A Short Walk

Hello Friends!

I'm doing my best now to get out and about to revel in the glorious Spring weather. It's been a long winter for all of us. I have always carried my camera, but lately have been relying on my phone.  However, I've now started taking the camera as well.  Won't you come along?

Walking is so much more to me than fresh air and exercise. I love strolling along finding things to capture with my camera, but I also find walking is so very good for my spirit too.  Who could not be uplifted when surrounded by such natural beauty?

Right now, the spring weather is incredible.  Each day brings crystal clear blue skies, often cloudless, just blue from horizon to horizon.  Everything seems cleaner and clearer, colours are sharper than I ever recall.  Birdsong is sharper and chirpier, and the heady scent of spring blossoms is intoxicating. I don't know if this is because of the lack of air pollution as a result of Covid travel restrictions, or if it is because I have been hunkered down, indoors, for most of the year, only venturing into the village for my monthly prescription, scurrying along with my head down.  Whatever the reason, it's a pure delight for the senses.

The only down side is we're not getting any rain, and although it's wonderful to be dry when working in the garden, I'm already having to water, and my lawn is yellowing up not so nicely.  April showers did not come, so will we see the flowers that bloom in May?  None of us ever thought we'd be crying out for rain in April.

The wind that blows is coming from the east and north, a cold and drying wind, that chills to the bone, and the sea does not whip into the usual frenzy of white horses we see when it blows more warmly from the south and the west.  Bands of calm, still, blue ocean and a cloudless blue sky contrast against lush, verdant green pastures where the candy floss puffy, fluffy cotton creamy sheep graze, somehow anchored firmly, for they look as if they'd just blow away on the breeze.

Rich, yellow gorse, and dreamy, bridal white blackthorn border the ancient stone walls that form the enclosures and fields that spread across the Shire like a big, patchwork quilt of viridescent green. 

Just look at those distant miniature forests of gorse!

The blackthorn will bring forth sloes, later in the year, and many a bottle of sloe gin will be maturing over the autumn months ready to warm the cockles of our hearts on a long, cold walk in winter.  My hip flask is ready and waiting!  We'll raise a glass to absent friends on Christmas Day while sitting around the fire.

We've had a little rain overnight, just enough to wash the dust away, but it's all change this weekend.  Wouldn't you know it? May Day Bank Holiday weekend and Bank Holiday Monday is set to bring forth heavy rain {not good when the ground is so dry as it will run off and not soak in} and gale force winds {ugh}.  So, I'm making the most of the lovely days, and once more the old familiar routing of battening hatches happens.  It's the visitors and holiday makers I feel for, with limited places open to visitors, what will they do?  Sit in their holiday accommodation, or wander around in the wild, windy, wet Welsh weather? 

Until next time

Stay Safe, Stay Well

Daffodils, Pancakes and A Patron Saint

Hello Friends!

DAFFODILS FOR SAINT DAVID'S DAY

It's been quite a busy few days in the village as it is March 1st, and that means it is Saint David's Day, the day we celebrate the Patron Saint of Wales.  You can read all about it here and here  where I have previously shared several of our events and a little of the history of David himself.

I was unable to attend in person at any of the events this year, however, I did manage to take a few photographs of some of the many windows that have been so beautifully decorated in celebration of Saint David. Here are a few of them, a bit shaky as it was like standing in a wind tunnel out there today in 50 mph winds ~~~

I love these quirky pottery Welsh ladies

Here are some of my personal things, some table linen, a Welsh lady doll that is dressed in traditional costume that someone lovingly knit by hand, and a few towels and oven gloves with Welsh patterns ~~~

and a plate of delicious Welsh Cakes, a yummy treat to have with tea on St David's Day ~~~

We also have dear friends living Across the Pond who celebrate Wales and they share their lovely pictures and celebrations with us ~~~

Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, which you can read about here, however, many of you celebrate this day yourself in one of its many forms as it is celebrated across the world and I'd love if you'd share your stories in the comment ~~~

I don't like calling it Pancake Day as I observe it as Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, and the start of Lent, although, as a child, we sang the following little ditty all day long in school, in eager anticipation of delicious pancakes, fresh from the frying pan, for our tea when we got in from the cold, and often wet, walk home from school ~~~

Pancake Day! Pancake Day!

Mother's Busy Baking 

Toss the Pancakes! Toss the Pancakes!

Turn the Pancakes Over!

I always remember my mother, slaving over the hot stove which stood in the corner of the tiny room where we cooked, ate, and sat around the fire of the evenings, making the pancakes one by one so each of us got a fresh, hot pancake slathered in melted butter, sprinkled liberally with sugar, and drizzled with lemon juice. She would serve everyone first before sitting down to her own, then start again giving each one of us a fresh pancake in turn, ending with her own, until all the batter was gone! My goodness, they were tasty treats with all the sugar and butter!

We sat, in eager anticipation, not only of the delicious pancakes, but waiting for The Toss! No meal of pancakes is proper without the successful toss of at least one pancake!  I pride myself on my expertise in this field!

Here is my recipe for crêpes which I learned in school, many decades ago ~~~

4 oz plain flour, sifted with a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and into this crack two large eggs. Gradually incorporate the eggs into the flour, slowly drawing the flour into the eggs. When all the flour is absorbed by the eggs, slowly pour in 1/2 pint of full cream milk beating constantly using a hand held electric whisk. You may, of course, whisk by hand using a balloon whisk should you require to burn off calories before eating your treat!  Set batter aside for a minimum of 1 hour before using. Immediately before using, pour 1 oz melted butter into the batter and whisk well.
To cook the pancakes, heat a heavy flat based pan and lightly grease with butter. When the butter begins to give off a blue smokey haze the pan is ready. Pour about 1/6 of the batter into the pan and swirl around until it reaches the edges. When the top is dry and the pancake slides freely in the pan, flip using a spatula, or toss if you are brave enough and cook the other side until golden brown.
Transfer the cooked pancake to a warm plate and flavour or fill with your choice of toppings before serving immediately. Repeat with remaining batter, which makes approximately 6 pancakes of 10 inches diameter. Bon Appetit!

Our traditional Shrove Tuesday pancakes are globally called crêpes, those heavenly, paper thin French confections of pure, soft, melt in the mouth delight which I love dearly. Today, pancakes will be made in many shapes, sizes, and filled with all manner of treats.  These are mine ~~~

I don't mind savoury or filled sweet pancakes at any time of year, and love them filled with garlic mushrooms; roasted Mediterranean vegetables; broccoli in a cheese sauce; ice cream and chocolate sauce; fresh fruit and a brandy sauce; you get the idea ~ but on Shrove Tuesday they are simple fare served in remembrance of the day.

Did you have pancakes yesterday, or do you have other ways of celebrating Shrove Tuesday?

Until next time ~~~
~~~ Deborah

Christmas Countdown, Traditions and Trivia Day Christmas Eve

Hello Friends!

Well, dear followers and friends, Christmas Day is almost here, just one more sleep as they say today. Tonight the stockings will be hung with care, and wee ones all over the world will find it hard to sleep tonight.  I remember when I was a child not being able to sleep at all, butterflies churning in my tummy all night long in eager anticipation that I'd been good and Father Christmas would call on me, leaving me a special present underneath the tree in the parlour and filling my stocking at the foot of my bed. I was up before dawn and stayed fully charged until bedtime on Christmas night!  After opening my stocking it was off to church for the 7:30 a.m Eucharist, then home for breakfast before the mayhem of opening presents commenced. Even back then there were always many books under the tree for me, and I'm pleased to say, I must have been a good girl back in those long gone days of my past, for I was never disappointed ~~~

So, here is the final door of the Advent calendar for 2016, it is the largest door and in the centre of the image too ~~~

~~~~~

For today's final traditions and trivia I will share with you the unique Welsh tradition of Plygain.  If you listen to the clips, below, you will hear how to pronounce it. My best interpretation is to say plug~ayne {but I'm not very good at phonetics}

Plygain is a chapel service that takes place in chapels across Wales in the wee small hours of Christmas Day between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., starting before daybreak and finishing, symbolically, after the dawn has broken. People either get up very early or some don't go to bed at all ~ that would be a bit too much for me with all the catering and excitement of the day ahead and no sleep the night before, with no chance of a recharging nap during the day.

The word Plygain is believed to have it's root in the Latin word pullicantio, meaning 'when the cock crows at dawn'; it could also be derived from plygu, meaning to bend forward in prayer. The word is first recorded in the Black Book of Carmarthen in early Welsh manuscripts in the 13th century.

The traditions of Pygain vary regionally, for example:

• In some rural areas the locals would gather in farmhouses to make a treacle toffee called cyflaith.
• In Marford, they decorate the farmhouse with winter foliage such as holly or mistletoe.
• In Dyffryn Clwyd, they light the candles at two o'clock in the morning and sang and danced to harp music until the dawn service.
• In towns, or more populated areas, such as Tenby, crowds start the evening with a torch-lit procession, and the young men of the town would escort the local priest from his house to the church while the rest of the procession sang and blew cow-horns.
• At the local chapel {I do not attend} one of the attending couples, very generously, invites the entire congregation back to their home where they serve up freshly cooked bacon baps {a special sort of bread roll} to the hungry people.

Until recently, Plygain candles were lit throughout the chapel during the service. Candles were decorated with coloured paper and hoops woven by local congregants.

Here is a clip from the BBC showing an old recording of Plygain with an interesting insight to the non~conformist viewpoint of such Christian feast days as Christmas and Easter.

This is a radio broadcast, about five minutes long, explaining Plygain and with excerpts from a service.

I hope you will be able to access them internationally for I know some of you will be eager to listen.

~~~~~

The last of the Yuletide Lads is Candler Stealer who is also known as Kertasníkir, Candle Snatcher or Candle Beggar.  He arrives tonight and takes his leave on January 6th.

In days of old candles were a very expensive commodity in Iceland and would have been strictly controlled in an Icelandic household. It would have been very uncommon for children to have been given one.  Around Christmas time, however, there is very little daylight in Iceland each day and children may have been given candles at that time. Candle Stealer would sneak around in the dark behind children with candles, waiting for his chance to steal them. At one time, candles would have been made from animal fats {tallow candles} and were edible, therefore Candle Stealer would quickly gobble them up!

Hunger seems to be a recurring theme with the Yuletide Lads and I wonder if this reflects the paucity of food and desperately hard living conditions faced by the settlers in Iceland?

So, this finishes the Advent Calendar, my accounts of traditions and trivia, and rounds up the last of the Yuletide Lads for another year. Tonight the frolics and japes will be many in the homesteads and villages across Iceland as all the Lads are present, but tomorrow evening they start their return, day by day, in the order in which they arrived back to their mountain home for another year.

~~~~~

I hope you have enjoyed the last month as much as I have exploring just a small handful of traditions and trivia, even some of the darker side too. My heartfelt thanks to those of you who have taken time each day to leave a comment. They are precious and mean so much to me.  So, all that remains is for me to say ~~~

Nadolig Llawen!

Wishing You a Very Happy Christmas

I hope your Christmas is jolly, full of family and friends, and I wish for yours to be full joy, peace, and hope.

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

Christmas Countdown and Traditions Day Eight

Hello Friends!

It is hard to believe we've been doing this for a week now and Christmas is just two and a half weeks away ~~~ how time flies ~~~ and here is the eighth image on the Advent Calendar ~~~

Today's Christmas Tradition is about the Welsh tradition of Mari Lwyd or Grey Mare/Mary. It is quite scary and not particularly Christmassy in my opinion, but I believe in looking at all manner of traditions to share with you.

This tradition is primarily found in South Wales and is a wassailing folk tradition involving the use of an eponymous "hobby horse" which is made from the skull of a real horse and a sheet which covers an individual responsible for carrying the pole~mounted skull while remaining hidden beneath the sheet.

The Mari Lwyd is accompanied by a group {of men} who take the mare around the village trying to gain entry to various households through the medium of song.  They will be repeatedly refused entry by the householders who will come up with excuses why the Mari Lwyd cannot gain entry, the men will try again and again, only to be refused each time. This is called pwnco and continues until the householders finally run out of excuses and entry is gained, whereupon the party receives food and drink and the merriment continues.

As you might guess, with a tradition such as this {which is ancient and has many ties to other celebrations and traditions} much has been written and if you would like to read more, and see some images of the {quite frightening, in my opinion} Mari Lwyd you can do so here.

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

Christmas Countdown and Traditions Day Five

Hello Friends!

Here is today's Advent calendar picture as we progress towards Christmas ~~~

Today's tradition is one of my own personal Christmas traditions, which I would like to share with you, and maybe encourage you to bring this little piece of Welsh literature into your own traditions. It is to read {several times over the days leading up to Christmas} a most favourite tale "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by one of Wales's most notable poets, the genius that was Dylan Thomas.

I just love this gentle, humorous tale, a nostalgic image of a Christmas from a simpler time, told in Thomas's own inimitable style. I especially love the passages about the "useful presents" and "useless presents"

"There were the Useful Presents: engulfing mufflers of the old coach days, and mittens made for giant sloths; zebra scarfs of a substance like silky gum that could be tug-o'-warred down to the galoshes; blinding tam-o'-shanters like patchwork tea cozies and bunny-suited busbies and balaclavas for victims of head-shrinking tribes ~~~ "

"Bags of moist and many-colored jelly babies and a folded flag and a false nose and a tram-conductor's cap and a machine that punched tickets and rang a bell; never a catapult; once, by a mistake that no one could explain, a little hatchet ~~~ "

 ~~~ I always wonder about the little hatchet!

If you have not read it, please do, it isn't long, it won't take up much time, for I'm sure you will love it as much as I do and will want to read it over and over as you are transported to that very special world. Copies are readily available, to buy, or to borrow from your local library, and can even be found to read online, although if you can find a sweetly illustrated hardcover copy then that is the best. You can even listen to it on audio CD if you want, read by Dylan Thomas himself, recorded in 1952 and let yourself drift with the words, falling snowflakes into his imaginary world. Curl up in a comfy arm chair with your book, light some candles, wear Fair Isle socks and snuggle under a quilt to escape to the small Welsh village of Thomas's imagination on a snowy Christmas tide ~~~

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

St David's Day Celebrations~~~March Came in Like a Lion ~~~

 Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Hapus

Happy Saint David's Day

Gentle Reader ~~~ First, I wish you all, wherever you are, whatever your roots, but especially to everyone of Welsh heritage, Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Hapus ~ A Very Happy Saint David's Day ~~~ for today, March 1st is the Feast Day of David, the Patron Saint of Wales ~~~

Let's talk about the weather for one moment ~~~ one thing I love is the weather ~~~ no matter what it throws at us, and yes, sometimes I complain about it, but in general I love it all {except for the scorchio heat of high summer}. You have to take it as it comes, and there isn't much you can do about it so you might as well find something to like about it. I love the weather for so many different reasons ~ how it marks the slow turning of the seasons, the windswept and tormented beauty that lies within the heart of a raging storm; the calm that follows the storm; the gentle breezes of a late Spring morning as the world wakes up after a long, cold Winter; the bold colour palette of nature's paintbrush at work in Autumn ~~~ how the land looks in the different light; the billowing cotton puff clouds; the shimmering world after the rain as it sits, shining and glistening in the sun; the ever changing colours and moods of the sky; I love each season, each weather, in turn ~~~ although, as many of you know, my most favourite season of them all is Autumn ~~~ but this is not about Autumn, not today ~~~

So, I gather up all those little snippets of weather folklore along the way~~~ you know the one about red skies at night, or in the morning; or the one about Candlemas, or Groundhog Day, and so on ~~~ well, here is another one ~~~

If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb

But if March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion

Of course, unlike some sayings, there is very little foundation to this one, and if the weather comes to pass according to the rhyme then it is more a coincidence than the science of meteorology at work ~ mind, they did mention it on the weather forecast and said it could be a subtle hint! 

• Sun

  46°F37°F32MPHSOUTH WESTERLY

• Mon

  43°F39°F25MPHWESTERLY

• Tue

  45°F41°F29MPHWESTERLY

• Wed

  46°F43°F20MPHNORTH WESTERLY

• Thu

  48°F45°F18MPHSOUTH WESTERLY

• Fri

  48°F46°F19MPHSOUTH SOUTH WESTERLY

• Sat

  50°F46°F21MPHSOUTH SOUTH WESTERLY

• Sun 8th

  50°F45°F15MPHSOUTH WESTERLY

• Mon 9th

  48°F43°F13MPHWEST NORTH WESTERLY

• Tue 10th

  48°F45°F15MPHNORTH NORTH WESTERLY

Sunrise 07:08 Sunset 18:00

Last updated 07:33

  

Weather forecast details for Sunday 1 March. Each column contains hourly forecast details for weather conditions, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, humidity, visibility and pressure.

TIME	0800 HOURS	0900 HOURS	1000 HOURS	1100 HOURS	1200 HOURS	1300 HOURS	1400 HOURS	1500 HOURS	1600 HOURS	1700 HOURS	1800 HOURS	1900 HOURS	2000 HOURS	2100 HOURS	2200 HOURS	2300 HOURS	0000 HOURS MON	0100 HOURS	0200 HOURS	0300 HOURS	0400 HOURS	0500 HOURS
Weather Conditions
Temperature (°F)	45°F	46°F	46°F	46°F	46°F	46°F	46°F	45°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	41°F	41°F	41°F	41°F	41°F	41°F	39°F
Wind Speed (mph)	23MPHWESTERLY	22MPHWEST SOUTH WESTERLY	23MPHWEST SOUTH WESTERLY	25MPHSOUTH WESTERLY	32MPHSOUTH WESTERLY	34MPHSOUTH WESTERLY	32MPHWEST SOUTH WESTERLY	28MPHWESTERLY	23MPHWESTERLY	20MPHWESTERLY	18MPHWESTERLY	18MPHWESTERLY	19MPHWESTERLY	20MPHWESTERLY	23MPHWESTERLY	24MPHWESTERLY	24MPHWESTERLY	23MPHWESTERLY	23MPHWESTERLY	24MPHWESTERLY	28MPHWESTERLY	27MPHWEST NORTH WESTERLY

See those numbers in the circles? Those are the average wind speeds for the day, so, this year, March decided to come in like a lion ~~~ a rather big, roaring, very noisy, and very wet lion at that ~~~ the winds came in by tea time on the last day of February and blew February away with such gusto and March came hurtling in on it's heels, with every cobweb in every corner blustered away on the wuthering winds from the west ~~~ and this morning, there is a very mixed bag of strong winds, bright sunshine, and short, sharp, sudden downpours, catching out those unprepared ~~~ 

This is not particularly brilliant news, for March 1st is Saint David's Day ~ the feast day of the Patron Saint of Wales ~ and there are always plans to celebrate the day in style ~~~ many of these events take place outside the words 'damp squib' spring to mind ~~~ many are also held indoors, and most of the outdoor ones went on despite the atrocious weather ~~~ we are a hardy breed in Wales ~~~

The events for St David's Day do not change very much from year to year, so if you click here it will take you to what I wrote for St David's Day 2013 on my other blog Tales from a Celtic Heart {which I no longer add to, but you may like to read and see the photographs when you have time}. 

We are striving in our small village to mark the day with more than just a couple of church services for the schools, to turn the eyes of the world to celebrate the place where David was born and to bring people in to the village to learn more about David and the community he established.  Cardiff, the capital city, is where the main attention is focused, but in truth they do very little to mark the day, whereas, this year, for example, we have four days jammed crammed with a varied programme of events.

This year, there was an Eisteddfod in the City Hall on Friday, followed by lots of things on Saturday, including traditional Welsh refreshments {Cawl, Welsh Cakes, and Bara Brith} served throughout the day with an accompaniment of harp music; an exhibition by the local Historical Society; a Twmpath; the Annual Parade of Dragons; a market on the Cross Square; Community Hymn Singing in a local Chapel; lots of different guided walks by different organisations; and folk concerts in the local pubs and hostelries. The Annual Window Decorating competition was organised, ensuring windows full of daffodils and Welsh themed miscellany making the village look bright and beautiful, despite the grey days.  We are even featured on the BBC's Countryfile on Sunday evening {the link may or may not work for overseas readers, sorry if it does not}

Permission was given for arrangements of daffodils ~ our national flower ~ to be placed in the cathedral.  As it is Lent, all floral arrangements are stopped for the six weeks, but a special waiver was given to allow daffodils for the four days of celebrations of the life of David, without whom the cathedral, nor the village where I live, would be.

On Saturday, the Annual Parade of Dragons took place with the parade led by the 948 Squadron Air Corps Training Band ~~~

followed by one of the longest parades we have ever had ~~~

In fact, the parade was so long that there was nearly a traffic incident as the 948 Squadron Air Corps Training Band arrived back at the top of the Cross Square before the tail of the parade had cleared the High Street ~~~ disaster was averted at the last moment as the band held back, but I can just imagine the backlog of parade as it filed around the corners ~~~

Here are a few images from Saturday ~~~

Some delicious looking Welsh themed cup cakes on the Shalom stall on the market ~~~ I think they are really rather splendid ~~~

Everyone takes part ~~~

Window display at Mathias Hardware ~~~

Second place window display by the Candles and Crafts shop ~~~ with a handmade, wooden harp ~~~

The winning window ~ Oriel Albion Gallery ~ complete with a signed photo of the great J.P.R. Williams {one of our greatest heroes of rugby}

Close up showing the photograph of JPR and the Winner's Tropy ~~~

The Trophy, a hand carved piece of Welsh Slate ~~~ I happened to be in the Gallery visiting my friend who owns it when the Mayor, Cllr David Halse came in and surprised her with the award and tropy ~~~

This is one of my very special treasures ~ my bead bracelet. Some of you will recognise, and own, the Girlfriends bead from Susan Branch, but to day I want to focus on my Clogau gold charms, which contain a touch of rare Welsh gold.   One is the Cariad charm, the other is the daffodil.  Cariad is Welsh for Sweetheart, and my beloved Daddy called me 'his little cariad' so this charm has deep and very special meaning for me. The daffodil, of course, is the national flower of Wales, so again a meaningful charm for my bracelet.

Since I took this image, I have added the Glyn Rhosyn charm to my bead bracelet. One day, I will share an updated photo, and the reasons why this particular charm is so important to me ~~~

Finally, here is a plate of traditional Welsh Cakes for you to enjoy ~~~