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...