Dr Tom Payne's Blog – March 2010 Archive (42)

Day 31 - My First Vlog - My Bedroom, Aberystwyth

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 31, 2010 at 12:08 — No Comments

Day 30 - Up a Great Big Hill - Cnwch Coch

Sam and I ran 8km today. Mostly up hill. Except for the bits where we were going down hill. I'm not sure which was worse, the endless agonising climbing or the occasional rapid descent. The latter puts a lot of stress on the tops of the thighs and the knees and I couldn't help feeling that I was going to fly uncontrollably face first into the mud. Or else involuntarily perform the splits and then have to wait to be airlifted to the nearest hospital. Sam led the way. This was his run and… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 30, 2010 at 11:56 — No Comments

Day 29 - Cogito Ergo Sum - Cnwch Coch -

I have decided that I need to find out something about philosophy. Starting with Descarte. It seems like a good idea, seeing as I am training to be a doctor of philosophy, that I know something about ... well, philosophy. So Descartes today, Kant tomorrow, and so on until I can list them all in chronological order like the kings and queens on the back of a ruler... was it just me that had that ruler? The Rulers ruler. I don't think it helped me do much more than draw straight… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 29, 2010 at 12:30 — No Comments

Day 28 - Radio Ceredigion and the Black Box Recorder - The Little School by the Train Station, Aberystwyth

I have just arrived back from the radio station following an interesting slot on what could be Sam Christie's final show. That's the same Sam that I went to Poland with. He invited me along and asked me to bring some of my own music. So I did. I took an old carry case containing 200 cds that I collected as a student between 1997 and 2001. I explained that they were the product of my attempts to develop a musical identity, without any money or any direction. Consequently it is comprised… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 28, 2010 at 10:56 — No Comments

Day 27 - The Princess the Frog and the Sex Doll - Aberystwyth

I woke this morning and burst out of bed with enthusiasm. This was quickly replaced by nausea and the fear that I might be about to come down with something nasty.


It turned out that I wasn't, although I did avoid food for much of the day as a result. Poppy was sick again in the morning, so our weekly trip to the swimming pool was cancelled. So too was the trip to the cinema to watch the Princess and the Frog.


I received an email…
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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 27, 2010 at 12:00 — No Comments

Day 26 - Green Tea and a big fat cheque! - Aberystwyth

I took the red card left by the postman to the post office and collected the white bubble wrapped parcel. The post office depot is just out of town on the industrial estate, thankfully I still had the hire car. Inside the package were five boxes of green tea. 5 different varieties. There was also a note requesting that I let the sender know which one was best. Thank-you sender!



I took the car up to the welcome centre at the university and… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 26, 2010 at 11:30 — No Comments

Day 25 - The First Assembly Project - Newtown, Aberystwyth, Blaengarw, Port Talbot & Aberystwyth

I have just won a chocolate egg from the bingo. I was awarded my prize by a jovial man in a ginger wig and a bright green dress. He was accompanied by another gentleman, who also seemed more than comfortable walking around the Blaengarw Workmans Hall looking like a pantomime dame. One that had been dragged through a hedge backwards. I am sure they won't mind me saying so. Had the evening not ended I am sure that I would have played bingo into the early hours. It is truly addictive. And… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 25, 2010 at 14:54 — No Comments

Day 24 - Sat Nav Anyone? - Gregynog

It's the end of the second day of the conference and everyone has left the seminar room to go and witness/participate in the musical activty in the cellar bar. I am taking the opportunity to quickly write before heading back downstairs. There has been much discussion of A Good Night Out in the Valleys and having access to so many different minds and opinions is invaluable to my research. When i get back I will arrange to meet up with Roger and Anwen before…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 24, 2010 at 9:00 — No Comments

Day 23.1 - Gregynog - Lidice

The last part of the first day of the conference is spent in small groups generating research proposals and questions. The subject of the project is the 1943 Propaganda film Silent Village. Our group is charged with the task of generating a research methodology and three questions using 'Place' as a starting point for research.

Andrew applies his extensive research skills and uses his Iphone to access…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 23, 2010 at 10:12 — 1 Comment

Day 23 - The Process of Rising - My House Aberystwyth

7:35am
Alarm went off at 7am. Snoozed till 7:10am. It's now 7:35am..... lost 25 minutes somewhere. Clothes out of the drawer ready. Off for a shower.


7:47am
Out of the shower. Lavender baby bath and herbal essences conditioner. Fighting tiredness but pleased to be up. Let's see if i can get dressed by 8am. 12 minutes to go!


7:53am
Dressed. Still need to do hair. Put deodorant on. Go for breakfast.…
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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 22, 2010 at 22:30 — No Comments

Day 22 - Welsh Landscape - Through the Internet Aberystwyth

A friend sent me a poem today...


To live in Wales is to be conscious…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 22, 2010 at 12:12 — No Comments

Day 21 - Lethargy and Lists - On a Treadmill Aberystwyth

A weird kind of lethargy has been overtaking me recently. These last two days at least. Something to do with nights becoming confused with days and the lots and lots of travelling during the last two weeks. There is more to come next week. I will be going to Gregynog near Newtown for a University conference. I am going to speak for 5 minutes about the project. What to say?!?! And on Thurday Carl and I are going to go the…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 21, 2010 at 12:00 — No Comments

Day 20 - Frog Day Afternoon - On the Roads of Mid Wales

Poppy and I swam again today. We accidentally crashed a children's birthday party in the pool. I think we both realised after about half an hour and chose not to share the information with one another for fear that one or the other might make us leave and swim in the colder water of the Plas Crug main pool. We bought chocolate chip muffins and made a mushroom soup. The days are now much brighter and sharper and the…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 20, 2010 at 7:30 — No Comments

Day 19 - Poppy - My House

Sometimes it's important to remember why we do the things we do. All the miles that we travel. All the people we meet and all the tricky situations that we negotiate. Sometimes it's important to stop and think about these things because there is a very real chance that tomorrow, these things won't be there and we will have missed something important. I am humbled by this thought and realise, at the end of this week of searching, that sometimes what you are looking for is right there.… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 19, 2010 at 11:30 — No Comments

Day 18 - My Eyebrows? - The Oriel Davies Gallery Newtown

It turns out that the reason that we didn't meet up with Karl yesterday was because he fell down the side of the Wawel and got run over by a passing car. He is ok...



The following entry is a record of a visit to the Oriel Davies gallery in Newtown. I travelled with Tina and…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 18, 2010 at 12:30 — No Comments

Day 17 - Losing Karl - Home at last

We lost Karl at the Wawel. He ran ahead to set up the crowning shot of his film and we didn't see him again. We were only moments behind him. We searched the Wawel and in the end we had to jump in a taxi and head to the airport. Hopefully he didn't wait too long. It feels like the fitting end to a film. A metaphor for his struggle to save Krakow.…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 17, 2010 at 12:30 — No Comments

Day 16.1 - A Flashback to the Night Before - The Dizzy Daisy Hostel

Last night ended with the feeling that we we might have escaped with our lives. The Girl, Katia, was a little keen. Very keen infact. Her boyfriend seemed very accommodating. Patient possibly. They didn't understand the concept behind the band when I showed them a video on the internet. There was something that really didn't feel right in that place. Her lank haired boyfriend repeatedly putting his hand to her face in a…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 16, 2010 at 7:00 — No Comments

Day 16 - Turkish Coffee and a Vegemite sandwich - Not Nancy's Cafe, Nowhere near Ystrad Mynach

"You'd better run, you'd better take cover". Sam pushes the camera up close into Karl's face. His cigarette burning low, ash about to drop on the table. The cafe has equivalence with Nancy's cafe in Ystrad Mynach. Carl talks about being your own tour guide. He is interrupted by the Nokia ring tone. A thick layer of smoke that is somehow comforting. Strange really as I find smoking abhorrent. Smoke indoors has become an…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 16, 2010 at 0:00 — No Comments

Day 15.1 - Real Polish Food - Some Michelin recommended restaurant near to the Rynek

Over dinner in yet another subterranean restaurant we discuss our motives for the creation of a film/performance/documentary. Earlier Karl called us over to film him dropping change into a beggars cup. Why do this? To show the poverty or to frame himself as the the saviour of Krakow. I am beginning to feel quite emotional. I know that Sam does as well. As much as we fear exploiting the beggar in the street and resist…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 15, 2010 at 5:00 — No Comments

Day 15 - Alternative Tour of Krakow - Krakow

Karl has gone to work and Sam and I find ourselves back where we began yesterday when we first arrived in the city. We are next to the new opera house. Karl's tour has recoloured and remapped the landscape and I reflect, as I sit, on Britain and Wales and what, from within, I have taken for granted and missed. You can see the change here. Huge adverts hang from building tops. "Buildings, not billboards" as Karl is so keen…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 15, 2010 at 2:00 — No Comments

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