Week in North Wales

We have just returned from a really lovely week in Llandudno.

We stayed in a really lovely place near the West Shore. Having been to LLanduno a thousand times before I was surprised to find out that there was another beach at the other end of town!

The house we stayed in didn’t look the prettiest, perhaps, on the outside, but on the inside it was really lovely. It suited us perfectly and we were very happy there.

The West Beach is like the opposite of the most popular North Beach. It feels very uncommercialised. There was one cafe, one pub (The Lilly) and that was about it. But the beach was beautiful, with views over to Conwy and over to Anglesey. There were some incredible houses facing the beach too. You could see right up the Great Orme. We will definitely be spending time there again in the future.

We enjoyed walking along the beach every evening and enjoying a drink at The Lilly. Absolute bliss.

Of course, over the week we spent a lot of time in Llandudno. We walked the promenade, visiting the Life Boat Centre. We walked up the pier. I bought some whisky! We went on the Llandudno wheel. There is something very unique about Llandudno Pier.

On our last day we drove up the Great Orme. I have not been up there since I was a child and had forgotten how amazing it is up there – great views and great activities. We bought lunch before heading up and enjoyed eating it in the sunshine, looking over towards Angelsey.

During the week we visited one of my favourite places in the world – Conwy. Conwy is a special place for me. We had a couple of holidays there when I was a child and we all fell in love with the town. We enjoyed walking round the shops. We tried crab fishing, but it was freezing so didn’t last long. We saw the smallest house in Great Britain and saw the lady who runs it being interviewed for the TV. We had lunch in a lovely cafe on Lancaster Square and bought prawns on the harbour front. It wasn’t the best weather so we didn’t go up the walls or walk to the marina, but maybe we’ll do that the next time that we visit.

We visited Anglesey. First we drove up to Benllech – what a beautiful beach! We then drove over to Beaumaris. This is a beautiful little town. We last visited in the summer of 2020 and the effects of covid cast a shadow over it. This year it was great to see it busy and thriving! On our way home we stopped at Bangor. We have been there a few times, thinking that it might have improved, but, alas, it was still very rundown.

During the week family joined us which was brilliant. The weather was dreadful on the Wednesday and so we went to watch the Super Mario Bros Movie which was great!

After a challenging few months, the holiday was exactly what we needed. I’ve attached a few pictures.

What Would Ted Lasso Do?

I happened to stumble across the TV show Ted Lasso during a challenging time in my life. Meeting the character, Ted, and others, has really helped to change my perspective on things. It is an inspiring TV show and I have loved it.
I ordered the book, ‘What Would Ted Lasso Do?’ because I loved the series so much. I wanted to read more about Ted’s positive attitude and have a permanement reminder of the lessons I was learning in the show.

If you’re a fan of the show, or if you love the idea of a positive approach to life then the book is worth a read.

Believe
One of my most loved concepts from the show is the idea of ‘Believe’. I now have a Ted-style poster on my home office wall. Believe is about believing that something great will happen. Right now I need to believe that everything will work out in my life. I have to believe.

Be Successful
This chapter focuses on Ted’s use of Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success and his belief that winning isn’t important – it’s about helping his players become the best versions of themselves that they can be. When I was a headteacher this was always my philosophy – by motivating and encouraging people to be the best versions of themselves then this would result in success for the school. And it worked.

Be Curious
Ted describes a quote from Walt Whitman – be curious, not judgemental. This is really powerful – if we all did this the world would be a better place.

Be Optimistic
Ted says, “I believe in hope.” Being optimistic is a choice and it will improve your mindset the more you do this.

Be a Do-Gooder
Ted loves to help other people. I need to try to do this more. I have thought about volunteering but not sure yet what I want to do.

Be Open to Therapy
Recently I have had some counselling sessions. I enjoyed them but I wasn’t sure if they were what I needed. I still have a couple more to go and I will be more open-minded with them. This chapter also reminds me of the importance of talking.

Be A Good Parent (to Yourself)
This chapter reminds us that people’s behaviour is often the result of poor parenting. We can work hard to show that we can improve as people by learning from good people – and that we can try to do for our own children by modelling the right sorts of behaviour.

Be More Like a Woman
This chapter reminds us about toxic masculinity and how to avoid and remove it from our lives.

Be Forgiving
Be a goldfish – they are always happy because they have the shortest memory span. I love this concept. It is hard to forgive. Recently I have been put through the biggest trauma in my life. Forgiving is my next step, but staying angry forever is not something I am prepared to do. I am trying to be a goldfish.

Be You
“Listen to your gut, and on the way down, listen to your heart and between those two things, they’ll let you know what’s what.” Sounds like more great advice from Ted. Be yourself.

Be Kind
This short chapter reminds us to be kind to everyone else. That’s what Ted does. That’s why people love him. And I love how, in the show, this kindness is paid forwards by everyone he meets. Something else for us all to try to do – be kind.

I know that I’ll watch the show again and again and will read this book everytime that I do!

Gluten Free Menu @ Hungry Horse

Until recently Hungry Horse pubs have not been ideal for eating anywhere gluten free.

If you identify yourselve as being gluten free at Hungry Horse pubs, until recently you would have been handed a folder and expected to work out the allergy implications yourself.

However, now there is a gluten free menu!

I can’t tell you how much easier it makes things.

As someone who is gluten intolerant rather than a coeliac I have been able to take a gamble on things before, but now I can order in confidence. This is great as there’s a nice Hungry Horse pub near to us. Well done Greene King!

Neighbours: The Celebration Tour

After Neighbours ended in 2022 I was devastated. I know that people think that watching Neighbours is sad and something you did when you were a kid. But I was someone who loved the show and its characters and watched it every day. One comfort was knowing that I had managed to book tickets for the Farewell Tour in March 2023.

Fast foward a few months later and the news broke that Neighbours would be returning and the Farewell Tour would be revamped as the Celebration Tour! Absolutely amazing!

We watched the live show in Manchester at the Bridgewater Hall. The show was presented by Leah Boleto who was a brilliant host – she came over as a genuine fan as well as a competent presenter.

During the show we met each star in turn – Ryan Maloney (Toadie) then Alan Fletcher (Karl Kennedy) and then Jackie Woodburne (Susan Kennedy). They were then replaced by Annie Jones (Jane Harris), then April Rose Pengilly (Chloe Brennan) and finally Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson). They each shared some great memories from the show and shared insight into the characters they played.

After the interval all of the actors returned to the stage whilst they played some clips and discussed moments in the show. Of course, they discussed how they found about about the news of the cancellation and then the excitement of the show returning!

Alan Fletcher and Stefan Dennis were always going to be my favourites on the stage and they were really funny. But all of the actors were fun, insightful and really interesting to listen to.

The tour has made me really excited for the show’s return – which they will apprently start to film three weeks after the tour ends.

Bricktastic 2023

I am almost afraid to write about how good Bricktastic 2023 was in case it persuades more people to visit the Lego show in 2024 because it was BUSY!

Our daughter and I have visited Bricktastic every year that it has run. We were delighted when it returned last year and so as soon as tickets were made available for 2023 we immediately booked once again.

For 2023 the event had been moved to a bigger room in Manchester Central. This was much better, but it still needed to be bigger. The queuing was a problem last year (not sure why) but this year it was brilliant getting in. We pretty much walked straight in. We made use of the cloakroom facilities this year. I don’t know if they were there before but this was a very welcome service which meant we weren’t roasting as we walked around the room.

There was food inside the gallery but we decided to go elsewhere to eat. So we used wristbands to show that we were returning guests when we came back.

I think I’d have liked to see a few more shops. Due to personal circumstances we were not looking to spend lots of money, but there was nothing that gripped us at all this time. Our daughter bought a kitchen fron One More Brick (without a doubt, the best stall at the show).

The exhibitions were amazing. Our favourites were The Tower Zoo and The Great Ball Contraption.

The Tower Zoo is… a zoo in a tower. There were so many details included in this build that we had to visit it twice to take it all in. We had a chat with the builder and he was a lovely guy.

We loved the Great Ball Contraption. I didn’t film it this year as it was so busy and I didn’t have the patience to stand with my phone. We visited it twice to take in all of the different contraptions. This is an exhibition worth watching – if you get the chance you must visit and watch the balls being transported in creative ways using imaginative contraptions.

Our children were disappointed that there were no Harry Potter displays this year. We couldn’t really find anything at all. I think there are probably reasons for this due to JK Rowling’s views on trans people and Lego builders working togther to make a stand. I don’t know if this is the reason, this is pure speculation. Last year, our favourite build was a Harry Potter rollercoaster and we were hoping to see it again.

The mosaic felt quicker to get to this time. We enjoyed our builds and adding our tiles. The people who worked there were very patient with everybody.

We didn’t spend long watching the master builders. I thought I would enjoy this as I enjoy Lego Masters. But I think it proved why these programmes are edited as I did not have the patience to stand there and watch.

Bricktastic is a brilliant event and I would recommend anyone to visit!

Paul Mort’s F*cking Unstoppable!

Discovering Paul Mort’s content has helped me through a really difficult period in my life. I read his latest book, F*cking Unstoppable! and here’s what I thought.

Discovering Paul Mort’s content has helped me through a really difficult period in my life. I read his latest book, F*cking Unstoppable! and here’s what I thought.

I first heard about Paul Mort when he appeared on Sean Spooner’s podcast, Life and Lessons. His say it as it is approach really resonated with me. The timing of the episode was ideal – I was going through an extremely tough time, and his straight talking approach encouraged me to pick myself and get on with things. I immediately purchased his book, F*cking Unstoppable!

Since reading his book I have been trying really hard to put his ideas into practice. I have been a million miles from getting it right, but the approaches he describes are things I’ve been trying to use each day since reading it.

He describes five elements to our lives that if we are aware of, and set goals and outcomes for, will make a real difference to our lives and the people’s around us.

The five areas (he calls them the F5) are:

  • Focus
  • Fitness
  • Family
  • Finance
  • Fun

Focus: this relates to your mindset – the ability to deal with stress, chaos and anxiety and coping with all those negative thoughts that can distract you from your life. I have been very conscious of my thought processes and tried hard to keep a daily journal where I explore my thoughts and feelings and how I want to feel. I dabbled with meditation but need to explore this more

Fitness: “If you feel like shite, you will perform like shite.” Simple advice. Since reading the book I am keeping better tabs on what I eat and drink, especially the amount of water I drink, the amount of sleep I have and the exercise I take part in. Walking has really improved my wellbeing recently.

Family: Spending time with my family and friends has been absolutely wonderful lately. During this difficult period, everyone has been so great at looking after me and I have never valued them all more highly. I am determined to spend quality time with my family and friends and the book has encouraged me to make this a resolution.

Finance: This is an extremely difficult time of my life financially and I am fearful for the future. Paul Mort has encouraged me to be more aware of the importance of finance and to set goals. I am taking this F more slowly due to the uncertainty in my life. But I will get there.

Fun: I have tried hard to build in fun into my life. We have planned fun things to look forward to, and also learned to find fun in simple things like tidying the house, doing jobs around the house

I am now setting goals for each of the F5 and I believe in doing so it will make me a better person.

The book is well worth reading and you can purchase it here.

Lego Food Costume Minifigures

The full set

I have been collecting Lego food costume characters for a while. I have 14 different characters in my set, although three are ice cream figures.

Recently Lego have taken to describing the characters as gender neutral, so ‘carrot costume’ rather than ‘costume guy’ or ‘costume girl’. So I will try to keep gender neutral for these costumes too.

Working from left to right the characters are:

  • Carrot Costume – from Collectible Series 24, out in 2023
  • Popcorn Costume – from Collectible Series 23, out in 2022
  • Hot Dog Costume – from Collectible Series 13, out in 2015
  • Chocolate Cake Costume – from Build-A-Minigfigure, Lego Store exclusives, out in 2022
  • Corn on the Cob Costume – from Collectible Series 17, out in 2017
  • Chilli Costume – from Collectible Series 22, out in 2022
  • Pizza Costume – from Collective Series 19, out in 2019
  • Ice Cream Costume (Green) – from 60328 Beach Lifeguard Station, out in 2022
  • Ice cream Costume (Blue) – from 60314 Ice Cream Truck Police Chase, out in 2022
  • Ice cream Costume (Pink) – from 60314 Ice Cream Truck Police Chase, out in 2022
  • Peas in a Pod Costume – from Collective Series 20, out in 2020
  • Banana Costume – from Collective Series 16, out in 2016
  • Strawberry Cheesecake Costume – from Build-A-Minifigure, Lego Store exclusives, out in 2023

My favourites are: Hot Dog Costume (it’s iconic!) and Chilli Costume (love that box of milk).

Happy Valley

What a finale!

This Sunday I watched one of the best final episodes of a TV series ever.

Over the years there have been some iconic TV shows that I have loved. I’ve obsessed with them and watched them again and again and read all about them online. And then the final series/episodes were rubbish. Sometimes, I think that writes know how to create suspense and intrigue, but don’t know how to round it all together and conclude things properly. Special mentions here go to Line of Duty, Game of Thrones and Lost.

Sally Wainwright knows how to do this and managed to write the perfect ending for Happy Valley.

We only recently started watching the show, binge watching the first couple of series in a just a few weeks. We caught up with series three as it was shown and this was annoying as we meant we had to wait a week between episodes. But, each week the episodes of series three were worth waiting for.

The finale was excellent. It finally gave Catherine and Tommy chance to confront each other. You actually began to feel sorry for Tommy at one point. And then he told Catherine that he forgave her. He forgave her?! No way would Catherine be having that.

One of the things to love about Happy Valley is the use of humour and character quirks inbetween all of the dark. When Tommy had met his fate, the way Catherine told her sister, Clare, that they’d had a bit of a tussle was the humour that we all needed to get over what we’d just watched.

It was great to see Ryan coming of age and Catherine’s realisation that he was not going to be like his dad, but be a happy, well-adjusted, pretty flipping normal kid, was beautiful.

Catherine managed to catch Tommy and Darius at the same time and that left the dodgy school teacher and the dodgy pharmacist remaining. It turned out that dodgy Mr Epworth had been caught blackmailing students for photos, which was just creepy, although not entirely unexpected. And just as I thought the dodgy pharmacist had got away with it, Catherine gave the detective the information needed to bring him down as well.

The finale seemed real and there were no unexplained moments (although I’d have liked to see Daniel, Ann and Neville one more time).

I think we all need to be more Catherin Cawood. I found her inspiring: honest, selfless, intuitive, hard working, formidable, and funny.

The perfect ending to a fantastic TV show. Perfect.

Yellow Cars in 2022

I counted every yellow car that I saw in 2022.

Yes, it’s ridiculous, but I am addicted to counting yellow cars. I count them whenever I see them and add them to my counter which is permanently in my car.

As you can see the average became fairly constant from around June onwards. The average was around 37 yellow cars each week. There are certainly more peaks during the BST months, with most of the below average weeks coming during the beginning and end of the year.

The highest weekly total was 81 which came in a week with a visit to Llandudno and a residential visit to York. It’s no surprise that the highest totals always come during the weeks with long drives, and particularly those into cities.

You can probably spot the weeks that I was off with covid (which I managed to catch twice in 2022).