Under the Weather Hero

Saturday, August 5, 2023

The second day of our family get-together. Unfortunately, it was also the day I take my meds, and I felt more than rough for the full day. So, not too many pics today, but feeling quiet, I took a nice little audio snapshot of the family as we floated gently along the Thames. Whilst that's for the family album, here's the pics I took:

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. 

I visited my favourite Yew tree yesterday

 July 26, 2023

My day job is getting VERY stressful, and I can feel my anxiety issues starting to peak again. And so, even though I only have a couple of days of my annual leave remaining (until March 2024!), I needed to take a half day from the place to sort my head out. And so, accompanied by my good friend L8, we head down Gower for the afternoon, during which I visited my favourite Yew tree in the old graveyard in the tiny hamlet of Ilston.

Tidal Gower

July 22, 2023

Working on a new 'between novels' project - exploring some of the little-known delights that can be found along the Swansea and Gower Coast. Watch out for lots of images that I will be considering for inclusion in the series of zines...

Let me introduce you to Old Nick

July 20, 2023 

I was in too much of a good mood this morning to hang around the office for too long today. So, instead, I thought I'd catch up with my Swansea documentary project and have myself a nice walk around the city, including the old Swansea Museum. Whilst there, I bumped into Swansea's infamous 'Old Nick' statue. Now, this guy has a very interesting story to tell - one I may relay to you in the near future. For now, though, for those who have yet to meet him, let me introduce the devil who is said to have cursed the city's largest church and engulfed the building in flames!

 

Vampires from Hell

Sunday, July 16, 2023

 I have felt very rushed with work and deadlines lately, both with my writing career and in my day job. To try and get at least a few of my evenings back, I devoted this past weekend to getting my novella completed, which I am happy to report has now been accomplished.  So, you may ask, what next?

Well, first of all, I am going to remove the deadline for Cold Comfort, which had been set for the end of 2023. Now, Cold Comfort has one hell of a long word count, and whilst it is true that the novel is on its final third edit, it still requires a fair bit of work. Expect to see that novel out sometime in 2024  now, along with another project that has been quite a while in the waiting - Pyewacket. I haven't written anything remotely to do with Pyewacket for a while now, but the plot of the book has been on my mind. I have high hopes for Pyewacket,  but don't hold your breath waiting to get your hands on a copy. Not just yet anyway...

In the meanwhile, look out for another fotozine on a topic close to my heart coming out sometime over the next few months. These are a lot easier to put together than novels or guidebooks. Plus I actually enjoy putting these together. So, whilst I am intending to go slow with my next couple of writing projects, I won't be lazy. So, watch this space...

On a Mission

July 14, 2023 

I'm on a mission this weekend. Can you guess what it is?

Even vampires can change their names

July 09,2023

Half way through the final edit of my next book. Oh, and it's having a last-minute title change too...

The sun is shining

June 08, 2023

Been a rough week health-wise, with the side effects of my meds wrecking me. Got another blood test next week to check how my body is holding up with them. But my last book is published, and my next one will be complete in a few weeks, I have a long weekend, the sun is shining, and our garden is looking absolutely gorgeous...

 

Cracking on with Vampires...

July 07, 2023

With the excitement of the publication of Explore Gower's Remnants of War already receding, my attention this month has been focused on getting the final draft of my next book ready to face the world. This is more of a novella than a novel, but in the past five days, I've already got the first four chapters finalised. Just eleven chapters to go now. The deadline is July 31st. The cover illustration is not quite finished, I think it needs a splash of blood lol, but here's a reminder of what will be taking up most of my time this month:

'Tis Live

 July 3, 2023

'Tis live!

Trying to read

July 01, 2023

With Remnants of War written and waiting for publication, I can finally catch up on some reading - if this one lets me:

A Fairwood Common Air-raid Shelter

June 29, 2023 

 After a bit of a downer of a workday in the office, I headed out to Fairwood Common on my final photoshoot for Explore-Gower's Remnants of War book. Found some old WW2 buildings but was disappointed to see some trees had smashed up the air-raid shelter there.

The brick entrance to the air-raid shelter

The crushed concrete roof of the shelter

Working with this one

June 27, 2023 

A day away from the office to edit Remnants of War. Bad hay fever again, so I am working from my bed with this one.

Spigot

June 26, 2023

Ok, 3.5 days to get this done. Popped down to Fabian Way after work to photograph the WW2 spigot remains there. For those who don't know what they are, I've attached a photo of one in operation.

Tight

June 25, 2023

With just 5 days to go before the publication of Explore Gower's Remnant's of War, I still have a little writing, a smidgen of editing and a couple of photoshoots to undertake. It's gonna be tight but it WILL be accomplished!

The Critic

 June 17, 2032

57 Today

June 15, 2023

Phew, what are scorcher. I am getting too old for traipsing through the countryside in this heat. But, a deadline is a deadline, and so, having acquired permission from the landowner, I travelled out to take some pics of the old RAF barracks hidden away in the private woods next to Swansea Airport . No writing tonight. Time to chill and enjoy being 57...

I think every single woodland has one of these hanging in them somewhere. Fairwood woodland was no different lol #blairwitch

A Night down Gower

June 14, 2023

With the deadline for Remnants of War looming, I nipped down to Gower and my old playground of Salthouse Point, Crofty and toddling around a few other sites I needed to photograph for the book.

Afterwards, we spent a good few hours down Oxwich Bay, hoping to spot the biolescence plankton that has been reported there lately. No show tonight though and our lighter broke trying to light a fire. But the weather was warm, the water cool and my phone managed to get some atmospheric pics thanks to Tata Steel's blast furnace kicking off in the distance. Venus and Mars looked beautiful and were in the sky a fair while too. We also saw something bigger than a dolphin splashing in the sea for a good few minutes and saw a large meteor explode in the early evening sky. It was over in a flash though, to quick for a foto :( . 'Twas a lovely night. And it's great to see so many people's fascination with nature keeping them up all night. Got home with soggy feet around three in the morning. 💗🙆

Mars and Jupiter

Me watching the planets from Oxwich Bay. Pic by Stell.

Loughor

 June 13, 2023

Today's plan, on day 4 of my birthday week away from the office, is to spend the day writing and researching before heading out to Loughor to photograph more remnants of WW2...

Update. Disappointed to discover that the looped wall I wanted to photograph in Lough has now been knocked down and replaced with more modern brick wall :(

CHILLED

June 11. 23

Bedridden

June 13, 2023

Bedridden with the worse hay fever of of my life. Still, a deadline is a deadline and I'm trying my best to work through the 😭 and🥺 and constant sneezing...

Remnants of War Reveal

 Saturday, June 3, 2023

Today's task is to make sense of all my research notes...

That done,  spent the evening with Photoshop, editing this image of a now destroyed WW2 building that was located near my old family home in Crofty.

And, busy bee as I have been of late, here's the reveal of the proposed cover for Remnants of War:

 June 2, 2023