I'm Blathering Now...

I was on the Tom Burke forum page and someone suggested setting up an online magazine. I think my holiday has made me think I'm invincible; I've agreed to help out! Wow, being a Burketeer is really taking me back to places I had long since forgotten, drawing, poetry writing, reading, and now possibly magazine articles! Everyone is so creative and inspiring it's taking me back to places I had forgotten! I suppose though logically, if you have nothing to write for, you're not going to write... so the fact that someone needs someone to do research and write articles for their online magazine means I have a purpose! At this point I'm going to explain that being a Burketeer has created some great opportunities for me. Running a house and doing an 8-5 job each day wears you down, and when you're getting no help off your other half, you have no time to do things which take a lot of time to do. All my "hobbies" are time consuming. Drawing, dressmaking, g

I'm back from watching The Damned in concert! Oh what a fabulous night, I can't sleep I'm still so excited. I loved The Damned when I was growing up. I was a Goth who would go to Afflecks Palace in Manchester with my brother and seek out beautiful vintage black lace dresses, (for me not him!). Oh such happy times, and they really were. People think Goths are dull suicidal people because they wear black and must be unhappy. Not at all. I think that was the period of my life when I was most individualistic, and consequently very happy thank you very much! So I never got to see Dave Vanian and his crew when I was young. Anyway, tonight they played this intimate venue in Chester, and me and my mate were in the second row from the front, and had he not been wearing shades we could have looked him right in the eyes!!!! Such a fantastic night, singing along with tracks I've not listened to since the 80's/90's and I could still remember the words! Oh happy days. I

Whilst watching the film last night I found a new film location. Today, at breakfast, I announce that before we go home, we're taking a detour to Freshwater West Beach! The man at the hotel is chatting to us again. He has decided I'm nuts. I'm not going to take offence, he is justified in his perception of me, and more than likely right too! We had a good chat about the Iron Man competition which sees most of Pembrokeshire shut down (there are signs everywhere proclaiming that next weekend the road will be closed) I think the whole county is pretty much closed. To be honest, hearing about what goes on in the competition, those people are nuts, not me! I do admire them though. You would never find me doing that! Anyway breakfast over and the car packed up we headed to Freshwater. Its a grey day today. We were so lucky yesterday with the sunshine, but it's not raining, so we can't complain. We traipsed up and down the beach trying to establish where Davy had sat

It's a sunny day, thank god, we're going to the seaside!!!! Barafundle Bay is great, you can't drive to it. You have to park your car and walk. No toilets, no ice-cream vans, no awful shops selling tat. This is a beautiful beach, serene, calming, and a great place to just chill and take the time to appreciate your surroundings. I can see why it became the focus of the film. Unlike the film it doesn't take endless days to walk there, and you don't need to take a boat either, that was cinematic licence, but what a fantastic place to make the centre of your film. Barafundle Bay is definitely the "star" of Third Star! We drove down small roads and realised we were on the big hill as featured in the film. Sadly because I was driving I didn't stick my head out of the window and scream like the boys. We parked up at Stockpole Estate (National Trust) and walked down towards the sea. Suddenly I looked properly at the National Trust Tearoom, &qu

So excited. My travel buddy got herself a new job this year, less money, less holidays, but less stress so we've not been able to have a week abroad exploring this year :-( This weekend however, we're going on a little road trip!!! I had introduced her to the most wonderful film ever, Third Star. You may not have heard of it, but I suggest you check it out. The premise of the story doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs, James (Benedict Cumberbatch) has terminal cancer and he's not going to see his 30th birthday. Rather than being a sentimental walk in the park, this is a great story about a group of four male friends, coming to terms with the news, and having one last trip together. Their trip was to Barafundle Bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is a beautiful place, I holidayed there way before the film was ever made, and the film portrayed the beautiful land and seascapes of that part of the world. I should also comment on the beautiful moving script, it was fantasti