UK - Wales - Llandyfriog - Mair

Mair is another friend of mine from when I lived in Newcastle Emlyn. She lives in an ancient farmhouse with loads of character. I remember coming down her path and knocking at her door. Her mail-slot was at eye level so when we would knock, she would flip open the slot to see who was there.

Once inside we would plop down in her low-seated over-stuffed chairs and thaw out from the damp Welsh air in front of her large coal burning stove. I love the low ceilings and even lower doors, the "natural-style" garden, the view across the Teifi River Valley out of her kitchen and back bedroom. What a cozy place!

I have some ancestors that come from this area of Wales and every time I come to visit Mair I feel like I might be visiting one of their homes. Mair keeps telling me that I'll be moving back to this area after my travels. Today when we drove by her house she said, "There is an old lady that lives there who used to be on her own but now has an American lodger living with her." I guessed that's what the neighbors will be saying in the future.

Mair has introduced me to a few of her friends. Most of whom are painters and poets. We've taken some beautiful walks and driven to some amazing sights. There used to be several railways going through the area. The rails and ties have been removed but the railbeds are perfect walking paths through the forest which is reclaiming it's rightful place as the years go by. This country is so serene... it's probably because of all of the green.

UK - Wales - Newcastle Emlyn - Mary

This is my friend Mary Lloyd Lewis. I met her 10 years ago while serving my mission in West Wales. She lived around the corner from us and was always fun to chat with. She's a sprightly 84 years old and could put many 50 year-olds to shame with her vigor and stamina.

She has led quite an amazing life. She lives in the house in which she was raised (the picture is her sitting in a tree she used to climb when she was a little girl) but has traveled all around the world. She lived in London for a while and also went to America for a while, finding odd jobs (at a restaurant, dentist's office, and insurance firm) to support herself. She went back to school as a mature student and is now retired from teaching primary school.

One of my favorite stories that she has told me was when she was teaching. She was getting ready to retire and had told the children (always children and never "kids." She hates when they're called kids) that it was because she was getting old. One day she told the children about Methuselah.

Mary: Methuselah lived to be ninety-nine years old!

Child: Is he older than you Miss?

While I was visiting we went on several walks. I was impressed that she would always keep up with me (especially since I'm a fast walker). We went along some difficult terrain and up some steep hills but she always kept up.

The first day I was there we went on a walk in Cenarth (ken-arth) and had great weather for it. Here are some pics:

The next day wasn't as nice but we still saw quite a bit. We went to Ceibwr (kay-boor) trying to find the Witch's Cauldron, which is a narrow canyon where the sea crashes in and sprays and churns like a cauldron. We didn't make it there but had a good adventure. Then we made our way down to Nevern and stopped in at the old church. We also made it up to Newport (there are several Newports but this one is in Pembrokeshire). We drove up to a castle and half of it was falling down and the other half was being lived in. That would be a cool place to live!

After we went home and relaxed we decided to take a walk around the block... Newcastle Emlyn is divided by a river. Mary's side is called Adpar and walking around the block involves walking down the river to the next village, then taking the country road across the top of Adpar. There were some great views. Mary used to play in this area when she was a little girl and she found a tree that she used to climb. I boosted her up to take a photo for old time's sake.

UK - Wales - Rhoose/Cardiff International Airport

I'm in Wales. For those of you that don't know, Wales is its own country but is part of the UK. Kinda like Texas is part of the USA. It also has its own language, history, and people. The Welsh, Irish, and Scottish are all descendants of the Celts. A hint for you non-Welsh speakers, C is always a hard C, like in cougar, camping, and constipated. So when you see Cenarth, it will be pronounced "Kenarth." And my friend Ceri, is called "Keri." Another thing. The Welsh are NOT English. But both the English and Welsh are British.

I took the train from Cardiff Airport to Carmarthen. I'm not much of a picture taker, so I decided I had better get into the habit. Here are a couple pics I took while waiting for the train. I'll start to edit down the pics that I post once I start getting better. But for now you're stuck with a few of them.

(Can someone email me about how to do one of those slideshow things? I've put them on picasa but I don't see anywhere to create a slideshow for online viewing.)

I thought this was a bit strange. The hammer that would be used to break out the window in an emergency... is behind glass.