School Dinners

After work on Friday night I headed straight off for St. David's as we were going out with Chris and Julie to the Cwtch where they were having a "School Dinners" quiz night. We had been working on our fancy dress all week and really looking forward the night out.

Got to their house at about 6.20pm and after a glass of wine to unwind we all got changed. Noel and Chris had obviously been to the same school (St. Brutus's Correctional Facility for Exceptionally Naughty Boys).

Julie was obviously ex. St. Trinians and I was ex. Mallory Towers, or was it St. Clares?

We were going in a big party, some of whom we knew and some we didn't. When we arrived outside the Cwtch and glanced through the window we couldn't see anyone else dressed up and began to wonder if we were the only ones who had been brave enough. Doubt didn't last long though as up the road came four more "schoolboys/girls/transexuals".

They had stuck us in the back room at the Cwtch which was probably just as well as we turned out to be a right rowdy bunch. The table was laid with slates and chalk for us to graffitti with, and bowls of sherbert flying saucers to nibble on and as we had all dressed up we were each given a free cocktail, which was very nice.

The menu was the Cwtch's take on school dinners and three courses for £15. The starters were Leek and Potato soup, Fish fingers and chips or beef and onion pasties and chips. I opted for the "fish fingers" which were actually lovely homemade fish cakes with real chips.

Main course was a choice of Chicken Curry half and half, Cottage Pie or Vegetable Casserole. Most people went for the curry but I was different and had the Cottage Pie which was really lovely and very filling.

The wine flowed freely, the craic was excellent and some old acquaintences were renewed as it turned out the Noel and Colin had been in school together and had not seen each other since about 1979. School day confessions were exchanged, including my tale of getting my tongue stuck to a lampost in the playground in Aviemore when I was about 4. The was also an awful lot of singing and all this was before the quiz started.

It was a very lighthearted quiz and neither of our teams won, although we did beat the other side of the table with our score of 23 compared to their 21.

When the festivities at the Cwtch finally broke up we all headed to the Farmers for a night cap, but only the one as unfortunately I had work the next day and Chris and Julie were off to Yorkshire, but it had been an absolutely brilliant night out with fantastic company.... even if we did all look a right load of plonkers.

Pollution Training

Friday presented another opportunity for me to escape from the Ivory Tower. Fraser (our new recruit) is at the stage where it is best to leave him on his own to do the job without standing over him all the time. As there was going to be pollution training I asked if I could go and as this was ok I kitted up and headed for the jetty.


We were going to go out on the SEA SWEEP which is one of our two pollution craft, especially built to clean up major oil spills. Thankfully we have not had to use them in anger since 1997 and the SEA EMPRESS, but we still have to train on them regularly.

I was only going as an observer so luckily I could stay relatively warm in the wheelhouse and not have to freeze to death on the deck with the other trainees. We headed off from the jetty towards the east and away from the open water. We had to find a relatvely sheltered position to deploy the boom. We reached a point near the Semlogistics terminal and began to stream out the boom behind us. The boom is used to coral any oil on the surface of the water to make it easier to retrieve.


It took nearly an hour to get the whole 300 metres inflated and deployed but once it was out it trailed behind us like a long snake, making the SEA SWEEP harder to maneouvre as it acted like a giant rudder.

By this time I was frozen despite being inside the wheelhouse with the heater on so how the guys on deck must have been feeling I can only imagine. It was a really cold, blustery day, with showers between the sunshine and I managed to get this lovely shot of a rainbow landing directly on the deck of the BRO AGNES... I should have chased it and looked for the gold.


We finally headed back to the jetty at about 1200 and I couldnt wait to get back into Port Control and try to defrost, but it had been really nice to get out on to the water for a change. As I have said before the job does have its advantages.

Strange Night Thoughts

There must be something about being up at stupid O'clock that buggers about with your brain.

The wee small hours seem to distort things and result in rather silly thoughts. Tonight's random thought involves some sand dredgers which have arrived in the Haven. They are managed by a Dutch company call Van Oord... which to me sounds a bit like the Ood, so I was wondering if the crew are tentacley faced and carry their brains around in their hands.

As I said it must just be lack of sleep!!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Its surprising what a bit of sunshine can do to lift your mood. Today I feel much happier, I won't say the January Blues have been banished completely but I am certainly feeling better.

I also have a couple of good things to look forward to next week.

Tuesday we are going to Druidston for one of their "all you can eat" buffets (Italian) with Chris and Julie. I have turned down another overtime night watch for this, I couldn't face having another of my four days off buggered about with.

Then on Friday we are going to a themed quiz night at the Cwtch, also with Chris and Julie and several other couples. The theme is School days and it is fancy dress, so plenty of photo opportunities. The food is also going to be the Cwtch's take on school dinners, so that should be interesting.

So today the sky is blue, the sea is blue and the ships are pretty colours, my cooker is fixed, its Friday and I anticipate a kebab and a bottle of Pinot Grigio this evening with possibly a soak in the hot tub... thing are looking up when the sun shines!!

January Blues

I have the January Blues. Everything today is grey (not blue really). The sky is grey, the sea is grey, the ships are grey and my mood is grey. My four days off was buggered about by having to do an overtime night watch in the middle and I feel as if I've not had any proper time off at all.

My cooker packed in on Monday and although it was been fixed today it was been a pain not having an oven. The house is a mess, pub quiz last night was cancelled after I had trekked all the way to the Jolly Sailor for nothing and my pile of ironing is nearly reaching the ceiling with more washing piling up all the time. I feel a bit like Edvard Munch's Scream at the moment. It must be that time of year. I really need sometime to motivate me but my whole attitude at the moment is "I can't be arsed"... I hope I snap out of it soon because it is really depressing me. Sorry for the moan, hopefully I shall feel more cheerful in the near future.

RIP Bill

It was with huge sadness that I just read on the BBC News website of the death of Bill Mclaren at the age of 86.

As someone who grew up listening to his voice commentating on just about every rugby match I ever watched, he was for me, as for the rest of the world "The Voice of Rugby".

This is the man who called the mighty JPR a Jet Propelled Rhino, who likened forwards racing up the pitch to a "herd of rampaging wildebeest". He was a legend. I was priveledged to be at the final game he ever commentated on, Wales v Scotland in 2002 at Cardiff and joined in the standing ovation he received from the crowd before the game. He will be sorely missed. RIP Bill Mclaren a true great!

Incy Wincy

Noel is forever on the lookout for new ways to torment the cats. He is joined in this endeavour by Meurig who this year bought him a remote controlled four wheel drive car to chase them around the house with.

No satisfied with this, while we were in Cardiff Noel spotted one of these in The Gadget Shop. As both Erin and I have a huge phobia of spiders it was not the most popular of purchases.

Hopefully I shall get some video of him tormenting either the cats or Erin with it shortly.