Avonmouth. This is a low res version, you can see a better shot and many of my other photos on my Flickr feed.

November 2021

Again, many contenders for this month's shot, but the winner is a family group shot. We try to get away in the autumn with a big family group, but obviously Covid has scuppered the last couple of years. We managed it this year and went to North Devon, near Ilfracombe. Lots of walks, cake and beer.

December 2021

Ah.....there you all were expecting a Christmassy photo for December, but it's not. Playing golf (or trying to) is something I've been enjoying since retiring. I play at the Vale Resort in the Vale of Glamorgan. To prove the sun does actually shine in December sometimes, here's a couple of my regular playing partners about to hit into the 18th green on the Lakes course. It's a good job I got some golf balls for Christmas, as there are quite a few of mine in that lake....

I hope you enjoyed these photos. You can follow and see more on any of the feeds below.

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Just an ordinary day

It’s barely after 9am on a very warm day in South Wales. The Met office yesterday issued for the very first time a severe heat warning covering much of the UK including this neck of the woods. Frankly, they’re a bit late - it’s been rostio here for a few days, knocking 30°.

Why is it that us British bemoan the cold and wet of our climate, only to moan like buggery as soon as it gets a bit Mediterranean like?

Anyway, no golf today (normally play on a Tuesday). Nevertheless, up with the lark, or at least when my wife got up to go to work at 7am. Breakfast on the patio (porridge - on a day like this 😂). Then watered the garden, fed the cat (again), emptied the dishwasher, changed a couple of plug sockets (been decorating you see), and brought the green waste bags in from the road. The other 5 recycling bags/bins won’t be emptied until about  2pm. Also sent a couple of emails in my role as cricket club Secretary. Just caught up on my social media feeds as well, although why I bother I don’t know. It’s either covidiots or sensible (ish) people retweeting or moaning about covidiots. 

Oh, and I’ve had a grump about next doors dogs, which bark incessantly driving me nutty. 

Just an ordinary day, and it’s only 9.20am. 

Pembrokeshire - stunning as always

Well we finally got away in this annus horibilis that is 2020. A week away in a cottage with our two (adult) children, and a posse of family/friends just down the road on a campsite (21 of us over the first weekend, plus an assortment of dogs), just outside St David's, the smallest city in the UK.

This area has to be one of our favourite places. I've blogged about it before many times. And this year, despite the fact in my 45th year of visiting I've never see it so busy with "staycationers" it was as stunning as ever. We were blessed with several really warm days, although most days it was a tad misty first thing.

We beached, we swam, we went on a boat trip, we BBQ'd, we ate out, body-boarded, we had a bonfire on the beach and we walked. We saw seals, bats, raptors, porpoises, kingfishers, herons, kittiwakes, fulmars, shags and rabbits. We ate chips, drank beer and licked delicious Pembrokeshire ice creams. But most of we just enjoyed the fabulous coastal scenery that this westernmost part of Wales has to offer. Below, are just a few examples of the beauty I managed to capture.

It was a wonderful holiday. Who needs to go abroad anyway?

The southern (quieter end) of Whitesands beach

Sunset from our cottage garden

Rock arch on Ramsey island

Heather and gorse and calm seas near Porthlysgi on the Treginnis penninsula

The famous Blue Pool at Abereiddy - rarely seen without people!

Sunset at Abereiddy

April 17th: Rain, pincushions, death and football

Well the weather's turned (hopefully only briefly), and sunshine has given way to rain, the first rainfall in these parts for getting on for four weeks or so (bar one short overnight shower). That means a couple of things.

• Firstly, I'm not doing any more gardening. That can wait until the rain stops, although the garden  and my fledgling crops will be thankful for the precipitation as my clay based soil has set like concrete and opened up big cracks.
• Secondly, I wonder if the inclement weather will see fewer people at the shops - especially as over the last few weeks people have been standing out in the sunshine. If you go today you'll need an umbrella.
• Thirdly, whilst I can, and have frequently walked/hiked in the rain, I think I'll just stay at home today and have a day off the daily walk, or jump on the exercise bike for half an hour (I did the latter).

I did get out today, but it was in the car. I was out early to the surgery for my (currently two weekly) blood test. However, my veins weren't playing today despite me having drunk copies amounts of fluid yesterday and a couple of pints of water before I went to the surgery this morning, but despite three valiant tries, I'll need to go back on Monday for another go.

As the death toll from/with coronavirus continues to rise, I suppose it's inevitable that more people who were well known during my childhood succumb - in some cases just because it was their time, but others have been tragically hastened to an earlier than planned audience with St Peter due to coronavirus.

Today it was reported that Leeds footballing legend and hard man Norman "Bites Yer Legs" Hunter" has died after contracting coronavirus. Now I've now been a die hard Cardiff City fan many years, so whisper it very quietly, but for a brief time between the ages of about 10-12 before I knew better, and when I lived in rural Lincolnshire I, and most of my childhood peers supported Leeds. We never actually went to games - too far away and the nearest club of any substance was Boston United! I can still remember most of the squad of the early 70's off the top of my head including the likes of left back Terry Cooper, Welshman Terry Yorath, captain Billy Bremner, Peter Lorimer (reckoned to have the hardest shot in football at the time), Allan Clarke, Mick Jones (who famously played in a cup final with a broken arm), Jack Charlton and many others. Norman Hunter was a renowned hard tacking centre back who left his stud marks on may an opposition player when the game was still considered a contact sport.

I also recall the Leeds kit of the era had little tags with the players numbers on that went on their socks - something that seems to have been fairly unique and a passing fad. Anyway, my flirtation with Leeds was brief before succumbing to the lure of the then all powerful Liverpool, led by an equally ferocious Tommy Smith and starring the likes of Ray Clemence, Steve Heighway, Emlyn Hughes, Ray Kennedy and of course Kevin Keegan and John Toshack amongst others. In my later teens I lost a bit of interest in football before the family moved to Wales in 1979. I came to Cardiff to study nursing in 1980 and have lived in the area ever since. It wasn't until about the mid 80's when through some friends I started attending a few Cardiff City matches, although wasn't really a regular until the late 90's. In 1999 when my son was 5 years old I started taking him, and the following season we both became season ticket holders and have been ever since, and we were joined by my daughter a few years ago.

Leeds United players with sock tags

My son and I in 2002. Blimey I looked young then...

And a slightly later one, and perhaps one of my favourite photos (and I've got about 25,000 in my library -  not all Cardiff City ones I hasten to add), my son and daughter celebrating a goal against Manchester City on 25th August 2013 in a famous 3-2 win. This picture needs no caption.

Until tomorrow....

#bluebirds
#isolationlife
#stayhomesavelives