Friday, April 23, 2010

'Portrait of the Brecon Beacons and surrounding areas'

It is raining gently here with a forecast maximum of 21C.  I heated up a croissant and returned to bed to read the above book by Edmund Mason (Robert Hale, London, 1975).  It belongs to my friend Leanne the Book.  When she first mentioned it to me I wasn't much interested cos it's not my bit of Wales but reading it is an absolute delight and I recommend it to anyone interested in Wales - geography, geology, archeology, myth and legend, history, travel, caving, etc etc.  The author hugely endeared himself to me when, describing the underground search for some lost cavers, he writes:  'Although I always had a great admiration for the Welsh miner, the voluntary effort of those men surpassed anything I could have imagined.'
For me, there are lovely elements to this photo:  the book itself, the fact that it became an interlibrary loan and the bookmark my friend Pasha Sasha brought me back from Turkey recently.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Daffodils for Welsh cousins



Martha Morgan makes many references to the wildflowers, including primroses and daffodils.  At the last email, my cousin David reported that there were not many daffodils out yet, so here are some for Frances, David, Mark, Paul and Cairo.  They are also to celebrate that there is a Curves gym in Haverfordwest, giving me more opportunity to explore.  Martha Morgan was imprisoned in Haverfordwest. Is the gaol still there?

So much to tell you but sadly not in Welsh...yet...

I spent a lovely Easter on Kangaroo Island with Corinne, Bronwyn and Heather.  For them it was a mere Easter break.  For me it was training for Wales.  Here's Bron and Heths and a Welsh-looking sea:
I have now read 3 of the Angel Mountain series.  The saga begins in the 1790s.  The heroine is Martha Morgan (note the MM - I'm sure I'm her reincarnated).  She was born in Brawdy with her early life in Haverfordwest.  She moves to Carn Inglis near Newport when she marries.  The storyline is wildly romantic but the detail of everyday life during those times, the foods eaten, the crops grown, the wildflowers, is spellbinding.
According to my Mum, it is 6 weeks until we fly out of Australia.  Of course, this is Icelandic volcano permitting.