The Boatshed Doors

The incredible artwork on this boat shed in Swansea Marina was made as part of Swansea's continued drive to use art to enhance the city. This piece was made by Robery Conybear and Robin Campbell in the mid/late 1980s and details the symbolism of doorways as a passage from one state to another. The door handle is shapped like a sea vessel which carries those using it into the different world inside the building. The lower half of the door illustrates various forms of sea life while the upper half of the door portrays a cloud containing a guardian eye - a lucky emblem that had been portrayed on ships and boats throughout history.

The door is a real gem of Swansea Marina, which is a real feat considering the multitude of public art installations which populate this part of the city. Watch this space for more Marina art works in the near future...

A Moody Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay looked well moody this evening as I took a walk along the edge of Swansea Marina:

The Zeta Mnemonical sculpture, Swansea Marina

Navigation sculpture, Swansea Marina

The Copper Flame sculpture, Swansea Marina

Lighthouse Tower sculpture, Swansea Marina

I will revisit these sculpture soon and provide some info on them as they all hold artistic and historical interest.

Meridian Tower

A controversial building at the time of its construction, I have always been a fan of the Meridian Tower. The building is currently Wales' tallest building and stands 107 metres high. Its top floor hosts a restaurant, the Grape and Olive, so I will try and head up there sometime soon and show some of the amazing views than can be gained from there...

Inside St. David's Priory

I took a wander inside St. David's Priory this evening. The place was empty and I was free to wander its serene interior and take in its magnificent stained glass windows. Amongst their number was this piece, which is believed to be of C15th origin and Wales' only medieval stained glass window:

St. David's Priory is a calm and reflective oasis amongst the hustle and bustle of city centre shopping and I recommend a visit at your soonest conveience.

Door, Townhill

Mumbles

Did a nice long walk from the seafront car park infront of Singleton Hospital to Mumbles this evening, rewarding myself with a nice 4 scoop Joe's ice-cream along the way. Was a tad sad seeing the state of the Amusements building outside the ice-cream parlour. The Amusements have been a feature of Oystermouth for as long as I can remember and I will miss them, though I do have to admit I have only actually been in there once in the last 20 years. You can see what the building used to look like here.

Mumbles itself was bathed in a dreamy blue light and, even though the sun had now set, looked stunning.

Mumbles' old lifeboat house

Mumbles Pier entrance

Shop window display

I loved how the water changed the wheels of the bike in this pic

On the way back to the car, I called in to the West Cross Inn for a coffee...

The stained glass window set in the inner entracce door of The West Cross Inn

,,,which was served with the tiniest of welshcakes, which was well tasty:

The weather forecast is a bit grim for the next few days so I don't know when I will next update this blog sorry.

Wormcasts, Swansea Bay

360

An absolutely beautiful evening's sunshine drew me down to Swansea Bay again after work today and I parked up at the seaside carpark outside the 360 Bar. As you can see from the first picture here, the car park was a little flooded after the recent rain but there was still plenty of dry spaces to park up for an hour or so.

The partially flooded seafront car park at 260

Swansea Council's car parking tariff is curious to say the least. Why on earth do they charge 50p for one hours stay but more than double that price for two hours stay?

Luckily, their bizarre (and rather unfair) second hour's car park charges didn't apply to me today as it had only just turned 6pm and it is free parking after 7.

Before going down onto the beach for my evening's walk, I popped into the 360 for a quick Latte and was impressed by the quick service there and also their fresh and rather jaunty decor.

Having lived in Swansea for most of my life, I remember Swansea Bay during it infamous years, when it was regarded as little more than an open sewer by much of the city residents. Thankfully, those dark days are slipping from memory and today the beach is both clean and popular. It really is a great seeing the sands here enjoyed by so many people and I, too, as can be clearly seen by anyone flicking through the pages of my Swansea blog, am finding myself drawn here more and more regularly.

This evening, especially, Swansea Bay seemed to be celebrating the sunshine with a particularly sporting theme:

An evening's game of Volleyball

A run along Swansea Bay

I can see myself spending quite a lot of time down Swansea Bay this year.

Sad News Re. Swansea TIC

Unfortunately, according to rumours currently circulating around the city, it looks like Swansea will soon be losing its Tourist Information Centre. Unfortunately, its location, tucked away (some could easily describe it as hidden away) out of view near the entrance to the Quadrant bus station, can hardly have helped attract visitors - which is a shame really. In fact, it is a scandal. Swansea should be shouting out proudly about all it can offer, not hiding away its Tourist Information Centre and then actually closing it down. I am still hoping that this rumour is wrong, but even if it is and the Centre does actually survive, please Swansea Council, be proud of the city and its neighbouring countryside and move our TIC somewhere where it can actually be seen!

Lionheart and Lightsout

Lionheart and Lightsout by Bedwr Williams

Located near the soon-to-be-demolished Oceana complex building on The Kingsway is this interesting public artwork by Bedwr Williams. Comprised of four brass high-heeled footprints set in four connecting pavement slabs, the piece celebrates an incident which occurred outside the nightclub in 2009.

Cage-fighters Daniel Lerwell a.k.a. ‘Lionheart' and James Lilley a.k.a. 'Lightsout’ were on a night out in Swansea's city centre when they were set upon by two drunks who took exception to the atheletes' drag outfits. The drunks had already caused a scene by setting upon other members of the public and, fired up by this previous fracas, they then attacked the two, unbeknown to them, cage-fighters. The fight lasted just seconds and was captured on CCTV. The video, showing the two violent drunk's comeuppance at the hands of Lionheart and Lightsout, went viral when it was released on social media and led to the two cage fighters being celebrated across the internet, tabloids and TV.

Bedwr Williams' outdoor art installation, memorialises the events of that night and literally sets in concrete the fight against harassment and persecution that was symbolised in the digital CCTV footage of the fight.

Swansea's Peat Bog Forest

An Ancient 10,000 Year Old Tree Stump on Swansea Bay

Whilst standing on the vast sands of Swansea Bay, looking out over the Bristol Channel to the distant coastline of England, it is difficult to imagine that the scene here looked distinctly distant to our ancestors. 10,000 years ago, or thereabouts, all that separated Swansea from England was a small, meandering river which fed between a huge forest that joined the two nations. As the last Ice Age retreated, so the sea level rose - to a degree when it eventually flooded the forest to form Swansea Bay - as well as the numerous other beaches that lie further west along the Gower Peninsula.

Whilst this may well be a curious thought, what is perhaps a stranger one, is that remains of this vast forest are still visible today. Emerging from the sands of Swansea Bay, fragments of ancient tree stumps and roots can still easily be discerned. Preserved for an Age in stretches of old peat bog that lie beneath the bay, these trees remind us both of the ever changing habitats that fill the space around us and that current environments often hold clues to those that preceded them.

Remains of the Immense Forest Which Once
Occupied What Is Now Swansea Bay

More Peat Bog Remains of Swansea Ancient Forest