The cul-de-sac, at least in the UK, is very different from the dead end street. It is a haven and closer to paradise than you would imagine.
Tag Archives: Wales
Giant’s Causeway
Cathy was so obsessed with Led Zeppelin she flew to Belfast, then took a train to Giant’s Causeway just so she could lie down in the spot featured on the cover of Zeppelin’s album ‘Houses of the Holy’. We visit singer Robert Plant’s old home and I consider his fascination with the word ‘baby’ and Lord of the Rings.
The M4
Travel the M4 from Swansea in the west, to London in the east and you travel through time: a Viking settlement to a Roman city via a prehistoric landscape.
Caerleon
A misguided attempt to record on site, an ‘outside broadcast’ which degenerates into a pub crawl. I’m joined by Caerleon resident Will O’Connell, a man whose knowledge of Caerleon you could inscribe on the little toe of the tiny toed ant. Most of this podcast takes place in the Roman fortress town in south Wales. It’s a fascinating place, but we spent most of our time in the pub. You’ll learn nothing.
Ceredigion
The dubious story of the Neanderthal twins of Tregaron, and the all too true account of the equally reclusive Stafford Beer, who played a part in world events.
Acton, London W3
Acton, London W3, where I discovered Welsh writer Arthur Machen in the library, slightly dishevelled, jacket all ripped.
Paviland
Goat’s Hole Cave, Paviland, on the Gower peninsular, south Wales, is the site of a prehistoric ceremonial burial, one of the oldest in Europe and earliest evidence of modern humans on these islands. There are many such caves nearby, eerie, ancient dwelling places, described by the painter Ceri Richards as ‘black apples of Gower’.
Goldcliff
I search for mesolithic footprints in the mudflats of the Severn Estuary, avoid a tsunami, then call upon Amy Adams, expert in alien linguistics, to decipher a chilling message.
Haverfordwest
Batman meets Gwen John in the home of my maternal ancestors. I eat some local cheese then experience megalithophobia with the supreme exponents of psych-sludge, Neolithic Axe Factory. (With thanks to the hallucinogenic imagination of Alexander Velky and the nuclear guitar of Tim Mortimer.)
Usk
Do not hope to find the white hart.