Steve O'Gorman
@steveeditor.bsky.social
Proofreader and copy editor based in South Wales. Reader, music fan, walker, talker, amateur photographer, transport geek, semi-professional drinker.
I was further south than I thought when I reached the Morlais Tunnel. I didn't venture inside, but perhaps I will when I have a proper torch with me.
September 6, 2025 at 11:25 AM
I was further south than I thought when I reached the Morlais Tunnel. I didn't venture inside, but perhaps I will when I have a proper torch with me.
More from my walk. I've seen the Morlais Tunnel (part of the once extensive railway network around Merthyr) marked on maps, but I haven't seen the entrance before. The old station and the viaduct are at Pontsarn, a bit further south. And the best thing about the walk is that it ends at the Red Cow.
September 6, 2025 at 11:25 AM
More from my walk. I've seen the Morlais Tunnel (part of the once extensive railway network around Merthyr) marked on maps, but I haven't seen the entrance before. The old station and the viaduct are at Pontsarn, a bit further south. And the best thing about the walk is that it ends at the Red Cow.
I'm on the Taff Trail near Trefechan. There's an Ent keeping an eye on the path.
September 6, 2025 at 10:02 AM
I'm on the Taff Trail near Trefechan. There's an Ent keeping an eye on the path.
My pals and I found some fun health and safety warnings at Chepstow Castle a fortnight ago. I particularly liked the last one, which made me think we were about to bump into Tippi Hedren.
September 5, 2025 at 11:45 AM
My pals and I found some fun health and safety warnings at Chepstow Castle a fortnight ago. I particularly liked the last one, which made me think we were about to bump into Tippi Hedren.
'Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!'
I just spotted this on the Cardiff Bus website. Someone should tell them that (unlike flammable and inflammable) 'famous' and 'infamous' don't mean the same thing.
I just spotted this on the Cardiff Bus website. Someone should tell them that (unlike flammable and inflammable) 'famous' and 'infamous' don't mean the same thing.
September 3, 2025 at 6:26 AM
'Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!'
I just spotted this on the Cardiff Bus website. Someone should tell them that (unlike flammable and inflammable) 'famous' and 'infamous' don't mean the same thing.
I just spotted this on the Cardiff Bus website. Someone should tell them that (unlike flammable and inflammable) 'famous' and 'infamous' don't mean the same thing.
I found one in Chepstow Castle on Saturday.
August 25, 2025 at 12:28 PM
I found one in Chepstow Castle on Saturday.
Grey Trees has produced a new brew - and everyone in the National Tap loves my suggestion that it's dedicated to Transport for Wales.
August 15, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Grey Trees has produced a new brew - and everyone in the National Tap loves my suggestion that it's dedicated to Transport for Wales.
If only I'd known then what I know now ...
July 31, 2025 at 8:15 PM
If only I'd known then what I know now ...
This lot were standing in the middle of the road when I came along. I thought I'd have to run the gauntlet, but a cyclist sped past me and they scattered onto the grass again.
July 30, 2025 at 12:33 PM
This lot were standing in the middle of the road when I came along. I thought I'd have to run the gauntlet, but a cyclist sped past me and they scattered onto the grass again.
I'm over the top and heading down towards the village of Penderyn. Nothing there except houses, a school, the whisky distillery and two pubs - I hope one will be open when I get there. I forgot to start my Strava when I got off the bus, so there's only photographic evidence for today's walk.
July 30, 2025 at 12:21 PM
I'm over the top and heading down towards the village of Penderyn. Nothing there except houses, a school, the whisky distillery and two pubs - I hope one will be open when I get there. I forgot to start my Strava when I got off the bus, so there's only photographic evidence for today's walk.
Apart from a guy driving past in a Natural Resources van, I haven't seen a human being since I left the reservoir. It's just sheep and more sheep. What a bleak and dramatic landscape, though.
July 30, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Apart from a guy driving past in a Natural Resources van, I haven't seen a human being since I left the reservoir. It's just sheep and more sheep. What a bleak and dramatic landscape, though.
The Ordnance Survey app is working better than I'd expected in this fairly remote area.
July 30, 2025 at 11:25 AM
The Ordnance Survey app is working better than I'd expected in this fairly remote area.
At the southern end of the reservoir is the dam, and beyond that, the water treatment plant. I'm not going that far because there's literally bugger all else in Llwyn-Onn. I'm going to rejoin the minor road and strike out for Penderyn, where there's a decent chance of a pint before the bus comes.
July 30, 2025 at 11:22 AM
At the southern end of the reservoir is the dam, and beyond that, the water treatment plant. I'm not going that far because there's literally bugger all else in Llwyn-Onn. I'm going to rejoin the minor road and strike out for Penderyn, where there's a decent chance of a pint before the bus comes.
This is the northern end of Llwyn-Onn Reservoir, complete with a group of herons queueing up for lunch.
July 30, 2025 at 11:16 AM
This is the northern end of Llwyn-Onn Reservoir, complete with a group of herons queueing up for lunch.
Chilling out for the rest of this week. I'm at Garwnant Forest Centre in the southern Bannau Brycheiniog (a short walk from the bus route). Good facilities for kids, a rather expensive cafe, but a decent base for exploring. A board shows wildlife found around here. 'Dead shrew' wasn't on the list.
July 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Chilling out for the rest of this week. I'm at Garwnant Forest Centre in the southern Bannau Brycheiniog (a short walk from the bus route). Good facilities for kids, a rather expensive cafe, but a decent base for exploring. A board shows wildlife found around here. 'Dead shrew' wasn't on the list.
Amazingly (considering it's the end of July and I'm in South Wales), it didn't rain on their parade. For such a small town, Brecon Pride manages to attract a fair crowd every year.
July 26, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Amazingly (considering it's the end of July and I'm in South Wales), it didn't rain on their parade. For such a small town, Brecon Pride manages to attract a fair crowd every year.
I finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) 'Dead Famous' by @gregjenner.bsky.social on Thursday. One early celebrity who turns up a lot in the book is the actress Sarah Siddons, born in the Shoulder of Mutton pub in Brecon in 1755. It's nice to sit in Costa and look across at her birthplace, now renamed.
July 26, 2025 at 9:40 AM
I finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) 'Dead Famous' by @gregjenner.bsky.social on Thursday. One early celebrity who turns up a lot in the book is the actress Sarah Siddons, born in the Shoulder of Mutton pub in Brecon in 1755. It's nice to sit in Costa and look across at her birthplace, now renamed.
This is why trying to combine copy-editing and proofreading in one task is an awful idea. I'm still fifty pages short of finishing, and the PDF currently has over 3,500 amendments. I wouldn't want to be the editorial assistant who has to make sense of it come next week.
July 24, 2025 at 7:18 AM
This is why trying to combine copy-editing and proofreading in one task is an awful idea. I'm still fifty pages short of finishing, and the PDF currently has over 3,500 amendments. I wouldn't want to be the editorial assistant who has to make sense of it come next week.
To mark Ozzy Osbourne's passing, here's a beautiful piece about Black Sabbath from Mark Radcliffe's book 'Reelin' in the Years', which struck a chord with many of my friends in Aberdare.
July 23, 2025 at 5:02 PM
To mark Ozzy Osbourne's passing, here's a beautiful piece about Black Sabbath from Mark Radcliffe's book 'Reelin' in the Years', which struck a chord with many of my friends in Aberdare.
Lunchtime pint to decompress after a morning's work. The Brecon Tap has a new beer on, brewed at Hay-on-Wye and named after a local landmark. I took great pleasure in introducing the barmaid (a Yorkshire lass) to the name by which we knew it when we were a group of innuendo-obsessed schoolboys.
July 20, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Lunchtime pint to decompress after a morning's work. The Brecon Tap has a new beer on, brewed at Hay-on-Wye and named after a local landmark. I took great pleasure in introducing the barmaid (a Yorkshire lass) to the name by which we knew it when we were a group of innuendo-obsessed schoolboys.
At least we can rule out a hosepipe ban any time soon.
July 20, 2025 at 9:26 AM
At least we can rule out a hosepipe ban any time soon.
Hundreds of millions spent on the South Wales Metro (still a work in progress) and the infrastructure breaks in hot weather. No replacement buses available - presumably, they've all been chartered to take punters to and from the gig. It's no wonder public transport in Wales is a laughing stock.
July 12, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Hundreds of millions spent on the South Wales Metro (still a work in progress) and the infrastructure breaks in hot weather. No replacement buses available - presumably, they've all been chartered to take punters to and from the gig. It's no wonder public transport in Wales is a laughing stock.
Here in Wales, we have a reputation for being friendly and hospitable - a famous song says 'we'll keep a welcome in the hillsides'. But not on this particular hillside outside Penderyn, apparently.
July 12, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Here in Wales, we have a reputation for being friendly and hospitable - a famous song says 'we'll keep a welcome in the hillsides'. But not on this particular hillside outside Penderyn, apparently.
There's a road closure on the A40 between Brecon and Llandovery this weekend - about halfway between them, in fact. I know most Welsh place names are descriptive of the locality, but it's possible to take things too far.
July 5, 2025 at 2:25 PM
There's a road closure on the A40 between Brecon and Llandovery this weekend - about halfway between them, in fact. I know most Welsh place names are descriptive of the locality, but it's possible to take things too far.
We came past Libanus on Thursday afternoon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. What a difference two days can make!
July 5, 2025 at 8:12 AM
We came past Libanus on Thursday afternoon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. What a difference two days can make!