Woverhampton Wanderers

My hometown ( or home city ) now has a winning football (soccer) team. They are now six wins in a row and seem on a good run. Heck I don't even like the game but it's nice to be on the winning side for a change. I was in the Wolves shop the other day looking for christmas presents. I noted a book on Derek Duggan, he was the captain when I last lived in the city ( it was a town back then ). I flitted through the pages as one does and noted that he died of a heart attack a few hours after being down the pub with some buddies. Derek was a great guy, very active in the community and loved his town and team. He was also a good player from what I recall. I did not note his age at time of passing because I was cognisant of the shop assistants possibly expecting me to buy the book. But a tribute to him by me does not seem misplaced. Good one Doog !!

Credit Crunch

How ridiculous that the world runs along until we find that the Achilles heal is nothing more innocuous than mortgage backed securities. Who would think it. Wars, disease, famine, nuclear threats, AIDS, all these things come and go and people in general carry on living. Now I do not make light of any of these scourges of the modern world. But a mortgage backed security bubble and the world goes to hell and a hand basket. It seems quite frankly, ridiculous. I am quite familiar with the product and remember their early appearance in the late eighties. But then they were bundles of good quality mortgages to help people buy a house who had a good chance of paying it back. What a great idea. So how did it go so horribly wrong. Bundling mortgages with good track records with mortgages giving people 125% of the value of the property. I suppose no one saw the insanity of this and how it has entangled every other person who wants to buy a house in the 'normal' fashion. South sea bubble all over again. What was it they said.... 'Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it' Sigh....I'll retire to bedlam.

Update Jan 18th 2013. So nearly five years on and still the mayhem continues. Libor rates fixed, loan insurance scandalized, some of my best loved institutions brought almost to their knees by falling on their own swords. Can it get any worse? I hope that there is finally some hope that maybe the rot may finally be checked. After all what is left to ruin? As the saying goes, when you hit rock bottom the only way is up. I sincerely hope this is the case. 

* The photo is the beautiful Barclays Bank in Dolgellau Wales. I chose this photo from my collection for its clarity only. 

Aberdyfi - Aberdovey

Well I just have to talk about Aberdyfi because I have gone on about it so much and most people don't even know it exists let alone pronounce the name. It sounds like Aberdovey which is the Englishgenerations ion of the village. It used to be a fishing port but now relies mainly on tourism. About 40 years ago planning permission allowed holiday bungalows to be built behind the village following a small valley. There must be 50 of them and one of them was astutely purchased by my father. I spent my summer holidays here from 1967 and worked here all summer during my college years 1972-75 using the bungalow as a base. I made many friends and it was work all day and party all night including many bonfires amongst the sand dunes. The food in those days consisted of crisps in the pub or fish and chips. Today the coffee houses have expanded to serve the public's changing needs and all the pubs also serve soft and hot drinks as well as traditional ales. What I have noticed is that while 40 years ago the village almost rolled up the sidewalk (pavement) from September to July, now there is a lot more activity and here in late October there is plenty of hussle and bussle. The area again seems to be thriving, I think partly due to the sea air and mild climate but I wonder if climate change is a contributary factor. Aberdyfi is at a higher latitude than Winnipeg yet there is rarely a frost or any snow and the grass is green all year with many plants like gorse and winter jasmine that flower throughout the winter. Food for thought.

Update August 1st 2014, the bungalow purchased by my father is about to be sold after 44 years, in many ways a sad time yet it is no longer much used and it is time for it provide holidays to a new generation. 

X Factor

             Copyright Anatoliy024

At the insistence of my daughter I have been told to update my blog more often. With due deference I will oblige. However I may have to change the name of my blog to something more all encompassing since this entry has nothing to do with travel !!
I am utterly hooked on X factor. I feel like I am at the equivalent of alcoholics anonymous but there is no help for it. I love the show. I watched a few episodes last year and was appalled but I now realise that what hooks you is seeing the finalists rise from nothing to boot camp to the final 24 and then the final 12. Now each week one act goes so by the time the winner is chosen near Christmas you have seen that act 15 times and it becomes personal. I won't tell you who I am rooting for this time but there are several acts that I will be sad to see leave. On a happier note, even the act that lost last week ( the first of 12 to go ) have a management company who have booked them, sight unseen, for performances at clubs at £150 per minute. So if they are careful they should be able to amass a tidy sum. 'Careful' means pay yourself first. Save for the future as well as enjoy the present, a mantra that has served me well and I can see all the groans from people to whom I have passed on this advice in the past.

*Thanks to Anatoliy for the terrific photo at Wikimedia Creative Commons

Oversight

I am remiss in that I have not included Stourport in the list of local towns. Stourport is located where the Stour flows into the Severn but more importantly where the Staffordshire-Worcestershire canal joins the River Severn through a series of locks. Stourport is another well preserved Georgian 18th century towns that grew with the success of the canal network. The whole area is being restored or renovated and is a great place to shop. The one way traffic system reduces the number of cars in the town yet allows for good business so the town is thriving on any given day. So if all else fails, it is a close place to get to and have a cup of tea. As with other local towns I will only mention again if there is something special to relate.