Mike Riversdale

A purdy tower of Cardiff Castle.

My daily photo happens to be from August 2019 when I was in Cardiff and these pavings are on the Millennium Walk outside the Stadium for the 1999 World Cup. (sorry, if Google search brought you here looking for the Rugby iCal Fixture List it's here: Rugby Calendars )

"Oi, Dai, you sure this is gonna fit in?" "Yeah, just get as close as you can to their window. But don't break it!" "Ok, but I don't know, looks bloody close to me." The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was built upon the old site of the National Ground amongst surrounding buildings that weren't going anywhere. This is round the back and boy-o-boy it is a tight squeeze.

Hah, nice complement to Nighttime Chippy .

The Chippy, or just Chippy, is the main rugby, cricket, and playing area of Monmouth. Chippenham Playing Fields.

"The Chinky". Totally wrong, and in 2022 I'm hoping it's not referred to that any more, but it will be coz UK. It's a stalwart of Monmouth takeaways and late night drunk chips and curry sauce. And check out that phone number, Tel 2192, gorgeous, it's at least 4 numbers longer in 2022 but if you know you know.

I love everything about this photo.

The latest annual, be that comics and magazines such as The Beano, Look-In, or Whoopee!, or TV and movie tie ins such as Star Wars, Tiswas, or The Sweeney. Whatever it was it had to be there on Christmas Day, to unwrapped, opened, and smelt, before diving in during the lazy afternoon as Christmas Day dinner was being digested waiting for the evening TV specials.

It's been way too long coming but now we have TWO free and updated international rugby calendars, one for the women and one for the men. Check out and subscribe to one or both calendars: https://www.mikeriversdale.co.nz/rugby-calendar The first entry on the women's calendar was back in December 2019 but the number of games and teams has increased massively over the past few years.

Jesus wept I feel a hangover these days. I'm not a small drinker, never have been, I drink way over the odds compared to most. But man alive a big night lays me out big time. I'm a hangover man lasting a good one to two days. To be fair it's not sickness, headaches, or feeling like shit it's total and utter tiredness and fluffed brain. So, it's coconut water, limes, ginger, pears, and leafy greens all the way from now on. READ: Reduce the Symptoms of Your Hangover With These 5 Science-Backed Foods

It's a truism to judge, and I mean "judge" (make a call on someone's character and to act as you see it) upon how they treat the person serving their food in a restaurant. Or to judge them by how they interact with the reception people. Or how they see, or don't, the people that do the office cleaning. It's fine to judge, in the moment, and with curiosity about why they did what they did. Who knows anyone and what is going on for them. Same goes for state entities, or "countries" if you want. To judge them on anything, judge them on how deal with their women, their incarcerated, their poor, their weak, their "others" be they gay, black, 'foreign', or just different. Upon these judge, but also be aware that none of us on the outside know anyone and what is going on for them  UK and USA, I am absolutely judging you as you slip further and further into a place that treats their women, their gay, their non-white, their "other"

Everyone has their quirks from childhood, one of my Mum's is to not waste anything, something we from the throwaway generation are only now learning is a good thing. Hopefully not too late.

After living in various astounding places around the world my first UK place I called home was in Monmouth (well, just outside tbf). This view is burnt into my memory, and I know I am incredibly lucky to having such an amazing start to my life.

Western Mail, 1st December 1953, page 4: BEFORE his death in 1832 John Renie prepared an unusual tombstone for his grave in St. Mary’s Church, Monmouth. He divided a large stone into a number of squares. In the centre of the squares was the letter “H.” Reading from any direction this letter starts the epitaph “Here lies John Renie.

The Monnow river was so low back in summer of 2019 I could get out onto the rocks and take photos like this. Monnow Bridge (Welsh: Pont Trefynwy Welsh pronunciation: [pɔnt tre:vənʊɨ]), in Monmouth, Wales, is the only remaining fortified river bridge in Great Britain with its gate tower standing on the bridge. Such bridge towers were common across Europe from medieval times, but many were destroyed due to urban expansion, diminishing defensive requirements and the increasing demands of traffic and trade. The historical and architectural importance of the bridge and its rarity are reflected in its status as a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building. [source: Wikipedia, Monnow Bridge ]

Awwwww, I is cute.

"But I don't want it. I just want to, to, sing!"

A glorious yellow ... um, er, flower, with a honey bee doing its honey bee business.

The Boatclub, as it's just known, is a busy place as many fit Grammar kids take the rowing boats out to skootle up and down the River Wye.  I once was one of them (a rower, not a Grammar school kid), for a short-ish time.

The haunt of old rockers 😜

For better for worse, 'til death do us part.

The scale of the 12-16th century Tintern Abbey ruins is still mind boggling. Now, I've posted this before however it's a wee story worth repeating. The Wye Valley , where these ruins are located, is one of the 4 main roads out of Monmouth and so was a common route for us all on various family trips. My Dad, Derek , would always and without fail, giggle to himself as we drove past exclaiming to all who would hear, "Be nice when they've finished it!" A true #DadJoke

Parked in a car park. Was quite something to see, especially how absolutely base it was - wooden floorboards, 3 pedals, steering wheel, seats, and nothing else.

I've shared one of these before, the Black Death tile, but here's Monnow Bridge from the Monmouth Millennium Mosiac . The river Monnow gives it's English name to Monmouth, the mouth of the Monnow, obvs. See also:  There's A Lot In The World To See

I remember when they dug up the tarmac path and laid down ye olde cobble stones. And this veggie shop used to be the heart of Monmouth when I was at school, the independent and most awesome Round Ear record shop.

Wigmores Bakery on St Mary's Street, one of those ancient, wiggly, narrow streets of Monmouth, has been serving up bread to my family for decades.

I can't remember why but spotting an Eddie is a thing. I spotted an Eddie on the Wye Bridge. The amount of heavy traffic that old bridge takes is amazing.

Wyesham is a housing estate a few miles outside of Monmouth and at the bottom of the the Kymin upon which is the world famous Round House that was visited by Lord Nelson in the olden days. It's that white thing at the top of the hill. It's a house-ish that is round. Oh, oh, and I've just discovered that " The Kymin is home to one of the UK's rarest and largest ant species, the red wood ant. "

Miss 'em.

You're not in Aotearoa now Mr Riversdale.

If you can get to it don't go in!

An old rail viaduct from days gone by.