Look, oh look!

An Island

Saturday night saw an exciting red carpet premier at the classy Bitton Palais of An Island, a film by Vincent Moon and Efterklang. It was screened as part of the Private-Public Screening initiative devised by the filmmakers.

It was a very short film at only 48 mins, but that did not stop any of the attendees from consuming over 6 metric tonnes of hotdogs, nachos, popcorn and sweet treats.

Fun times. Catch a screening if you can.

The manager only had to be called in once to tell off some noisy youths in the back row:

The ghosts of Christmas presents

Christmas is now just a memory sadly. But I was a very lucky boy and got lots of lovely things from my wonderful friends and family. Here’s a quick round-up of the spoils…

It was a year of printed matter and stationery. Highlights included the Concorde pen set, Pacman moleskin jotter and architects’ stencils from Neil and Sarah:

It was also a year of object d'weird, with a brill robot kitchen timer (thanks James and Helen); a fantabulous revolving bow-tie (you know me well Andrew and Rachel); and my fave present of all this year: the chicken burger USB hub from Jo.

Sartorial wonderment was not far behind with some ace pajamas and another Penguin shirt to add to my wardrobes nocturnal and diurnal:

Check out this brilliant Chinese tea block from James and Helen. It is solid as a rock and undergoes 60 tonnes of pressure during the manufacturing process. I almost don’t want to break it up. In fact, I can’t it’s so hard.

Finally, I should mention that I have photographed all these things on a Workmate for the reason that it was also a present (ta mum and Bob). Very handy, even though it took me nearly 4 hours to put together last night :(

Thanks to everybody for such a brilliant haul of booty this year :)

is that a bullfinch?

Claire: Is that a bullfinch?

Ben: Yes, but only a fake one.

Pen Y Fan

…or Fanny Pen as John later referred to it after a drink.

Had a a great walk, just under 7 miles. Amazing weather for it with massive views that these photos don’t do justice of course. If you live round here, you can get to foot of Pen Y Fan in under 2 hours. It’s the highest peak in the Brecons and well worth the trip. Brilliant. It was meant to be a sleep over, but rain was forecast for later so we’re going to try early next summer instead.

At the foot:

Mountain man:

Morris!

Great Scott! Morris men in Bath! At night! A little bit pissed up!

Something tells me they didn’t have an official council permit to be running about with big sticks in the darkness.

Just been for an hour’s walk in the hills at the back. Jo is always going on about how it’s the best time of the morning, but personally I’d rather be in bed. I must say though, that on these mornings where I do happen to wake up at a silly hour, it is great to get out there.

I’ve seen a lot of roe deer and rabbits up there before, but saw one of each of these today with the most amazing colouring. The deer was a really rich chestnut colour, while the rabbit was almost a ginger.

In summary: birthday

Had a fab day today. Thanks to James, Helen, Calliope, Bek, Katy, Ross, Keith and, of course, Jo for making it a super-fun time.

Photos by Keith: