Two days' outings

Yesterday I went over to Bristol by train, to see my sister Pauline who is in hospital there after having fallen in the street on her way to the Eye hospital with her husband Geoff, and cracked her hip. As only evening visiting was possible, I took the opportunity to travel over earlier in the afternoon and meet up with Amanda to go bargain hunting for a laptop with her, which we duly found in John Lewis' Cribbs Causeway store. I broke my journey at Filton Abbey Wood, a commuter station, not far from where she lives. She picked me up by car there, and after shopping returned me to a Temple Meads bound train to reach my destination. A neat hassle free way of beating Bristol's terrible traffic congestion. An-off peak Cardiff-Bristol return ticket cost me two thirds of the price of the petrol, and Seven Bridge toll. That's what I call competitive value on a local travel service.

As I had an hour and a half to while away before visiting time, I walked to the hospital through the old city in a leisurely fashion and took photos. It was fascinating to view an environment we'd lived in for eight years, as a visitor with fresh eyes. Bristol has seen a great deal of urban redevelopment as well as suburban expansion, the former making the most of the city's water courses. Its historic quarters are mostly well maintained and preserved, and the town centre exudes an air of well established prosperity with a strong business sector. A report from UWIC in April this year ranks Bristol as the UK's most competitive English large city. A third of the UK's FTSE top hundred listed companies have a 'significant presence' in the Bristol area, as well as hosting many foreign companies. 

Bristol Council is proud of its efforts to position the city region as an attractive place for business investors. Exactly what Cardiff is also seeking to do. Bristol maintains a position it has held for 250 years due to its maritime engagement with slavery and colonial trading. Bristol prospered when Cardiff was still a minor riverside village. Coal and iron brought Cardiff some wealth, relatively late in time, but it has yet to build the kind of substantial business foundation as Bristol possesses. Let's hope this can be achieved in a more ethical and less exploitative way in the coming decades of economic development - starting with a Severn barrage maybe?

Today is Owain's 32nd birthday, so we met up and took him out to lunch in Llantwit Major. He wanted to go to a gastro-pub favourite of his, but we were refused service because the staff were preparing for a large post funeral reception - which explained the number of fellers in suits and black ties walking purposefully in the direction of St Illtud's Church. We lunched well at a restaurant called 'Illtud's' nearby, which was a great compensation, and then paid a visit to the beach. The threat of rain held off until we got back home for tea and birthday cake. Our friend Keith Dale arrived from Geneva at tea time. Claudine flies in form South Africa tomorrow morning. They're joining us again for a night at the opera - Die Meistersingers - an eagerly awaited treat given the acclaim from Eddie and Anne when they attended last weekend.

After a day of inaction the gas service supply crew returned, dug another hole the opposite side of the road, renewed some piping, and then filled in the holes to tarmac level and departed, leaving them fenced in, taking a second car parking space out of use. I guess it's someone else's job to finish off, tarmac-ing over the filled in holes. After tonight's rain they'll be water holes in the morning.