where art collides philosoperontap

Aberdyfi is a truly fab spot. It is rammed with English tourists but who can blame them,. The only other negative is the prevalence of the spelling Aberdovey. Totes unnecessary. The only welsh person we have met is one of the waitresses in the Seabreeze restaurant who hails from a nearby farm. I gave her a good tip.

Twilight on the seafront is stunning. Fabulous views across the estuary.

When I booked this place I thought it was only about ten miles north of Aberystwyth which is where I need to be in the morning. National Library of Wales. Boy was I wrong. It is nearly an hour’s drive. Schoolboy error from someone who is a very experienced traveller. As it happens the location has made up for it. Never been ‘ere before.

So it’s been quite a productive day.  Visited Felin Obaith/Birds Hill Factory where my great great grandfather Benjamin Davies operated and also saw his and Mary’s grave at Capel y Bedyddwyr Amor, Llanfynydd. Went with long lost cousin Gareth Morgan from Blaen Cae Gurwen. Had intended to take separate cars as I was kneading on further north but his wife Ann had taken it somewhere for the day so we went in mine. It meant that I had to budget for an hour and a half extra driving and abandon the visit to Hen Gapel Pencader but hopefully will be able to squeeze that in on Thursday afternoon after visiting Andrew Thorne in Llanllwni. We did stop by Capel Isaac Independent chapel to look for 3gg parents John And Ann Davies but the graveyard was very overgrown and many of the gravestones illegible so that was the one unproductive part of the day. At least I saw the chapel.

After dropping Gareth back at home I drove north over the black mountains which was quite spectacular and a short time later spotted three red kites.

Big day tomorrow. Have ordered 28 or so docs to view and am hoping it will represent a major step forward in my understanding of the family history. I’m at the stage where the things I need to see are only available as physical copies rather than online.

Stay tuned, obvs…

A hot day on the literary festival trail yesterday with aVincent Doumeizel’s talk on the importance of plankton at 1pm and Dawn French being interviewed by Rev Richard Coles at 4.30. Was v good fair play. Back afterwards to shower and get into a silk hawaiian for the evening.

Earlier, a productive stroll around Y Gelli where I went into the second oldest Baptist church in Wales,  purchased a brown suede waistcoat for a tenner (serious bargain) from the sheepskin stall in the Market square which is there every year and five books including an useful record of legal proceedings in Wales during the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and a commentary on Wales Under the Penal Code (1662-1687 to save you looking it up) following the restoration of the monarchy. Just a glance at the introduction has already yielded some interesting info.

Ended up at the curry house in Hay. Indigo Red or similar. Not amazing curry but it was more about having dinner with friends. Late finish. Half eleven or so.

…

Nipped back to our room to pick up my ticket, passing a tattooed woman with her dog and boyf. Stuck me that she didn’t look particularly self-confident. On my return journey to meet the Bradley Robertses that same couple had only progressed about 20 yards.

A brilliant gold light emerged to the east at 5:26 this morning. Came in through the bathroom window. I assume it was in the east. Dawn innit. Must be. There must have been some cloud cover because it very much looked as if it was being seen through a gap between the sky and the tree lined fields below. The rich gold of the sun was so striking I noted the time before climbing back into our four poster bed. The bed is quite squeaky.

Up for an early ish breakfast as THG needs to be in the queue for her first talk at nine thirty. Some familiar faces in the dining room. The couple with the daughter. She gets a bit bigger every year. Gets dragged along every year. Maybe she is the insufferable intellectual type. Then the jackpot at the tableau just opposite us. A droopy faced woman produced a copy of the Guardian. I’ve always said that this is a festival of Grauniad readers. I am meself, though couldn’t tell you when I last bought a hard copy. I do subscribe.

Discussed the dawn with the landlady at breakfast. She saw it herself. Had got up to let the dog out and have a puff and just stood there admiring the light.

My first gig today is Vincent Doumeizel – The Power of Plankton: Why it’s the Key to our Future. 1pm. What’s not to like? Then it’s Dawn French at 5:30. A bit late but I guess I can take it and it is with THG, who for some strange reason expressed no interest in hearing about plankton. Just no telling with people innit & we’ve known each other for 40 years. Wasn’t that fussed about seeing Dawn but THG wants to and we are a team.

My plan this morning is to stroll around the bookshops of Y Gelli. See if I can pick up any interesting tomes on early non-conformists in Carmarthenshire. Second hand obvs. No hurry. You can’t rush these things. Am thinking a ten ey em start. Maybs a little earlier as I need to walk off breakfast. Gently stroll off breakfast.

Wonderful night out at the Old Black Lion with the full Bradley Roberts clan, partners and all. They are a lovely bunch. I’ve known Rhys and Eirian since Bangor University. Our kids are of the same age. Funnily enough we do the same things every year at Y Gelli. There is a fair chance of it being beers and a curry tonight. Tomorrow afternoon Rhys and I with son Iws will find a pub to watch the last day of the Premier League season with lots to play for. I have no difficulty in pinning my colours to the mast. Liverpool and West Ham to win and Spurs to be ignominiously drubbed by Everton lining them up for a clash with the mighty imps next season in the second division. Could go any way. Might be worth a bet. Well it would be if there was a bookies in town which there aint. Don’t want to do it online. Where’s the fun in that? Plus you have to jump through hoops to prove your identity and I ain’t that bothered.

It’s looking a little cooler this morning. Thirty degrees Monday and Tuesday.

Stardate 22nd May, 2026. Gelli Gandryll. Our journey here from intergalactic port LHR T5 was uneventful and even, as we left the motorways for the leafy green lanes approaching Y Gelli, quite pleasant. The open windows of the Silver Bullet served as air conditioning as we meandered past fields full of cattle, sheep and fruit trees miscellaneous.

We arrived Kilvert’s Inn at one thirty to find a parking space (at a premium) and a room already prepared for us (we were early). The landlady did express a degree of concern when it came to tomorrow’s breakfast as one phase of the pub’s three phase electricity supply had failed and not yet been fixed. An electrician was hard at work in the background. The backup for tomorrow’s breakfast is the Old Black Lion just down the road and where we are dining tonight.

We’ve been chillin for a couple of hours in our room on the top floor floor but are now stirring. THG has a lecture to go to at five thirty. I don’t. I don’t like to overdo the attendance at talks but do like the overall atmosphere of the town. The Literary Festival itself is packed with trendy Guardian readers sporting tote bags full of the latest releases. These are purchaysed from the festival book shop at top dollar. No Oxfam Bookshop in sight as was the case at the Eisteddfod once and where I was able to source some fine, albethey fairly obscure, Welsh books on religious history.

Emerald Fennel. That’s who THG is going to see. I did post the question as to whether that was a nom de plume but THG seems to think not. I dunno.

Y Gelli Gandryll, or Hay on Wye for those not in the know, is a world away from Sorrento and the Bay of Naples. Just as hot mind you. The heatwave has just begun here in the UK. I am confident that I have an adequate supply of silk Hawaiian shirts for the long weekend but the rest of the week, which will be spent in Cardiff and Aberystwyth, is another story. I packed two bags for this trip. One for Sorrento and one for Wales. The Welsh bag packing assumed the more variable climate of the land of song. I’ll work that one out when it becomes a problem. I’m sure @Sue must have a washing machine in her spanking new kitchen which we are excited to go and view for the first time.

Sorrento was a whirlwind. A telecoms business conference called Inspiration Day that attracts Netaxis customers, prospects and partners from mostly Europe but also the Americas, Middle East and Africa. This one was a huge success (natch) and was topped off with a visit to Pompei en route to the airport where we arrived too early to checkin and so sat on an uncomfortable metal bench for perhaps an hour or so.

Even when checked in the facilities at the airport are not particularly good but we met upo with the Burckhardts and Matt Dore near the gate where a small bar served cold beer and kept us hydrated. Pompei was very interesting.

We crammed a lot in to our time in Sorrento and even though much of it was work we did make it to Capri and I joined a select band of soulmates for dinner at a marinaside gaff called Soul & Fish. Once our bags finally arrived, 2 and 4 days late, the turmoil of having to shop for clean underware was forgotten. I also made a mental note that the breakfast restaurant was setup like a game of pacman. The tables were all in a grid. When you turned down one channel which had been clear at the start someone else would enter it causing you to turn left or right to go around them.

That’ll do. It’s too hot to write any more.

Hwyl cariad

Actually werkin today. Wots that all about. The Netaxis mob have gone en masse on a tour to Naples but I have lots of prep to do. Got a meeting with the hotel at 2pm to do some AV testing in the Tritone Auditorium. Then put up some rollup banners and lay out the badges for tomorrow.

The Bay of Naples is full (ish) of yachts this pm. Yachts of the variety with sails. Not the modern motorised versions. Tis a beautiful afternoon for it. There is wind enough to make me don my floral linen jacket. The wind yesterday evening coming around the western side of Capri certainly made for a dramatic trip back. I sat at the prow together with two other blokes. Got soaked. It was too late to change our minds and sit at the back with the sheilas. Too rough to risk the walk down the side of the boat. We stuck it out manfully.

The yachts seem to be towing dinghies of some sort. Can’t quite make out at this distance whether the dinghies have anyone on board or what is their purpose. Presumably to ferry people ashore? I’d a thought the yachts would be mooring up in a marina.

Anyway Capri was an interesting experience. Notionally the playground of the rich there were certainly more luxury designer shops per square metre than I’ve ever seen but the place was also rammed with tourists and really there was very little to see. Had the tourists not been there it would probably have been quite quaint and why it became popular in the first place. Even Roman Emperors used to holiday there. Particularly Tiberius apaz.

According to our guides, Bob and Paolo, some of the real estate was up to 25k euros a squ metre. I could perhaps understand that the incredibly wealthy might have boltholes there but can’t imagine they would be doing much more than staying poolside in their own places with the occasional jaunt to a posh shop or a Michelin starred restaurant. Or a bit of a sail down the Amalfi coast which is very much worth doing.

With perhaps and hour or more to go before the boat was due to pick us up we settled into a bar down by the harbour and had a couple of beers. Wasn’t particularly warm due to the sea breeze. A group of four American kids rocked up and somewhat annoyed the waiter by orderign one glass of water and one margarita cocktail. Then another American couple sat at the next table and, realising they were from the same continent, started up a conversation. The kids got lucky as the necomers offered to buy them drinks. The waiter cheered up. A customer with money! Those kids were probably not old enough to drimnk alcohol back home. Anyway the group was irritatingly noisy so we settled up and moved to the actual bit of rock where our boat would meet us.

We made it back and hit the lounge at around 7.30pm. Just before the end of happy hour which is actually a happy two hours. THG went up to the room to recover and I grabbed a simple steak and chips with some primitivo before joining her. 

Back in the room there was big news. My suitcase had arrived. Only 4 days late. The BA website still says it is being prepared for shipping. Anyway at least it is here now. I had visions of it arriving on Thursday just after we had left.

This lunchtime is the last bit of relaxation before the conference. THG and I had a light lunch on the terrace looking out across the bay. Caesar salad and club sandwich with a couple of bottles of water. The Netaxis sales guys would already appear to be hitting the pop on the ferry back from Naples. They will be napping during the meeting this afternoon 🙂

Up at 7am. Well 6am in the disunited kingdom but we aren’t there. Vesuvius, having looked clear and large across the bay yesterday, is shrouded in cloud and it has been raining overnight. It is forecast to rain for much of today from what I can see. The chairs on the balcony were wet so I wiped them down before sitting there to write my diary. Nipped in for 30 seconds to put the kettle on for THG and it started raining again so I’ve brought a chair in through the door and am sitting just inside the room facing out. Vesuvius has now disappeared. I can just imagine someone way back in Roman times thinking the same thing. Not from this hotel’s balcony obvs. The now heavy rain is quite relaxing fair play. Could do with it at home but I’m told it’s lovely there.

The overnight news is there isn’t any overnight news. No sign of our cases. I take most essential things in our carry on luggage but neither of us has a change of clothes.

I got an email from BA last night:

Dear Customer,

We’re sorry to let you know that an issue with the baggage system at London Heathrow Terminal 5 may affect your journey today.  This means your checked bag may not be loaded onto your flight and could arrive later. (yes well we already knew that and what’s this “may” business)

While this issue is with the airport’s baggage system and outside of our control (uhuh), please be assured that we’re working closely with Heathrow Airport to minimise disruption and get your bag back  to you as quickly as possible.

As always, we recommend that any essential items, including medication, travel with you in your hand luggage wherever possible.

If your bag is delayed, we’ll keep you updated and let you know as soon as it is on its way to you. If you need any further support, please visit ba.com/delayedbaggage or speak to one of our colleagues in the Arrivals hall, who will be happy to help.

If you need to purchase essential items while you’re without your bag, please keep your receipts and we will reimburse you.

The lack of any further news suggested there was still a problem. I googled it:

No, Heathrow Airport is actively suffering from a major new baggage system failure at Terminal 5.

While previous famous meltdowns—such as the massive “luggage mountains” of 2022 and the July 2025 conveyor belt breakdowns—were eventually cleared, a new computer system failure hit Terminal 5 on May 15, 2026. 

Current Status and Impact

* The Core Issue: A fresh British Airways computer system error has severely disrupted the Terminal 5 automated baggage handling network.

* Current Backlog: Hundreds of flights have departed over the last 24 hours without passengers’ checked luggage. Ground crews are working under a severe backlog to manually sort and process thousands of stranded bags.

* Compounding Delays: The baggage crisis is worsened by severe flight disruptions across the UK, including a national air traffic control radar fault that has left airlines struggling to reposition planes and staff. (the weather was terrible over Naples – I’ve never experienced such buffeting to the extent that I had to hold THG with one hand and my gin and tonic with the other.

Crucial Advice if Flying Through Heathrow Now

* Pack Essentials in Hand Luggage: Keep critical items like medications, documents, and a change of clothes (yes well we know now – I always used to do that when travelling long haul fwiw)in your cabin bag.

* Use Tracking Tags: Ground reports strongly suggest dropping an Apple AirTag or similar GPS tracker into your suitcase. Passengers have successfully located their “lost” bags inside the airport using their phones when airline systems could not track them. (not much use if your bag is in Heathrow and you are in Sorrento although when we were on the plane the woman in the row in front was able to confirm that her bag was in the hold because of it’s tracking tag)

* Check with Your Airline: Baggage handling is legally the responsibility of your specific carrier, not Heathrow Airport itself (BA, in their email, seemed to dodge that issue). If your bag is missing, file a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) immediately with your airline and review their [British Airways Delayed Baggage Policy] or your specific carrier’s portal for essential item reimbursements. 

So I’ve followed a link and BA say that our bags are on the evening flight. That flight arrived late at around ten fifteen last night so one has to assume the bag will be en route this morning. We are going to have a late breakfast and linger a while before deciding whether to nip into town to buy some essentials – undies, tshirts etc. An initial google for clothes shops in Sorrento only brought up boutique purveyors of fine clothing (typical) but drilling deeper I did find some gaffs selling everyday stuff. Hopefully we won’t need to go.

Our plan today had been to chill out in the hotel anyway. Before coming I had envisioned a trip to Napoli perhaps but we can do that another day. Thinking Capri on Monday. The weather is on the up after today. Will have to see whether a dip in the pool is a practical prospect. Supposed to fine up this pm. My brand new bottle of factor 50 is in the suitcase mind you. Bought some squirtable, colourless stuff. I don’t like getting sun cream on my hands. Too sticky man. Tis a v nice hotel in which to relax.

Coming back to the bags, BA did say “We are awaiting receipt of your baggage at the airport.” Ah. If you’ve never been to NAP you should know it is as bad as MAN but Italian. Doesn’t instill me with confidence but let’s stay positive eh? 🙂 

This room, which is very nice, does lack an armchair. The seating options are the desk chair or the metal table and chairs on the balcony which, as you know, is not particularly usable right now. I left my sandals out there overnight. They are now soaked. Perhaps they won’t pong as much when they dry out.

Used NordVPN in anger for the first time last night watching Villa v Liverpool. Worked a treat fair play. I fell asleep early on which turned out to have been the right thing to do if you are a Liverpool fan. Sigh.

Eight fourteen and some bells have started ringing in Old Sorrento. Either the fire brigade has been called out (unlikely in this weather), that’s how they mark the quarter past the hour or they are calling the faithful to church. Dunno. I’ll go for option B. It isn’t a Sunday but when did that stop the faithful from their devotions. I suppose.

In other news the front desk is sending up a comb so that THG can do her hair after her shower. There is a god 🙂 Her hair dressing apparatus, ie hairbrush brush, is in her suitcase.

Up at 7am. Well 6am in the disunited kingdom but we aren’t there. Vesuvius, having looked clear and large across the bay yesterday, is shrouded in cloud and it has been raining overnight. It is forecast to rain for much of today from what I can see. The chairs on the balcony were wet so I wiped them down before sitting there to write my diary. Nipped in for 30 seconds to put the kettle on for THG and it started raining again so I’ve brought a chair in through the door and am sitting just inside the room facing out. Vesuvius has now disappeared. I can just imagine someone way back in Roman times thinking the same thing. Not from this hotel’s balcony obvs. The now heavy rain is quite relaxing fair play. Could do with it at home but I’m told it’s lovely there.

The overnight news is there isn’t any overnight news. No sign of our cases. I take most essential things in our carry on luggage but neither of us has a change of clothes.

I got an email from BA last night:

Dear Customer,

We’re sorry to let you know that an issue with the baggage system at London Heathrow Terminal 5 may affect your journey today.  This means your checked bag may not be loaded onto your flight and could arrive later. (yes well we already knew that and what’s this “may” business)

While this issue is with the airport’s baggage system and outside of our control (uhuh), please be assured that we’re working closely with Heathrow Airport to minimise disruption and get your bag back  to you as quickly as possible.

As always, we recommend that any essential items, including medication, travel with you in your hand luggage wherever possible.

If your bag is delayed, we’ll keep you updated and let you know as soon as it is on its way to you. If you need any further support, please visit ba.com/delayedbaggage or speak to one of our colleagues in the Arrivals hall, who will be happy to help.

If you need to purchase essential items while you’re without your bag, please keep your receipts and we will reimburse you.

The lack of any further news suggested there was still a problem. I googled it:

No, Heathrow Airport is actively suffering from a major new baggage system failure at Terminal 5.

While previous famous meltdowns—such as the massive “luggage mountains” of 2022 and the July 2025 conveyor belt breakdowns—were eventually cleared, a new computer system failure hit Terminal 5 on May 15, 2026. 

Current Status and Impact

* The Core Issue: A fresh British Airways computer system error has severely disrupted the Terminal 5 automated baggage handling network.

* Current Backlog: Hundreds of flights have departed over the last 24 hours without passengers’ checked luggage. Ground crews are working under a severe backlog to manually sort and process thousands of stranded bags.

* Compounding Delays: The baggage crisis is worsened by severe flight disruptions across the UK, including a national air traffic control radar fault that has left airlines struggling to reposition planes and staff. (the weather was terrible over Naples – I’ve never experienced such buffeting to the extent that I had to hold THG with one hand and my gin and tonic with the other.

Crucial Advice if Flying Through Heathrow Now

* Pack Essentials in Hand Luggage: Keep critical items like medications, documents, and a change of clothes (yes well we know now – I always used to do that when travelling long haul fwiw)in your cabin bag.

* Use Tracking Tags: Ground reports strongly suggest dropping an Apple AirTag or similar GPS tracker into your suitcase. Passengers have successfully located their “lost” bags inside the airport using their phones when airline systems could not track them. (not much use if your bag is in Heathrow and you are in Sorrento although when we were on the plane the woman in the row in front was able to confirm that her bag was in the hold because of it’s tracking tag)

* Check with Your Airline: Baggage handling is legally the responsibility of your specific carrier, not Heathrow Airport itself (BA, in their email, seemed to dodge that issue). If your bag is missing, file a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) immediately with your airline and review their [British Airways Delayed Baggage Policy] or your specific carrier’s portal for essential item reimbursements. 

So I’ve followed a link and BA say that our bags are on the evening flight. That flight arrived late at around ten fifteen last night so one has to assume the bag will be en route this morning. We are going to have a late breakfast and linger a while before deciding whether to nip into town to buy some essentials – undies, tshirts etc. An initial google for clothes shops in Sorrento only brought up boutique purveyors of fine clothing (typical) but drilling deeper I did find some gaffs selling everyday stuff. Hopefully we won’t need to go.

Our plan today had been to chill out in the hotel anyway. Before coming I had envisioned a trip to Napoli perhaps but we can do that another day. Thinking Capri on Monday. The weather is on the up after today. Will have to see whether a dip in the pool is a practical prospect. Supposed to fine up this pm. My brand new bottle of factor 50 is in the suitcase mind you. Bought some squirtable, colourless stuff. I don’t like getting sun cream on my hands. Too sticky man. Tis a v nice hotel in which to relax.

Coming back to the bags, BA did say “We are awaiting receipt of your baggage at the airport.” Ah. If you’ve never been to NAP you should know it is as bad as MAN but Italian. Doesn’t instill me with confidence but let’s stay positive eh? 🙂 

This room, which is very nice, does lack an armchair. The seating options are the desk chair or the metal table and chairs on the balcony which, as you know, is not particularly usable right now. I left my sandals out there overnight. They are now soaked. Perhaps they won’t pong as much when they dry out.

Used NordVPN in anger for the first time last night watching Villa v Liverpool. Worked a treat fair play. I fell asleep early on which turned out to have been the right thing to do if you are a Liverpool fan. Sigh.

Eight fourteen and some bells have started ringing in Old Sorrento. Either the fire brigade has been called out (unlikely in this weather), that’s how they mark the quarter past the hour or they are calling the faithful to church. Dunno. I’ll go for option B. It isn’t a Sunday but when did that stop the faithful from their devotions. I suppose.

In other news the front desk is sending up a comb so that THG can do her hair after her shower. There is a god 🙂 Her hair dressing apparatus, ie hairbrush brush, is in her suitcase.

Fairly relaxed in the lounge at B Gates. Off to Sorrento. Nothing to report that I haven’t already said in a video. Made it to our seats in plenty of time. Bags of overhead luggage space though it is filling up now. As usual they were looking to stick larger bags in the hold. I don’t typically go for that. In the first instance there should be plenty of space for our one carry on and THG’s squashy bag in Club class and we are on early enough to make sure nobody from further back in the plane dumps their gear near the front before walking on down the aisle. Secondly I happen to have a portable battery pack in my bag which makes it unsuitable for the hold. I don’t actually need the portable battery as my phone is good for up to two days but it does provide insurance against that eventuality. You might think this is selfish but it is amazing how many people bring two large carry on items.

Woman on the flight wearing a longish thin blue cardigan without buttons. Thing is she is holding her hand across her front to hold the sides of the cardigan in. If it had buttons she wouldn’t have to do that.

Our bags didn’t make it to Sorrento. Major baggage system failure at LHR. Oh.

The upside was that THG was able to bypass the mahoosive queue at passport control as she had already scanned her fingerprints on the previous trip. She was only 5 mins behind us Irish passport holders whereas those in the queue took 45 mins.