An early start for a journalist by any measure. 8 am in the morning and Terry is ringing the doorbell. Some David Beckham shower Gel later and it is into a beat up old Peugeot like George Reagan and his sidekick. The sign and print show is the showcase for all things graphic design and advertising.
The only reason Llanelli Online is attending to have a good nose around and look at what is available for the forthcoming Best of Carmarthenshire show at the Selwyn Samuel Centre on April 6th. Llanelli Online has a stand there and we want it to look its best. Terry from GXP Graphics Xpress has worked long into the early hours making a banner for the show. The logo and associated graphics will be used for all other marketing materials.
As we drive along the Heads of the Valleys road shrouded in early morning mist, Birmingham seems a million miles away. The last time I travelled this way was to see an old flame in Gloucester. Amazingly there is very little traffic on the road and it should make a natty short cut avoiding the hoards on the motorway.
The breakfast carrier bag has been opened and two beef sandwiches, a packet of cheese and onion crisps and a can of Red Bull has been consumed. The car has become the temporary office. There are associated difficulties with this new abode.
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Terry has a lead foot when it comes to breaking.
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We are traversing numerous roundabouts.
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There is about as much signal as the Westward television channel in 1970.
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There is no internet.
All of that may seem obvious but even so, it is unacceptable. We are we are told moving into or in a digital revolution. The Swansea Bay City Region Deal has been signed off and yet if I were to want to do any business at the moment I would have to ask Terry to veer off course and head to the nearest McDonalds. Perhaps that is the plan. Terry may have shares in the burger company and we can all expect a new generation of business men and women supersized and wired with cars full of novelty toys.
For those not in the know, the technically unsound, (the twp) and half asleep there is salvation. Maybe it was the Red Bull what done it. The mobile phone comes to the rescue again. Switch on the ‘hotspot’ and then enter the password onto the laptop in the settings. A simple password later and BINGO you are online and using the laptop rather than the phone, which is what it was all about in the first place. There is an alternative for those who do not need the large screen option. A tablet or a Bluetooth keyboard and phone will achieve much the same.
Produced, edited and published from a Peugeot on a wing and a prayer.
