101 Things/1001 Days

With the end date fast approaching for my 1001 day challenge I have started to become a little more pro-active at looking for things on the list that can be crossed off. So on Easter Monday I set off to Llyn Y Fan Fach which is located in the Brecon Beacons. I have always wanted to visit after hearing the legend of the lady from the lake (not the one from Arthurian legends) when I was younger, at primary school I remember they were planning on producing a play telling the story even thought I was involved I can only ever remember one meeting regarding it.

So armed with camera I eventually got to the car park at the bottom of the mountain and started the walk up to the lake, now if you have no idea how far away something is it seems to take ages to get there and I have to admit I am not as fit as I thought I was or used to be. I could blame the shoes I was wearing (not what is recommended for mountain walking) but in reality I should get out and exercise more.
The walk however painful it might have been was rewarding once I got to the lake, I will admit I did not know what to expect as I had only ever seen photographs taken from higher up the mountains. The photo here does not really do the place justice but I must have spent a good bit of time up by the lake just enjoying the views and taking photos, it was odd to see some of the peaks covered in snow and if it had not been so late in the day (and if I had been better prepared) I may well have continued to climb further up the mountain to get more photos. I am glad I did not now as after deciding to start the descent it began to snow and the weather did start to close in.

After visiting Llyn Y Fan Fach I can understand why the place is thought to be magical. I am sure I have the story regarding the lake prepared for one of my sites but can’t find it at the moment but I will add a link here (eventually)

Would you believe I had never read these books before, not the whole series at any rate I am sure I would have read “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” at school so at the start of March I loaned “The Magicians Nephew” and got to learn how Narnia was created and the origins of the Witch and how the Wardrobe became magical. I finished this book in record time and I had soon worked my way though the others to “The Last Battle” which is the end of the series. Where “The Magicians Nephew” tells of the creation of Narnia “The Last Battle” tells of the end of Narnia and we get to find out what happened to the characters that we met during the previous books. Does the book have a happy ending?

Well that really does depends on your outlook on things.

You would have thought this was something that I would have already owned or at the very least been able to just go out and buy one the day after this project began in order to cross something off the list. As the Welsh rugby team have been playing rather well in the Six Nations contest I figured now would be the right time to go out and get the shirt, In fact when the Welsh team were playing Ireland yesterday!

Of course there were so many different shirts available and after doing a search a few days ago online and seeing the prices that the shirts are sold for I was rather pleased to be able to pick up one for only £20.99, and hopefully I will be wearing it next Saturday when Wales play France for the grand slam.

This was something that I have been meaning to do for quite sometime, mainly to get rid of a lot of my old junk. However when actually looking through my possessions and putting aside the things that were surplus to requirements and could be sold at a car boot sale I discovered I had very little and would be hard pushed to sell enough to cover the cost of setting up the stall. So for the last few months I have been building up bits and pieces that I could sell or at the very least have on the table to make it look like I had a lot.

It has been at least ten years since I last did a car boot sale and this was the first time at this location and I did find it rather disappointing that there did not seem to be a great deal of organisation, we got there just after 7am and were informed that there was no spaces inside so we would have to set up outside and take our chances with the elements. But even setting up outside there was no real order so after setting up the table and having to contend with all those bargain hunters (fellow traders hoping for a bargain in the confusion of setting up your stall) we were set and with a few more cars around us it should have helped with the footfall. The weather managed to hold out for a few hours just after 11.00 that a few of the cars close to us decided to call it a day but as the rain got heavier we called it quits at about 11.30.

The majority of what I had was old VHS cassettes ( I have hundreds so only took the films that I have on DVD) a old inkjet printer, scanner and some old computer games. I had not expected to sell many videos as DVD’s seem to be all the rage these days but was surprised that none of the computer peripherals went but then again would many people want to take a risk buying electrical goods at a car boot sale?

I did not want the printer so removed the ink cartridges so that I can send them off to be recycled and hopefully get some TESCO Clubcard Points some of the other smaller items that had no real value for me were binned and I shall be deciding what to do with the other items that did not sell.

You would have thought that this is something I could have done months ago and I suppose you would be right. Never easy to know what fruits I have never tried, as I tend to eat a lot of mixed fruit but I after months of looking at exotic type fruits I decided to sample the “Sharon Fruit” which is persimmon variety and a good source of Vitamin A. To me looking at this fruit it looks like a tomato and after learning that it could be eaten as an apple I decided to try it. The first thing I should say is that the skin is very hard but edible. As I bit into it I did expect to either instantly love or hate it but to be honest I found it rather bland. Maybe because I was expecting it be just as juicy as a tomato in fact to describe the taste and texture I would have to say it reminded me of eating a pear (same texture to the fruit) but a pear is a lot more refreshing. So no more Sharon Fruits for me!

Another year has gone and that means I am getting closer to the deadline for my 101 things to achieve within 1001 days. When I started this project I expected it to be easy but then again if something is worth doing it should not be easy.

So with just over a year to go what have I done over the past few twelve months, to be honest it does not feel like a great deal but I have now crossed off seven things off my list -

54. Upgrade/change my computer
35. Visit the National Botanical Gardens of Wales
46. A night out in Cardiff/Swansea
70. Complete EDCL Level 3 Powerpoint
85. Complete my Quantum Leap dvd collection
34. Visit Dublin
25. Go out to Worms Head off Rhosilli

But I am well on my way to completing the following –

1. To watch all of the AFI top 100 films.
2. To watch all of the BFI top 100 films.
3. To watch all of the IMDB top 250 films.
(Out of the 367 films that I need to watch to be in a position to complete the above three tasks I have currently watched only 90.)
91. Visit at least five National Trust properties[1/5]

Another item to be crossed off my list, I actually went out and got a new computer back in November but have only now found the time to write this message. My computer has been out of action for sometime now when I switch it on after a few minutes it just shuts down and at first I thought this could be a virus but believe it is something to do with the memory (thats what happens when you get it repaired in the wrong place) As the computer was a fair few years old and because I don’t have Internet access at home I decided that it would be a waste of money to get it upgraded so got myself a laptop instead. With the laptop it is portable so I can take it to my mothers to connect to the Internet and update things and it does not take up a great deal of space at home. I will still need to get rid of the old computer not that it really has any value.

I only live a few miles down the road from the National Botanic Gardens of Wales and yet had never been there. I have always thought that sometimes we forget what we actually have on our own doorsteps, which was one of the main reasons I added a visit to the gardens to my list of things to do and it has taken me until now to actually fit in a visit to these gardens. I went there on August Bank Holiday and was glad that my student card still allows me discount as I did not think a lot of the actual attraction, in fact at times it felt as if a visit to a local garden centre would have been cheaper and just as interesting. Okay I did get to take some good photos but felt that the people running this attraction could have done a lot more to make the day enjoyable for all. As a garden they grow a lot of produce, which they mention can be sampled at the various restaurants/cafes what would have been nice is for some of the local produce to be available for free, even if this was only at selected times of the day. In fact I think this venue is best for people with an interest in plants or people who just want to pay to get close to nature.

Well another item crossed off my list, as last night I went out for the night to Swansea. It was with friends from work and it was a great laugh.

At the start of May I decided to sit the presentation section of the ECDL and have been waiting since that time for confirmation that I had actually passed. I knew I had passed from how well the exam had gone and the tutor had already told me but you know what its like you don’t want to believe it until the certificate arrives though the post. It did yesterday so another goal crossed off my list.