…the day we went to Bangor

Sorry. Terrible Fiddler's Dram reference there.

My heart lifts when I get catch the train to Bangor. Well, after Crewe, anyway. The landscape turns from pancake flat to coastal and mountainous, one horizon expands while the other towers dramatically. In the foreground, tatty caravan parks in places like Rhyl and Towyn have a seedy charm of their own, while mighty Eryri appears from behind the clouds (if you're lucky). The sun shone for me on Saturday - crossing Conwy harbour, it warmed the walls of the medieval castle and sparkled off the sea. I saw a massive heron lazily perched on a small boat, waiting for dinner to fin past.

Bangor itself is not dramatic or overly picturesque, though it nestles in a narrow strip between the Menai Straits and the foothills. A faux-Norman castle, a lovely old pier, the Cathedral and the university provide some drama and relief from the pebbledash, but it has a small-town charm of its own.

The sunny day wasn't exactly wasted, but Ms. Owen, Ms. Lloyd and I spent it in a sophisticated bar, largely gossiping until Vicky drove us up to the Premier Inn, a soul-destroying place if ever there was one. From the carpark onwards, you could have been anywhere in the world - even the trees weren't local. To emphasise the alienation, Vicky and Aimee forced me to watch something called Animals Do The Funniest Things while we got ready. Sorry to spoil the suspense, but they don't.

In contrast, we headed to the Greek Taverna for a drink. Quite literally, it is a shaggy, maze-like stone-built Greek Taverna hidden in a row of old houses in Upper Bangor - a unique place. The beer is just about bearable, the food is lovely and the atmosphere stunning.

Super Furries review up next - with some photos

We think we've got problems

Over at Cardiff Uni, they're savagely slashing continuing education courses and jobs - mostly in humanities. It's clearly a matter of profit-seeking rather than being committed to the intrinsic benefits of education. With the posh universities, extramural/continuing education are tempting targets because they hardly see themselves as part of the local community in the way that Wolves Uni does. Who cares about a few poxy beginners' Welsh courses if you can spend that money on importing a Nobel laureate? I'm a double graduate of the University of Wales (Bangor), which took a completely different view, and managed to attract students and staff from across the globe while simultaneously caring for the needs of the local community. Why can't Cardiff do the same?