Turning 30.

Who would believe it - me! 30!?

I certainly don't feel it. Granted some days I feel twice that, but i'm betting that we all have days like that. Much like everything else, my life has traveled to this point in time, and after all thats all it is. The man made measure of how things last, their longevity, and ultimately the only way we can quantify our mortality. The time that's spent while we've been here. And to be honest its been an interesting three decades so far. I've been born, grown up, got an education, supporting myself etc etc. Granted these are things that everyone does, and to be honest these day to day things just pass us by. But it is often said in axiom that things are greater than the sum of their parts, years, or whatever measurement you are going to attribute to it.

I spent my 30th birthday away from home - visiting a city I had not yet visited but had longed to for a variety of reasons. An hour or two down the road and I was in the fair city of Cardiff. I am very fond of Wales and the Welsh, and have found them to be honest, friendly and incredibly polite in a matter of fact way. I found Cardiff to be no different - full of people who were happy and forthright. Here in Stoke it is perhaps a different story. Its hard to go a mile without seeing a tracksuit (not for fitness purposes), a public display of a family dispute, or simply an unhappy face. It does worry me. I guess we all have things to learn here in our own sphere of influence, I guess those people are no different.

Back to Cardiff. on arriving in the city i noticed an interesting mix of both old and new - not too dissimilar from Chester - paying respect to original architecture whilst making conveyance for the new. Having touched base at hotel we ventured out into Cardiff, coming accross first to Cardiff Market.

I have always liked the feel of markets - small business trying to earn an honest living, offering fair and reasonable prices for varieties of goods. Our first purchase - a local delicacy - welsh cakes. I had not tried them before, so was eager to try them.\ Having taken a bite and falling in love with them, I vowed at some point to make my own. You can find a traditional Welsh Cakes recipe here.

After a tour of the market and looking at a variety of goods, we decided to get a feel for the rest of the town. Met with a variety of vendors offering new and old things alike I was fascinated at the mix of culture, and a presence of acceptance of all things within this mix. We stopped for lunch at a noodle bar offering a variety of Chinese and Japanese fayre, and we shared chicken noodles, breaded salt and pepper chicken, and sweet and sour chicken.

Happy me with happy chopsticks :)

Moving on to the rest of the shops we surveyed yet more elements of culture. Tradiitonal Welsh butchers, delicatessen, bakers etc - it was refreshing to see such a cornucopia of vendors selling traditional fayre in a city that appears so cosmopolitan to the naked eye.

We decided to indulge the worldy culture acceptance further and booked a table for French Restaurant chain "Cafe Rouge".  When we arrived later that evening we indulged on two french favourites - Beef bourginione and duck leg confit (presented with plum sauce and dauphinoise potatoes) - an immense favourite of mine to cook as well as eat.

All in all i decided that if i was enjoying myself this much, turning 30 wasn't such a bad thing. After all, I am frequently told I dont look it (i'm not sure if that's out of politeness or not, but I don't question it just in case.) 

Another wonderful thing i noticed about Cardiff was the friendliness of people in general. This was proved when in shops we were offered tea and biscuits for merely visiting. Such a welcoming community - I figured that such a gesture goes a long way- especially on such a cool late autumn day.. If we did that here in Stoke it would be viewed as some clever marketing ploy, or a con. Either that or there would be a wealth of visitors to your shop wanting to liberate you of your tea and whatever else you giving away.

That night I went to bed with a full belly, and a happy heart knowing I was in such a nice place with nice people, the only worry being that it is becoming increasingly rare. 

Once awakened I got myself together and headed to breakfast. After a hearty full English (or Welsh, even), further exploration of the town was required. Collecting souvenirs such as Welsh cakes to bring home, some cherry brandy, apricot brandy and a few nik naks for gifts, the day was spent in merriment in exploration of Cardiff's wonderful things to see, inclusive of stopping in a cafe to enjoy a hearty plaice, chips and peas and a pot of tea, and an exporation of yet more shops, stalls and many interesting Welsh things.

/indulging in yet more worldy culture we decided on Italian that night, enjoying a traditional lasagne and Marsala chicken (something i'd not eaten in some years). after several gins and a brandy, sleep was once more reuiqred for tomorrows exploration of the bay, and then the journey home. 

The next days exploration of Cardiff bay was a pleasant experience, exploration of its many interesting monuments and shops, with a refreshing cosmopolitan feel. Its somewhere I would heartily consider living in, a mix of the modern and old. Upon gazing on the millennium centre I saw the words in Welsh and then translated to "Within these stones, horizons sing". 

Such a resonant piece of short literature I thought. Timeless, I pondered, just as timeless as Cardiff itself. These words echoed in my mind on the return home, whilst passing over the sunlit water between England and Wales, over the great bridge that connects the two.

 It helped to remind me most of all that although I am now thirty years old, perhaps it is just a number. If my life ever becomes a fraction of the timelessness that Cardiff presents, I should do well. Here's to the next thirty years - may they be ever youthful.

11:11:11

Today, 11:11:11 is particularly resonant for many reasons for me. Not only is it the third night of the full moon, not only has a great asteroid now left our orbit, and not only is it remembrance day, but it is the 11th of November 2011.It will not be the 11/11/11 for another one hundred years.

i was greeted by this poem on my news feed today, which i found to be rather simple and touching. Remembrance day is resonant every year, but what with the weeks events expressed in my last post "antlers"
I feel that the synchorinicity of these events is evermore resonant.


Here is the poem that follows:


Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?
Selling poppies in town today.
The poppies, child, are flowers of love.
For the men who marched away.

But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy?
Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my child, men fought and died
In the fields where the poppies grow.

But why are the poppies so red, Mummy?
Why are the poppies so red?
Red is the colour of blood, my child.
The blood that our soldiers shed.

The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy.
Why does it have to be black?
Black, my child, is the symbol of grief.
For the men who never came back.

But why, Mummy are you crying so?
Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are my fears for you my child.
For the world is forgetting again.


Upon the final words of the last stanza.i pondered remembrance, and not forgetting. What are we without our memories? Do our memories make us entirely what we are. The passing on of knowledge from generation to generation is probably one of the most prominent acts we can ever engage in. Much is lost, when this does not happen.


If you can do me a favour readers, not mattering what time zone you are in, not mattering what time of day it is, or who you are, you are somebody's son or daughter. Somewhere along the line your ancestors have passed down the knowledge you have been given and learned from. Somewhere along the line between then and now, somebody has given their life whether it be on the battlefield, whether it be on the world stage or whether it be a devoted period of time for the betterment of humanity in the pursuit of peace. I ask this: what do we owe them?

The answer can be as simple and great as you need it to be. But in its simple and purest form, we need to honour the need for remembrance. Without acknowledging the acts of our forefather and mothers, the future holds no value. For their to be a journey and a destination, there must be a path behind us.

Lest we forget.

Remember them.

Antlers...

Aside from being a symbol of deer, stags and other horned creatures, antlers hold a particular regard around yuletide to symbolise reindeer / other "xmas" symbols. Fair enough, but its not quite time yet for either. Two nights ago as i was relaxing and contemplating sleep i was granted in appearance a vision of the horned deity, resembling "herne" "cerunnonos" "woden" and other names associated. he didnt say alot, just stood smiling, appearing adorned with antlers much like the depiction of foresaid deities. I didn't feel threatened or uneasy, and his presence seemed fatherly, and serious and jovial in the same respect.

Mindful of his presence in vision, I pondered that i hadn't seen anything like this in a number of years - The last memorable depiction of anything of this magnitude was in waking hours at night, whereby in the light of a full moon i saw the clouds move and shift together to form an illuminated perfect view of a bulls head, in immaculate 3 dimensional detail. It lingered there for about 10 seconds then dispersed slowly. That was many years ago, but it remains resonant in my mind.

So I've been asking around as to why the visit - not that i'm complaining. I feel gently reassured.

Whilst at work last night undergoing my general duties, I pondered the events of the week ahead. The 11th of november was fast approaching, with its links to parallels (11:11:11). Looking at it from a computing perspective, i pondered the application of binary to perhaps give a mathematical 9and aspect of duality) clue.

The differences between each section indicated a multiple of four progression. (from 3 to 12, and 12 to 48). Combined with te expression of each section equalling 3 on its own it held resonant to me the development from 3 dimensions to fourth (in a mathematical sense, expressing co-ordinates and a multiplying factor)

Having links to the tesseract I pondered the development from physical dimension to that of another. Its all relative.

Coupled with the other interesting events this week with the approaching large asteroid, then departing from our view and influence on the 11th (on the third night of the full moon) its seemingly from an stellar (and astral) sense, an eventful week. Whats going to happen? Time will tell.