Archive for February, 2012

Twickenham

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

So, this weekend, true to my always (well, almost) accurate predictions, my beloved Wales are off to London, or Twickenham more specifically, to hopefully hold on to their spot at the top of the Six Nations league. However, unfortunately, John Owen Jones is not. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “What sort of commited rugby fan are you Jones?” Or, “How nice is Porthmadog anyway, if you never want to leave?” Well, in answer to the latter question, you’ll simply have to come and experience it for yourself. But in regards to the former, I’m afraid that life simply gets in the way, and on this occasion, it’s nothing to do with being a simple country boy, nervous of the big smoke.

It is Katie’s Dad’s birthday this weekend, and he’s 60. Now, he wasn’t to know of this clash, and neither was I. Katie and her Dad have a really lovely relationship, and he really looks out for her. I know this because according to her Mother I’m the first boyfriend of hers he’s liked since school. Quite an honour. So whilst some of the lads head off down South, I’ll be sticking here for his party. Although I’ll be watching the match, of course, which hopefully will be a nice bonding exercise with some of Katie’s extended family. Wonder if they like F1 too?

I haven’t been to London in ten years, and I do want to visit soon. I haven’t even been on the Eye. Last weekend, I found myself watching Take Me Out, which isn’t something I make a habit of, frankly. There was a guy on there, who did pretty well with a nice lass, who described himself as a ‘country lad’ and went on to completely fudge the whole thing. If that’s who’s representing us on the television, no wonder we’re all secretly worried we’ll get laughed at in pubs elsewhere. Oh well, we’ll always have the fresh air.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Rugby | No Comments »

Holiday Plans

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

So, now I’m back to school, looks like it’s time to start working out what to do with my next holiday. Although five days in, and I can’t be as fed up as some of the kids, but they’re a good lot in general, especially out in the fields in these freezing temperatures we’ve been seeing. But I can feel spring coming in already, and so I’m wondering what to do with that lovely six weeks off I get in the summer as a teacher. I think it’s fair to say it’ll be the first holiday away for Katie and I. She’s a little more well travelled than me, it’s fair to say.

When she was away at university, she went Interrailing, which she explained is when you have a sort of train season ticket that allows you to travel where you like in Europe. I suppose the advantage is that you can see a lot of places in not much time at all, rather than be lumped to one spot for a couple of weeks. Then again, I’ve never been on anything but an all-inclusive, so if we do go, she’s taking the lead, that’s for certain.

At the end of the day though, we both just want to relax away from work, as well as have a bit of an adventure. So Katie has this idea that we can fly out to Barcelona from Liverpool, take in the sights there and then travel by train towards the South of France to Cannes, which is famous for its film festival, although I’m hoping all the press won’t be around by then to snap me on the beach. Just the French being around is enough for me, although Katie tells me it’s just like anywhere else and I’m being daft. I wind her up by asking her what’s wrong with the beach in Porthmadog, and she just tells me it’ll all become clear. In truth though, last year it was just my trips with the rents to the Lake District and a bit of Newquay with the boys, so I can’t wait to slap on some Factor 15 and get out there.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Travel | No Comments »

Half Term

Friday, February 17th, 2012

Sorry if you’re reading this from work, but this week has been a good one for me, because it’s been half-term around here. And whilst a whole week off for teachers might seem annoying to you, that’s understandable, because it feels like a pretty sweet deal to me, I must admit. Not that I haven’t kept myself as busy as usual that is, and I certainly haven’t been sitting around in my dressing gown just watching cartoons. Well, not everyday anyway. My Mum has been keeping me occupied with helping her plan the refit of her kitchen and bathroom. She’s a bit obsessed with all those property programmes on the telly, and seems to think I’m a good son for ideas about what’s going to make her a multi-millionaire when they decide to sell up the place. As far as I can see, this mainly seems to involve choosing the right tone of sepia, and I’m not really sure I’m the best man for the job and should probably hold back until she needs me to fit a shower.

Valentines Day also rolled round of course, and I hope you had a good one. Katie and I had a night in that was very simple but really nice. I’ll spare you the gooey details, but as far as I can see, there’s nothing that 50 bath candles from Wilkinsons and a local Chinese takeaway deal for two can’t achieve in terms of romance. I bought her some new socks as a surprise gift, where as I got given liquour chocolates and an F1 compilation DVD that she had spied was missing from my collection. She even let me put it on after we’d watched The Notebook (her favourite romantic film, although I don’t get it myself), and before we went to bed. Anyway, I can’t wait to get back to work and school next week, as I’m clearly a very lucky man.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Relationship, Teaching | No Comments »

Off to Twickenham?

Monday, February 13th, 2012

So I’m pleased to report another stunning win for Wales in the Six Nations over the weekend. You might remember that last week, I was a little nervous about our Millenium Stadium clash with the Scots, as both teams had been on particularly good form lately. So what an absolute delight to see we absolutely walked it. Well, sort of. Credit to our Celtic brotherhood, they put in a very strong performance in the first half, but Wales just seem to have an energy on the pitch at the moment that’s just unbeatable – literally, in this case. There’s a long way to go, but it feels like a great time to be a Welsh rugby fan, that’s for sure. Even Katie is managing to get swept up in the excitement a bit. She’s got some way to go before she’s as mad on it as me of course, but if I had a message to the Welsh squad, it’d be to keep it up for her sake, lads.

It was also just brilliant seeing so many family faces for the first time in a while, as many Jones’ descended upon Porthmadog to visit for the weekend. I think we had more over than at Christmas, and certainly the local pubs weren’t complaining about the trade. Aside from a few sore heads and a few boring Aunts (but keep that to yourself), it was a smashing weekend, and lovely to see my Uncle David for the first time in a few years. He arrived in a used Mazda 5 and bolting down for a walk on the beach after our roast on Sunday afternoon in that, it gave me yet more second thoughts about what car I’m planning to buy next, that’s for sure. He’s a physiotherapist so ours jobs have a lot in common, but he lives near London nowadays, and  if we do make it to Twickenham with the rugby, I’ve already shotgunned a place on his sofa.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Rugby | No Comments »

Wales vs Scotland

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

As you can imagine I’m pretty excited for an absolutely huge fixture this weekend. It’s Wales vs. Scotland in the Six Nations at our own Millenium Stadium. Unfortunately, with plans for a new motor in the offing, I can’t make it to the game myself, but we’ve got a few relatives I haven’t seen in a while visiting, so by the time we get to the pub, we’ll have enough of a crowd and an atmosphere I reckon.

So how am I feeling about it in the run to the game? Well, I’m a fair man, and anyone who caught England’s performance against Scotland recently should know that even though they lost, Scotland generally dominated the game. And they even have the statistics to back it up, as the news keeps reminding me. I’m a little worried that Scotland are going to be absolutely chomping at the bit to get this one under their belt, however we’ve hardly been playing badly either and the win last weekend was extremely reassuring. I heard the management on the radio saying they’re planning on maintaining that overall standard, so here’s hoping eh?

Rumour in the pipeline is that Scotland want the roof on the Millenium Stadium closed and all! Excellent news and nice to hear of a visiting team taking advantage of our ability to control the weather… Or maybe they’ve just seen the forecast? That roof, by the way, takes 20 minutes to open or close and in electricity bills costs £2.54 a pop, which means somebody at the venue has to buy a bag of Revels to be able to make it cost effective. Although given the prices at the Millenium Stadium, I’m sure this isn’t a tough decision. The roof can actually only be closed if both teams agree, which is understandable, as it can get pretty sweaty undercover!

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Rugby | No Comments »

Surf’s Up

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

All of my colleagues at the school are actively encouraged to set up extra-curricular activities for students to become involved in that are designed to “strengthen character, responsibility and develop a new set of complimentary skills”. Not my words, but those of the charter. Obviously as a PE teacher and a fan, I’m already well involved with the Rugby team as well as a few other things, but I’m thinking of starting up a school surf club. I realise with it being around -5 here at the moment, it’s probably just me who’s up for this.

Around Porthmadog, we have some of the most beautiful beaches and shorelines in Wales. But I still don’t think I see enough kids surfing, which is a shame, because it’s one of the most fun and social sports you can do. It can be pricey though – lessons around here can be  a total rip-off, not to mention buying your own suit and board if you really get into it. But with stretches of beach as good as Tywyn and Devil’s Mouth within an hour of here, as well as our own beach, it seems a shame not to take advantage of the waves.

So at the moment, I’m trying to work out a way I can make surf lessons affordable to te kids at the school so that we can organise a few trips by the summer. I also want to get whoever’s interested out there on the boards as soon as possible. That might not sound pleasant for February, but as long as you’ve got your wetsuit on, it could be any time of year. Not to mention the money you save that you’d otherwise spend on ice cream. As you can imagine though, the amount of paperwork I’m having to get through already is boggling my mind. I don’t think they have this problem in the needlework club.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Physical Education | No Comments »

Valentines Day…

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

It’s just over ten days now until Valentines Day, as I’m sure any of you who have popped into town recently may have noticed. To me, Valentines Day is just too commercial nowadays, as us lads are constantly flogged cheap tat we’re meant to believe will keep our women happy. Saying that though, I’m looking forward to spending it this year with Katie, and on the off chance that we get trounced by Italy in the Six Nations two nights before, it might go some way to cheering me up. Or if we win, maybe she’ll get one of those huge bears with a heart on it’s chest.

So I’ve diverted her from the blog whilst I try and come up with something unique for us to do together. Obviously the area around Porthmadog is full of some of the most beautiful landscapes and views you could imagine, but it’s also more than a bit freezing and dark at this time of year. And that’s coming from somebody who spends a lot of his life standing outside on the rugby field!

Having called around a few of the local restaurants, it seems a few, including Katie’s favourite, are already full. Where are all these romantic men, coming from? Most the lads I know down the pub think I’m soft for even thinking about it. Of course, we in Wales have a very special traditional offering of the lovespoon. The Welsh Lovespoon has been around since the 17th century, and is given to women by men who have spent months carving intricate designs into the wooden shape. Sounds nice, but it’s only 2 weeks away and I’ve got a load of work on, so it looks like it might be chocolates after all. Maybe if I start carving my Lovespoon now, I’ll have something really special to give her in 2013.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Relationship | No Comments »

Wales vs Mexico

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

As any regular readers of my blog will know, rugby takes pride of place in my Welsh heart. And whilst a lot of the lads I teach at school can’t get enough of the other ‘beautiful’ game, it takes something pretty special for me to get excited about the state of Welsh football. So I was pretty pleased to hear on the radio the other morning that Wales are set to play Mexico in a World Cup 2014 friendly, and in New York too. Now, unless they decide to hold a Six Nations qualifier over in the big apple I don’t think I’ll be booking my flights anytime soon, but it’s still great news for Wales and will hopefully get us lots of international attention, which is always a good thing.

Aside from sport, the other big love of my life is keeping me awake at night at the moment – motors. Although maybe don’t tell Katy I said that. It’s a good job that Katy likes cars though, she’s pretty useful in my quest for a new model to be spinning around the valleys in come the Summer time. At the moment, we’ve got our hearts set on a used Peugeot 3008. I’ll be taking a quick straw poll down the pub this weekend and we’ll see what my mates reckon, and then I think I’ll probably go for it. I think sometimes I spend too much time dithering about stuff, and it’ll be just my luck that as soon as I get round to getting hold of the thing, somebody else might have driven it off into the sunset.

Then again, I never stick with cars for too long overall. I was wondering, is there more chance of me still having a the same car by 2014, or the Welsh winning the footy world cup? I’m not sure either is very likely at the moment!

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Cars | No Comments »