Into the Forest of Dean with

Mr Wales.  Well a former Mr Wales.  I hadn't seen my cousin Stephen since I was 10 or 11 and he was 18 or 19 so probably didn't see me at all.  He was into body building and became Mr Wales around that time.  He and Elaine, his wife, had invited Momery and me to visit them in Abergavenny.  Stephen is the family genealogist so I was expecting a cup of coffee, some family history chat then off we go.
My first surprise was when Stephen opened his front door and I thought I was looking at my Dad.  I recovered over anticipated cup of coffee, then Stephen suggested we take a drive to the Forest of Dean, birthplace of our Grandma, to search for Moy's Hill Farm which has family links.  He had long wanted to find the place and today seemed like a good day.  I can't say we piled into his car because it is large and luxurious and there were only four of us, but we arranged ourselves very comfortably and off we drove towards Gloucestershire through beautiful countryside and villages.  We stopped at Westbury Church

Elaine and I

and met likely ancestors in the churchyard.

 

To my surprise there were grapes

on the cottage opposite the church.

Our search took us to the Severn Estuary.

Momery and I

 
 We had a few false but beautiful leads, and then we found it.

The owners are a young family who knew nothing of our forebears but were very happy for a photo shoot - Stephen had come well prepared.

 

Westbury Church from Moy's Hill Farm

I love this photo:  like a feminist Midsommer Murder / Homicide

Despite trawling every country lane we couldn't find Hutt Farm so left that for another day...
We got back to Elaine and Stephen's place where they casually asked if we'd like something to eat.
After a feast of gammon and salmon en croute, the best raspberry cheesecake and photos for family records,

here with Jason, Stephen and Elaine's son

Momery and I returned to the Disability Suite somewhat later than expected.