Wrexham Foodbank

Sarah, Shelby and I just got back from collecting food at a grocery store for the new food bank here in Wrexham. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the few hours that we spent there! The three of us suited up in green aprons when we arrived (which made me feel like I was wearing a shell-all I needed to complete the outfit was a purple mask and a staff!) and stationed ourselves by the doors. We then handed out shopping lists to the people coming in and asked them to help out!

My spiel went a little like this: "Hiya, we're collecting food for the food bank at Salvation Army today, and these are some of the items we're looking for if you'd be willing to help out." Repeat with small variations x100, with a smile.

I was amazed at how friendly people were. I know I'm not that warm to people who are handing out leaflets at the supermarket. But they were actually willing to help out.  I only got a handful of "no thank you"s. (And some "I'm alright, thanks." Of course you're alright! It's the people who we're trying to help out who aren't alright!) But all in all, it seems that the people of Wrexham are a fairly generous bunch, and what they gave today will make such a difference for those who are in crisis!

Dreaming

Back in 2008, I saw an installation of this artist in the Liverpool Cathedral, and ever since then, I've been dreaming about owning one of his paintings.  I'll probably never be able to afford an original, but his prints are about 150 euros, which seems reasonable for a work of art.  But it just seems like an unecessary extravagance when there's so many more practical things to spend money on.  And in all likelyhood, I'll be moving around a lot. All of these are reasons not get a print, besides the fact that I don't have any extra money to spend on art.

But then I look at the prints available and think, "perhaps I'll start saving..."

Chester Zoo

Last Wednesday, I went to Chester Zoo with my parents and Jacob and Shelby. It's the largest zoo in England, and quite close to where we live. What made it even better was the fact that we didn't have to drive at all.  We caught the train to Chester and then the bus from there.  As an added bonus, they had a combination bus/zoo fare that was less than the original entry price!

But I'm pretty sure you don't really care about that. Animals. That's what people go to the zoo to see, and they had so many! Some of the highlights for me were:

• Bat Cave- (Okay, technically the Fruit Bat Forest) They've got a huge room of free-flying fruit bats.  It's very dark inside, and there bats everywhere! Roosting in the trees, flying past you, and making lots of noise.  I think I might have gotten a bit wet, which isn't so nice.
• Porcupets- which are baby porcupines.  I first saw them when I visited Northwest Trek a couple years ago (has it really been that long?!) and realized that they're adorable.  These procupets (even the name is cute!) were of the African Crested Kind.
• Butterfly House- I could live there...
• Okapi- these are my favorite animals in the world.  I had never seen one before, and I didn't know there was going to be one at the zoo. So I was surprised and overjoyed to find one, and I even got about five minutes of one on one time with it, only five feet away.  *sigh* So happy! They're such beautiful, mysterious and unique animals!
• And lastly, I loved seeing vicuña. There was a small group out in the middle of a field, and I tried calling them over so I could pet them and see if their fur ways as soft as I've heard it is (only Incan royalty were allowed to wear clothes made out of vicuña fibre, and it's illegal to import to the states.) They didn't come.  I tried looking along the enclosure's walls to see if there was any loose fibre, but there wasn't any.  Sad day! :D

And now, for some videos.  I hope you enjoy the porcupets, the butterfly in Jacob's hair, and the Okapi.

MOV_0021.mp4 Watch on Posterous

MOV_0026.mp4 Watch on Posterous

MOV_0035.mp4 Watch on Posterous

Caernarfon (Carnarvon) Castle

See the full gallery on Posterous

Caernarfon (Carnarvon in English) Castle is probably my favorite old building that we've visited so far.  Erddig Hall was large and full of interesting old things while Chirk Castle had beautifully proportioned rooms and was interesting because it was still a family home.  Caernarfon is something different all together.  Built by King Edward I to prove to the Welsh that he was in charge, today it's empty, but not a ruin. And that's where the fun comes in.  Unlike the other buildings, full of furnishings and things you can't touch, you can pretty much go anywhere you like in the castle. There's corridors and towers and empty rooms to wonder about. There's also a military history museum, which somehow managed to be interesting, and a small museum about how Caernarfon was the traditional seat of the Prince of Wales.  It's actually where Prince Charles was invested in 1969.

What made visiting Caernafon even better was getting to visit it with my friends Lucas and Magda.  Magda and I (and Lucas too) ran up all the narrow, winding, slightly scary stairs to the tops of all the towers, and my parents waited down below and enjoyed being in a very amazing castle! To make the day amazing, we had some delicious icecream (chocolate, mango and passionfruit) from across the way. On the way back home, we drove through Snowdonia.  I'm very happy that my parents got to see that.  Although I come from a place with a lot of mountains, Snowdonia is different than anywhere else I've seen in the world- all weathered rock and slate and heather, sheep and waterfalls. So beautiful!

Two fantastic free albums

I've been enjoying these two albums immensely.  Wendell Kimbrough is a musician from Washington, D.C. His songs make me smile because of their wide range of musical influence. Also, several of his songs sound extremely happy in the music, but the lyrics are a bit more sombre and reflective.  The contrast is fascinating!

Wayfarer is a group from Seattle, Washington.  They take the lyrics from old hymns and completely reinvent them.  I think my favorite from this album is Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me.

You can download both albums for free from Noisetrade by following the links below.  Also, if you just want to listen to the music, rather than have it for your own, there's Grooveshark for that!

Wendell Kimbrough

Wayfarer