Author Archives: johnkiddewrites

09/07/2025
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Europe, Travel, United Kingdom, Wales

Welcome to Wales! From Football to Pantomimes

Why didn’t I stick with the “From The UK…” title? Well, it’s because of history.

I don’t know much about the Welsh-English conflict, but I know it has been, to make it tame, tumultuous. The English (ahem, Monarchy) forced the Welsh people to change their surnames and actively suppressed the Welsh language, to name a couple of instances. Side note: I am learning Welsh through Duolingo! It’s a beautiful and, at times, frustrating language.

Oh, and the Welsh flag is not depicted on the Union Jack. This is due to the Welsh flag being, technically, part of the kingdom of England at the time of its creation. So that awesome Dragon (Draig in Welsh) is absent from the UK flag. One more thing to blame the English for! 😅

The other reason for the title is football. If you weren’t aware, there is a documentary series on FX called Welcome to Wrexham. It follows Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney through their lives as owners of a Welsh football club, Wrexham AFC. It’s a truly great show, highlighting not only the club but also the people who support it. Even when the game results are known, it is at times thrilling. Then it also becomes incredibly heartfelt in its depiction of the citizens of The Town. They love their club as much as they love their town.

All that said…We went to Wales!

After leaving Liverpool, we headed off to our destination in South Wales. With that aforementioned FX show in mind, we took a little stop in Wrexham. It was very brief, as we were on a time crunch.

If you look at the right side of the photo above, you will see The Turf. It’s the white building next to the stadium. It is the local pub for fans of the team. We drove past it, and the parking lot, and I literally said out loud, “Oh! There’s the guy!” The “guy” was Wayne Jones, the owner and operator of The Turf. I don’t know why I was surprised to see the man from the show doing his actual job of running the quick-service burger stand next to the pub, but I was. It was like seeing a celebrity, and there he was, living his life.

After watching the series, we wanted to see a match, but it did not line up this time around. Plus, we had to get to Pembrokeshire for a Pantomime!

After making our way through the windy ways of Wales, we ended up in Pembrokeshire and the town of Llangwm. Our hosts, my partner’s former Au Pair, who now has a family of her own, wanted to take us to something that was a staple in the United Kingdom. That would be a Pantomime, also known as a Panto. In the States, we hear ‘pantomime’ and think about being voiceless, using music to express those words unsaid. That’s not what it means in British.

A Pantomime in the British vernacular refers to a musical or comedy show set to a fairy tale aimed at children but also featuring elements that appeal to adults. The audience is encouraged to participate. Characters will interact with the crowd. The audience will boo the villain and cheer for the prince. I had a few pints before we settled in, and I knew from the jump that this would be something special. The opening number was “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas. I had no idea what was going on but in the best way.

What followed was a retelling of Snow White filled with songs straight out of a jukebox musical, as well as one from a literal musical. “Symphony” by Clean Bandit, and “What is this Feeling?” from Wicked, to name a couple. I was told that most of the cast were locals. There were a few outliers. Our Prince was on Love Island (!) and the Fairy was in an early 2000s pop band, Liberty X. The rest of the cast seemed to be plucked out of the town, and that added to the charm and enjoyment factor. A sense of joy emanated from them. It was palpable and enhanced the experience.

The audience was feeling it. The cast was very animated. We were encouraged to boo the villain, but I thought he was misunderstood and only doing what he was told, even though deep down he didn’t want to. So I cheered for him. I even turned a few other audience boos into cheers. At one point, I managed to get the attention of the Dame and get one of our friends to go up on stage. He then got a pie to the face. Sorry Dylan!

It was, all in all, a really great experience and something wholly unique to this part of the world. It was a great way to begin our Welsh journey.

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27/05/2025
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England, Europe, Travel, United Kingdom

From The UK With Love, Part III

Continuing with my series of travels through the United Kingdom, I will highlight a couple of points of interest this time to keep the story moving forward.

Now, our continued adventures in Liverpool.

If you didn’t know, Liverpool is the home of The Beatles. The Fab Four got their start in this smaller city, and the rest is history. There are Beatles-related things all over the city. We drove around to each member’s respective childhood home (all of which are publicly marked on Google Maps), and, for the most part, they were fairly nondescript homes. The other part featured homes with placards out front indicating who lived there. In other words, Paul and John had the most popular houses to visit, so they had placards out front. George and Ringo, not so much.

These homes also looked like regular everyday people currently lived there, or in the homes neighbouring them. It felt weird taking a photo of their homes, given that it was a typical neighbourhood. So I didn’t. Also, I know I’m going to get some flak from my partner for this, but I’m not the biggest Beatles fan. Ducks from a thrown object. I understand their importance in music history, but they do not move the needle for me when it comes to music.

Next up was something a bit more photogenic and also Beatles-related. This leads us to Strawberry Field.

As you can see, it was wet. Also known as a typical English winter’s day. This limited our ability to enjoy the grounds. A walking tour of the grounds was possible, but we opted to take a selfie and peruse the gift shop instead. My future father-in-law is a Beatles fanatic, so we bought him a Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album shirt and a metal placard for ourselves (I’ve used that word a lot today, and it’s probably thanks to my job, where I have to say “posted placards” during opening announcements). It was a really well-maintained space and a must-see for Beatles fans and music lovers alike.

Driving around the city, we started to notice crowds of people lining the streets. We were so confused. What were they waiting for? Sure enough, we stop at a light and see a literal parade of decorated tractors.

I mean, what fun! This was so unexpected that we couldn’t help but be amazed and smile at the same time. The pictures are a bit blurry because we weren’t expecting to see anything photoworthy while driving the random roads. After snapping some quick photos, we discovered that it was the Liverpool Christmas Tractor Convoy. Here’s a link to a video with better quality views of the tractors.

Our final bit of Liverpool comes in the form of a Yellow Submarine. Thankfully, we do not all live in one. Although my brother-in-law does at times because he is in the Navy. But his sub is not yellow. Anyway, enough about him. Let me show you the cute light display of the Yellow Submarine.

This fun light display was, appropriately, at the Royal Albert Dock. There were several restaurants and shops in the area that made for decent window shopping and dining. We closed out our last night in Liverpool by having a steak. Why? Because the other places in the area were full up, and we were hungry. Miller & Carter did not disappoint.

I only have a photo of the beer because I feel weird taking pictures of my food. But let me tell you that the sharing platter is more than enough for two adults. After getting a proper buzz (and not driving), it was time to head back to our accommodations and get some actual sleep because the next day would take us into Wales.

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13/05/2025
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Baseball, Sport

Getting Mile High

My tour of baseball stadiums has taken me to new heights.

Mile high heights, that is. Yes, I went in the most obvious route possible for word play. I do not care.

Early in the fall, I had not seen my favorite team play in person all season. This has not happened to me since I was probably in middle school. Yet, here we were late into the 2024 MLB season, and I had not seen Shohei Ohtani play in Dodger blue with my own two eyes.

As fate would have it, I ended up in Denver on a day when my Dodgers would be strolling through town and playing the hapless Rockies. I could not pass it up. This season was already turning into something special. Weeks earlier, Ohtani had passed the 50-50 mark for home runs and stolen bases. The remaining games in the season would only be to pad those numbers and prepare him for his first postseason appearance.

Despite being one of the younger teams in the league (they debuted in 1993), the Rockies have the 10th-oldest stadium in Major League Baseball: Coors Field. Coors Field opened in 1995 and has remained essentially unchanged since then. It has hosted two All-Star games in 1998 and 2021 and, remarkably, the 2007 World Series. 2007 was the year of “Rocktober,” and the team has not reached that same level of fervor since.

For starters, this stadium is aesthetically pleasing. The brick and dark green tones mimic what people commonly associate with the “Rocky Mountains.” While I was walking around, it did not feel like the stadium was close to 30 years old. The vaulted ceilings and wide concourses felt comfortable and easy to navigate.

Seeing that I was at Coors Field, I had to have the “Silver Bullet.” Beer at any arena, stadium, or park is not cheap. You could spend upwards of $20 at times just for a pint. When my friend from high school, Sean (seen above), told me about the Rooftop deck, the Coors Light Silver Bullet Bar, and their cheap beer, I had to partake. Adults over 21 (because that’s the law!) can buy a Coors Light for $3 every game before the first pitch. James Franco “wait, what” dot gif.

I had two Coors Lights. Once the game began, I got something more crafty, but that detail is a little fuzzy.

DINGER!

I had to look up how this game went because I remember there being a lot of runs, a Shohei home run, a Shohei stolen base, and a plethora of Dodgers bullpen pitchers. It ended in an 11-4 Dodgers rout.

In classic Coors Field fashion, there were numerous home runs. If you did not know, Coors Field is commonly called a hitter-friendly ballpark because of the altitude. The 5,280 feet between the stadium and the sea level fosters a lot of runs. So many that they had to install a humidor for game ball storage to combat the low humidity and altitude.

Two of the best players in the game today

As the Dodgers walked off the field that night, victorious in competition, I couldn’t help but look around me and see the volume of Dodger blue in the stands. I knew there were a lot during the game because we were the fans who had the most to cheer about. Dodger fans travel pretty well. It doesn’t hurt that a flight from LAX, Burbank, Ontario, or Long Beach to Denver takes under two hours.

As I mentioned, the Rockies fanbase has had little to celebrate or cheer for since their 2007 World Series appearance. They have made the postseason three times since then. In their next appearance, in 2009, they lost to the Phillies 3-1 in the NLDS. In 2017, they lost the NL Wild Card Game to the Diamondbacks. In 2018, they won the Wild Card Game against the Cubs but were swept by the Brewers in the NLDS 3-0. If you keep tally, that is two postseason wins since 2007.

I remember in 2004, when Jose Lima and the Dodgers won their first playoff game since 1988. As a fan, I know what that feeling is like. This may come off as crocodile tears given the recent success of the Dodgers, but it’s not fun watching your team fail. It also does not help that the Rockies are amid massive rebuilding and are up against teams in their own division who are recent champions (Dodgers), have been close (D-Backs), full of young talent (Padres), and a team that finally has some direction to go with solid performance (Giants). The deck is stacked against them. “Rocktober” will return one day, but not anytime soon.

That said, this is a great stadium to visit, and downtown Denver is easily navigable to and from the stadium. Scooters are plentiful in the 303, and with numerous bike lanes, you can make your way around downtown with relative ease.

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22/04/2025
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England, Europe, Soccer, Sport, Travel, United Kingdom

From The UK With Love: Part II

It was a few weeks ago when I started recounting my journey to the United Kingdom. Now I am back with Part II!

In the last edition, I mentioned how I support Everton Football Club. It is, and I know this, an odd choice. Most people in the US who support a Premier League team tend to gravitate towards the bigger clubs. I am talking about the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City, and shudders Liverpool.

Why Everton? I jokingly say that it’s because I like pain. The real answer is that Everton has been good to American-born players. They’ve featured Joe-Max Moore, Brian McBride (yes, it was just on loan for eight games, but it counts!), Landon Donovan (another guy on loan, but he made an impact!), and Tim Howard. Tim was the man between the posts and a mainstay for a decade, almost up until their current number one, Jordan Pickford, came into his own.

The other thing that comes up when I say I’m an Everton supporter is, “Why not Liverpool?” They are, historically, the better team in the same city. They have won more league titles, numerous Champions League titles, and a host of others that I don’t care to delve into, because they are so prolific, and it’s, as the kids say, sending me!

I always viewed choosing one of the bigger, more successful clubs as an easy choice. It’s one thing when you’re born into supporting a successful team, the Dodgers or the Galaxy, for me. It’s another thing to choose a team. Success can be a determining factor. This is probably why there are so many fans of the Bulls, Cowboys, or Yankees worldwide. They saw those teams win and were drawn to that. Which makes it even more of an odd choice for me to pick Everton, because they haven’t won anything meaningful since I started supporting them.

And yet, I persist. UTFT! Which stands for Up The [Expletive Deleted] Toffees. The Toffees is the club’s nickname.

I had always watched matches on television at bars or from the comfort of my own home. I had, obviously, never been to Goodison Park before. This trip happened to coincide with the club’s final season at Goodison. They will move into a brand-new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock on the banks of the River Mersey next season.

Attending a sporting event in England is unlike anything I have experienced before. For starters, butts are in seats at the kick off. There weren’t streams of people trickling into the stadium like you see at American sporting events. From the outside, the place looked closed. But inside, it was equal parts raucous and tense.

I’ve made numerous posts about baseball stadiums recently, discussing sightlines and how great the experience is. That is not the case here. Goodison is old and has real character. By character, I mean it has posts blocking views because the upper deck seats need support. Or the overhang from the upper deck makes it so that you and everyone else in your section have to stand up as the action moves out of view from your seated position.

And yet, it was a great experience! Everton did not lose! They drew with Chelsea nil-nil, but they did not lose! At that point in the season, a shared point from a draw was crucial to staving off relegation.

I have always heard things about the English soccer/football fans. Mostly, they can be very verbal. The singing and chanting are top-notch stuff. The best part of all this was that during the match, we heard a slightly high-pitched voice yelling at the referees. When we spotted the culprit, we saw it was a little, cherub-faced boy wearing glasses and an Everton-themed Santa hat. The adults next to him paid him no mind. It was just another match day. But boy, he was swearing up a storm! The other adults around him, including those next to us, could not contain their laughter whenever he swore. It was equal parts cute, hilarious, and shocking. Highly entertaining!

The game was a very tense affair as I mentioned above. There were chances by both teams that were either barely missed or saved by the keeper. In a way, it was the classic Everton experience. They hang around, create chances, but never finish. The only difference here was that they didn’t lose! I literally watched them hang around Man City this morning, 4/19, only to concede not one, but two goals late and lose the match. But on this December day against Chelsea, the final was 0-0.

Post-match, the stewards come out on the edge of the pitch and guard the interior of the field. That was when we got a real sense of the place. It has the feel of stepping into Wrigley Field or Fenway Park, except that Goodison has those two beat by 20 years. I could feel the history as I walked through the halls. Mainly, because the hallways were so narrow and they felt thicker than a seawall.

Leaving the stadium, I nearly forgot that the place is smack dab in the middle of a neighbourhood. We stepped off the grounds, and boom, there was someone’s house! The team is truly a part of the community. It’s a community divided, red (Liverpool) vs. blue (Everton), but they are an integral part of the city and its people. I can’t wait to watch a match at their new stadium. UTFT!

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15/04/2025
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Baseball, Sport

A Slew of Seattle

I didn’t think I would be following up on that Mariners trip with another one so quickly. But here I am!

I had no plans on going to another game, especially since I had crossed the stadium in the 2024 season. But there I was in 2025 with another opportunity and many hours to kill, so I went with my coworkers to watch another Mariners game. I am not one to complain about seeing more baseball. And this night was a lot of fun.

Ignore the thumb. I was taking sneaky photos of dogs!

The start it off, it was Bark at the Park night! Dogs are allowed in the stadium if you can’t infer from the title. There were a lot of cute dogs. Let me tell you!

With this added opportunity to see T-Mobile Park, I could walk around more and get better angles of the stadium.

There is a gorgeous baseball bay chandelier as you enter behind the home plate gate. It isn’t gaudy or ostentatious. It feels appropriate. They almost look like snowflakes against the stark, dark ceiling and surroundings.

This time around, I had a truly great view of the game. Not that I didn’t have a great view before, but this view offered me a new perspective. We were positioned behind the Seattle dugout, and when the lighting was just right, I could snag a shot with the city skyline over left field.

I will keep this one brief so there will be more photos and less expounding on my trip. Except when it comes to the dogs!

I was trying to snag as many dog photos as I could. There were dogs in jerseys, dogs in hats, and dogs wearing scarves. It was so damn cute.

Then they started the “Simba Cam” and I couldn’t put my phone done. If you’re unfamiliar with Simba, he’s from The Lion King, and there is a scene at the beginning of the movie where Rafiki holds up the next king – a lion cub, Simba. He shows him off to the entire animal kingdom, and it’s a fantastic scene when you couple that with the music from Hans Zimmer and Elton John. But you knew all of that. I’m now only adding words to increase my word count for this piece…even though I just said I wouldn’t write as much this time. My bad.

Here are dog photos:

Gah!! Too cute!

Once the dog-centric things subsided, it was back to baseball. The Trashtros took the lead late in the game, and Seattle could not string together hits to save their life. But save their life, they did! They scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to retake the lead and closed it out in the 9th. Exciting baseball!

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Salmon Run or Mariner Moose again. So, here they are in photo form:

Overall, it was another successful baseball stadium trip.

There really wasn’t any reason for me to write about Seattle again except for the dogs I saw, and I got a clear picture of Mariner Moose this time. They also had the roof closed, a first for me in a place not named Tampa or Arizona.

Seattle is a nice stadium, and I wrote about it twice.

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