Old Man By the Sea

The Boatman by Alex Grecian We're all chased by death. He waits for us around every corner. None of us know when he'll swoop down to claim us. But what if you could see him following you on a boat whilst you're on a luxury cruise in the 1970s? Well, you try to stay ahead of him for the next 100 years! And that's the premise of the new novella by Alex Grecian. The guests and crew of the Maria Calypso set sail one day in the late 1970s. All is going quite well on the ship's maiden world cruise until the captain suffers a massive heart attack...but seems to shake it off like it was just a bout of indigestion. At the same time a strange boat appears around half a mile behind them. The boat seems to be a gondola and at the back, pushing the boat slowly along with a large pole, stands a man in a white suit and hat.   For days and days the boatman follows the ship, never gaining, always staying around half a mile away. The guests and crew decide to try and outrun him, theo...

  Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes A woman and her crew board a decades-lost luxury cruiser and find the wreckage of a nightmare that hasn't yet ended. A GHOST SHIP. A SALVAGE CREW. UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS. Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate. It was the blurb that drew me in, I have to admit. I'm a big fan of sci-fi books but not read much horror. This was a page turner that I read over the course of a week or two. It reminded me of Alien at the beginning (the lonely crew on the outskirts of known space discovering something strange), The Shining by Stephen King during the middle (when the weird stuff happens!) and Aliens towards the end (yes, there are mercs and one lone woman who saves the day!). The Aurora itself, the Titanic like vessel the crew stumble upon (yes, it is supposed to look like an old steam l...

  A Walk to Llyn Barfog Around four miles from Aberdyfi, along the wonderful Panorama Walk, lies the hidden Llyn Barfog also known as Bearded Lake. Legend has it that the Afanc, a terrifying monster, lived within its depths and often descended upon the peaceful village to devour any villager unlucky enough to be out at the time. A call for help went out and good King Arthur came along and a mighty battle ensued that lasted hours (some say days). Finally Arthur slew the Afanc and peace returned to the village. He was good at doing stuff like that. The walk takes about two hours from Aberdyfi itself. Make your way up Copperhill Street, turn onto Mynydd Isaf and turn left at the crossroads. Follow the road and you'll see a sign pointing towards Bwlch Farm and Llyn Barfog. Follow this road (Panorama Walk) until you get to Bwlch Farm.  From here you have two choices - left or right. Each path will take you to the lake, but my preferred route is to take the right. Take the right pat...

  Slip to the Brit We managed to catch sight of a few of the participants of the annual Slip to the Brit today. This is a fun run from Tywyn Slipway along the beach and finishing at The Britannia pub in Aberdyfi. Mer-King, Seahorse and Lobster There's always a dinosaur! Two nurses (there was a little girl off shot here doing her best to put jellyfish back into the sea!) I expected a pantomime horse...saw a ci selsig! Scooby Doo! It looked like everyone had a great time! I shall also be doing a walk down to Tywyn and back sometime this week along the beach. I think I'll leave the fancy dress at home though. Or maybe not!