A grand day out

Well, today we set off to avoid any crowds that might be hurtling along the roads and made our way into the countryside around here, Minera Mountain, Horseshoe Pass, Llangollen outskirts, World's End and Glyn Ceriog, not necessarily in that order, you understand.

Keith is anxious to get into the holiday spirit and was determined to try out our little camping grill to make sure it still works. Given his head, he would have cooked a full meal out there in the wilds, but I managed to persuade him that, as the weather forecast was not the best, it might be better to revise his grandiose schemes, so he settled with bringing the wherewithall to make a cup of tea for us when we stopped. This happened to be between Glyn Ceriog and Llangollen,up  in the hills with only half a dozen sheep for company and freezing cold to boot, so I was quite pleased when the kettle had finally boiled and we were able to fight off the imminent signs of frostbite with a mug of tea. (Exaggeration? Only slight.)

Anyway, Keith was happy and Dad was happy a little later on when we arrived at Glyndyfrdwy to see a steam train chugging its way to Carrog on the Llangollen line. 

He was even happier when we pursued it to Carrog and he was able to talk to the engine driver, who promised him a ride on the footplate next time he visits.

Three against one

In the battle of the sexes, three against one is just plain unfair.
Dad is staying with us for a week and he and Keith get on very well together. Dad and Paddy get on really well too and Paddy is not slow to take advantage of  the fact that Dad doesn't always know the 'house rules' like no getting to sit on the sofa until invited and then not before seven in the evening.
So, this evening, I have been banished to the dining room with my laptop and Last fm because Keith and Dad were hogging the TV and watching a programme about Dunkirk and Paddy was hogging my place on the sofa.
I am expecting them all to break out in a Welsh version of The Young Ones any minute!
OK, maybe not...

Bank Holiday

Today I set off at 7am for Bristol, the plan being to bring Dad back tomorrow for a week with us. Normally, I would never in a million years venture forth on the first day of a bank holiday, but the date was determined by the fact that my sister and family, who live in Bristol,  are all going on holiday and she didn't want Dad to be on his own. The whole journey was undertaken with lights and windscreen wipers on for the whole journey, through swathes of traffic, most of which was towing caravans and with the added delight of severe jams from junction 13 southwards on the M5. So a journey which should have taken just over three hours actually took four and a quarter.
My only consolation was the knowledge that sister would suffer even more protracted traffic holdups further south as she was travelling to Cornwall. Only joking! (Well, sort of...)
Anyway, suddenly, the sun has appeared and the rainclouds have disappeared - for now, anyway.
Great stuff!

Today's walk

We went for our walk on the new route today, Paddy and I, the one where we very briefly caught sight of a fox the other morning. Today, the weather was lovely, breezy and not as hot as last week by any means, but still sunny.

And  on our way back,I caught sight of a fox cub - a brief flash and it was gone,  far too quick to get a photo.
So, you'll have to make do with these instead, I'm afraid.

What a great idea!

Every now and then, a genius comes along with a life-changing idea, like
this one for example. If only someone had thought of this when I was still teaching. Stress, overwork, premature ageing - all would have been unheard of for us teachers!

And that was summer?

When I was little, I remember hearing a rhyme about this time of year:

"Ne'er cast a clout till may is out." Roughly translated, this means, "It is ill advised to remove any of your winter clothing until the may blossom is visible on the hawthorne trees." I noticed the profusion of may blossom on the trees at the bottom of the field this morning when we were out on our walk and that reminded me of the rhyme, (usually quoted at me in my youth when I wanted to go out to play without a coat.)

Given the chilly weather and rain which have returned to haunt us today, it seems that there will be no clouts cast just yet or for the foreseeable future, i.e. next week. And it's no good any of you gardeners saying that we need it; I definitely don't! I like the sun, so there!

Still it was nice to see the horses back in the ajoining field and even Paddy steers clear of them, probably recognising that, given their size, it wouldn't be a good idea to invite them to play! 

Sunday

Sunday really lived up to its name over here in north Wales. The weather was beautiful, hot and sunny with not a cloud in the sky - just like most other places in Britain really. After the disastrous summer last year, followed by a winter that would have been more suited to the Steppes of Russia, it seems so long since we last had some decent weather, but this last week the Weather Fairy has done us proud.

So off we set, Keith and Paddy and I to follow the winding road to the west coast.

"Let's go over Hellfire Pass," Keith suggested, and so we did. This is where Austin used to test drive their cars back in the first half of last century.
Apparently, 'an Englishman' named it Hellfire Pass but the Welsh soon returned it to its original name of Bwlch y Groes and it's the highest pass in north Wales, or, as the Welsh would say,
"Rydych yn sefyll ar y bwlch uchaf yng Ngogledd Cymru."
Not bad, eh?