Keep it Lleyn

Caernarfon to Nefyn

The last stage of the Welsh coastal walk took me to Bangor, and, as I have already walked from Bangor to Caernarfon, I am skipping that bit this time, and resuming at Caernarfon Castle.

Somewhere between Bangor and Caernarfon, an invisible barrier has been crossed. I don't wish to take away the Welshness of Llandudno and other such places along the North Wales coast, but on arriving in Caernarfon, and all the more so when heading West down the Lleyn Peninsula, and also when crossing onto Anglesey, it is noticeable that the mother tongue of North West Wales is Welsh. Indeed, through my 4 days on the Peninsula, I could tell immediately who was a local and who was a holidaymaker – the locals spoke to each other in Welsh, the visitors in English. There was nothing rude or un-natural about that, it was simply people speaking to each other in their own tongues. I did try to practice my Welsh as much as possible – with some success, but I also need to improve it if I am going to get anywhere with it. Anyway, that's for another day.

How do you pronounce this peninsula I am walking? It's the Lleyn Peninsula – think “Clean” but with spit !

The knack at the start is to get the right bridge across the Seiont. It's only a small river, but it's still important. I worked out that I needed to find a footbridge just round the back of Caernarfon Castle. Miss it and it wouldn't be the end of the world, but you could easily find yourself doing a couple of extra miles. Before making the start of the trek down the north side of the Lleyn peninsula, I paused to take in the scene. There's history and culture all around, and it would have been a shame to miss it in a rush to head off. Caernarfon Castle, with it's long history and historic association with the Princes of Wales is on the right, the Island of Anglesey is ahead across the Menai Straits, and to the left is the start of the road that will lead round the coast – after a fashion !

Broadly speaking, the route I have been trying to follow is the Ancient Pilgrim's Way walk to Bardsey Island. Why the route should choose the north side of the Peninsula when the southern side is flatter, has more beaches and is generally a sight easier to walk is one of life's eternal mysteries, as is why the official walk for day is only 6 miles long and leads inland to the village of Penygroes.

Well, I've nothing against the village – I have been there a couple of times, and very pleasant it is too, but it's not exactly a coastal walk. So, following the road that leads away from Caernarfon, I followed the trail through the village of Saron before heading away from the trail to divert to Llandwrog and make progress to Nefyn.

Perhaps at this stage a word about Welsh chapels, their name, their village name, and what they are saying today. Many Welsh villages have Biblical sounding names, Saron, Bethesda, Horeb, there's even a Bethlehem. Apparently, in some of these small villages, the village was named after the chapel. It would have been the centre of village life, things would have revolved around that, and people for miles around would have known that, How things have changed.

In this day and age where churches and chapels have closed and are closing, a casual glance does not always tell you whether or not the chapel is open today. If there's no notice board, does that mean the place is closed? Perhaps. It certainly makes it look closed. If there is a service there on a Sunday, at what time? No information for visitors is not good for mission. A couple of notice-boards I passed later on the walk did display posters, one showing when the one service a month would be (one service a month? What's that about, and what do people do the other 3 weeks?) and one, which I only managed a quick glance at, but there were posters which I recognised as coming from the Presbyterian Church of Wales, so that did at least tell me which denomination the chapel belonged to. Had I looked closer, I might have been able to find out more, but it was enough to tell me that something was happening there.

For the next stage of the walk, progress is considerably easier these days than it has perhaps ever been. That is because of a very good foot and cycle path along the main road. I have mentioned before how much I dislike walking along main roads - other than locally – but given the distance needed to travel today, it was necessary in order to make progress. To be fair, there are times when the path does divert away from the road slightly, but, for the most part, if follows the road from just after Llandwrog, going through Pontllyfni, Aberdysach and Clynnog Fawr before it is necessary to divert towards the village of Trefor and back to the coast.

Heading towards Trefor is not a problem – but what happens after that is guaranteed to take your breath away. It involves the steepest section of the Lleyn Peninsula walk, perhaps even the steepest section of the entire Welsh coastal walk. The path goes dash close to the summit of Bwlch yr Eifl and involves a steep ascent, an ascent on which I was worried. Not only was I warm to begin with (it was a glorious, hot day), but as the climb progressed, I found myself dripping with sweat (not good, so very not good), very thankful that I had my phone and plenty of water with me, and part way up I slipped and hit my leg against a stone. It looked as if it was going to come up in a large bump, but thankfully a quick application of anti-septic cream means that there is a nasty mark there, and it hurt for a good few minutes, but it could have been a lot worse.

In stopping to take a breath, as one needs to, there are some marvellous views to be had. Not only does Caernarfon Bay offer a magnificent sweep behind you, but from the path at the other side of the hill, there are good views of both the north and the south coast of the Lleyn Peninsula, and for the next couple of miles, the path stays high up, offering spectacular views, but it levels out, allowing one to get their breath back. Looking beyond the southern coast, there were views of the Ceredigion coast. I have seen the Lleyn Peninsula on the horizon from Aberystwyth many times over the years – it was nice to look towards Aberystwyth, recall those long-gone days and enjoy the view from the opposite direction.

With such clear views, it is hard to lose your bearings. However, my phone was lost. By that I don't mean that I had lost it, but that it thought it was in another country. Up in the wilds of West Wales, signals are patchy, but all the same, I was very surprised to receive a text reading “ Welcome to Ireland.” I refused to pay roaming charges when I was in Wales, so I decided that any mobile use would be strictly for emergencies only.

At this stage, I looked right towards the north coast and realised that this is a place where I could be doing to spend a week – the Welsh language learning centre at Nant Gwrtheyrn. As I found out 21 years ago, Welsh by full immersion is by far the best way to learn.

Walking up the hill was slow, hard, hot work, and I realised that I was not going to make it to Morfa Nefyn today. That did not matter, Nefyn is the official finish point for today, but as tomorrow is the longest day of the walk, a couple of extra miles start would have helped. From the hills, the road drops down to Llithfaen, where a minor road leads the final 3 miles through Pistyll to Nefyn and journey's end for day 1.

The journey home

After a very enjoyable fringe festival, the journey home began.

It was bad from the word go. All looked well in the waiting room, the board dutifully saying that the 10:51 to London Euston would be departing from platform 8, but we had not been on the train for long when the train guard announced that due to emergency engineering works between Haymarket and Carstairs, there would be a delay leaving Edinburgh.

The people at the table opposite me accessed the national rail website on their laptop, and were informed that the train would leave at approximately 11:45, nearly an hour's delay. As that time approached, the estimated departure time was moved to 11:50 with the news that the service was subject to cancellation.

The train guard had been keeping us updated as best he could, but the people opposite seemed to know far more about what was going on. Eventually, approaching mid-day, he announced that the train would now be departing at approximately 12:51 - 2 hours behind schedule. There were other services available via the East coast, and it was recommended that I take the Penzance train and change at Leeds. Well, I did. That left at 12:08, and at least I was moving. The problem is, I was moving in entirely the wrong direction. Still, for the first part of the journey, my worries disappeared as I sat back and enjoyed the beauty of the SE Scotland countryside and, slightly further south, a glimpse of one of my favourite places, the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.

The anxiety began to increase again as we approached Leeds - how would I go on for a connection to Manchester? And just how late home would I be? Well, although the train did arrive in Leeds on time, I missed a connection by seconds, but it was not too bad as there was only about 20 mins to wait for a train that was going to Manchester Airport, but calling at Picadilly en route. I could change there for a Shotton train.

Or so I thought.

As we were approaching Stalybridge, the train ground to a halt. We were informed that there was massive signal failure in the area, and the train would need to be diverted via Victoria, causing a delay of about 20 minutes. Well, ok, that still gave me about 20 mins to make a connection.

Or so I thought.

To say that the train was crawling along doesn't even begin to describe it. It was stop-start through Victoria, through Salford Central, turning round at Salford Crescent, eventually reaching Picadilly 40 mins late. You've guessed it, any chance of making a connection had gone right out of the window.

But, there was a Chester train about 20 mins after arriving. Whilst that would not get me home, it would be within 7 miles. That train passed Warrington just before 6. The train I was originally booked on should have reached Warrington just after 1:30. The irony is, that by now I was wondering if waiting for the delayed train to leave might have been quicker after all ?

At Chester, there was no train to Shotton for another half hour, but there was a train first stop Flint leaving in 2 mins. I got that one and got a taxi home from Flint. Broken rails and massive signal failure. Not a good day for the railways. And then we're encouraged to use public transport? Why ?

Edinburgh Review

Bespoke Magic

This was a 1-man show performed by Bruce Glen, an Australian magician who is also a member of the Magic Circle. He had done his homework on Edinburgh, and this became increasingly clear as the show progressed.

For most of the show, he took on the guise of the storyteller, allowing the audience to revert to the days of childhood and have a child-like wonder about things.

He set the scene by talking about some former Edinburgh storytellers – J.M. Barrie, Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Sir Walter Scott, and, in more recent times, J.K. Rowling.

The tricks performed all had a story running through them, Professor's Nightmare, Card Mess, the Knot Trick and a vanish and reappearance of 3 borrowed rings.

There were places where the show got a bit spooky, but then, Edinburgh does have a spooky history about it. Every night there will be ghost walks on offer somewhere in the vicinity of the Royal Mile. That said, this was family entertainment at its best, and Bruce's best trick was making an hour fly by !

Ali Cook – Principles and Deceptions

Previous reviewers have given this 4 or 5 stars, an accolade it very well deserves.

The show opens with a bit of fun, Ali taking the role of “The Enchanter” a cheesy 70s style cruise ship magician. That said, there was nothing cheesy about the Enchanter's 2 illusions, girl from cage, which I did spot the method but was still well done, then the levitating woman, which had me totally baffled. I do wonder if the woman selected was a stooge, but even with that question mark in my mind, I just cannot figure out how this was done.

Then Ali came on as himself. Interestingly, in his routine, he performed a trick which was essentially the same, but with a different presentation as one performed in Bespoke Magic earlier in the evening. It makes me wonder if that is a trick or just a phenomenon which cane take place under certain conditions. I won't spoil it my saying any more, but it has left me wondering.

Other routines included “Russian Roulette” but with the danger that he might drink from a cup that a volunteer had spat into (he didn't), the coin matrix, a love-letter prediction and the threaded razor blades

There was a brilliant illusion to finish with – poles through girl. I thought that I had spotted the method, then thought that it couldn't possibly be, only to discover that I was right all along. So how the middle bit of the illusion worked ??? Wow, that's the real magic !

A sell-out show, but do all you can to make a ticket appear in your hand !

Wet paint

This show took a while to warm up. Ben Hart struggled initially to have a rapport with the audience, though this did improve as the show went on.

The first trick was quite poor – a coin balance which obviously used adhesive. A coin cascade did not work, and was abandoned before it was due to finish.

As with “Bespoke Magic” some storytelling was used in the course of the show, and this helped break the ice and get the audience alongside that much more. The account of the Indian Rope trick had us spellbound. The only trick performed here was the straightening of a piece of rope, but the real magic was in the telling of the story to a rapt audience.

Linking rings – yes, we've seen that one before, but there was a twist here. Later, when 3 borrowed wedding rings were linked, the astonishment was complete.

Another trick I have seen elsewhere in this festival – the know trick.

The finish was a double act with Neil Kelso, and by now, the audience was enjoying the show. It's a shame they couldn't have started the way they finished.

Pete Firman – Jiggery Pokery

This show could easily have been spoiled by a certain, small section of the audience. There were 34 of them, and the start was delayed by a couple of minutes as one of them had been to the bar and was handing out beers – not to all of them, but to about 10. She didn't seem to notice that there was a room-full of people waiting.

It transpired that as we were taking our seats, Pete had been on stage all along, locked inside a wooden box. He could have done without the beer delay as well. A volunteer was chosen to verify that the key for the lock was indeed the right one, after which it got mixed up with 4 others. When they were eliminated one by one and mixed up with about 500 others, the key that remained did indeed open the lock and let Pete out of the box. Had that trick gone wrong, the show could have been very interesting indeed!

Instead of having 2 cabinets and swapping 2 assistants, a smaller version of this was done by swapping drawings which Pete and a volunteer had done.

What irked me most about what was an entertaining show on the whole was Pete's use of language. There is no need for swearing. Some might get a cheap laugh from it, but not everyone. Yes, I've heard the words before, but I don't expect to hear them when at a magic show.

The extended routine at the close of the show was well worked out. It started as a borrowed £20 routine – it was obviously going to be a vanish and reappear act. It was indeed, but with other acts along the way thrown in to keep the audience waiting, to keep the volunteer on the stage and to further the entertainment.

Between the vanish and the reappearance, there was a head-chopper routine, and the volunteer was made to realise that he had no option but to be the volunteer in this illusion as well. Brilliantly done.

The final reappearance of the £20 note was quite spectacular and brought the show to a well-received end.

A good act, sadly spoiled for me by his use of language and some members of the audience

Barry and Stuart – Show and Tell – The Show

I had an idea what to expect with this – I have seen these 2 Scottish magicians perform before – they are very good, but a bit too gory for my liking. That said, there was not too much gore in here.

The opening act was a memory feat, tearing pages out of a magazine, passing them to members of the audience and then recalling from the stage what was contained in the pages. Stuart was doing the act, and every time he hesitated, Barry made sure that his pain increased, to help him recall what was in his mond. The final pain challenge was Barry standing on Stuart as he was on a bed of nails. Ouch!

If facebook friends are wondering why one of my recent status updates read “Pick a card, not an ace” - it is because we were asked to set that as our Facebook status, and later, towards the end of the show, someone who had received a reply would be chosen. To everyone who replied “Birthday card”, “Credit card” etc, ha flipping ha :-) It turns out that you weren't the only ones – it happens every night !! And a serious thanks to those of you who did seriously name a playing card. When someone was chosen later in the show, the card selected by their facebook friend was indeed the card that came out of the pack. Magic using internet technology – the next generation indeed.

Another version of “Russian Roulette” followed - supposedly using sulphuric acid which could kill a goldfish. Instead, no fish were harmed, but a copper coin got some interesting treatment !

There are many ways to make a chosen card appear, but a good one is to make it appear inside Stuart's mouth, which has been taped over and he has been securely bound by rope. After the card appeared, Stuart, still bound, made his escape duelling Barry who was doing a handcuff escape – both against the clock – Barry won.

There was a second part to the show – the tell, which promised to reveal how the tricks were done. I didn't go to that – part of me can work out how some of the tricks were done, part of me doesn't want to know, and that show started at midnight. At one point in the show, trying to find the average member of the audience, it was said that the average age was between 16 and 40. Without giving another secret away here, I am over 40, and shows at midnight take quite some doing, especially when my train home leaves the next morning !

So, 5 magic shows in 2 days – along with 2 comedy shows (one of which I have not blogged about as it was good but rather “bitty”) That is just a tiny fraction of the fringe, and doesn't even touch the International Festival.

If you can get a couple of days free one August, try the Edinburgh Fringe. It's busy, it's mad, but it's brilliant ! Now back to work for a rest!

Holden and Revill - Edinburgh Festival Fringe

This was a free comedy show as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I don't often attend stand-up comedy gigs, but I did go to this one as Jon Holden and I are cousins. So it's perhaps worth commenting from the outset that this is not a totally un-biased review but there is a degree of family loyalty here.

First of all, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It is huge. The International Festival is impressive in its own right, but when the fringe is in full flow, it's easy to forget that there is an International Festival on at all. (ok, so the first week of the fringe takes place before the International Festival starts, but that's a minor detail for the purpose of this blog, as when I was there they were running concurrently)

The venue was a pub on the corner of Hanover Street and Queen Street, the pleasant, Georgian part of the city and I arrived there with about 20 mins to spare. Jon And Paul were greeting people as they came in and handed out flyers, but when I arrived, Jon was stopped in his tracks. He didn't know I was in Scotland and was not expecting a member of his family to see the show, certainly not a member of his family who's a Methodist Minister! He said that he might have to tone some of the act down, but later said that he had not done so. I hope he didn't. I had gone to see his show, not a modified version of the show. Fortunately for him, he was on 3rd in the 2-man show (just go with that one !) and so had some time to gather his thoughts before doing his stuff.

After Paul Revill and someone else visiting from the Comedy Club in which Jon and Paul perform, it was Jon's turn. It was nice to be greeted as a special guest. His slot was basically comments about the North-South divide taking a questionnaire and asking questions to first 2 guys to find whether it was the north or the south who had the most manly men, and then later a similar sort of thing to find which area had the most feminine women. The sort of quiz where you choose an answer A, B or C and is quite good fun if you don't take it too seriously.

Jon also does a good line in shadow puppets, even if the chicken did look suspiciously like the rabbit! There's another one he hid which I'd perhaps best not mention on here - suffice to say, I don't think he modified that part of the show !!

So yes, although stand-up comedy is not really my preferred choice of entertainment, this show did entertain. It was good to meet up with my cousin and to see his talent in this area. What will come of it remains to be seen, but as far as the Edinburgh Free Fringe Festival is concerned, I'll remember that I saw him here first!