31 07 2010

Almost home! When I reach the canal at Gilwern, I know that there is not far to go....whatever means of travel I use.

Location : Maes Y Gwartha Rd, Llanelly, Monmouthshire NP7 0,

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30 07 2010

I took advantage  of an early Friday finish in work to get home and straight out into the countryside for a good walk in the improving weather (no rain!). My walk was from my home west to pick up the westerly end of Church Road, I then followed around to St Elli's church itself. As you can see from the shot above the view opens up to show a brilliant panorama with Gilwern in the foreground and Abergavenny away in the background between the Deri mountain on the left and the Little Skirrid in the middle leading to the Blorenge just out of view on the right.

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One gem on my walk was the secret Victorian churchyard, not quite on a par with Highgate but still full of some unusual and striking  gravestones

The cross above and inscription below is interesting as this is the memorial for Alfred Crawshay who was a son of William Crawshay II the 'Iron King' the owner of the great iron works in Merthyr the home of  the Industrial  Revolution in who built Cyfarthfa Castle

Another fascinating memorial is that below - where Lt Colonel Robert Preston Sandeman's dog watches over him in sleep. Lt Colonel Sandeman was nephew of William Crawshay, his mother was Amelia Crawshay..... he married a Crawshay (Jessie) - they say keep it in the family!

There were also a number of gravestones in Welsh from around the 1850's the one below is for Mary (Gwraig) wife of Thomas Williams who died aged 65 on 21st (Gorffenaf) July 1854 (156 years ago!)

29 07 2010

Today's image is of the view from underneath the local canal in the tunnel on my cycle route (7miles today).

The tunnel was used in the late 1700's to bring limestone down to the kilns which are dotted around the area for the smelting of iron. 

Location : Address not available

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28 07 2010

Today........just about! ! This post was begun at one minute to midnight following our return from Inception, hence the image from the current edition of Wired.

Initial report on the film, it takes a while to get going and when it does I found it disappointing. For me poor characters, plot and outcome. ..... brooding Di Caprio again!

For me a score of 6/10.....it was all a dream.

Location : Maes Y Gwartha Rd, Llanelly, Monmouthshire NP7 0,

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27 07 2010

I came across this former blacksmith's shop in a local village on my 6 mile walk this evening.

Location : Heads of the Valleys Rd, Llanelly, Monmouthshire NP7 0,

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26 07 2010

The loneliness of the long distance walker,

 This evening after work and the long drive home, I decided to get out and enjoy a good walk around the village for an hour. I was out from around 6.30pm when it would appear that most people were either at home or on holiday, I believe that I only met around a dozen people during my walk. I have found that this time alone is great for thinking.... I am not sure what about, however think I do.
A vexing question at present  which I am able to mull over during these quiet moments is the decision whether to follow my job to The Hague in January of next year. I am currently torn between the desire to follow through what I have started to its conclusion, while on the other for those who have been following this blog I quite like the area in which I live and of course the proximity of my grandchildren. I fully realise that The Hague is not far away and returns could be handled on a better than once a year basis with careful handling, which could give me so much more, including the experience of living and working  in a different country for a while. The eventual exit strategy there is not clear as I have around 13 years still to work prior to retirement, I am not sure that I could carry on for that, while constantly becoming more difficult to employ at home!!!! I must admit that the desire to work on new exciting web2.0 projects with kids is quite a draw, if only there were the option to do this on a consultancy basis........ Arghhh teaching again!!!!!I have around two months in which to decide my future.

You see dear reader why  I require more walks in order to synthesise my thoughts.

25 07 2010

Today as part of the Cardiff Festival 2010 the Red Dragon Centre in the Bay was home to the Family Festival - an event where Ddraig Goch met a Red Dragon ( above) at the Red Dragon Centre......

A great event enjoyed by all in attendance.