Monthly Archives: December 2012

Rambling through 2012, a year in pictures: Part 2, Greece

Posted on December 31, 2012 by BarryH

The task of selecting a bakers’ dozen of images from the hundreds I took in Greece this summer was more daunting than choosing those for Wales.  This is partly because many of the places I went were new to me … Continue reading →

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Rambling through 2012, a year in pictures: Part 1, Wales

Posted on December 30, 2012 by BarryH

At the end of a busy year it seems appropriate to look back and remember the places I went and the things I did during 2012.  Far too much to cram into a blogable number of words so I decided … Continue reading →

Posted in Autumn, Grey Britain, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Windows of opportunity and a mountain playground on the doorstep

Posted on December 27, 2012 by BarryH

We moved to our present house from Cardiff in 1975 in order to be closer to my work, thereby significantly reducing the daily each-way commute from 20 miles to 4, 45 minutes to 8.  The reasoning was that out of … Continue reading →

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Solstices: looking back and looking forward.

Posted on December 23, 2012 by BarryH

The Winter Solstice this year began gloriously but soon went downhill weather-wise.   Still, as it recedes into the background and the days begin to get longer again it’s maybe time to remind ourselves of what the annual phenomenon is all … Continue reading →

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Bah Humbug!: debasing the language … and then a Christmas greeting

Posted on December 20, 2012 by BarryH

I regret that I’m going to do my Bah Humbug Pre-Christmas moan today.  I hadn’t intended to be negative even though this is not my favourite time of year.  But a flyer which came in a package of stuff I … Continue reading →

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Back from the shops: Jinxed journey and verglas

Posted on December 15, 2012 by BarryH

When I was a kid we used to have to write essays in school on less than thrilling subjects such as ‘My Summer Holidays’, ‘An afternoon in the Park’ or ‘My Favourite Pet’.   So boring did I find this that … Continue reading →

Posted in Monmouthshire, Mountains, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hibernation time and images of cold weather

Posted on December 12, 2012 by BarryH

Late nights have been more frequent recently.  Four times in the last week I have been up until 03.00 and this has started to impact on the time I get up.  My boast that I get up at 07.30 whatever … Continue reading →

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Shafts of light in the winter gloom and hibernation

Posted on December 8, 2012 by BarryH

In the last week I have made another couple of trips to Cardiff in increasingly stressed and depressed pursuit of Christmas presents for the family.  Each time I arranged to meet up with friends in the evening, something to look … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bah Humbug!: Christmas and beyond

Posted on December 4, 2012 by BarryH

I regret that I don’t and never have, enjoyed Christmas.  Required jollity is not my thing.  Nor is the hyperventilating commercialisation which tries to drag behind it a vague connexion with the birth of Christ which the church does its … Continue reading →

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Winter colour

Posted on December 1, 2012 by BarryH

As forecast and commented in this blog, winter has finally arrived in South Wales (that’s Old South Wales, not the state in Australia where it’s now coming into summer).  Temperatures over the last two nights have dropped below zero.  Not … Continue reading →

Posted in Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments