from Galway to Graceland

There are three artistes we will travel to see, and the fantabulous Richard Thompson is one. This tour, the closest he came to us here in North Somerset was the Pontardawe Arts Centre just north of Swansea – a doddle of a trip across the Severn Bridge and straight down the M4. Tickets were obtained.

We decided to skive an afternoon off, and sallied forth in a westerly direction at about 14:30. We came off the motorway after Cardiff, and found a sign to Ogmore Castle so went to have a look. We found a lovely derelict building, on the banks of a small, shallow river; a really nice place to have a wander about – wish I’d had more camera than the iPhone. There was a labrador who was crash diving into the river, to everyone’s amusement, particularly his own.

From there we went down to Ogmore beach and I wished I were better shod – if I’d had proper walking boots and a stick in the car, I could have clambered down to the beach, but I didn’t dare without them. We’ll go back – it’s a lovely beach. *And* someone gave us their car park ticket, which was nice.

We trundled from there to Porthcawl in search of a dish of tea and an early supper. It was, mostly, closed, which seemed odd for a holiday resort, but we found a nice restaurant and consumed excellent fish and chips at an outside table in the sunshine, with a fine view across the bay. Then off we went to Pontardawe.

I’d entirely forgotten that it was a standing only gig – it’s ages since we booked the tickets. It’s a small theatre, and we were right at the front, so had the edge of the stage to lean on, and I was wearing my MBT shoes which are quite good for that sort of thing. Great gig – Richard, a guitar, a tub of Johnsons Baby Powder, and a towel.

The set list included, but was not limited to:

  • Bathsheba Smiles (opener)
  • Walking on a Wire
  • I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
  • The Hots for the Smarts
  • Johnnie’s Far Away
  • Dad’s Gonna Kill Me
  • The Sun Never Shines on the Poor
  • Vincent Black Lightning (of course!)
  • Crawl Back
  • From Galway to Graceland
  • Valerie
  • Down Where the Drunkards Roll
  • Beeswing (as encore)
  • Wall of Death (encore)

The two final encores were requests (I note he is playing three shows in Saratoga CA in December that are all requests – I’d like to be there).

We left Pontardawe at about 22:20, and were back in the house just before midnight, having had to park the car in the next street. Worth a 170 mile round trip? Oh yes 🙂

Ogmore castle

Porthcawl from the dining table

cod in beer batter

2 thoughts on “from Galway to Graceland”

  1. I do find his stuff “mixed” but I like “Drunkards” and “Bright Lights” and ” Turning of the Tide”.

    So – who are the other artists you would travel to see?

      1. The Blue Nile, a prolific Glasgow band who have released four albums in about 25 years. I’m a total devotee, and have seen them in Cambridge, in Bristol, in Warwick, and at the Barbican, in Edinburgh and in Galway in the space of about 8 months a couple of years ago. You’ve got to see them when you can, because they’re not very fond of touring either.
      2. Show of Hands, who you probably know. We just love seeing them play live, either together or separately (although I’d take Phil Beer solo over Steve Knightley any day).

      We’ve seen Mr Thompson play acoustic and electric, solo and with a band, or just with Danny Thompson; we’ve seen him play a pub in Southampton (a year or two back – stunning), concert halls, festivals. Anywhere we can, we see him.

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