Trip of a lifetime

Recently I made a journey. It wasn't a spiritual journey, nor a psychological feat of endurance, but an actual journey. Most people call them holidays.

A month or so ago a friend got in contact with me and asked me whether I wanted to join him on a trip to see the northern lights. It would be a two week trip, made entirely using railways and would see us traversing 5 countries to reach the arctic circle.

Looking out the train window on mid-norway

I tend not to do holidays, especially abroad, as I can't seem to justify the expense to myself. But this one intrigued me, and since this year is the best in the next decade for seeing the northern lights, and I haven't been abroad for almost ten years, I thought why not?

As the time to leave drew closer I realised that I wasn't prepared for the cold arctic weather and borrowed a coat, hat and gloves from various friends, and hoped that my old hiking boots and thin battered scarf would stay in enough pieces to keep me dry and warm. The beanie I borrowed didn't quite cover my whole head, so my ears tended to get chilly, so I gave in and bought a large wooly hat in Bodø, the northern-most point of our journey.

But that's jumping a few pages ahead and missing out a good three days of trains, hostels, passport check and the initial meeting of our third travelling companion.

Try, try again

I've got even worse at keeping this blog up to date, but I'm going to have another bash at this gig.

Plenty to mention and muse upon this past year, attending six weddings, turning a quarter century, changing jobs and house and most recently breaking my 9-year travel drought by exploring Scandanavia using just trains.

The biggest thing i suppose was changing job and moving back to the valleys.
Moving to London last year was a necessary move as I was only scraping by as a freelancer, but the new job felt increasingly more like a social life-sentence. Though it allowed me to save lots of money thanks to living at home, spending 4 hours commuting and working the evening shift and the odd weekend meant I didn't see friends for weeks on end, even when they lived just round the corner.
As well as this, my progression within the company seemed stifled as I was in a useful role for the company but I wanted something more interesting and challenging. I applied for a few internal roles, but lost out for whatever reasons. I could have played the long game and got there in 5 years, but I was impatient for something more challenging and instead accepted a job back in Wales, working for the dark side of the force; a sound company. The new job offered better money and prospects, and a return to independence. Things are looking up!

Hey, how you doing?

It's been over a month since I last blogged, and I know some people are getting a bit antsy, barely containing their desire to bang on my door, shouting "WE NEED SOMETHING TO READ!"

I had my one year anniversary of my first full-time job at the start of this month.
It happened at the grand old age of 24, not because I have commitment issues with working for any one company too long, but due to the fact that, until two years ago, I was surfing on the wave of educational one-upmanship that dictated my work patterns. I could only work full time during holidays, which gave way to part-time hours during term time.

I had a hard time adapting to full-time work for the first few months. My year as a freelancer was much like my uni years in that I would work late hours, travel a lot and spend a lot of time in bed.
When regular, unrelenting work and commuting took over, I thought I would make myself stressed with the monotony of it all. I'd never had an ID card, an oyster card, a lunch hour or a commute, but a year down the line I've found it passable, and going to work on a Monday isn't a chore or something to dread, It's the beginning of a new week where i get to enjoy working with the great people around me, and letting any stress of the day wash over me when I clock out.

I get reminded of how lucky I am to even have work when I meet with friends who are struggling to get full-time permanent work and have to rely on part-time, temporary or project work. That's not to say I don't sometimes miss being freelance; chasing work and getting the satisfaction at the end of a week of a job well done, ready to move onto the next project. But at least in the rat race I know how much I'm getting paid each month.

Love is a many splendid thing

Recently there's been something funny going on...

Over the last year or two, I've noticed that a large amount of my friends, both christian and non-christian, are getting engaged, married and starting to have kids.
It's hard not to sound envious when talking about the couples, and when most weekends this year are taken up with engagement parties, weddings, stag parties, and even the odd hen party, there is the odd occasion when I find myself thinking of that old maxim usually applied to women in this situation, "Always the bridesmaid and never the bride".

photo by Photo Forrester

Of course, I haven't been cast in the role of bridesmaid for any of these occasions, but I got to wondering why there is such a distinctive difference between a woman who doesn't get married (Spinster) and a man who does likewise (Bachelor). Why one is associated with an unhealthy obsession with cats and the other conjures up images of expensive suits, an excellent knowledge of wine and a reckless abandon with women's hearts, is a mystery. The origins of the "bachelor" degree and its relationship with bachelor status is equally as puzzling.

Last year I found out how expensive having a friend who is getting married is. I know they're dishing out thousands for the wedding, but being involved or even just attending is bound to cost a few pennies for everyone involved. I worked out that last year, attending a wedding worked out to be about £100 for accommodation, travel, wedding gift and dry cleaning. This price rose if I was invited to the stag do, and again for a hen do (it happens!). The average wedding last year cost me £150-£200, with this year looking to follow a similar pattern! It comes part and parcel with having friends from all over the country.

But at the end of the day, my friends are inviting me to be present at a pivotal part of their lives; and you can't put a price on the warmth of friendship. Especially if that friendship involves a hog roast.

It'll be a sad day if I ever have to turn down a wedding invitation.

Don't adjust your set

I know it's just been videos for a while, but videos can say so much more than a huge essay.

This is a video I stumbled upon when looking around Vimeo, and it is amazing.
It is a modern adaptation of the nativity story, using no words, but still all the characters are easily recognisable if you know the story.
Enjoy.

'Tis the season

Every month or so I make a few videos for an event called Alchemi. Working on a format that is used by many larger churches, the sermon or talk is superseded by a short title package whose function it is to introduce the topic that is to be covered in an entertaining, informative, provocative or otherwise thought-provoking manner. The video sometimes poses questions to be answered in the talk, or may just set the scene and tone, providing continuity for a series of talks.

Even though I make teasers, trailers and intro videos for these events, I don't tend to showcase them beyond their intended audience. This is usually because I don't think the videos would fit when taken out of context or just aren't good enough to be widely broadcasted. The intro video for tonight's event is one of the few exceptions to this, as it doesn't need a context and I think can hold it's own.

So instead of waiting until after the event to show off the video, I've published it early.
I hope you enjoy it.



Soundtrack: Instrumental cover of "My Almost Lover"
Performed by Iwillbot http://www.youtube.com/WillTingMusic
Original by A Fine Frenzy http://www.afinefrenzy.com/

A Quick Note

I'm well overdue some real fat, on-the-bone content about what I've been up to I know, but with Panto season ramping up I've hardly had any time to do anything,let alone blog bout all the things i've been doing.

BUT there is one thing that I want to mention, and that is the charity phenomenon of Movember.
You may notice that there is an increase of men in the month of november who sport some form of hair or stubble on their top lip. This all started in australia a few years ago with a group of friends, who subsequently decided that perhaps they could use the "Mo" (Aussie talk for moustache) to raise some funds for mens charities conducting research into Testicular and Prostate cancer.
This has now spread worldwide and this year, yours truly has been donning a caterpillar on my top lip for the cause. This has caused much interest at work, though mainly people have been trying to think whether i look more like a geography teacher, Ned Flanders or Ron Jeremy. (If you don't know him, I suggest you don't consult google images, or you may get a shock)

If you want to see some photos of my mo growing progress and maybe sponsor me, you can visit my movember page at http://mobro.co/lewzey

Here's a freebie.

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Let's see. Over the past month or so I've been to two weddings, driven a canal boat. worked stupid amounts of overtime at work, seen a friend move into a new house, revisited my noise boy roots and become a year older.
Weddings first!
I always enjoy weddings to an extent, the pomp, the circumstance, the frippery and ceremony of it all, but for the first time I got enveloped into the proceedings as a Groomsman! Also a first was the fact that as well as attending the stag weekend, I also attended the hen weekend, but that's probably never going to occur again.

As well as being groomsman, getting the matching suit, cravat and buttonhole, I was also asked to read a poem during the ceremony. To give you a hint of how nervous I was, I was unintentionally singing with a tremolo in my voice! The poem was "Us Two" by A. A. Milne, who wrote the Winnie the Pooh books.

Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,

There's always Pooh and Me.
Whatever I do, he wants to do,
"Where are you going today?" says Pooh:
"Well, that's very odd 'cos I was too.
Let's go together," says Pooh, says he.
"Let's go together," says Pooh.


"What's twice eleven?" I said to Pooh.
("Twice what?" said Pooh to Me.)
"I think it ought to be twenty-two."
"Just what I think myself," said Pooh.
"It wasn't an easy sum to do,
But that's what it is," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what it is," said Pooh.


"Let's look for dragons," I said to Pooh.
"Yes, let's," said Pooh to Me.
We crossed the river and found a few-
"Yes, those are dragons all right," said Pooh.
"As soon as I saw their beaks I knew.
That's what they are," said Pooh, said he.
"That's what they are," said Pooh.


"Let's frighten the dragons," I said to Pooh.
"That's right," said Pooh to Me.
"I'm not afraid," I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted "Shoo!
Silly old dragons!"- and off they flew.


"I wasn't afraid," said Pooh, said he,
"I'm never afraid with you."


So wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
There's always Pooh and Me.
"What would I do?" I said to Pooh,
"If it wasn't for you," and Pooh said: 
"True,It isn't much fun for One, 
but Two,Can stick together, says Pooh, says he.
"That's how it is," says Pooh.

In case you didnt read it out loud the first time, revisit the first two lines and read them out loud. Imagine saying that in an anglican church!
The bride and groom hadn't until that moment heard the poem spoken, and were in fits of giggles most of the way through because of it, and apologised at the reception.

Apart from that slight lapse, I can say that the wedding was a great success, and the groom did marvellously, he was most definitely the most nervous groom in history.

Hoist the mainsail! swab the decks! Yar har har, and other piratey-navy-type things!

Just after the aforementioned wedding, myself and five other landlubbers took a few days off to explore the Avon and Kennet canal, thanks to some friends who lent us their boat

It was so nice to have a few days off; putt-putting at about 2-3mph, getting given regular cups of tea by the on-board catering team, and stopping at pubs along the way whenever it took our fancy (we stopped at every one). 

Most of us had a go at steering the boat, each for as long as their mettle could hold out, and we only had two accidental bumps (and one intentional brush with some overhanging branches for the benefit of the girls who were sunbathing).

I do miss being on the boat, and it took a few days for me to stop swaying when on dry land, much like when you get out of a lift and you feel like you're still moving. I'd be glad to go back sometime and head in the opposite direction, towards a stretch of 26 locks in 6-7 miles of canal. That would be a fun day or so!

Of course there are bits that i haven't mentioned, but they're either for another day or just to illustrate how busy august-september was.

So that was "yesterday". 

Today has been a day of complete rest, the first I've had for maybe three weeks, and I can tell you it's been great. 

And as for tomorrow? Tomorrow hasn't been written yet, I'll wait and see what happens.

Diolch, a Nos Da

Well it's happened. I arrived just under 5 years ago as a sprightly young thing from the green fields of surrey, into this great unknown province of the british empire, and left a much different man.

Almost as if Cardiff didn't want me to leave just yet, my house keys went missing on the day of the move. Well, I say on that day, but because i never take keys off my keyring, i naturally assumed that they were still there. So after a 3 hour, 180 mile drive, we arrived to find that my key had slipped off in the night.
Luckily though my housemate, though she had recently moved to bristol, happened to be working at a conference in a nearby hotel just 5 minutes down the road! A quick trip to the key cutters via the hotel and we were back in business, but not before a trip to Central Bar Wetherspoons.

We spent maybe 3 or 4 hours packing and cleaning, cramming the car with every possession I hadn't already smuggled across the border in previous visits. The only things that had to be left behind (apart from some furniture and computers I gave away) were a pair of old speakers that were found in a shed back in my student hovel. The circle of life decreed we leave them outside the house to await their next owner as there was no room in the car (though they might find them a bit lacking in high-end as I fitted a crossover to turn them into subs).

Now I've got to figure out how much of the stuff I brought back I actually want to keep, giving bits to charity shops, church, friends, etc so that the next move will hopefully be a better fit.

My housing contract has ended, I've sent the key back. The only thing I haven't done is tell Cardiff council I won't be voting there any more. Chances are they've lost my details again and won't miss me anyway, englishmen only slow down the devolution process.

Though I may be gone, I have not left. In the words of Evita, "Don't cry for me Wales, I'll be back a week saturday."

Or something like that.

Strawberries and Cream

Wimbledon is fast approaching. The world famous sporting event that sits beside Ascot as one of the more refined pursuits of athleticism available in britain. Apart from living in cardiff during the six nations, I've never worked or lived near to the centre of a major spectacle such as this, which is leading me to wonder what, if any, effect the weeks of Wimbledon might have on my work life.
In a first for the sport, this year the BBC is offering tennis coverage in 3D, and all without needing a subscription (but of course you still need the 3D HDTV and 3D set-top box, which will set you back a few quid). This jump in viewing technology is probably the biggest thing to happen to the sport since centre court got a roof built over it.

I probably won't get to see any of the 3D coverage, or much of the live bog-standard 2D SD coverage, as I'll be working a mile or so away, but this video has got me a little excited, I just hope that I'm still able to get a seat on the train with all these tourists swanning around with their huge sunglasses and punnets of strawberries.