Martin's Mag.

A lot colder than Lisbon, where we should have been!

A new exhibition of work by Dame Elisabeth Frink.

Elizabeth Frink 1930 – 1993.

The Matthew is a replica of a caravel sailed by John Cabot in 1497 from Bristol to North America. It is having some New Year maintenance in the Bristol Underfall Yard (which is worth a visit at any time).

The Matthew in Underfall Yard, Bristol Docks.

The Matthew in Underfall Yard, Bristol Docks.

Boxing Day was a stunner! Blue skies and unseasonally warm. We fancied a walk so went to Swansea in south-west Wales (now part of The Swansea Bay City Region) where we walked from the east of the city, westwards along the coast to The Mumbles. About 14 miles there and back. Swansea has been extensively modernised in recent years, and looks like a great place to live. Whether an economy can be sustained by rising property prices and relentless retail parks, rather than the “old” industries, remains to be seen. The rest of the UK has thought so ever since the ‘eighties, why shouldn’t Swansea join in?

The Norwegian seamen’s church, Swansea.

Swansea Bay.

The town of Stroud in Gloucestershire (recently voted the “hippest” place in England outside Montpellier in Bristol) is always worth a visit, particularly on Saturdays when the market is held. Lots of choice of local food (and drink). It was impossible to listen to these heavily-disguised buskers without smiling.