My August 2026 monthly round up

I did a fair bit of travelling in August. The month started with Cathy and I making a last minute overnight trip to Kent (via Oxford). We stayed near Whitstable, had an evening in Herne Bay, before briefly popping into Canterbury to pick up some new art we had bought online. 

Herne Bay sunset

Canterbury museum

We really liked the places we visited, and would like to return to that bit of the world for a proper holiday sometime. (And to go back to the museum when the Smallfilms gallery is open!)

I also spent a weekend in Shrewsbury, which included a trip with my mum on the Shrewsbury Town supporter's coach to Birkenhead to see Tranmere v Shrewsbury. I'm going to post a separate football review of the month, so you can read more about it there. But on the Sunday I went feeding ducks before church with my sister-in-law and an assortment of niblings.

Cathy and I had another road trip and just about stayed in Cymru this time when we met up with Cathy's aunt and uncle in Monmouth one weekend.

At the top of the Cynon valley, I went on the Tower Zipwire with Sara - my ride down was a birthday gift. I've already blogged about it, complete with video. 

There was another delayed birthday gift this month because I spent my Lego Store gift voucher that Connor gave me for my birthday. I bought the new set of Derpy the tiger from K-Pop Demon Hunters on the day it was released and built the set the same evening! He's fab. (Thanks Sara and Connor for being so generous!)

In the evening of the solar eclipse, Cathy and I went out onto The Marl (the big park near us) to experience it. You can't tell much was happening in this selfie with the sun.

In politics, our local Plaid Cymru branch is looking ahead to the council elections next year. We have started going out on some fact-finding canvassing, with sessions on the eastern and northern edges of the "South Cardiff" area. It's been fun knocking doors in the sunshine, and I hope we get good weather into September as well!

I went to seven football matches in August, but I think that's enough games to merit their own post! Check back tomorrow (or the day after).

And in case you missed it:

• My book of the month was Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
• My album of the month was Sanguivore by Creeper
• This month's Blood Bowl game saw my first ever win for the Norse Team (and some fierce snacks!)
• Our street got resurfaced - but there was a twist!
• I acquired another philatelic passport (this time from Japan) for my collection 
• I also bought some new action figures that were a homage to Action Force 

My July 2026 round up

It's been a very hot month. However, that meant when we welcomed my sister and our three niblings for a day visit, we had a nice sunny day on Barry Island (it was also windy, as you can see from the picture).

It was so sunny we had to buy hats for niblings!

It was desperately hot earlier in the month when I went to London to attend the Talking About Diabetes (TAD) conference. The night before I went looking for the tribute to the greatest secret agent in the world!

TAD was great. Thought-provoking, inspiring, encouraging, and fun. My friend Ros was on the organising committee. I was able to grab 10 seconds with her for a selfie!

There were some great speakers, including actress Nina Wadia and her son, Aidan, who lives with type 1 diabetes.

My favourite presenter was Samantha Alleyne, a model and actress who answered a casting call for "tall women" and ended up being cast as the first female stormtrooper in the Star Wars universe!

It was the first time Samantha had spoken about her experience of type 1 diabetes and it was very interesting to hear how she managed her blood glucose levels while wearing stormtrooper armour! It was also inspiring to hear how she has engaged with members of the fan community who live with type 1 as well.

Another warm day for the Keep Grangetown Tidy litter pick. They were giving out some nice new t-shirts for committed litter-pickers! 

New t-shirt pose!

We got some respite from the heat in a very air conditioned cinema when Cathy and I went to watch Toy Story 5. I wore a suitable t-shirt - something I have been doing this year if I can.

We also went to watch Minions & Monsters, but I didn't have a Minions t-shirt to wear so no selfie! 

Connor was in town! We had a meal at The Grange and caught up on life and whatnot.

Even though this month has mainly been a heatwave, my one session out doing some political canvassing was on a very damp evening of misty rain. I was in Llantrisant for the community council by-election.

A couple of days later, Ioan, the Plaid Cymru candidate, won.

Also this month, I celebrated my "Plaidaversery" with a piece of art starring a hopeful dragon. 

I continued boycotting the World Cup, but real football was back on the agenda! Paul and I kicked off the season watching a Europa League Qualifying round match at Cardiff City Stadium. Penybont played Santa Columa from Andorra and lost 1-0.

And the domestic season started with some Welsh Cup games. Steve and I went to watch Caldicot Town play Longford FC in the first qualifying round.

Very clear pricing 

And on the very last night of the month, I saw Barry Town win their opening game of the Cymru Premier season. It was live on Sgorio on S4C but I watched it live in the stands!

Post-match Sgorio interview

And in case you missed it:

• Cathy and I went back to Cardiff Castle to see Bowling for Soup and Frank Turner in our third big gig of the summer

• My book of the month was a politics book by Will Hayward

• Bryan debuted a new team in our monthly Blood Bowl match up

• I did a stocktake of my copies of Nineteen Eighty-four

• I was horrified that it's 25 years since The Fast and the Furious was released!

My April 2026 round-up (part 2)

This month has been so busy I've had to do two round ups. In part 1, I mentioned canvassing, litter-picking, going to a local history evening, football and loads of other stuff. I've also blogged a Book of the Month, an Album of the Month, and about my monthly Blood Bowl fixture with Bryan.

I spent the first and last weekends of April in Shropshire, celebrating my birthday at the beginning of the month by feeding rhinos at West Midlands Safari Park, and then celebrating my youngest niece's birthday with a family party on the final Saturday.

Since my interim round up post I have been in Liverpool for the Diabetes UK Professional Conference (DUKPC). 

The programme I work on had a bigger presence than ever before including involvement in some sessions. This meant I had my second bucket list moment of the month (after the rhinos).

Nine years ago, in 2017, when I was working in the NHS, I went to DUKPC as a punter with my friend Sara. It was being held in Manchester. I remember saying to her that one day we would be presenting together at the conference... and nine years later my prediction came true!

The whole conference went very well from our perspective. We had a great team of young people working with us. It was even sunny the full time we were there.

After the conference I went to Shrewsbury for the weekend. My niece's birthday party included a bouncy castle and a piñata. I took this photo of my Mum just before she delivered the killing blow that smashed the poor colourful donkey.

Everyone else had a go too. Some people were more dangerous flailing with a stick than others!

I went to Shrewsbury Town's final home game of the season in the afternoon. It closed out a nice symmetry as I was at their opening home game back in August. It's been a long old season and they looked in danger of a second successive relegation for much of it. But they were safe by the time this game came around. It finished 2-2 and Shrewsbury's equaliser was voted goal of the season a few days later!

Blue the Lion, the Shrewsbury mascot, got injured during the half time mascot race with Fleetwood's Captain Cod and had to be helped away. It's perhaps an indicator of what a poor season it's been that their mascot lost a foot race with a fish.

I got to see some bonus football watching Zac on the Sunday morning. His team were drubbed so we went to Greggs afterwards to drown our sorrows in sausage rolls.

My final game of April was Gloucester City v Poole Town in the play-off semi-final in the Southern League Premier Division South. I went with Steve. It was a great game but I'll mainly remember it for some terrace aggro that delayed the game when two scrappers fell over an advertising hoarding.

Gloucester won 3-2 after extra time. I think it was the first game I'd seen this season that went to extra time.

It was my 10th Poole Town game. I got a Futbology badge when I checked in.

And then on the last day of April I did my final station trip of the Senedd election campaign, with my friend Anna.  I have done 28 of these weekly sessions since October and I am weirdly going to miss them when the election is done.

May is going to be busy with the election and then some traveling. So next month's round up will likely be another full one.

Post-Christmas December round up

As it's New Year's Eve, I thought I'd round up the month's activity before launching into the year-end posts. 

I covered the first three weeks of the month in a previous post. My final day in work was Monday 22nd. On "Christmas Eve Eve" (the 23rd) we headed up to Shrewsbury and we stayed until "Boxing Day Boxing Day" (the 27th).

Christmas Eve morning, we went with my brother and three niblings to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol in the cinema. I don't think I've seen it on a proper cinema screen since it was released in the early 90s. It's a film that seems to get better with age. It was only the second time my youngest niece had been to the cinema. The film was a bit long for her, but she did very well at not being too bored. 

Later on Christmas Eve I went with my brother to the midnight communion service in the village Anglican church. We have done this as 'brother-time' for a few years now, with a stop in the pub on the way, and it's something I look forward to as part of the Christmas experience.

My sister and family drove all the way from Edinburgh to spend Christmas Day with us. We managed to fit 8 people round my mum's dining table for Christmas dinner. 

Auntie Cathy and Scottish niblings 

Mum's Christmas Cake

There were some exciting presents.

I will be blogging about this!

And some family members were completely tuckered out by it all!

On Boxing Day we had another brotherly outing as the two of us went to a local derby football match - Shawbury United v Haughmond FC in the United Counties League. Haughmond play on the north edge of Shrewsbury and Shawbury is less than 10 miles north of Shrewsbury so the two clubs are in close proximity. 

I was impressed by the set up at Shawbury. They had a nice clubhouse and a lovely pitch. The Haughmond Ultras (4 pre-teen boys with a flag and a drum) had ensconced themselves in one of the small stands and kept up a noise throughout. They went home happy, having seen their team win 3-1. 

I've been fortunate enough to be off work during betwixtmas, so have had a relaxing few days since coming home, sorting some life admin and things. Today (New Year's Eve) I went to my final football match of 2025, watching Barry lose away at Briton Ferry. 

I went with my friend Paul and we arrived to find the pitch was still very frosty in places. Kick off was moved back an hour in the hope the pitch would thaw out enough to be playable. It passed the pitch inspection but Barry will wish it hadn't as they were second best all game and lost 2-1. They also had two penalties given against them, with goalkeeper George Ratcliffe saving both of them! 

Frosty pitch!

Moonrise over Briton Ferry

And that concludes a busy December!