The Day I Met Meowth

Friday, August 4, 2023

Spent the morning doing a little writing before everyone else woke up, then took a chilled stroll along the Thames near our home for the weekend, in a most beautiful part of London, Mosely.

We all took a nice stroll through Bushy Park in the afternoon. The place was full of parakeets, squirrels, rabbits, trout and Red Deer. Heaven on Earth.

I kind of held my nerve for longer than I should have for the following video. Looking back, I kinda wish I had held it a while longer, but better safe than sorry.

I even got to tickle a trout!

 All in all, a great day outdoors :) I even bumped into this character!

Meowth's fur was softer than I had imagined

The Whispering Sky

Thursday, August 3, 2023 

Needing to get away for a few days to meet up with my daughter, we took a long weekend break in Mosely, London, where we rented an apartment for three nights. The weather forecast was gloomy but as we crossed the Severn Bridge to England, the sky whispered a promise for a brighter few days ahead. 

Graveyard Companions

I met these fellows this week when I photographed a Swansea graveyard recently cleared of much of the bramble and Japanese knotweed that had kept it hidden from view for many years. No matter where you are, there are always glimpses of the magickal nature of our world. Sometimes it is difficult to see. Practising photography daily helps. 

Swansea Bay

A Field in Suffolk

This is probably the most picturesque field I have ever had the village to walk past:

Please click the video below  (it usually requires x2 clicks):

Wind & Rain/Martham

And here is a fairly lengthy field recording I made of the wind and rain from the bathroom of our holiday let - headphones recommended:

A last walk around Martham

Friday, October 1, 2021

Our last day in Martham before we return home was a chilled one, spent meandering around the river near our holiday letter. A beautiful, chilled day to end our vacation.

Me meditating (photo by my daughter, Amber)

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I will miss this place...

A whimsy brought to life...

 I started a new writing project today- Pyewacket.  It's a strange little tale and I am currently thinking of writing it in a similar vein to one of my earlier novellas - Pixie-Led (i.e. written in a simple, innocent voice but dealing with strange events). I have been mulling the story over for quite a while now. And this morning, with a view like this, I really could not think of a better time to bring the beast to life :)

Ogmore-by-Sea

August 15, 2021

I spent a much-needed day at the seaside over the weekend, choosing Ogmore-on-Sea as my destination :) The weather was grey and overcast, with the sun struggling to make to make an occasional appearance through the clouds.

I spent the day exploring the plethora of interesting pebbles that populate the sands here, and picnicking along its numerous banks that overlook the shore. 

A fossil find, Ogmore-by-Sea

Yours truly, beachcombing, Ogmore-by-Sea

Having a Picnic, Ogmore-by-Sea

The seagulls at Ogmore-by-Sea were in a particularly boisterous mood, pressuring the more sedate human visitors to the beach for snacks. Settling down to a well-earned portion of rustic chips, purchased from the mobile cafe, these seaside gulls swooped and whirled around us in a storm of feathers and squawking beaks:

I really enjoyed my time at Ogmore-by-Sea, a rare day out these days to be sure. And the seagull's antics as they made their want for my picnic physically manifest really was the icing on the cake of my daytrip. I will end this post with a short video of the various seagulls. And honestly, they really were after my chips, despite the tongue in cheek title of the video.

 

Gulls Eating Tiny People:

 

Foxy Taking His Nightly Egg

Perfect Balance!

My favourite character amongst our garden birds. He has been visiting us for the nearly seven years we have been living in our house and is always a welcome sight.  Given his chunky size, he is still a bit of an acrobat. Look at those balancing skills!

Perfect Balance!

Given that he is a bit of hungry fella, and that we have known him for so long, he has earned himself a nickname. Here is is arriving, and lingering, on our birdfeeder the other day. He added to his girth quite considerably on this visit, and continued to eat until an impatient starling came and chased him off (caught at the end of the following video):

Sunset at Newport Wetlands

I took a late afternoon wander around Newport Wetlands this past weekend. It was quiet out amongst the reeds, with few people and, strangely, even fewer birds. All was still and calm there. There was not even a breeze to tussle the reeds that sprung like forests from the boggy ground. And the sunset was incredible!

This short video, made as I made my out along the floating walkway through the wetlands towards the sun really does remind me of one of Kaneto Shindo's Onibaba:

The Wetlands were designed to help birds and wildlife after the construction of the Cardiff Bay Barrage had a devastating effect upon their numbers. The birds must have all settled for an early night this particular evening though, as apart from the odd flock of seabirds, seen skirting the Severn Estuary in the distance, the place looked almost desolate.

But the delight that was lost from not seeing many birds on this walk was more than compensated for the splendour of this year's most spectacular sunset yet:

A gentle scene of sky and water and reeds

Taking a stroll along the floating walkway towards East Usk Lighthouse

East Usk Lighthouse overlooking the Severn Estuary

Reeds fringing the coast at Newport Wetlands

The northern shore of the Severn Estuary

The sunset climaxes over Newport Wetlands and the Severn Estuary, bringing a close to a wonderful hour's walk:

As the light faded from the sky and I traipsed back to my awaiting car, I saw the fading light over one of the ponds that lined my track looked delightfully serene. Never have I seen so many pylons looking so picturesque:

And with that moment gone too, darkness fell quick and it was time for me to head home for the night...

2020 ~ The Adventures Begin...

Despite the heavy rain and howling wind, I had my first adventure of 2020 today, walking out to the Sgwd Clun Gwyn and Sgwd yr Eira waterfalls in the Brecon Beacons.

My first stop was at the mighty Sgwd Clun Gwyn waterfall. Although the spectacle of Sgwd Clun Gwyn was impressive in the extreme, this was not my primary port of call and after a quick photograph and video of the waterfall, it was then on to the more distant...

Sgwd Clun Gwyn Waterfall

... Sgwd yr Eira, Wales' finest waterfall!

Sgwd yr Eira Waterfall

Sgwd yr Eira really is a beautiful sight to behold. Despite the daunting number of large, nearly knee-high, steps that led down the valley floor, I reached the river Sgwd yr Eira serves feeling refreshed and excited (though the return climb is another matter altogether!)

Sgwd yr Eira 

This is one of Wales' most magickal attractions, and offers its intrepid visitors the rare opportunity of actually walking along a slippery ledge behind the curtain of its waterfall! :)

Looking out from behind the Sgwd yr Eira Waterfall

Yours truly getting well and truly soaked behind Sgwd yr Eira waterfall

As you can see from the videos below, you do have to be prepared to get wet if you take this little jaunt behind the waterfall. And during weather conditions as wild and woolly as they were today, when the water actually rampages down to the awaiting river below, you can actually get drenched here!

The ledge walk behind Sgwd yr Eira waterfall

Whilst it is the waterfalls themselves that attract visitors to this particular stretch of the Brecon Beacons, the surrounding woodland are themselves noteworthy. Given the dire conditions that marked particular visit, I was surprised at just how rich the mid-winter colours were in the woodland :)

There are actually four waterfalls of note here, but given the time of day we visited, the atrocious weather and the heavy gloom that descended pretty quickly after I left Sgwd yr Eira, I decided to leave them for another (and hopefully not too distant) day...

So, all in all, I'd mark my first adventure of 2020 a success, despite learning that my winter coat was not as waterproof as I had imagined it to be. The picturesque walk measured an easily manageable 13k steps on my Fitbit, although there were some very steep inclines to negotiate on the route (my Fitbit clocked me doing 111 floors during the walk).

Now, where shall I go for my second adventure of the year?

Edn™ ~ a trippy tale of alien horticulture

April 21, 2019

I have been meaning to make a short video promo for my novel Edn™ for a while now. I got the opportunity to shoot it this afternoon whilst down my local park. You can view the promo vids for my other novellas here: Crawley Promo / Lore Promo. I just have to knock one up for Pixie-Led now...

Lore ~ a fishy tale of maritime folklore. Promo

The second of my book video promos, this one of for Lore ~ a fishy tale of maritime folklore:

Crawley ~ an adult faery tale. Promo

March 27, 2019

Just days away from completing my 4th book, I have just made this little promo for my first. I shot the video down at my favourite local woods and recorded the video earlier this month in Skye :)

Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls, Skye

Kilt Rocked (named as the rock resembles a pleated kilt)

It is said that selkies can sometimes be heard singing at Kilt Rock, on the Isle of Skye.  The singing is often heard carried on the wind from the edge of the cliff overlooking Mealt Falls. Others might argue that the sound is actually produced as the wind travels through the hollow piping, which safeguards visitors to the sight from plunging over the edge of the cliffs!

You can hear my recording of the 'silkies' here and judge for yourself:

On our visit to the Falls, we were blessed with a cool looking rainbow that plunged directly into the sea!

Look carefully and you can see my shadow on the rocks :)