Metropol

Sput wrote:What's the code for FTN?

wells wrote:Your obbsessed!

Tumble Tower wrote:Fair enough, Ftn then. Since it launched in early 2003, I've hardly ever watched anything on Ftn. According to my records (you see, I log all my TV viewing in my daily diary), the only programme I've seen on Ftn this year is The Krypton Factor from 19:00 – 19:30 on Saturday 14 April. So I won't miss this channel.

wells wrote:Your obbsessed!

Hi Wells. Sorry about the delay in replying. This is how my weekend in Swansea went.

Friday 7 September I left Bath just before 7:30 am. Enjoyed a pleasant hitch-free train journey from Bath Spa to Swansea, with one quick change at Newport. I could tell you the train numbers if you really want them. Once there I walked to where I had booked to stay for three nights, a guest house (it actually calls itself a hotel) on the sea front. I had a sea view.

I checked in around 10:20, but just dropped off my main bag without unpacking. Without further ado I wanted to go and see the National Waterfront Museum. It had loads of exhibitions: Energy, Landscape, People, Sea, Communities, Organisations, Achievers, Money, Day�s Work, Networks, Transformations, Land, Coal, Metals. The Landscape exhibition had a video system to allow you to pan various views around Swansea. The "People" exhibition featured information about people in the 1851 Census. In "Money", there was information about shops over the ages, including truck shops, Co-op shops and department stores. Networks included details of the rail and road networks in Wales. "Transformations" featured various vehicles, including the ill-fated Sinclair C5 - remember that? Of course, being in Wales, they had to have an exhibition about coal, didn't they? Altogether it was an interesting museum. I was in there from about 11am till it closed at 5pm.

After a flying visit back to my room, at 5:40 I had a pub dinner at the Abertawe Ale House, just a few doors up from my guest house. Around 7pm I caught the bus up to Llansamlet, as close as I could get to Swansea Playzone, and walked the rest of the way. Then from 8pm to 11pm it was time to become a child for the night, the adult night at Playzone. What a mega fun time I had on the soft play equipment (including wringer rollers, zigzag web climber, tumble tower, level changers, spinning poles, spinning discs, slither chicane etc). I had several goes on the 3-lane astra slide and double drop slide, and even more goes on the single drop slide. Just after 11pm I cabbed it back to my guest house.

Saturday 8 September began with a continental breakfast: cereal and toast. After breakfast I found out that the nearest water slides were at Aquadome at Afan Lido, Port Talbot, so I caught a bus to Port Talbot. Once at Afan Lido, I was in the Aquadome from approixmately 11am to 2pm. It featured two slides, one wide tube in which you had to go down on a tyre (Rubber Ring Ride) and a narrower tube slide in which you went down on your back (Body Flume) - very fast. Altogether I clocked up 12 goes on the Rubber Ring Ride and 20 goes on the Body Flume. I didn't spend much time in the funpool, I was mostly water sliding, but I did have two short spells in the funpool when the waves were on.

After leaving the Lido around 2:30pm I had a portion of chips followed by a whippy ice cream off a van. You can't not have an ice cream on a trip to the seaside, come off it. I then wandered along the beach and promenade before catching the bus back to the town centre and another bus to Swansea. Got back to Swansea around 5pm. At around 5:30pm I had dinner at Yates Wine Lodge, Castle Square.

After a flying visit to my room to drop off a few things, I walked to Singleton Park for Proms In The Park. I got in around 6:50pm, and the concert started at 7:30pm. This was my first time of going to a Proms In The Park concert, having seen the second half of Last Night Of The Proms on BBC1 for 15 years now. Aled Jones presented the concert, which started with the Can Can. David Childs performed a few pieces, including Flight of the Bumblebee. One surprise was that in Swansea we didn't have Land of Hope and Glory. Swansea linked up with the Royal Albert Hall for British Sea Songs. In Sailors Hornpipe, others were bending their legs, so I joined in. Amazing how the Swansea stage orchestera performed in perfect sync with the Albert Hall orchestera. After Sailors Hornpipe we had Ar Hy Dy Nos. Then came Glasgow - "Skye Boat Song" and Carrickfergus - "Oh Danny Boy". Finally Rule Britannia from London. Glasgow, Carrickfergus and London appeared on the big screen in turn, but the Swansea stage choir performed Skye Boat Song, Oh Danny Boy and Rule Britannia as well. I joined in with the songs, so did others.

We cut off at this point, and didn't have the closing speech, Jerusalem, God Save Our Gracious Queen or Auld Lang Syne. Instead we had Welsh songs "Sospan Fach", "Rachie" and the Welsh National Anthem "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (Land of My Fathers). The words were on the back of the programme. I had a go at singing along like some others did, my best attempt was at Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. Someone said "Good try". Finally we had some fireworks. It finished just after 22:30, and I then returned to my guest house. By the way, last weekend I saw the video recording of the BBC2 / BBC1 coverage of Last Night of the Proms - Royal Albert Hall 2007. How different the Swansea Proms In The Park was from that.

I'll tell you about Sunday and Monday tomorrow as I'm tired now and want to go to bed.

Tumble Tower.

Hymagumba wrote:facinating. perhaps you could piss off with him too?