I'm Back...

Yeah...

Have returned from my exploration of sunny West Wales... well... sometimes sunny and sometimes quite fucking stormy!!!

Had a lovely time nosing around my celtic roots...

But I have returned to the fold...

Did anybody miss me?... not even a little?... fuck...

Fly...
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Evening

nice to hear you're home

did you get to Aberystwith? the art centre there rocks

Love Clairexxx

 

Yeah... had a wander around Aberystwith... struck me as a good place...

Went up to Macynlleth coz my boys wanted to go to the Celtica centre there... that was cool...

And we also went further up to look at this really cool place called the Centre For Alternative Technology... that was really interesting...

Fly...

 

Don't you think that's starting to look a little run down and neglected? Was there a few months ago and was quite sad to see it looking a little seedy.

 

dunno i went a few years ago to a david bailley exhibit (dont ya know ) and it was amazing....

whats gone wrong with it?....

hey you gotta admit the castle overlooking the coast is amazing though and you cant get more run down than that

Love Clairexxx

 

Can't say, Doc... this was the first time that I've been there... so I was very interested in what they had managed to do there... and its helped me to start working out some things to do with my own house... how many times have you been there?... how do you feel it is changing?... is it becoming too touristy or what?...

Fly...
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Didn't feel it was too touristy - quite the opposite, if anything. I don't think there's much point to such a place unless it draws in the tourists, because surely it's intended to widen the public awareness of alternative technologies?

No, what I meant was on a basic physical level.... the water-powered train lift was rotting pretty badly in parts. Many of the outdoor displays had faded to the point where they were unreadable. Information in many places seemed fairly scant. Some areas were cluttered with general detrius which hadn't been tidied away. Not sure if this was a lack of money, enthusiasm or volunteers.

 

Welcome back McFly!

I also found CAT a disappointment. I was actually really excited when we arrived but I found it lacking. The information provided was very basic and also a tad patronising, a lot seemed to be directed towards children too. There wasn't enough demonstrations either, where were the wind turbines? Why weren't they promoting a vegetarian lifestyle? For over £7 entrance fee I wanted to see groundbreaking stuff and it just wasn't there.

It does feel like it's in a time-warp. I'd even go so far as to say that they've forgotten their objective. It could really do with some new life injecting into it, but hey, that's just my view.

 

Yeah... there were some displays which were faded and difficult to read... I thought this may have been due to a lack of resources... maybe funding is low... difficult to judge...

They had a new display up... in a makeshift house... trying to advertise the idea of minimising ecological footprints... that looked a bit amateur... squeezed into a space that couldn't really accomodate the number of visitors who were trying to fit in...

I think they are faced with an important choice... seems to me that it faces the choice of adding some sheen to pull in the tourists and spread the message or keeping that kinda informal communal feel that it seems to have... I kinda liked it in many ways... that amateur feel of doing it for the love of it... but I accept that the lack of polish may have the effect of pushing some people away from the message...

Fly...
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They had an area dedicated to wind turbines... had about three or four varieties... and also one of the big turbines used in wind farms... cut away so you could look to see the technology inside... jugding my the displays in the section, I'd make a guess that it was a new area coz it had a better sense of pizzazz...

For me, there were some helpful ideas... but I'm a complete novice at ecological sustained living... and I think that was the target audience... take the message to people who may be able to make little changes... even if it is just changing your light bulbs to energy efficient ones... I wanted to find some information on solar energy and came away with some ideas to replace the roof on our house...

Like the good Doc said... they seem stuck between living a communal ecologically sustained lifestyle and becoming something more promotional to attract tourists and spread the message...

But... if they become more polished and professional and pizzazzy, does they mean they will lose their ability to actually live in a sustained technological manner?... I thought that the information centre right at the top of the hill was possibly the way to go... looked proffesional but was also a good example of new sustainable technology... maybe it is the direction to take...

As for the vegetarian thing... who knows?... maybe they feel it will confuse the main environmental message... can't help you there...

Fly...
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Yeah, I kinda liked that informal communal feel too, which made it hard to put my finger on what was bothering me initially. This was fine, except that I didn't think it was worth paying £7 to see a commune! Also, I thought the whole point of the place was spreading the message to the wider world, and the informal communal thang didn't seem best suited to that. Oddly enough, the most professional part of the whole place seemed to be the shop!!!

 

Yeah, I was very impressed by that information centre and shop... the whole buzz when you got off the water tram was very good... the views were spectacular... and the information centre looked very professional, with that seating area next to the pond... maybe they need to create some more areas of that same standard...

I suppose it comes down to a question of idealism...

Talking of excellent buildings, there was another excellent visitor centre that we went to... in a wildlife nature reserve just oudside Cardigan... beautiful wood and glass constructed visitor centre... then you just rambled along these woodland paths... actually they had a number of different habitats, but the boys were tired...

Fly...
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Well, I missed you Flyeee, nice to see you back

 

i misse dyou fly! this forum just doesnt have enough swearing without you.. plus flyology needs your wonderful questioning..

 

Awwwww... thank you both very much... you make me blush...

Fly...
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Welcome back fly! I have spoken to you about your holiday and told you how beautiful I think New Quay is ... very different from the Cornwall one... and that whole coastal line of Cardigan Bay is

WOW ABERYSTWYTH ROCKS!!! I go there quite often

Claire! The arts centre is amazing! I went to see an audience with the director Ken Russell there, and I filmed a sorta like music video there for a project we were doing, and some of the art exhibitions are amazing, I saw good one called 'growing up' (I think). And I totally agree the castle is breathtaking! I toook drinkupyourcider there... I love the coast of Aberystwyth. If you go up to the National Library of Wales ... up by the university... the view is tremendous .. you get the same feeling if you look down from the artscentre. I also went to their film festival a long time ago. Man I love Aberystwyth. Me and drinkupyourcider were running away from the waves as they came over the sea wall.

CAT is a grand place but I haven't been there for some time. I remember we went for a drive up past Machynlleth to Dolgellau and the mountains around there are amazing. I also went to Barmouth for the first time at the beginning of July and my goodness it was beautiful!

Another thing I highly recommend if you go to Aberystwyth again is to go on the Vale of Rhedol steam train which takes you up to Devils Bridge.. man that is beautiful.

One thing I really want to do before I leave the area is to go up the Cliff Railway on Constitution Hill I can't begin to imagine the view from there!

WOW sometime you don't realise how beautiful the are you come from is until you get talking about it like this I love my loverly West Wales.. very beautiful!