Tuesday 11 August 2009
Top of the Town
Sunday 19 July 2009
Dewberry Picking
Mediocre Portions
Friday 10 July 2009
Seagulls under Attack
Monday 29 June 2009
Meet your Council
Friday 26 June 2009
Strawberry Picking
We had an enjoyable morning in the hot sun out on an open 'pick your own' farm picking strawberries for a bargain £3.00 a Kilogram, so we got a few Kilo's worth which we'll consume in various ways over the next day or two, smoothies, with cream, or maybe for a bit of fun we might even try making a conserve. There was other seasonals to pick yourself which included Gooseberries, Rhubarb and Broad Beans, and in just a few weeks or so Raspberrys and Blackcurrants will be on the menu too. I realised not just how lucky I am to live in North Wales in general, but Llandudno too. Being situated half-way between Holyhead and Chester, it's within perfect reach of most attractions and points of interest. In just under 30 minutes we were away from the hustle and bustle, and walking through sweet smelling strawberry fields with wonderful views, you just couldn't beat it on a day like today.
It made me think, wouldn't it be great if Bodafon farm had it's very own pick your own?
Wednesday 24 June 2009
Monday 22 June 2009
Royal Tern Turns up for Me!
Sunday 21 June 2009
Royal Tern visits Queen of Welsh Resorts
IT SEEMS i've not been the only one doing a spot of ornithology lately. There have been hundreds of twitchers flocking the town after a rare bird has been seen at Llandudno's north & west shores, the 'Royal Tern', only the 5th sighting in Britain in fact.
The Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus, syn. Sterna maxima - see Bridge et al., 2005) is a seabird in the tern family Sternidae. This birdhas two distinctive subspecies.
T. m. maximus breeds on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the southern USA and Mexico into the Caribbean. The slightly smaller T. m. albididorsalis breeds in coastal west Africa.
American birds winter south to Peru and Argentina, and African breeders move both north and south from the breeding colonies.
African birds may reach as far north as Spain. This species has also wandered to western Europe as a rare vagrant, these records probably being from the American colonies.
This species breeds in colonies on coasts and islands. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one or two eggs. Like all white terns, it is fiercely defensive of its nest and young.
Royal Tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually from saline environments, like most Sterna terns. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by Arctic Tern. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.
This is a large tern, second only to Caspian Tern but is unlikely to be confused with that carrot-billed giant, which has extensive dark underwing patches. Royal Tern has a long yellow bill, pale grey upperparts and white underparts. Its legs are black. In winter, the black cap becomes patchy. Juvenile Royal Terns have a scaly-backed appearance. The call is a characteristic loud grating noise like a Sandwich Tern.
Saturday 20 June 2009
Sandcastles
A spot of Bird Watching
Friday 19 June 2009
All Aboard 'The Pride of Llandudno' Route 1
Wednesday 17 June 2009
Anwyl Breached Conditions of Planning Approval
"This is something I knew this would happen. Anwyl are in clear breach of the conditions of the planning approval and was required to only demolish Penmorfa when contracts for the re-development had been signed and sealed along with the necessary funding. The fact is that Mr Detheridge, the former head of planning, after he left CCBC became a director of Anwyl as I understand it. He would know that the CCBC planning department would not get into an enforcement row because it would give them extra work and might cost money. This is the excuse that they always give. The fact that CCBC have £57 million in the reserves does not count! It is an absolute disgrace. The Pier Pavilion site, 14 years after the fire, is a national scandal. While CCBC have been able to find the funding for the Arena and extension to the theatre plus build a swimming pool it shows that they do not have the right priorities."
Monday 15 June 2009
We're Almost There
(Full recipe/how to in the upcoming Mag!)
FIRSTLY apologies to my loyal readers for the lateness of the current issue of the Local magazine. It has presented a tremendous challenge this time round and it is very much a learning curve at the same time. The magazine is projected to be somewhere in the region of 40-pages, the increase in size is part of the setback and i've had many sleepless nights playing catchup and devising a new schedule for the issue to follow thereafter so that it runs as sweet as a nut. It is a complete change from the previous newsletter, and the new format is quite refreshing.
It's a real community effort with local people doing their bit for the mag. Local business couple Emma & Mark Baravelli (The Little Deli) are featured residents of our new Food & Drink section and have prepared this Homemade Black Cherry & Almond Tart served with Homemade Welsh Honey and Vanilla Panacotta, this has to be the best perk of the job yet and I got the full joy of devouring it all in front of them both, the verdict, top marks 10/10, folks try this one at home! I've never really liked Honey or Blackcherries, but everything Emma seems to make, I somehow end up liking, they practically convert me everytime, if they do read this, I challenge them to my fear of mushrooms!
Likewise we have local celebrity TV/Radio chef Peter Osborne doing the main course, some great features, then there's the puzzles and games and prizes too!
Further announcements to follow for the Llandudno Local magazine, it's not too late to place an ad or send something in!
Once again, a big thanks to Emma & Mark & Peter with the Food & Drink section! Look out for it!
Friday 12 June 2009
Pen Morfa - Ground Zero No.2
Disappointment to Llandudno has come after the Local discovers a reliable source confirming Anwyl have no immediate plans whatsoever to develop on the Pen Morfa site on West Shore after being told by their bankers not to commence any developments for the forseeable future, the result of greedy developers who have no shame. Has Llandudno been left with yet another 'ground zero' on it's hands like that of the pavilion site on North Shore. The big question is, how long will this eyesore remain?"