02 Jun 1985, Posted by Scott An Chora in Travelogue, No Comments.

06/02 South Wales

We had purchased a train pass for the British railway that provided a few consecutive days on a train and then the use of a car.  Our plan was to more or less travel north by train until we reached Inverness Scotland, from there we would rent a car and travel the West Coast of Scotland southward until we reached Liverpool.  From there we’d planned to ferry across the channel to Ireland, saying goodbye to England.

We continued wandering between castles and pubs, passing through Cardiff until we reached Penzance.  I managed to find myself a good spot to relax and gaze out from the castle’s wall.  I would close my eyes and image pictures of past events and allowed my mind to wander in search of the sounds.  I could persuade myself to believe I could feel a slight vibration through the stones from the pounding at the gate.  When we reached Penzance, after roaming the coast and the boardwalk we settled in a local pub.  After a couple of pints, I was invited into a game of snooker by the local cliental; a contest intended to test the visiting yanks.  I won every game and they started referring to me as “Newman”.  Either I was pretty good or they thought I had hustled them.  Since no money changed hands I considered it a complement either way.  Since Jim had a table at home he usually wins more games than I’m able to pull out.  We had been crossing paths with a lot youths sporting green hair, nose rings and tattoos.  They saw themselves as challengers for their own future, much like the waves we saw along the coast.  It seemed to me that they were seeking unique identification through only visual means and in some way this may have negated the true refinement of their uniqueness.  I’m sure that kind of applied true to all of us.