Sketch #189) Manx Electric Railway

Guaranteed to make me smile
Old fashioned trams
On the three legged Isle.

Now, if you look on Wikipedia, which is my internet encyclopedia of choice, for some reason it doesn't include the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man. The only reason I can think for this is the fact that it isn't a city tramway. I mean, yes, it is called a railway, but surely the vehicles like the ones in the picture are tramcars. Doesn't matter, anyway. I may be wrong, but I think that the Manx Railway is the world's oldest which is still using its original cars. This year, 2018, it's actually celebrating the 125th anniversary of it's opening in 1893. Fair play.

One Sketch #188) Tram on Westminster Bridge

Am I happy with this?
You bet I am
What more could I possibly want
Than London, a bridge and a tram.

Sorry - couldn't resist. (Not bad though, is it? Acrylic paint heavily watered down and used like water colour on watercolour paper.

One Sketch #187) Indiana Jones

A top treasure hunter? Not half,
Who often could do with a bath
Who shoots from the hip,
Is a whizz with a whip,
Archaeologist? Don't make me laugh.

You have to take inspiration where you can get it. In this case, having finished my series of trams and trains. I was watching "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with my grandson, and there was inspiration. I love the Indiana Jones films ( apart from Temple of Doom) I even like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and those of us willing to admit this are a small but select band. How much do I love them? Well, two or even three years ago there was an exhibition in the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, which was aimed at getting kids excited about archaeology. As a lure they had a small number of exhibits from the films - a hat, jacket and whip, and the actual crystal skull (or one of them, at least) used in the film. I went the day the exhibition opened.

One Sketch #186) London Underground Railway

Wherever I go
Wherever I might be
When you get down to it
The Tube's for me.

Yes, dearly beloved, this completes my set of sketches of the current city tramways, light railways and underground railways of Great Britain. I don't intend to say that much about the London Underground, since a few months ago I sketched an old District Line train at Ealing Common, and I tried to explain my love of the Tube then.

Well, this makes 12 sketches altogether - which, come to think of it, is a full calendar. Would you like one? Drop me a line and we'll come to some arrangement.

One Sketch #185 Mersey Rail, Liverpool

I'd be most remiss if I failed
To sketch and to praise Merseyrail

Yes, our third of Britain's 4 Underground Railways - Merseyrail being one of the quartet comprising of the Tyne and Wear Metro, the glorious Glasgow subway, and the mighty London Underground. So no prises for guessing what's on the menu for tomorrow, then.

One Sketch #184) Glasgow Subway

Again, again, again, again
I've sketched another flipping train.

Even if I didn't love Glasgow's 'Clockwork Orange' underground subway railway for itself, I'd love it for the fact that the first time I rode upon it was also the day that I won Mastermind. Still, coming towards the end of this series now folks - only Merseyrail and the London Underground to go.

One Sketch #183 (HALFWAY THERE!) Docklands Light Railway

I have to say
It's quite a strain
To write yet another verse
About a train.

Can you believe it, dearly beloved. 183 sketches and we're into the second half year. Being as 365 is an odd number, with yesterday's sketch we weren't quite halfway there, and with this one we're now just over halfway there.

So, the Docklands Light Railway. This opened just after I moved away from London, but I've ridden on it once or twice.

One Sketch #182) Tyne and Wear Metro

To pick another subject's hard
When one's as busy as I am
At least you can be thankful
It's a train and not a tram

Yes, sorry folks, but my little project of sketching all of Great Britain's Tramways, Light Railways and Underground Railways continues. This is the Tyne and Wear Metro - officially classed as a light railway, although I always thought of it as an underground railway. No matter. It opened in 1980, and I first travelled on it in 1982. Very good it is too.

Just a little note here. Being as this is sketch 182, my next sketch will take us into the second half year. I might not have posted each single day, but I have made at least one sketch on each of the days. A cause for a small celebration, I think. Cheers.

One Sketch #181) Edinburgh Tram and West Midlands Metro Tram

I can only say
I'm very sorry
Me sketch a different thing
Tomorree.

Sorry, well, sorry-ish, but I couldn't stop myself from wanting to sketch the only two existing British tramways I've never yet sketched. Apologies.

One Sketch #180) Sheffield Super Tram

I'm not obsessed.
I'm just very, very, very,very
Very, very, very, very, very
Alright. I am obsessed.

Sorry, couldn't think of anything else I wanted to sketch more today than another of Britain's city tram systems. This is the mighty Sheffield Super Tram. I'll pick something different tomorrow (maybe.)

One Sketch #179) Nottingham Tram

I once took a Nottingham tram
While eating an overcooked ham
With gravy and peas
And a limburger cheese
With lashings of raspberry jam.

At least this wasn't as rude as yesterday's. Yes, back to me lovely trams, my friends - this one through the city of Nottingham. No hams to be seen, overcooked or otherwise.

One Sketch 178) (Wednesday 19th) Ride 'Em, Cowboy

A cowboy who called himself Tex
Was often found hitting the decks
He said, "When I fall
It bruises my ball
Reducing my chances of sex

Sorry, that's very naughty, isn't it? I can only apologise. Just sketched this one out of the blue because I didn't have any other ideas and fancied sketching something with a bit of action about it.

One Sketch 177) Singleton Hotel Swansea

A building down the side street,
There's the rub
Who can resist the allure of such a pub?

Just a nice building in Swansea which caught my eye for today.

One Sketch #176) Port Talbot's Finest Actors

From one town
To the appreciative eyes and ears
Of the world.




O is for . . . Oscar Nominations. Yes, there cannot be that many towns in the UK that can boast as many Oscar nominations for acting as Port Talbot, my home for the last 32 years. The great Richard Burton, born in the Port Talbot village of Pontrhydyfen, was nominated no fewer than 7 times, although he never actually won, which must be a source of shame to the Academy. Sir Anthony Hopkins, born about a mile away from where I’m typing this now, in Margam, has thus far been nominated 4 times, winning for his unforgettable performance as Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs”. Now, okay, Michael Sheen, may not have been born in Port Talbot – he was born in Monmouth, South Wales, and he may not have been nominated for an Oscar – yet – but he’s a great actor who is proud to give his home town as Baglan, Port Talbot, where he grew up. If that’s not enough or you, then maybe I should mention Reginald Truscott Jones – not from Port Talbot itself, but just a few miles away in Neath, which is part of the same county borough of Neath and Port Talbot. Never heard of him? Well, maybe you know him better as Ray Milland, who won his Oscar for The Lost Weekend.

One Sketch #175) Newport Transporter Bridge

Each crossing
Feels like time travel
My car becomes
A Tardis.

Newport Transporter Bridge. Newport is South Wales' newest city, having been granted city status in 2002 for the Queen's Golden Jubilee. It is actually the third largest city in Wales after nearby Cardiff, and Swansea. The transporter bridge is it's most instantly recognisable structure, and is one of only two working transporter bridges in Britain. Cars drive and passengers walk onto a gondola which is suspended by cables from the main gantry crossing the river. the gondola then crosses the river, and passengers and cars disembark from the other time. It's a wonderful piece of Edwardiana, dating back to 1906. Bridges are one of many things that I love, and this is one of my favourites.

One Sketch #174) Manchester Metrolink Tram

I'm sorry, but it's just the guy I am
Gimme the choice, I'll choose
To sketch a tram.

This week I've been formulating a plan. I've read a rather lovely little book called "Pier Review", about two  guys, Danny Smith and Jon Bounds, and how they carried out a sudden plan to visit every seaside pier listed by the Pier Society in England and Wales. They didn't even like piers that much. So what I was thinking was - how about making a trip, the purpose of which would be to ride on every town/city tram system in Great Britain? I reckoned that there's only six of them, so even though they are spread as far apart as London and Edinburgh, you should do it quite comfortably in five days. In fact, so easy would it be, I thought, that you could even up the ante a little bit by including rides on each of Great Britain's 3 underground railways, and 2 light railways as well as the 6 tram systems. So why have I plumped to include a picture of a Manchester tram? Well, I may be wrong, but I believe that Manchester was the first city to bring  trams back - although Blackpool, to be fair, had the great good sense never to get rid of them in the first place. As for the trip - well, probably it will never happen, but you never know. Watch this space.

One Sketch #173) Moise Kisling

He's been reading this book

Since 1910

He must be wondering

Where will it end.

Prompt from Sketching Every Day today - something inspired by artist Moise Kisling. So I copied this from his 1910 work, Young Boy Reading. Not brilliant, is it? Sorry Moise. 

One Sketch #172) Briton Ferry Library.

A treasure house
Beyond all value
Tresor dyn y ddawn

L is for. . . Llansawel. This is a rather personal one. Llansawel is the Welsh name for Briton Ferry, which is a part of the town of Neath, in the County Borough of Neath and Port Talbot in South Wales. And it’s a place which is a bit special to me, since I worked in Briton Ferry for 29 years, as a teacher in the local school for 11 – 16 year olds. It was my first ever teaching post, and for the most part a very happy time in my life. I’d come to the stage where I was teaching children, whose parents I had taught many years before, and it wouldn’t have been long before I was teaching grandchildren as well. The school was amalgamated with two others , and I teach in the amalgamated school a couple of miles away now. This building, probably the finest left in Briton Ferry, is the library. I don’t know for certain if it is one of the libraries built by Scottish American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie – my own local library is - but I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s run by dedicated local volunteers, which tells you all you need to know about the Briton Ferry community.

One Sketch #171) Swansea Grand Hotel

I wonder if it does that well
To call itself such a grand hotel?

This is right next to the railway station in Swansea, and it's art deco appearance suggests it was probably built at around the same time as well. I did use another sketch today for sketching every day, but it's nice to keep my eye and hand in with the urban sketching every now and again.

One Sketch #170) Sir Tom (Tuesday 11th September)

In the land of song
You gotta be something special
For other people to call you
The Voice.

Stuck for ideas I followed the prompt from Sketching Every Day. In September 6 days are consecutive letters of the alphabet with every seventh day being a specific artist. I decided at the start that each of my letters was going to pay some kind of tribute to South Wales, where I've made my home for the last 3 decades. So, J is for Jones, Sir Tom of that ilk, sixties survivor, and The Voice's The Voice. Now come on, you might not be a big fan, but admit, 'It's Not Unusual' must bring a smile to your face when you hear it.

One Sketch #169) Trevithick's Locomotive

And so the modern world began
To settle a bet
Between industrialists.

On 21^st February 1804, Cornishman Richard Trevithick demonstrated the world’s first working steam locomotive, and he did it on the tramway at the Penydaren Iron Works near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. The purpose was to settle a bet between the iron works’ owner, Samuel Homfray, and his fellow iron master from nearby Cyfartha, Richard Crawshay. Trevithick’s locomotive worked, and Homfray won the bet, even though the locomotive’s weight broke many of the cast iron rails. To put this into perspective, this was 21 years before George Stephenson’s Locomotion worked the world’s first ever steam railway, the Stockton and Darlington, and 25 years before the Rocket inaugurated the first ever passenger railway between major cities, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

One Sketch #168) Hay on Wye - Booth's Book Store

Ah, I can never resist
The siren call of second hand books
The siren call 
Of leather bound, cloth bound
Unbound books
And the smell of old paper.
Old knowledge, old stories,
Old ideas
Whose time came, and went
Or never came at all.

This is Booth’s book shop in Hay on Wye, South Wales. In the late 70s Richard Booth opened the first secondhand book store in the town, buying books in bulk in the USA and shipping them back. His success led to other secondhand book stores opening in the town. It didn’t hurt either that Mr. Booth has an eye for publicity, and acts like declaring independence from the rest of the UK, and proclaiming himself the King of Hay brought him some nationwide publicity which can’t have been bad for business. There are still many, many secondhand bookshops in the town, and it is actually known as The Town of Books. Visitors come from all over the world, and in June the Hay Literary Festival is one of the world’s most prestigious, numbering President Bill Clinton among the illustrious figures who have participated.
Just for a change I made this sketch in Biro. I used to sketch a lot in biro, and this reminded me why I stopped using it! The first half of the sketch was fine, but then it started blotting, the ink stopped flowing smoothly - urrgghhh

One Sketch #167) Geraint Thomas

I've sometimes been told
That yellow can mean more
Much more than gold

We're up to letter G then in my homage to my adopted country. Geraint Thomas is, quite simply, one of South Wales’ greatest ever sportsmen. In the summer of 2018, Geraint won the Tour De France, becoming not only the first Welshman to win the world’s greatest cycle race, but also the first person ever born in the whole of the UK to win it. Previous British winners Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome were born in Belgium and Kenya respectively. Geraint Thomas is from Cardiff, and in August many thousands of people came to Wales’ capital city to welcome him home.

One Sketch #166) Hitchcock and Kubrick inspired by Clifford Bailey

Watch their films,
And you will always know
The mark of these two men
Who ran the show.

Yes, another prompt from sketching everyday. Both of these are based on portraits by the American artists Clifford Bailey. Hitchcock's skin in my picture is far too yellow and orange, which is a shame. The Kubrick isn't bad, though. I sketched this facing the other way from the Bailey original.

One Sketch #165 Port Talbot Steelworks Blast Furnace

Hotter than the fire of hell
We fill the night with marmalade smoke
And the smell of brimstone

I live in a town called Port Talbot, and it’s a town whose history for the last century has been intertwined with the steel industry. The steelworks dominates the town, and the blast furnaces, like the one you can see in the picture can be seen long before the rest of the town whichever direction you approach it from, whether by road or rail. In recent years the future of the steelworks has seemed to be in jeopardy, although things seem to have settled down more recently. I can only hope so. If anything happened to the steelworks it would be a devastating blow to the town

One Sketch #164) Ewenny Pottery

I do love cats
I have to say
-even if they're made
of clay.

E is for . . .Ewenny Pottery. Ewenny is a village just outside the sizeable town of Bridgend in South Wales. It is home to Ewenny Pottery, the oldest working pottery in Wales, dating back to 1610. For the last 200 years it has been run by the Jenkins family, who still run it today. Ewenny Pottery are known for some highly distinctive pieces, such as their trademark cats, and the many handled jug in the sketch.

One Sketch #163 - Ddraig Goch (the red dragon of Wales)

Mythical symbol.
Of the proud spirit of Wales
Real spirit,
Strong spirit
And that's no myth.

D is for Ddraig Goch, or, the Red Dragon of Wales. This symbol of the proud spirit of the people of Wales features most prominently on the national flag of Wales.

One Sketch #162) Big Pit, Blaenavon

Down in the dark

The black gold waits

Where no canaries sing

And no candles flicker.

It is there still,

And will wait for all time

If need be.

C is for . . . coal mine. This is Big Pit, Blaenavon, in South East Wales. Blaenavon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to its importance in preserving the heritage of the iron and coal industries in South Wales. Coal mining was of vital importance to South Wales and the South Wales Valleys throughout the 18^th and 19^th centuries, right up to the last decades of the 20^th century. Big Pit is a real Welsh coal mine that closed in 1983, then opened to the public in 1983 under the auspices of the National Museum of Wales.

Inktober 2018

I missed out on Inktober 2017, as I didn't discover it until right at the end of the month. Basically it's an online challenge to produce 31 ink sketches in October. One for each day of the month, ftting with a specific prompt. As with the One Week 100 people challenge, and the 30x30 Direct Watercolour Challenge, all you have to do is to make sure that you post your sketches online under hashtag #inktober and #inktober2018. This ties in beautifully with my own challenge to produce at least one sketch every day for a year. By my reckoning the first sketch will be my one sketch a day 191, and the last of October will be one sketch number 221.

If you're interested, here is the prompt list,

One Sketch #162) Barry Island Woodham's Scrapyard

Steel hulks
Unregarded, unloved
Waited for salvation
From the gas axe, and blow torch.
And saviours came.

My first visit to Wales in the summer of 1976 was on an excursion train from London specifically to go clambering about Woodham Brother’s scrapyard, and I returned in 1980. 

In the late 1950s British Railways decided to phase out all of its steam powered locomotives and tank engines. Woodham’s scrapyard in Barry Island, South Wales, just outside Cardiff, won one of the scrap contracts with British Railways. Eventually purchasing 297 steam engines, Dai Woodham decided to cut up the many hundreds of coal wagons he had also bought first. Throughout the 1970s and into the 80s, Woodham’s scrapyard became a tourist attraction in its own right, as other scrapyards quickly cut up their locomotives. Woodham’s had actually scrapped a number of steam engines during the 60s, but from 1970 onwards only two more were scrapped. Of a total of 297 steam engines bought by Woodham’s, 213 were rescued, with the last leaving the yard in 1990, 4 years after I moved permanently to South Wales.

One Sketch #161) (Saturday 1st September) Cardiff Museum Dinosaur and Cardiff Castle Animal Wall

When looking at dinosaur bones

Remember, they're more than just stones

They've teeth and they've claws

And those powerful jaws

I'm warning you, don't go alone.

Yes, urban sketching in Cardiff again. The top picture is a composite sketch featuring some of the animals on the stone Animal Wall outside the façade of Cardiff Castle. It's a 19th century creation of William Burgess - as are large parts of the castle itself. I just love it.  

When I was a kid I was a little obsessed with dinosaurs, I still try not to ass up the opportunity to have a good look at one. This is a partial sketch of a complete skeleton in the National Museum in Cardiff. To my chagrin I couldn't find a sign to identify the exact species.