Cultural Geography Blog

David Rogers is going to spend the 15th of July on a special fund raising effort. Here's the inspiration for his charity effort. How many times can I get up and down Pen y Fan in 24 hours? David said: "Pen y Fan and Bannau Brycheiniog as well as the Preseli Hills are where I learnt how to navigate and explore the mountains. I became comfortable being uncomfortable in all sorts of weather. I am therefore really excited to return to the area for my next challenge. On the 15th July I will be seeing how many times I can summit Pen y Fan in 24 hours. I’ll be at Love Trails for the weekend, so it made sense to tie the two together. 6.1km 440m Per lap. This is a solo adventure to raise money and awareness for bigmoose and training for the 250km ultra of Why We Run in September this year. How can you help: donate - let’s help save more lives Talk - check in with your friends and family. Don’t judge. Don't give advice. join in - Heckle me via social media or come along for a lap o...

Memories of a childhood in a Chinese take-away . This is good listening and reminds us of the cultural importance of food and its link to family and identity. The Chinese take-away is based in a former mining village in Wales. Angela Hui grew up behind the counter of her parents’ Chinese takeaway, Lucky Star, in the former mining village of Beddau, Wales.  It opened on the luckiest day of the century, 8 August 1988, an auspicious date with the number eight signifying good wealth, fortune and prosperity in Chinese culture – three key factors needed for a young, growing immigrant family.  On one side of the counter Angela interacts with the takeaway’s loyal staff, Cecilia, Dewi and Lowri.  They serve and deliver food lovingly prepped and cooked by Angela’s parents. Regular customers pester Angela at the counter as she tries to do her homework. Running a Chinese takeaway is hard work and there is tension in the overlapping spaces of home and work, playground and business. An...

The second album, out today, is by Public Service Broadcasting . It's a concept album (as all their albums are), and this time the focus is on the coal mining industry , particularly the Welsh one. It was recorded in the valleys, and there are several guests from Wales on the album. This is a very stylish production, with a real sensibility and sensitivity. The album notes explain decisions that were made about what to include, and what to leave out... Aberfan is respectfully left out, but noted in a list of colliery disasters which form part of the CD booklet, along with graphs of coal production. Social history is included in the form of extracts from publicity and recruitment films which talked of hundreds of years worth of coal left to mine... The mood darkens on 'All Out', and there is a wonderful romantic 'You+Me' before the album closes with the Beaufort Male Choir. A portion of the profits from sales will go to the South Wales Area Miners' Benevolent Fun...