Tag: Wales

Stuck in Wales

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My sister is broken down in a car in Wales, her clutch has gone. She’s been waiting for the breakdown service for about four hours! They keep saying they are sending someone but it’s getting late, and cold. Why they advertise a service when they can leave someone on their own late at night. So of course I’m worried about her. I will keep ringing her back until I know she is safe. I cannot go to her because she is about eighty miles away in a town I don’t know. So if you read this please just send her good wishes. X

Wales

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If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I think I would move closer to the sea. Up a hill, away from flightpaths, with a lovely view. A small town nearby.

Wales is close enough so that I can still visit family and friends. I would ideally like a slightly bigger house so that people can stay.

Why a Wales retreat? I know the country to some extent. I have Welsh ancestors, I have family there. I am used to the weather and I think its slightly less polluted than England.

Recently I’ve thought about moving. It’s not in the forefront of my mind, but if I ever have the money I would like to spend my declining years visiting Welsh tearooms and eating bara brith cake, painting Welsh scenery and joining choirs!

Castle keep

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A real castle in Wales we visited last year. There are so many in the principality that we have visited over the years, this might be Carnarvon. This is in North West Wales but I’m not absolutely sure.

I posted this because it’s a substantial castle, mostly in ruins, a lot of them were built by English King’s to control Wales. This is why the English monarchy has a Prince of Wales who is usually the monarchs son. I’d love to go back.

Wandering

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Wandering backwards and forwards on crutches to the bathroom and my armchair. I can’t help remembering when I was younger. We would set out on a cycle ride or a walk. We used to visit the North of Manchester, around the pennines. Into Wales and see spectacular mountains. Up to Yorkshire and around Ingleborough. Up steep slopes on our bikes then down one long winding valley that took us seven miles back down to our campsite (I was pleased with my map reading that day).

Being ill or injured is difficult. I can’t ignore it, but I guess I have to be a patient patient! But I want to do simple things like washing up. When I can support my weight I will, then cook, the eventually I will have to tidy up, hubby is trying, but he doesn’t quite get organisational ideas. Like putting shopping in the fridge safely! Or how to cook chicken when you have never done it in your life! Time heals I guess.

I wish I was out and about, that I could just stand at the sink and do the washing up. But I guess it’s less than five days since I pulled a ligament in my foot and about eight since the car door slammed into my other leg and cut a hole in it.

Knickerbocker glory

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What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?

A knickerbocker glory in the cafe at the top of the Great Orme mountain in Llandudno in Wales.

Why? It’s the only one I ever ate, I was a child, and I was amazed by it.

A tall cold glass with a long spoon, a fan shaped wafer in the top. Vanilla ice cream, fruit (I think cherries and peaches), chocolate and raspberry sauces, and fresh cream…. Well that’s how I remember it! We had gone up on the cable car and it was a real adventure. I think we were staying in Rhyl and had a day trip down the Coast to Llandudno.

I remember deep blue sea and bright blue sky, tall houses and wide, quiet roads. The cable car was scary but fun and the cafe had cool drinks and ice-cream for sale.

I don’t know if I ate the whole knickerbocker glory or if I shared with one of my sisters? It seemed to be huge. I think we chose it because of the picture on the menu? It certainly cooled us down on that hot sunny day. Fifty years later.. I still remember…. Delicious!

Snowdonia sketch

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Drawing from 2021. I was watching Sky Landscape Artist of the year and I decided to do a drawing of Snowdonia in North Wales. This took half an hour. I have relatives that live near to Snowdon so it’s a place I love. The landscape near where I live is more rolling hills, certainly no mountains nearby.

One of the things about the UK is that there are so many variations in the landscape. Flat, hilly, mountainous, green, forested, heathland, waterlogged, dry, arable, coastal. You can see why people fall in love with it.

History

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Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was history. I decided to draw the pool at Bodnant Gardens, a house and gardens run by the National Trust near, Llandudno in North Wales. Its well known for its beautiful laburnum walk and many flowering shrubs and plants. The upper part near the house has lawns and perennial plants while the garden slopes down to a river and has lovely wooded areas.

Three in one!

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St David’s day (the patron Saint of Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿), Shrove Tuesday (pancake day) and the (meteorological) 1st day of Spring. All tied up in one day this year, the 1st of March. I know shrove Tuesday moves around, its generally in February I think? It is connected with Easter which falls on a full moon? And also the 1st of March isn’t always on a Tuesday! So it drifts around the calendar. Also linked with Lent, giving up something for lent, like chocolate, is a well known thing that Christians do at this time of year. St David’s day is celebrated with daffodils, Wales with dragons. I wonder if they have dragons holding daffodils. Then the first day of spring? Apparently the actual start is later in March so this must just be a way of dividing the year up into four equal quarters. Time moves on.

Tulips

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Tulips in the kitchen. Now I need some daffodils for tomorrow which is the 1st of March and St David’s day.

Wales has many symbols, the daffodil, the leek and last but not least, the Welsh dragon that appears on their flag.

It is always good to get to March, it is the start of the Metereological Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. I expect we will be blasted by March winds. But tulips and daffodils cheer me up.