Weekend in Cardiff - Day 1

Arghhh...been busy busy busy since I got back from Cardiff last Monday. Tonnes of ASSignments piling up for the next 3 weeks. :( I've been sitting in front of the computer for the past few days looking up info about the newspaper industry here and cracking my head for the report. Group assignments here are just dumb. =.= I'm seriously getting tired of this summer course...can't wait to get it over with. Been wanting to update about my Cardiff & Bath trip but couldn't find time to work on the pics...so gonna split this trip into 3 posts.

Aug 7 (Sat): Visiting uncle in Cardiff (Croeso i Caerdydd!!)

We're having directed learning week and had some free time so thought about visiting uncle for a few days. :) WeyShin also tagged along for this trip. Finished our corporate finance test on fri then took a night train from Sheffield to Cardiff. The normal train usually takes about 3-4 hours only but our journey took 10 hours...haha!! Yes...we're poor students so took the cheapest train (£15) instead of spending £32 or £74. Saved at least £17=RM85...that's a lot of money ok. :p

Our looong journey with 2 stopovers in Stockport(40min) & Crewe(4.5hours). I was so 'smart' to bring only one jacket...and it was coldddd!! My zombie look at 5am. :p

Woohoo...finally arrived Cardiff at 8am!! Uncle came to the station to pick us up and Denise prepared yummylicous English b'fast for us. :)

Started exploring Cardiff with our 'tour guides'...uncle & Denise. :) First stop...Cardiff Bay. Oh btw...I didn't know Cardiff was part of Wales until I saw all the weird language (Welsh) in every signboards...yes i'm blur.

Clockwise: The Pierhead Building, The Senedd/National Assembly building, Wales Millenium Centre, Roald Dahl Plass.

Took Cardiff Waterbus from Cardiff Bay to Penarth. Weather was gloomy so couldn't get nicer pics.

Penarth is a town and seaside resort southwest of Cardiff.

Cardiff Bay Barrage...this was pretty interesting for me coz I've never seen anything like this before...quite 'sam pat' right...hehe! :p

This is how the barrage works

There was a 'fishing & no fishing' sign...the guy in the first pic really follows instruction and put his rod right next to that yellow line.

Finally the sky is clear and Mermaid Quay becomes more lively. :)

Our next stop: St Fagans National History Museum...open-air museum of Welsh Life.

Lotsa traditional buildings & exhibits...explores how people in Wales have lived, worked, and spent their leisure time long long time ago.

Piggy & sheeps!!

Rhyd-y-Car Ironworkers' Houses: Travel through time as you see six homes, their contents and gardens change from 1805-1985.

Lotsa greeneries

Lotsa parents brought their kids to the museum...shows how much they appreciate their heritage and traditions. :)

Had our late lunch at this pub...yummy! Thanks uncle for the treat! :)

Last stop for the day: Roath Park & Lake. So many swans, ducks, geese, and seagulls...lotsa poop everywhere also...hehe!! :p

Swans in the lake = Swan Lake...lol!

Nice scenery! :)

The Scott Memorial clock...the real one and the one made from flowers.

Thanks uncle and Denise for accompanying us around Cardiff for the whole day!!! :)

Roath Botanical Gardens...i'm not a big fan of flowers. :p

Uncle's boss...YC gave us a dinner treat at his restaurant. :) Had a good time chatting with them...we talked bout badminton, politics, education, etc...he probably knows much more bout what's going on in M'sia than I do...haha!! :p

More yummy-licious food! :)

Manchester...United!!

Aug 2 (Mon): Manchester City Center & Old Trafford

6 of us made a trip to Manchester last Monday...booked our train tickets a month earlier so got it pretty cheap. :) So what do you know about Manchester? I'm sure most people will answer...Manchester United!! Yup...and that's the main reason for my visit this time around. Well, I'm not a football fan but MU is like one of the biggest thing in UK...of course I wouldn't wanna miss it. :p

Manchester Piccadilly train station...the journey was bout an hour from Sheffield by train.

Manchester Arndale shopping mall in the city center. As I mentioned before, there's a wheel in every city.

Random pics around the city center

Had our lunch at this chinese buffet place...I made that ice-cream...hehe!

Old Trafford!!

Visited the museum before the stadium tour...as usual I was just busy taking pictures. :p

Old Trafford stadium miniature

Many many 'ang ang' jerseys

Not a fan of 'em but very kiasu-fied...everything also must take picture. :p

David Beckham!!!! Yea I'm a Beckham fan...you'll 'see' it as you scroll down further...haha!!

More trophies

I spotted something on this wall...hehe...Beckham again! :p

Surprisingly they had such a huge posted of their 2009 Asia tour...especially the match against Malaysia.

I was basically just 'hunting' for Beckham's name all over the museum. :p

Group picture...lol!

Ryan Giggs...lotsa exhibits.

Whoops...again?

Wowww!!! Lousy editing I know. :p

Our stadium tour

Munich Tunnel to commemorate the Munich Air Disaster in 1958 that killed 8 players.

The players lounge where they hang out before and after a match. I reckon this was where Beckham and Victoria met. :)

The players changing room...this is not the real one though...just for visitors.

The tunnel where the players run out from. They said 'Don't touch the grass' but look at what JR is doing. =.=

Feel the atmosphere...lol!

The Megastore...lots and lots of MU merchandise.

My souvenirs!! :)

End of our Manchester trip :)

Volunteering...Back to Sheffield's History

July 29 (Wed): Kelham Island Volunteering Project

I'd better update this asap coz it's gonna be another busy week ahead. Going to Manchester tomorrow, Corporate Finance test on Friday, and will be going to Cardiff & Bath over the weekend. Lotsa assignments to work on as well...arghh!! =.=

Joined Hallam Volunteering for this volunteering project at Kelham Island Museum last week. Wanted to see what volunteering is like over here in the UK and also get some ideas for community projects when I get back to M'sia. :)

This museum is an industrial museum that houses exhibitions about Sheffield steel industry. We got to spend an afternoon discovering the museum with some local elderly people and learn about Sheffield's industrial past through the exhibits. :)

All volunteers gathered at the Hubs...got a nice blue t-shirt (like UAH) & a cute pen. :)

This whole bunch of 'blue' volunteers walked about 20 minutes to get to the museum. :p

Arrived our destination...Kelham Island Museum!

The River Don steam engine...built in 1905...still working after more than 100 years!

Watched the demo of the steam engine

Ernest & Irene shared about their experiences working in the steel industry when they were young...lotsa hard work I bet. They were so excited to share about their '想当年' stories...we asked 'em lotsa questions as well. :p

Hehe...this lady looks so happy! And that's the great thing about volunteering...just spending some of our time with these elderly people is already enough to put a smile on them!! :)

Sharing about their '想当年' stories....

This lady was explaining to us how Sheffield's steel industry has evolved from the Victorian days to the 50s till now. This was how buffer girls used to dress during the 50s.

Messing around with the buffers & knife sharpeners (not too sure if I'm using the right word to describe). :p

Demo on how to sharpen a knife. Ernest said he takes bout 10 minutes to sharpen one...I think it'll take forever for me to sharpen one.

Ex-army ammunition bag, mashing can for tea, bowler hat, wooden clogs, sweat rag...that's all people bring and wear to work in those days.

Some random exhibits

WeyShin with some funny poses...my ideas of course...haha! :p

Credits to QiRen for the 3 pics on the right. :)

Thanks to Melanie & Julia for organizing this. :)

Some refreshment before we leave the museum.

Group photo!! Cheers!!!

TARC 'bosses' visit Sheffield

July 28 (Wed): TARC delegates reception & Hallam Special Achievement Scholarship

This was another event that took place last week. Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting, Dr Tan (TARC Principal), and Mr Chan (Vice Principal) came over to our university...yup...all the way from Malaysia to UK. All course reps were invited to this reception. They also took this opportunity to present the prizes for the Summer Blogging Competition and Hallam Special Achievement Scholarship Award. :) 

Josh, Shal, WeyShin, & I attended this reception together. The top left pic turned out very wrong...hmm...J & S? :p

The VIP for the day...Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting

Play this if you're interested to listen to his speech

Taadaaaa...this was the great news that I received last Thurs!! :) So glad to receive this scholarship...thanks to the university!! Yeah can save £300 for my parents! :p Convert to RM...this is a lot of moolah! This is definitely a great encouragement for me to achieve more in the future. :) Here are some of the things that I've done over the last few years. 

There are 3 recipients this year...another guy left earlier so only the 2 of us took pic with Tan Sri.

As we were leaving, we saw the principal recording a video I guess.