Well the harvests are all in heading along to Hereford; are the yields what the farmers’ wanted in this long dry spell and drought conditions?

The Sugar Loaf etched against mostly blue sky above Abergavenny as train heads north. I am heading to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall for NCO concert on Saturday.

Huge combine harvester clears a large field in one day next to the Heritage Coast by Rosedew Farm, putting the hay into hayfever. One benefit of the intensely dry sunny weather.

Looking back at Penarth Pier & Pavilion from CoffiCo cliffside terrace. Always salutary to visit a venue where they ignored your feasibility study & advice, & made the upstairs cinema and ground floor performance space too small for easy viability. It still got lottery funding…

An uplifting Ukrainian moment to end the Sherman Theatre’s ‘Theatre of Sanctuary’ Refugee Week event

Warmly welcoming session at Sherman Theatre Refugee Week event

The company of Atlantis on a visit to Fairbourne, where residents are cruelly left to their fate from rising waves/raging storms. On at Theatr Clwyd till 4th July then ChichesterFT from 18 July. A must see

Said to be the world’s largest Signal Box, at Shrewsbury. Think likely true as a mechanical box, but not in these digital electronic days.

Train belting through Church Stretton past the renowned HF ‘walkers’ hotel’ in the centre of this great area for easy hilltop walking

Cloudy now, the massive Blorenge overlooking Abergavenny: more archaeological site than mountain given its history, with ancient settlements plus inclines and trackways connecting old mines & quarries going back many centuries

The Skirrid enveloped in cloud this morning, viewed from train just north of Abergavenny.

Lovely sunny blue-skied spring day. On train up to Theatr Clwyd for start of their 50th season with the Craidd collaborative production of Under Milk Wood. Great view of the wonderful Sugar Loaf from Abergavenny Station. I want to be out there hiking!

Caught up with Louise Amery, now leading Aberystwyth Arts Centre - still bonus of great cafe with great sea views! Pleased to see a lovely print brochure for their spring season: for all those people who find websites don’t work in the same way as their minds, & social media/digital just ephemeral

So a month on the railway line down to Hereford runs past vast flooded and water-logged fields. Must be disastrous lack of accessible acreage for farmers.

Water-logged flooded fields alongside the railway line all the way from Hereford to Leominster

The Blorenge looking decidedly murky this morning looking south from Abergavenny Station. The Sugar Loaf looking north completely cloud covered. En route to Theatr Clwyd to mark the actual 50th on 31st January 2026.

Starting main leg of my journey to Ticketing Professionals 2025 1/2 today at The Place London: Noon to 7pm. Fingers crossed GWR stays on time.

Meredith Monk, Katie & Allison leaving the stage at Hoddinott Hall after numerous standing ovations and encores. Great voice concert, sadly not full at Wales Millennium Centre. En route to Venice via Oporto Portugal

The Bannau Brycheiniog fade into the distance after Pant - Herefordshire wants to re-open that station, once the gateway to the ‘Golden Valley’

Great perspective on rural Welsh farming landscape looking over to the Blorenge before Abergavenny, the looming eastern end of the Bannau Brycheiniog

Man’s intrusion into the townscape are not always attractive or pleasing. Cardiff Central and the Stadium behind.

The mountains the backdrop in the South Lakes passing near Kendal

The M6 motorway squeezes up alongside the railway in the bottom of the Lune Gorge, the train overtaking the traffic

Pendolino train rocketing south towards the Lake District ready for the Lune Gorge descent

Entranced by the Andy Goldsworthy retrospective at the Royal Academy Scotland in the National Galleries. Bringing an outside artist inside, with some site specific pieces, and great videos/films. A great 90 minutes, pre-booked timed entry.

Edinburgh Castle, even from the back is an amazing sight

Astonishing Great Tapestry of Scotland 140 panels in purpose-built beautiful exhibition centre in Galashiels - easy train ride from Edinburgh Waverley. Just remarkable the work of Scottish stitchers telling “the people’s history” not historians or monarchs. How often do you spend 3 hours looking…

Having topped Shap racing past all the traffic on the M6, looking back to the South Lakes

The Lake District appears as the train speeds towards the Lune Gorge. Great Pendelino effect.

The Sugar Loaf above Abergavenny as the train leaves the station. En route to Crewe for Edinburgh festivaling…