Speedy Signage

After much enquiry, I decided on a slate sign that I probably do not need to drill new holes.  I placed the order and it turned up the next day.  It fits exactly and I am really happy with it!

Christmas Germs

I might have dodged the bullet from the work Christmas party, I may not be so lucky with the family gatherings, especially when people are constantly coughing, and we are all in a small room.

Sourdough Mother

After nearly a month of feeding, the sourdough mother has matured.  She is now behaving like what everyone says they do.  She is now relatively happily living in the fridge.  Now I just need to master the baking technique.

Overrated Colin

I finally tied the caterpillar cake,  I do not like it at all.  

National Grid Composition

On a calm cold cloudy day, when everyone is at home, with all lights, heating, entertainment and ovens on, how would the grid cope?  Fire up the coal fire plant, of course.

Solstice Dumplings

I only just learnt to make dumpling wrappers this year, and I really need more practice.  So although I am not a Northerner, I took the opportunity to make some dumplings and call them solstice meal, belated.

Christmas Cookathon

These days, you heat up the oven once, and cook as much as you can, which is exactly what we did, baked potatoes, cakes, etc.

Black Eye Friday 2022

It is interesting that this year's "black eye Friday" was 16th December, not 23rd December.  Maybe the punters know, they need to abuse the system before they all went on strikes...

Lock Misery

I keep making mistakes on the barrel sizes.  One of the doors would preferably have thumb turn, but the way the door is setup, the thumb turn jams!  I feel so sorry having to keep returning the wrong barrels.

Kitchen Design

We went to Wren, I was surprised how user friendly the design package are, it only took Wren a few minutes to drag and drop and render.  Impressive.

Normalising Interest Rate

Interest rate is returning to a normal level, much to most people's dismay.  On the other hand, savings account are paying like 5%, which is actually more than my mortgage rate.

Broster Ham Hock

This is the second time we picked up a ham hock from Broster.  The first time was from the frozen section, this time from the fresh section.  This time is extra piggy, too piggy.  I shall avoid in the future.

Farm Shop Sunday Roast

We went to Bolster Moor Farm Shop.  They do a roast, so I went for it.  The meat was suspiciously evenly thinly sliced, I wonder if they were machine sliced.  The gravy was on the salty side.  The rest was faultless.

New Chinese Restaurant

We tried out the new Chinese restaurant on Vicar Lane, where the old Ho's was.  It was okay, bright, new, fresh food.

Leeds Christmas Market

Leeds City Council said the Christmas Market was cancelled.  We thought they meant the Christmas market was cancelled.  Then they for the skating company to take on the whole site, so there is still a Christmas market, just not a German Christmas Market.  It is simple, which is good, a few food stalls, and the skating rink.  I may say it is better than normal!

Bread Machine Resurrection

The bread machine has refused to run.  I was going to throw it away, since it is a freecycled item, it had a second chance already.  I thought it could also be because of the cold temperature, the user manual actually say it could be because it is too cold, except it should say LLL not EEE.  I gave it one last run, in a heated room, and it works, saves me having to knead dough!

Full House Audit

The order of play, full house audit and to do list, administrative tasks.  It is going to be a long Winter.

Double Trouble

I have now got two houses to look after.  I hope they behave and don't give me too much troubles!

Bye Bye Master Lock

I had a Master combination padlock since I was at Vanderbilt, and this weekend, it was broken.  It has been traveling with me and protecting my properties for a long time.  I will miss it.

Christmas Market Harrogate

We went to the Wetherby Arts Market,  we actually spent more time in the Arts Market then in the Harrogate Christmas Market.   Anyway,  we have ticked off the festivity. 

Sourdough Attempt Again

After two years break,  I decided to attempt making a sourdough starter.  It is now smelling like it.  Let see what happens when I come to bake it this weekend. 

Roxy Christmas Party

We went to ROXY for our christmas party.  I completely forgot the concept of enforced fun...

Christmas Spirit

The Green Mark has emerged from the cupboard.   It is indeed very nice with apple juice. 

Winter has Come

The cold snap has kicked started this Winter.  I do remember Winter could come earlier, so we had it easy in November.  Let's us all embrace multiple-robing.

Rat Infestation

Is rat problem worsened by the pandemic lockdown?  Is it a type of rewilding?

Instant Noodles

I have been buying marked down instant noodles, they were cheaper even if it means I have to throw their flavour away.  Then I used some old sachets I have, I fall in love with instant noodles again!  Maybe when I completely run out of old sachets, I will have to buy full price instant noodles!

Helium Balloons

I was in Knaresborough Christmas Market, they were selling Helium balloons.  I thought we should be saving them for the MRI machines!  Maybe we should go back to using blended hydrogen, at least we can make them within having to create a Sun!

Don't Buy Dehumidifier

Every Winter, when condensate started forming, people start talking about dehumidifiers.  We should only buy what is fit for purpose, and I can only think of a few domestic situation you would need a dehumidifier in England, if you live in the middle of the woods and the moisture is too high!

Even if that is the case, I would recommend buying a portable air conditioning unit instead, because they are the same thing, when you remove the heat to outside, you get air conditioning, if you keep the ejected heat, it is dehumidifying.

If you are drying your clothes in the house, and that is the reason of the moisture, then you should nip that in the bud, get a heat pump tumble dryer.

Even if your dehumidification is size for the whole room, rendering that room a dry larder, the moisture will will form condensate on the cold walls and window, which is the cause for moulding.  Get an appliance that does the job!  Ie, not a dehumidifier.

Sugar Crashes

Sugar crash is never nice, even if I am in a safe place.  I was at home, and I had not had lunch at the normal time, and by the time I finally made something to eat, my body was feeling weird.  Meal time is getting more important...

Pan Fried Bread

I was making naan,  then I realise,  pan fried bread us really the way to go!  The bread maker aka dough maker may finally find its calling. 

National Radio Centre

I have heard of people playing with radio, I never fully understand why.  Then I went to the National Radio Centre in Bletchley Park.  They were demonstrating their station using satellite as well as terrestrial, they were talking to strangers gods know where, then I understand radio is the IRC of the bygone era.

Clove

I cooked something with mixed spice, and I hated it, then I remember, I hate clove!  Must never touch mixed spice!

Jigsaw Rush

We haven't done a jigsaw for a while.  When we picked up a set from the charity shop, we needed to check its completeness, so off we go.  Except, we has planned a weekend away, so we literally spend a few hours here and a few hours there, and we managed to completed this 1000 minus one pieces jigsaw.  Luckily the missing piece was not in critical area, so it passed our QA and it can proceed to next stage.

Legends Arena

The only one perk of being a Legend is free entry to a monthly arena with prize money.  I took part and placed 335 out of 2110, could be worse.  My eyes hurt.

Rare Earth - The New Plastic

I always know batteries is not the solution, the reduction of consumption is the solution.  Listening to a documentary about rare earth cemented the idea.  Some say rare earth is the new oil, I think rare earth is more like new plastic.  Not only it takes a lot of pollution get the ingredient, once made into product, it cannot really be recovered and it is left to poison the soil.  It really doesn't help when we think everything needs to be smart, had a semiconductor or some special function.

Internet of Things Gift Guide

I listened to the Thanksgiving episode, the gift guide cemented my thought about things need to be dumb.  Smart kettlebell? Router rebooter, ie power lead with sensor?

Internet of Things

Although I have no interest in Internet of Things, I wanted to learn more about IoT, so I found this IoT podcast and I have been listened to it for a year or so now.  I have concluded that I believe building and energy consumption should be smart, but not things...

Emoji Wallpaper

 

Pended Up Demand Christmas Market

I made a mistake by going to York Christmas Market on its opening weekend. It was unbelievably busy, some may say, it was still the pended up demand. 

Power Outage Potential

After the preview, I contamplate the possible scanerio for outage, a cold cloudy still day, when everyone's lights, heating, TV and oven are on... 

Family Fork

After learning about family fork in Chess, all the other fork just feels so essential, not special anymore.

Chess Legend

The gamification of the game of chess on chess.com egged me on, so if you play a lot of chess, and got lucky, you would become a Legend, it really only means a shiny badge on the website, but I got it.

Winter Dish - Cantonese Sausage Glutinous Rice

I have a surplus of glutinous rice, and I was thinking of ways to eat them. There are very few Cantonese dishes that utilise glutinous rice, so that was decided for me.  I went to get some Cantonese sausages and made this classic winter dish.  I understand why I didn't like them when I was smaller, I still don't love it, but I will just have to work thorough my stock pile.

Power Outage Preview

Power went out for an hour the other day, all the battery powered device was still going and the 4G internet was still going, so it was relatively easy.  

That was a preview of what we are looking forward to this Winter.  I do remember when I was small, we had torch and candle on the standby.  Now we have everything in the mobile phone, it wouldn't be difficult, I think.

Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico

Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico got married!

Congrats! 

Shaggy Ink Cap

Hairy Bikers have mentioned Judges wig before.  I cannot believe it is this common, 100 yard from my house.  But I have been forbidden to try it, just like the St George. On the other hand,  the gill does not look black,  maybe it is not the shaggy ink cap afterall? 

 

Dough Boy Revisit

I have not been to Dough Boy for a really long time. I am very to know they are still doing half price slice! 

British Yakisoba Pan

Danny had a supernoodle toastie,  it is in the same catagory as yakisoba pan,  bin. 

Bucket Wash

The reservior is still empty,  the hose pipe ban is still in place,  so I washed Danby with a bucket and sponge. 

Suicidal Samsung

The suicidal Samsung jumped out of my hand,  again,  this time into a toilet.   I fished  out quick and gave it a rinse.   I let is dry for a few days.  It is working,  just with a darkened corner.  

Wax Melts

Once upon a time, I was given a ceramic wax melt as a stocking filler.  I never know what to do with it.  I am sure it is still sitting, gathering dust somewhere.  Then we were given wax melt, we had to ake some make shift melting facilities.

Too Many Factors Authenication

I know two factor authentication is meant to protect us, but I left the phone at home once, and I cannot make any transaction online, what a pain.

Air Fried Whole Squid

We got another Cornish squid from Union fish, I already chose the bigger one from the counter, but definitely smaller than last time.  This time we air fried it. 

Another Imperial Unit CWT

Being American educated, I thought I was quite good at imperial units.  When we were in the Cromford Mills, they had an old scale, with unit CWT, another unit I have not seen.  Apparently CWT means hundredweight, you would think it has something to do with a hundred.  American CWT is 100 pounds, whereas British CWT is 112 pounds.  Why can't the people invented the units be more consistant!

Human Stampede

Why is stampede still happening?  Another reason to avoid crowd.

Capri the Containers

We drove past Capri the Containers a few time, we finally stopped for a meal.  It was nice, added a bit of glam to our life, but not sure it was worth the trek. 

Pub Converted Farmshop

I drove past a pub converted farm shop.  I suspected they started the shop during lock down.  I was not impressed with their selection.  Ultimately, you cannot expect too much from a middle of nowhere pub neither could you from a middle of nowhere shop.

End of BBC Cantonese Newsweek

The BBC programme Newsweek (Cantonese) is ending.  An end of an era.

Two Famous Scapegoats

One is "foreigner".  Ranging from "seapeople", to people who is neurologically different. 

One is "history".  Some of which has turned into cultural baggage, that lasts hundreds and thousands of years. 

Four Person Chess

When I look at four person chess, it reminds me of something.  I finally worked it out, it reminds me of mahjong.  Another reason why I am not drawn to it. 

Dyed Cheese

We has a baked potato with cheese.  They use orange cheese,  because we use normal cheese normally,  dyed cheese just look so wrong...

Safe as... Gilt?

Once upon a time,  treasury bond/gilt is as good as money,  but it is proven not that case...

Cromford Mills

We were reading the citizenship test,  they mentioned Arkwright.   I has no idea who he was,  but the Derbyshire natives do.   I have driven past Cromford Mills many times,  I finally stopped and visit,  exactly where Arkwright was.  

Hilly Matlock

So Matlock is hillier than I remember it!  I feel sorry for Danby. 

Lord Lieutenant

I finally know the difference between a Lord mayor and a mayor, and what a Lord Lieutenant do.  And today I shook hands with them.

Thirsk Yarnbombers

Instead of yarn bombing for decoration sake, Thirsk yarn bombers are advertising some charity by embroider the names on the article, less original.

Bye Bye Fiesta

Ford is stopping production of Fiesta.  I hope Danby is still supported.

Misty Moors

I was working in the Moors.   The mists don't lift till late morning,  how atmospheric. 

Virtual Viewing

It has always been a problem that oboy super wide lens can show the space correctly.   Obviously there are new 360 camera,  which I don't have.  Either way,  videoing is a good reminder. 

Bread in Loaf Tin

I have found a problem with baking bread in an oven, you may underbake it.  It looks great, you would not know it was wrong until it has been out of the oven for too long to remedy...

Covid Exposures

Sarah was tested positive during my visit.  Then there was a conference in London.  Fingers crossed...

Worst Catering Crime

The worst crime are not the most obvious crime, the worst crime is one that is hard to seek redress.  The obvious crime were poor food, poor service, even ill prepared food, you could remedy.  I went to a restaurant with a really poor soft drink system, everything tasted wrong, but it was hard to challenge.

Tea

I only just learnt the etymology of the word tea.  I always knew the Malaysian dish bak kut teh, which I thought were Malay words, but obviously they were Hokkien words, and teh was where the word tea came from.

Tree Seeds - Acorn and Conkers

So the campaign to pick seeds is back.  This year I was picking near my house, and I found a few oaks and conkers nearby.  It was quite successful.

Repaired Hoover

So I got the replacement head, it works well on carpet, less well on hard floor.  Overall it still picks up loads of dust and debris, so I guess it is as good as it could be without having to buy a new hoover?

Stottie Hole

I recently got some stotties.  I didn't know they have a hole in the middle.  I was told they are not always present.  I don't understand why there would be a hole at all. 

Tim Horton Breakfast

We sent to Tim Hortons for a breakfast on a whim. What a mistake. McDonald is better than them a country mile.

 

Now that I revisited my note, I will remmeber to get a coffee with cream, how it should be.

Small Bakery

I gave my custom to a local bakery.

Chocolate mousse, too almond, very rich. 

Mille feuille, just like the Kitchen Cabinet rightly point out, home made rough puff will never be as good as a machine laminated puff. Additionally, machine cut pastry will always has straighter edges.  I am not sure the icing sugar and the cacao powder was correct.

Toshiba Mysterious Failure

When I lost power, I first checked the power supply. It wasn't that, so I opened it up to check the connection, not that. Then I double checked, it recovered when I remove the battery. Battery dead short. Not having a battery isn't a big problem for home use, except if I turn the power off, I will have to update the time in the bios every boot up, I better get a new battery.

 

Slug's Nest

I have been looking for this slug, leaving trails all over the courgettes. The little thing slept in the flower!

 

Gambit

gambit noun 

gam·​bit | \ ˈgam-bət \ 

Definition of gambit 

1: a chess opening in which a player risks one or more pawns or a minor piece to gain an advantage in position 

2a(1): a remark intended to start a conversation or make a telling point (2): TOPIC

唐詩 Tang Poems

Tang poems mostly rhymes in Cantonese.   Something I am surprised people 1500 years ago also have the same moanings:  sadness,  love, friendship,  homesickness, nostalgia. 

周禮 Rites of Zhou

Another >2000 years old book.  It does not rhyme anything,  because it is just a list of government department and positions!   

詩經 Book Of Poetry

Book of Poetry is about >2000 years old.   Some of it rhymes,  in Cantonese,  most of it very boring. 

Cantonese Preservation

I came across this video,  it suggests Icelandic keeps reading the old literature, which was written in the old tongue,  that helps keep the old language alive.

I wonder,  if the key to keeping Cantonese alive,  in additional to write more in Cantonese,  is to read ancient Chinese text,  in the period where Cantonese was the pervaling tongue. 

Domestic Gas Stress Test

What would you do if we lose gas?  I do have a camping stove.  Meanwhile I should be more microwave ready. 

Tree Seeds in Leeds

I have been waiting for the seed drive to start.  I haven't seen the events for this year's seed drive, but at least they managed to send out the press release.  With it being false Autumn this year, I wonder if there is much seeds left.  I have definitely seen some acorns around.  Let see what we can do this year.

Life as Iron

Iron with atomic number 26 is the most stable but very much opposite of being buoyant.  It is solid, but it is not going anywhere apart from rusting away.  Maybe life does imitate nature, in this case, chemistry.  Which one are you?

Life as Plutonium

Plutonium is somehow less famous than its lighter cousin Uranium.  Both of them have an atomic weight of 90s, way below the Dunbar's number, and they are already unstable.  The slightest upset they will breakup violently.

Life as Hydrogen

The Universe was simply hydrogen.  Life is great as hydrogen, free, buoyant, dynamic.  Life as hydrogen molecules is also okay, two hydrogen bouncing together, free and buoyant.  No neutron, no baggage.  What kind of pressure one must face before becoming a helium?!  At least helium is still bouncing a bit.

Protective Slippers

Whilst unpacking groceries, I dropped something heavy on my foot, so I had to put my feet up all weekend, literally.  I wasn't wearing slippers at the time, but I am not sure slippers would have saved me.  Adequate PPE should always be considered when completing manual handling tasks...

Paella Sandwich

Paella sandwich has just got some free publicity from some Spaniards calling it heresy.  As it turns out, it has been around since 2010.  

Yakisoba Pan

Once upon a time, when I first learnt about Yakisoba Pan from Goldfish Warning, I thought it was a joke.

I have seen photo before, but I still could not believe it is real.  Then I came across it on this YouTube featuring crazy Japanese kitchen gadgets.

Seriously?!  I supposedly I was equally shocked when I saw a chip butty.

Unit Change Freakout

Unthank just got a new batteries.  When I pull out the garage, the speedometer was reading 1xx.  I freaked out for a split second, then I found the unit on the speedometer has reverted to metric.  I changed it back to mph as soon as I stopped.  I wonder those less familiar with units will have a bigger freak out than I had.

Decarbonising Gas Network

As much as burning hydrogen is inefficient, replacing all the gas appliances to electrical appliances costs more, and even less efficient.

Tennis GOATs

Both Serena and Roger has officially retired, what is left to watch?

Royal is Better

If you can choose between service with "Royal" in title, and a service that doesn't, for the same amount of price, choose Royal.  If they are really sponsored or endorsed, they will be better, not just because of the placebo effect, but also their potential larger endowment.

Nominative Determinism - Institute

People in an institute are more likely to be institutionised.

Chess

We were taught chess as pasttime.  I have not played it for a while, because nobody I know around me plays chess.  I remember I had some success with the scrabble online, so I downloaded a chess app online.  I am not sure I have made much improvements since 30 years ago!

Life in Hell - Akbar and Jeff

I remember reading a comic strip,  and found it funny,  something about if you would still love me when we all turned into neutrino.  I have always try to search for it but could not find it.   I finally found it,  it was a Life in Hell - Akbar and Jeff,  only to find they ceased publication 10 years ago!

Apple Tree Analogy - Hong Kong

Once upon a time, there was an unattended apple tree.  Everyone came to scrump, and nobody seemed to care.

One of these scrumped apple was so nice, so the pip was planted, and 150 years of tender loving care later, it has become a fruitful tree.

This is when the descendant of the owner of the original apple tree starting to claim this is their tree, since they had never given permission for the scrumped apples for a start. 

So now the apple tree is back in the original family's ownership, it is again unattended and left to decay.  The lucky apples will roll away and find fertile ground, some day there is a nice new apple tree; the rest will decay with the unattended tree.  Why wouldn't the owner look after the apple trees properly?  If they aren't,  just let someone that will. 

Apple Tree Analogy - Solar Panel

We were chatting about system sizing for solar hot water and photovoltaic, that if you size it to meet peak demand in worse case scenario, you will have surplus.  Then seeing a fruiting apple tree, I made an analogy, there are only so much apple you can eat, even if you can put some in freezer, you will still have surplus that either yield very little or even cost money to export.  Should always be happy to feed the hungry neighbours. 

Rivington Liverpool Castle

We went to Rivington Go Ape for the second time.  This time, the reservoir was so low!  And they have changed some of the safety line into a different buffer so you have to overreach to clip on.

For completeness sake, we went to see Liverpool Castle.  Apparently it was meant to be a replica of a castle in Liverpool, funded by Lever family, but it was never completed.

Morecambe Glutton

We had a full English breakfast at the B&B, then went to Port of Lancaster Smokehouse for some lunch with the view of River Lune.  Then we went to Wallings, where we missed last time we were in the area, for some icecream, we never knew any icecream parlour actually fill the waffle cone, we were stuffed.

Lastly, we went to someone's house for dinner, they gave me a nice piece of fillet steak!

Isle of Man Reflection

When I got home, I checked the ferry price.  It looks like since we booked, they have out put better offers.  I am gutted!  Also despite it in mid season, a few things were shut or open very late, hence we had to skip Ramsey.

Isle of Man Day 3

Another long day on the island, we first went to the Ballaglass Glen, which has two streams containing a number of waterfalls.

Due to time constrain, we cut out Ramsey, we stopped at King Orry's grave then onto Laxey. The Laxey wheel was going when we arrived. We had a quick lunch at the train station, then we caught the electric train to Sneafell. It was fairly good weather and sunny in Laxey, but not so much at the top!

We had to warm up with a cup of tea whilst waiting for the return train.  Then I got a scoop of Davidson's icecream, it was not that impressive, maybe I should have got it from the parlour.

 We went onto Douglas at good time. The Manx museum was good. I got some cash out, but as it turns out, it was Manx money, I had to trade it for some English money.  We walked around town and go on the ferry.

Isle of Man Tour Day 2

We first went to Glenmaye to look at a waterfall.

Then we went to Niarbyl bay, even though the cafe was not open. I was very battered by the wind.

Then we went onto Port Erin. Which their normal train service is a steam train!

We then went to Cregneash, it is like a small version of Beamish. We saw a demo Manx cat, and the demo Laughton sheep. Then we had lunch at the Sound. We had a crab sandwich and a seafood chowder. There were many seals off the Sound, I was battered even more.

Lastly, we went to Castletown to look at Rushen Castle. They has an old map, with very old spelling and was made before Hong Kong was founded. We picked up a Manx steak, a Castletown sausage, Manx potato and Manx brocolli then went home. The steak was nice, I wasn't so sure about the sausage.

Isle of Man Tour Day 1

We took the ferry to the Isle of Man from Liverpool.  We met a lady on the ferry, also came from Leeds.  She told us loads about the Isle of Man.

We went to Peel as soon as we disembarked.  The castle was already shut.  Peel is a nice little town, the House of Manannan was interesting.  We also missed the ice-cream parlour!

We went for a warm seafood platter at a local pub.  It was a good portion!  Supposedly Manx queen scallops, Manx crab, and I am not sure about the shrimps and the bass.

We went to Glen Mooar waterfall nearby.  The road turned into a green lane, which we met a couple motorcycles near the waterfalls.  They went on an unrated wooden bridge rather than the ford.

When we checked into the cottage, we have been reminded the mountain road has no speed limit and there maybe motorcycle travelling very fast so beware.

Broken Hoover

I was going to do some cleaning, and the swivel head decided to fall to bits.  It is not even 8 years old.  It was only so much I could just use the tube.  I looking online, the branded part is half the cost of a new vacuum!!  I went for an oem generic one, let's hope it works. 

Headingley Reminder

We drove thorough Headingley, a street full of people in fancy dress.  Is that return to normal? 

IAM Overpriced Bike Club

As it turns out, IAM is just an overpriced bike club with very little to offer. 

Sheep Village

Stressed sheep in sheep village.  Only if the wolves can be rehibiliated.

Why We Plan

We plan in advance so that we don't have to make a choice when we are tired.  Default choice is fine, expect when the default is bad.  We plan in advance so that information is made known prior to event, even if a decision is not made in advance, the information will be available when the decision is made.

Bubble Tea History

Apparently we have missed the International Bubble Tea Day, but it is always good to learn the history. 

Mushroom Crisps

I bought some mushroom crisps. They tasted fairly inoffensive at first,  then the flavour builds up.  I remember why I went off skiitake when I was small.  I must prevent overdoing them. 

Happy Hour Cocktails

We went for a happy hour drink.  Something I haven't done for years!  The cosmo tastes a little different from what I remember. 

Back to School Traffic

I opted to take a train on the Monday instead of driving on M62 during rush hour Monday,  back to school Monday.  I didn't have time to look at the traffic before I had to sort out the rail disription instead! 

ELOR Completion

We have already been on the ELOR, but not all sections.  We finally completed all aection this weekend.  Some of the roundabouts are so big,  it was quite confusing. 

Garforth Show

We went to this year's Garforth show.   There are large vegetables,  flower display, wonky vegetable the usual.   But unbeknownst to me,  they sometimes auction out the vegetables at the end,  interesting. 

"Fibre" Broadband

I got given a new router.  Strangely, it is called "fibre" even though it plugs onto the telephone.  It still looks like ADSL to me.  The speed test suggests it is faster, I am not convinced.

Thirsty Rye

I have been trying to use up the rye flour I got.  I tried the normal recipe, but it never looks right.  I recall somewhere someone said rye is very thirsty, so I added extra water.  I need to remember any rye recipe will require a higher hydration, even the fine ground one, if not more so.

2lb Bread

I was reading the recipes and it always refer to a 2lb bread, 900g bread, when the recipe clearly does not add up to 900g in weight.  It suddenly dawned on it, it are referring to the size of the loaf tin.  What a stupid way to call/size that loaf tin!  What was ever 2lb in that tin?  Meatloaf?

Lay or Set

I told the bikers, "They are just laying the table."  Then Gwilym said, "Set a table."  We are pretty much split in half in opinion.  Then I speculated that you "set" a table if you were paid.  I checked with my English reference, Sarah, she prefers laying.

In another thought, you set a machine... Not a surface...

Katsu

I was just watching a television programme using the word katsu meaning curry, which I clearly remember it means cutlet.  So I looked it up, katsu is cutlet, a loan word from some European languages.  Fried cutlet was a European influenced food, and was eaten with an array of sauce, aka gloop, before it settles with a thick mild curry sauce now.

When a word is loaned more than once, it means nothing like what it started out!

Bank Holiday Mistake

I thought I would stop at Tebay for a nice lunch in my way to camping.  Being bank holiday weekend, the whole area is heaving, and everyone had the same idea as mine.  I wasn't sure what I wanted, then I saw it is 3 sausages in each order, I was sold.  It was good.

Camping Loch o' The Lowes in the Yarrow Valley

With the abnormally warm and dry weather, I took the chance and went to camp at St Mary Loch. Earlier in the season, I actually checked my photo from last year and contacted the estate to make sure I can still camp. The official name is the Lock o' The Lowes in Yarrow Valley.

On a bike!

What a place!

Infinite Towels

I was raised that everything is fine if you stick it in boiling water, I have extended it to machine wash with detergent.  Whereas here are people believe every room, every type of surfaces should have their own towel, and they shall never mix even after wash.

Caterpillar Ejection Fail

As it turns out,  once you see a caterpillar,  you can write the whole plant off.

The caterpillars have eaten all the leaves,  stalks as well as started eating the radishes themselves. 

East Leeds Orbital Road

ELOR is now open!  I had a go on it.  I am not convinced it is any faster, but fewer cars, fewer lights for sure. 

Stupid Youtubers

Just chuck them out of the platform and don't bother reporting it, it will only fuel their disinformation platforms.

Stock Take

The Big Green Money Show was talking about exactly what I have been preaching.  Don't waste food, and stock check before shopping.  I took the opportunity to have a major sorting out at the store.  Let's hope someone will keep it up!

1998 Cafe Bar & Kitchen

I have heard about this Hong Kong cafe in Loughborough, 1998 Cafe Bar and Kitchen.  Since I had time, I paid them a visit.

I sat next to this Hong Kong couple, and asked if they recommended anything.  The woman said we are better off cooking at home.

I ordered some wan ton noodles, it took a very long while.  The cafe was very busy.  The milk tea turned up earlier, I had not had tea this steeped!  The noodle turned up, it was okay.  The woman was right...

I got up to pay, only to know they don't take card, so I promised them I won't go a runner, I popped to Sainsbury next door to get some cash.  I settled the bill and popped up to their shop.  I was tempted with some random tat, but I managed to stop myself.

Too Good to Go Carluccio

My bus didn't turn up, so to kill time, I was browsing Too Good to Go, and Carluccio was selling their mystery pack, excellent.

Some out of date chocolate truffle, some savoury biscuit and some in-date chocolate biscuit.  Excellent.

Whinmoor Wildlife

I was looking out my kitchen window, I saw a wood pigeon landed on my fence, then another wood pigeon.  Then the two pigeons were touching beaks.  Then they were mating.  All in seconds, I couldn't get the phone in the right setting fast enough.  Then one flew off, another sat on the fence a few more minutes before flying off.

Since I had not personally sexed the pigeons, I would not assume any sex(es) to them.  I really hope it does not result in any more pigeons!

Who needs the wildlife filming crew!

Caterpillar Ejection

In the last heat wave, there were a plague of caterpillar, ate down my radishes.  One day, literally all the green top was gone!

After this short heat wave, I noticed the radish not doing well, and I managed to eject one caterpillar.  Let's hope that is it...  

Overproven Dough Rescue

First, realise your dough is over proven.  Then push down across the top, don't worry about the top being uneven, as the rise from baking will push it up like a balloon.  It may now has a sunken shape, so scrap all edges back down. 

Not bad eh.

Ironing Hazards

Iron's natural home is not on the ironing board, so unless you strap down the iron, otherwise don't leave the iron on the ironing board.

Then some synthetic materials could only be ironed in low temperature, for a placebo ironing.  Any real temperature will risk damaging the synthetic material.  So let's not bothered, just wash it instead.

Sunken Bread Machine Bread III

Feeling confident, I modified a recipe adding malt.  Then using warm milk to clean the spoon, which led to overproving, again!  Less yeast next time!

Modern Rationing - Food Bank

When supply decrease, the demand needs decrease to match supply, so we don't have run away prices.  When consumer is addicted to excessive consumption, resulting in run away prices, thanks to capitalism.  Those consumers can no longer afford the capitalistic world, we are back to rationing, in modern terms, food bank.

Food bank is no longer for a charity purpose, it is now a, temporary, solution to the consumerism that fail to meet demand.

Every time you consume unnecessarily, someone else fall behind in the capitalistic world.  Be mindful.  Be a responsible citizen.

One for All Mistranslation

The original "Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno" one is referring to God, ie piety, originating from central Europe.  Then all subsequent translation, rather it be French, English and Chinese, one refers to oneself, hence changing the meaning to unionism.  Where the phrase originated, they have replaced it with Nihil sine Deo, nothing without God, which is the true meaning of this phrase.  Beware.

Civic Duties II - "Ask not what your country can do for you"

I feel strongly about civic duty.  It gets on my nerve when people thinks the government can magically resolve all the social problems, and remedy any unfortunate evens befalling anyone, when the citizens wouldn't even pay their taxes.  Then I would remember a quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." 

After searching the origin, as it turns out, something sound so socialist is from an American president JFK.  No wonder some Americans think the Democrats are socialists.

Hot II

After July's heat wave, we have all prepared/practiced for this heat wave, hopefully.  This is 30C+, which was "normal" Hong Kong temperature, but I totally did not move here for this.  Let's hope we can manage out this one.

Bread Machine Success II

Following on the success with the brown sandwich bread, I tried the white sandwich bread recipe.  The white dough's recipe is wetting, so it was initially worrying me.  It turned out okay.  The machine bin is actually quite big for a small dough, so it needs some help in mixing in the ingredient.  We are learning its ways.

Bread Machine Success

After we reduced the yeast,  the bread turned out like a normal bread,  and it tasted good too.   We have cracked it! 

Leeds Pride 2022

After a long absence,  Leeds Pride is back.   We got chatting with a Hong Konger.   The freebies were nice,  particularly Marching Out Together. 

Ride Like Nobody is Watching

After having guessed what those stupid assessers want,  apparently I should jude ignore them and ride how I like. 

4-Minute Brush

One of the dentists said you just need to put more time in the tricky areas.   Since the dentist did a good job cleaning my teeth recently,  I am putting extra effort into keeping them clean,  hence 4-minute brushing. 

Succulent Gestation

Baby succulent can die I the heat,  so maybe they should never be separated from their mother leave to add resilience. 

Sunken Bread Machine Bread II

We tried the white sandwich recipe,  it is also sunken.   I was watching it,  and it looked sunken whilst proving,  and collasped whilst baking.

Now we learn more about the machine,  I am going to try the brown recipe again with reduced yeast. 

Sunken Bread Machine Bread

We followed the instruction,  but we don't know why it was sunken in the middle.   On the plus side,  the machine didn't trip the RCD.

Domestic Wind Power

Out of curiousity,  I looked up small wind turbines.   It produces varying power and frequency.  It is hard to think how it can be suitably downspec for domestic use and make it worth while. 

England Wins Euro 2022

I made Sarah to watch the game with me.  The game was full of actions and very few dull moments.

England has played very well thorough out,  especially against Sweden.   CONGRATS.

Milk Bread on Freecycle Bread Machine

So I managed to get a bread machine from Leeds Freegle.  It was very dirty and it did not come with the manual.   He warned me that it may not work.

I gave it a deep clean,  and rinsed with water. 

After looking online,  I found a similar bread machine's American manual with some recipes. 

Sainsbury's gave me a milk with a fairly short date,  so I made a "sandwich bread",  with extra milk and other adjustments.

Sarah said how everyone with an old bread machine always trips the power.   Lo and behold,  power loss, it tripped the RCD.  The bread had already risen,  so I reset the power and set it to bake.

It turned out fine, we slightly struggle to get the bread out,  but we managed.

It could be my deep cleaning wetted something inside tripping the RCD.  Anyway,  round one was fine,  we are looking forward to another loaf. 

Aesop

I have heard the Fables,  but it wasn't referred as Aesop.   At Coch Castle,  some of the rooms has painting of some of the Fables. 

After learning about Aesop on BBC the Forum,  I have concluded the Fables are teaching "natural social order",  which subliminally keeps us in "our place"...

Serving the same function,  the stories are more fun then mister Confucius. 

Cloth Shopping

We used to go charity shopping on regular basis.   And I used to love Next Clearance online,  but we have been lagging the last 2 years.  And since the clothes mysteriously shrank in the closet,  I took the opportunity to replenish whilst I have a few days off. 

Supermarket Discount Con

I cannot help but think the supermarket discount is a con.  The price has all gone up, and the coupon does not really make it cheap, might as well just shop at the cheaper shop to start with.  And then some online voucher "doesn't work" when you are trying to use it whilst in shop. 

Jaw Dropping Football

My jaw is not easily dropped, nor do I normally watch football, but the English Women is doing really well in the Euro 2022, especially England v Sweden.  Hats off to them!

Housing Location Selection

In additional to sea side location,  to avoid,  I would also avoid open field,  included public park and woodland.   Human is the best fire detector indeed,  and any unoccupied area doesn't have that. 

World's Largest Female Biker Meet - 2022

So I popped by Triumph Factory for the world's largest female biker meet.  Final head count was 1549.  The weather was nice and the meet was central in the country,  it would be hard to beat in the future. 

 

Commerical Burger

I got a Burger King burger,  it reminds me of America. 

Disgusting Nature

Caterpillars in the garden,  maggot in the bins.   Ill. 

There is no Free Energy

I knew solar panel waste was going to be a problem 20 years ago,  now California is dealing with the first wave of waste panels.  The same is true for wind turbines. 

Steve likes the splitting atoms solutions, the UK is building two new nuclear plants,  when Germany and Japan are giving up nuclear power.  Obviously nuclears waste we are all scared of. 

That's why my preferred solution is biofuel, where most wastes are compostable,  except somehow they got blamed for food shortage.   Which would be true if the Western world doesn't already waste so much food.

It boils down to,  waste less energy,  waste less food,  please.   Save the planet. 

Tautology - River Avon

As it turns out, the Welsh word for river is Afon.  So River Avon is a tautology.

Hot

I remember 20 years ago, when English "heat wave" means 25C +, which the international community found it very funny.  Nearly as funny as 1' of snow shutting down the capital London.

Since then, "heat waves" aren't really international news until this one.  It has been "unseasonably nice" for a while, and the climax was the heat wave from Africa that takes us to 40C, a real respectable heat wave.

I can't wait for it to cool down!

Covid Day 9

Slept thorough night,  I cannot believe the invisible T line turned.   We has a socially distanced alfresco lunch.   When will the T line disappear,  again? 

Covid Day 8

I had a fairly good night sleep.   We went to Oakwood Market,  followed by a click and collect.  So far so normal.

After lounging all day,  we went to Milk Churn for some ice-cream.   Nice normal lazy day. 

Covid Day 7

I took a test before going to bed,  it has one of those impression on the T.  I had problem falling asleep,  so I went to sleep on the sofa.

I went back to my bed in the morning to sleep some more. 

Later in the morning,  I took another test,  the T line has disappeared.

Covid Day 6

Overnight coughing was still not very good.  Still testing positive albeit very faint.

Another day of resting. 

Covid Day 5

The cough isn't very good,  apart from that,  everything is improving,  including smell and taste.

Another friend went into hospital for post covid breathlessness,  it is not over yet...

Covid Day 4

Coughing overnight was bad for my sleep.   I had a midnight snack, but could barely taste it.   I have been testing with the lavendar oil,  I could just pick it out.

The test line is slightly less strong. 

Covid Day 3

I am still taking the day slowly.  Similar to yesterday,  it is not dredful, but it is not nice.

The cough was pretty bad.  I could taste and smell my meals,  but have difficulty picking out ambient smell. 

Covid Day 2

In between my sleeps,  I woke up to the worst sore throat,  like it was burning and not mine,  I had some water,  some cough sweet and back in bed.

Just sore throat and stuffy nose,  most other ailment were gone,  just take the day very slow,  with the heat wave being the additional reason. 

I got tired of the simple food,  so I cooked a meatball pearl barley,  which was quite tiring.  

A shower always helped.   Since there were fewer naps,  I was hoping a full night sleep. 

Covid Day 1

First day testing positive,  temperature is pretty much normal,  body aching normal, dizziness and tiredness normal,  itchy and sore throat,  stuffy nose,  just a little slow.

Smell and taste normal. 

Covid Day -1

I got up feeling better,  throat still sore and itchy,  body less sore.  Temperature feeling more normal,  still testing negative.  Smell and taste normal. 

At time I felt dizzy,  and I was tired at the end of the day. 

Covid Day -2

I felt warm.   Was I warm or covid?   Sore throat, a little itchy,   was it because of few days of junk food?  I took a test, negative.

I was tired,  must be all the riding.   Still have weird temperature. 

IAM Skills Days

I went on an IAM skills day.  It was on Mallory Park, which was not very well signposted.  I managed to got there before the start time.

Having never been on a track, I put myself to the least confident group.  It was a lot less scary than I thought.  It was just a safe environment to properly try the skills.  I am glad I went.

There were a few people I know also attended, and I also bumped into Usernamekate.

I didn't think I was tired, but I was still tired from the travelling!

Wales Grand Tour - Day 11

We checked out he B&B and went to the Quarry and the Dingle in the rain, it was a very nice garden indeed.  The market is not open on Sunday.  We went to the museum, which was interesting, we got a chance to hold a mammoth tooth!

We sneaked into the Cathedral between services and had a little walk around.  Their cafe Orchard is open on Sunday, so we had a little light lunch before heading home.  Hence concluded our trip.

When I got home, I put the washing on, and left everything in the living room, it will be days before I can unpack everything.

Altogether 1000 miles from Leeds and back, 800 miles from midlands and back, better than flying for sure.

Wales Grand Tour - Day 10

So we went to The Wool and Willow Festival in Llanidloes.  We also pickup lunch from the town.  I got a cooked ham hock from the butcher, and Sarah got some smoked Caerphilly cheese.

One last Cadw Dolforwyn Castle before we leave Wales.  It was a long walk up the hill, I am glad I didn't stop there when I was on the bike, I would not be able to hike up in all my bike gear.

Then we returned to England, Shrewsbury.  We checked into the B&B and walked in town to explore.  It was a busy Saturday shopping day, we had a look at the Abbey, the castle, the Library formerly Shrewsbury School where Darwin was educated, River Severn numerous times.

By then we were tired from the travel and the Sun, and most things shut at 4pm, so we went back, thinking Shrewsbury done.  Then the landlady told us about the Quarry and the Dingle.

In the evening, I finished off the ham hock!

Wales Grand Tour - Day 9

We have planned to hire a bike to cycle up the Elan Valley, the weather turned out perfect for cycling, slight overcast and not too hot.  We told the landlord we were cycling up the valley, he was not convinced it was a good idea.  

We picked up some off cut ham at the butcher, they are also not convinced it was a good idea.

Just in case the weather wasn't perfect, we hasn't prebooked.  And instead of cycling from the visitor centre, we managed to hire bikes from a bike shop in town, which is cheaper.  He was surprised to see walk-in customers.  Even the cycle shop owner was not convinced of Sarah's stamina.  I have initially suggested to hire one bike, one e-bike, which was vetoed.

The Elan Valley Trail meant to end at Craig Goch Dam, but I insisted us going all the way to Ar Elan Bridge, Afon Elan turns out to be very nice.  We cycled down against strong valley breeze!  When we stopped at the visitor centre, I had 2 sugars in my tea to give me the last push.  Apparently Shelley was there.

We got back in town before 4pm, and Sarah went on a shopping spree, bought a few things from the craft shop, and the shopkeeper told us about The Wool and Willow Festival in Llanidloes, which was kind of en-route anyway, so that's added to the itinerary. 

We checked on the map, we did 25 miles, no wondered we were knackered.  We mustered the last bit of energy and got some Chinese takeaway for dinner, we could not face the prospect of a greasy dinner from a busy pub.  The food was fine, but apparently half the town dislike the Chinese takeaway.  I have had much worst Chinese takeaway before.

Wales Grand Tour - Day 8

I finished off the laverbread the next e, being adventurous, I ate it warm with warm toast, it was a lot stronger warm!

After the healthy breakfast, we went to Poppit sands, it was a nice Sunny morning for the beach.

Continue onto St Dogmaels Abbey, the coach house is also a museum, and we learnt about Ogham, Celtic Alphabet.

On recommendation of YHA, we popped down to see Mwnt.  It is a very nice secluded bay, but National Trust wants to charge parking, since we weren't going to spend all day there, we just had a quick look at the old church and left.

We started driving North to Aberystwyth, as we drove, we pulled in a layby outside Aberaeron to enjoy a coffee with a view.

Aberystwyth wasn't too busy on Thursday, we found easily found some free parking, toilet facilities on the other hand weren't free.  We had a fish and chips for lunch with a twist, it was a seabass.  Then we went into town and walked around Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum, very nice repurposed theatre.  We walked through Aberystwyth Castle, someone was practicing their BMX tricks on the ruins...  We had some Welsh ice-cream before heading out of town.

We headed inland via mountain road, I was going to stop at the Red Kite Cafe, but they said they were closed online due to staff shortage, so we stopped at Devil's Bridge instead.  I went to Devil's bridge many times with GBMCC, but never tried to see the waterfall.  As it turns out, I wouldn't have anyway, they operate a turnstile system, you have to pay to walk to see the nature, much like Ingleton.

As we drove inland,  the temperature drops,  by the time we for to Rhaydar,  it was 16c,  10c cooler than Aberystwyth,  and started raining. 

We checked into the B&B, the owner was expecting us.  He had a "Four In A Bed Winner" sign on the wall, so we watched it.  We went out for a dinner inside, first time since a long time.  The pub was meant to be the best in town, but it is just a medium size fish in a small pond...

We saw a local history/art centre CARAD, except they are temporarily closed, shame.

Wales Grand Tour - Day 7

We went into St David to see St David, UK's smallest city.  Both the Catherdral and the Bishop's Palace are quite nice.  At the Bishop's Palace, the Cadw staff was the same one we saw in Laugharne.  There were a large tourist group at the Cathedral, we couldn't work out where they came from.

Then we checked out various gallery and shops.  I got a bag of laverbread to try, its just seaweed afterall.  I asked the shopkeeper if you just eat it with toast, she said eat with cooked breakfast.

We headed up to Fishguard for lunch at the Yacht Club Cafe,  We went for a piece of grey mullet and a spider crab sandwich.  They were nice, not quite as nice as the lobster roll from Tenby.  We saw a cruise docked at the Fishguard pier, maybe there's where the St David tourists came from?

We had a look at Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber, which really wasn't a burial chamber, it was a 4-stone henge.

Then we went to the star of the trip, the National Wool Museum.  It has nice exhibition, a workshop where the crew were working the old machine, a mechanic was repairing an old machine, and we had a chat, overall very educational interactive.  Sarah even bought a few things from the mill.

We parked up at Cardigan to have a walk around, it was already late, so we looked at Cardigan Castle, non-Cadw, "English Heritage style".  The butcher recommended eating laverbread with cheesy toast.

So when we checked into YHA Poppin Sands, we prepared our laverbread, we offered it to the reception and some fellow travellers.   Laverbread was actually very mild.  

Wales Grand Tour - Day 6

The weather was not conducive to traveling, but we ploughed on.  We skirted around the back to avoid Haverfordwest to Pembroke, I thought we should see the county town. 

Pembroke Castle was not Cadw, supposed birth place of Henry VII, so we looked at it "English Heritage" style.  The Pembroke Museum was a saviour in a rainy day.  Followed by coffee morning at St Mary's Church, when Sarah got a home made Welsh cake, which one was quite spicy.

Lamphey Bishops Palace has a very big foot print, but it was not much left, so it was hard to image what was there.

We finally parked up at Tenby, the rain has driven most tourists away, but still doesn't stop the caravan parking in the middle of the road and enjoying the view and blocking other road users.

We walked across the beach to the harbour and found the freshest lobster roll in Wales. 

 

On our way back to St David, we went to Solva Woolen Mill, which wasn't actually in Solva, and it also means we bypassed the Solva bottle neck!

We got back to St David just before the Gallery and Visitor Centre closes.  We had a quick walk around.  By then, the Sun was out, we popped over to St Non to have a quick walk.

Wales Grand Tour - Day 5

We were going to do Go Ape at Margam, but decided against it, not least Margam tries to charge me parking!

We went to Laugharne Castle, nice little castle, featuring Dylan Thomas' footsteps, brilliant view of the estuary Taf, which was very nice and peaceful.  We walked around the town to see Dylan Thomas' writing shed and boathouse.  When we returned to the carpark, a coach load of school tripper turned up, not so peaceful afterall.

We found Poon's Street food, we got some authentic Thai food in the least likely place, everyone else else was having fryups.   

We went onto Llawhaden Castle, which is a little castle in a little hamlet.  

We had a drive thorough visit to Haverfordwest, a visit to a Welsh Morrison, onto to St David.  The A487 was very deceptive, a busy section in Solva was a 8' wiggly road, it was not nice to come across a coach returning from St David.

The road to YHA St David was mostly 4' and worn roads, I worried for Danby.  When I booked the private en-suite, I was not expecting a living room, a dining area, our own picnic table and shortcut to the kitchen!

We walked to then nearby Whitesands Bay, the sand was not white!  We had out first ice-cream in the holiday, Cote D'or...

Wales Grand Tour - Day 4

We had a look at the farmer's Soay lambs before we head out, they were tiny!

We went to the Mumbles in the morning before the crowd descents, it was Sunny and windy!  The tide was low, so it wasn't very exciting.

Then we went back into Swansea, aka Abertawe, as it turns out, Swansea was a Viking name for the place.  We first went to the National Waterfront Museum, there was also a small market going on.  Inside the museum, they had a few area showing the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners.  The museum was showing the history in the area, which was very carbon heavy...

We went to see the Oriel Science, which is a showcase for the university.  It was very interesting, I played with a little robot, and saw the ultrasonic levitation.

After lunch, we walked past Swansea Castle to read that one information panel.  

Finally we visited Swansea Museum, which has a complete different feel to the Waterfront Museum. 

We squeezed in another Cadw at Neath Abbey.  Another supposedly rich abbey, but nothing quite as grand as Tintern.

We finished the day by the sea again, we went to Porthcawl again.  We wanted to try out this fusion seafood place, but they were closed early.  We just watched the waves for a bit.  I had never seen sea foam up close before, foam was flying over the sea wall onto my car Danby!  It was time to call it a day.

Wales Grand Tour - Day 3

We were on a move again.  We first went to Caerphilly, before Caerphilly Castle, we saw a market, so we popped in to have a look.  Everything was looking like standard until we smelt something very nice at the bottom of the hall, they were making fresh Welsh cakes!

Caerphilly Castle was very big, and because the main tower was under renovation, Cadw compensated us with a guidebook.  The receptionist has assorted pride nails colour, including aro and ace!  There was a dragon family living in the castle, apparently it was a few years in the making.

Then we went to Castell Coch, also recommended by Matt.  It was a Victorian creation on an old castle foundation.

We continued onto Royal Mint, so it happens, they also had a market on.  After a quick lunch, we learnt about the history and got to touch many foreign coins that Royal Mint produces.  I have learnt the phrase "standing on shoulder of giants", but I never knew it was attributed to Issac Newton, which he only reiterated from older sources.  We got a brilliant uncirculated Commonwealth Games 50p as a souvenir, I much rather they have given us the Pride one instead.

By the time we finished at the Mint, it was getting late, I couldn't squeeze in Ogmore Castle.  We went to check in at the B&B.  We decided to take our pack dinner to eat by the sea at Porthcawl.