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steveeditor.bsky.social
Proofreader and copy editor based in South Wales. Reader, music fan, walker, talker, amateur photographer, semi-professional drinker.
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I have a gig this week. I should be sensible now. But the publishers I used to work for have kicked me into the long grass. I'm too fucking good at my job! Time for bed ...
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Very proud of my documentary about Magna Carta. It’s just been released. Please check it out: access.historyhit.com/videos/magna...
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This is the 1225 reissue of Magna Carta, the famous clause at its heart: "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled….nor will we proceed with force against him....except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land."
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My favourite part of the Nazi punch guy (apart from the punch) is when he said he was a Depeche Mode fan, and the band released a statement saying basically we hate you and don't want you to listen to our music any more. That must have hurt more than the punch.
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I was on a train from Cardiff some years ago, and a wasp flew in just before the doors closed. It eventually found its way out at Treforest, about ten miles away. Now I'm wondering ... Did it think, 'Yes! FREEDOM!' Or did it think, 'Where the af am I? More importantly, how the af do I get home?'
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Oh, I keep meaning to read that! I've done 'Stand on Zanzibar' a couple of times and that was hard work. But it did give me and some pals for an in-between sets idea for a gig if it ever happens.
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You should try living in Wales. We get the sun in April and May (if we're lucky) and possibly a bit in late September. The Welsh call Halloween 'Nos cyn gaeaf' (the night before winter), and it's linguistic proof that the seasons have shifted massively over time.
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It is absolutely stunning, isn't it? I went there with the Hirwaun Historical Society some years ago. Probably the best castle I've been to in Wales *including Caerphilly*. We were chatting to tourists about castles in the Brecon Tap yesterday, and I was so pleased that Faith recommended it.
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And this is a silly Joy Division-related picture I made a few years ago...
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I logged on to Twitter yesterday purely because my local bus operator uses it for updates. Literally the first 'ad' I saw was from an account posting the sort of anti-immigrant rhetoric you find in the UK tabloids (and, by extension, the UK pubs) every day of the week.
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I did Llangynidr to Talybont along the canal a few weeks ago, so I know that area is reachable.
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Llangynidr to Crickhowell would be doable by bus. (I might have done it already, if it's mainly canal towpath.) The From Llangynidr west leads into the part of the map that says HERE BE DRAGONS (and in Wales, that's not something to be laughed off). Maybe next weekend, weather permitting.
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I'd certainly be interested in tying buses into the network. I've done large chunks of South Wales by bus and on foot over the past three years. But the operators don't help by cutting non-urban services. My exploration of the Bridgend area will end next month when Stagecoach axes the route.
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Ystradfellte from the nearest bus route (Penderyn) takes well over an hour on foot. Then there's no public transport until you hit the Swansea Valley 10km due west, and the bus runs to Brecon, twenty miles from my home. As I've said, it's totally impractical to scope out on foot - ironically.
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I don't have a car! That's the limiting factor for me. Getting around South Wales any other way takes all day if you're lucky - and a missed bus means you're stuck in the middle of nowhere. Your scheme is brilliant, but in a lot of areas like mine, I fear it's impractical at best.
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I'll do it on the PC and see how it looks. The unverified area around Pontsticill and Llwyn-On (north of Merthyr Tydfil) caught my eye for a starter. But having looked at the OS map (print), most of Bannau Brycheiniog can't be verified without access to a car. Kinda misses the point, I feel. 😉
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'Missed a trick', even. Bloody unpredictable tripewriter!
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I'm fairly near a large unchecked section in South Wales, but the online map is very difficult to follow. Also the naming scheme isn't practical in Wales as so many place names begin with elements like ABER-, BLAEN-, CAER-, CEFN-, COED-, CWM-, LLAN-, PONT-, RHYD- ... It's a nice idea, but I'm out.
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Tories occupying the top positions and even took over Ofcom. So complaining to Ofcom is even useless because it will be brushed under the table!
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It means that not only Bridgend will be unreachable from the Rhondda, but also the college, the retail/leisure park at Sarn, the Princess of Wales Hospital, Porthcawl ... The alternative routes are via Pontypridd and/or or Talbot Green. It's a short-sighted measure that will inconvenience many.
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Transport planning would be a lovely feature of life. I learnt on Friday that Stagecoach is curtailing route 172 from Aberdare to Bridgend. From the end of July (apart from mornings and evenings) it will terminate at Tonyrefail - cutting the only direct link between the Rhondda Valleys and Bridgend.
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Not necessarily - in the Brecon branch it ran all the way to 22 November 1963 and then stopped. (Loads of conspiracy books on the shelf.)
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I think they just pile in whatever has the most derivative cover designs and hope for the best: frothy pink fonts for the chick-lit crowd; b/w landscapes for the crime lovers; anything with a sword or a dragon for fantasy fans. And history only began on 1 September 1939 and ended soon afterwards.
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Which reminds me of last night's weird dream: I was back at university and I'd teamed up with a very cute Chinese first-year student who wanted to see more of Wales. Well, she asked me nicely and it would have been rude to refuse. 😁
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I used to say that Wales had 'Third World public transport', but once I met friends from Africa and Asia who couldn't believe how bad things were in this country, I realised I'd been understating the situation.