RICE

Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. This is the acronym that the medical profession advises for sprains. I have been managing some of the first and fourth, doing well on the third, but have defaulted on the second due to a lack of frozen garden peas.

The sister drove us from the Gower to Barry Island, which we wanted to see principally because of the association with Gavin & Stacey. Marco’s Café, where Stacey worked on the Barry Island promenade, is pictured, and behind it is a pavilion of fish and chip shops and amusement arcades. The one where Nessa was filmed working is now renamed as Nessa’s Slots. Behind that the land juts out to Friars Point, which has wide views of the bays on either side. I stopped to rest the ankle halfway along it but sis took the dog to relieve himself further up. After fish and chips and coffee on a grassy embankment we moved on to Trinity Street in Barry town, which is the location of filming for Gwen and Stacey’s house. In what must be an irritation to the occupants, there are photos from the TV show plastered on the front room window, and a steady stream of tourists (like us) passing by to gawp.

The mini-tour of the UK continued as my sister dropped me at Newport station and I caught a train to Bristol. I really liked both the aesthetics and the vibe of this city when I came with Leigh in 2018, so it merited another visit. I decided to stay over and made a last-minute hotel booking. The ankle compression had helped so I spent the evening wandering (sort of shuffling) about the city centre and the graffitied Gloucester Road area, alleged to have the longest stretch of independent shops in Britain. It’s a fascinating place of street art, micro-breweries, board game cafés and old men carrying big mushrooms they look like they’ve just foraged. I ate delicious curry goat at a Jamaican place that Jamie Oliver rightfully raved about on some recent TV programme. Even though I’m biased by the fact it was an unexpectedly sunny Saturday in September, I really like Bristol and want to experience more of it.