Lovely Llandegfedd

Living in Malpas for so many years one tends to take what is on your doorstep for granted. I have lost count how many times I have gone and sat up and Llangedfedd Reservoir, or walked around there, watched the sailing club members trying to launch their colourful little boats. I had forgot about it all really until yesterday, when a friend from Brighton who was staying needed to be entertained for a day, so I thought about Llandegfedd. After all a day out there is free!

It was as delightful as ever, the weather behaved itself for once this week and the sun came out! The reservoir is North of Newport and the largest in the area. These days it is a Country Park and supports the Sailing Club and Windsurfing School (with rescue provided). Dinghies, windsurfer boards and canoes can all be hired there too.



We enjoyed a quiet afternoon there and managed to photograph some grebes and their new family. Very enjoyable and thoroughly recommended for an afternoon out.

Off Line!

Harry Potter and the half-blood prince.

I decided to change my ISP from Virgin Media to SKY this week. All was going well until I tried to connect to the Internet. No connection. TV, phone, all perfect but no Internet. I telephone SKY and, in fairness they responded immediately - so I'm back!



Not a lot has happened since I have been offline, but I did go and see the new Harry Potter movie last night - all two hours and 33 minutes of it! I personally am not a Harry Potter fan, but a friend, who is a fan, invited me along. On a wet, bleak Tuesday night with no others plans, I wasn't going to say no.

The last one I saw was years ago when I took my granddaughter. The actors have certainly grown up. I think it's super that the same main characters have stayed with the parts since their inception. Emma Watson is gorgeous, what a future she has ahead of her, and the same for Daniel Radcliffe.



The story picks up when Voldermort tightens his grip on both the Muggles and the wizarding world. Hogwarts is no longer the safe place it once was ...... Watching it you sort of get drawn into it somehow, but I will never be a true fan I'm afraid!

A wet Sunday.

Driving from Newport to Crickhowell to see my sister and family was a nightmare this morning. The rain was sheeting down and just as I approached Abergavenny I got stuck behind a cycling rally. There were hundreds of them! I don't know about the Tour de France, this must have been the Tour de Abergavenny! I was already late. (Due to an over enthusiastic newly ordained deacon giving the sermon in Church - all twenty six minutes of it) The roads were slippery with beating rain; the car windscreen wipers were feeling exhausted from their labours, so caution was advisable - but oh, it's so frustrating when you are late for something!


When I arrived at my sisters I needn't have worried. My brother-in-law was in the middle of a small and very dignified funeral service in the garden, with his grandchildren in attendance (My little greats). One of the fish, who resides in the garden pond, had died and had to be laid to rest in the proper manner.


After the ceremony was over we went to the local pub, where everyone tucked into a large Sunday roast - except my sister and me - we had a far more healthy option, poached salmon and salad. You see I have to go and weigh tomorrow night, so when I was thinking about a roast, a picture of the Weight Watchers scales popped into my mind and the scales won the day. Poached salmon it was. Let's hope all this virtuosity pays off at the 'Weigh In' tomorrow night!

Deceptions

Director Paul Wheelens new play 'Deceptions' has had good reviews on Radio 4 and has been described as the ultimate mind game. I was lucky enough to go and see it in the New Theatre Cardiff last night. It was a witty and stylish play sent in the present. As secrets are revealed, a psychological game of cat & mouse is played out.


There are only two actors., Michelle Collins and Rupert Hill. They both gave very good performance. He is as good looking in the flesh and I can verify that as we saw all of him on stage! As for Michelle Collins she has a much softer face than we see in pictures and television shots of her. It was a really good night. Oh ... and James Corden (Smithy from Gavin & Stacey) opened the door for us to go in! He must have had a ticket too .... Well, I had a good night, don't know about the others!

The Quiet day ...

Aerial view of Llantarnam Abbey, Newport

A Quiet Day is a deliberate intention to share with people a day that will include times to be quiet together and space for individuals to be quiet on their own. This worked quite well yesterday. The activities provided were painting, drawing, clay moulding, listening to stories, walks in the grounds and meditation, but the special emphasis of the day is the quiet. This was not difficult to achieve in a Catholic convent.

Holy Communion in the common room.

I found the quiet easy in the morning, but more difficult in the afternoon, not from a personal perspective but my 'fellow Retreaters' had either got tired of being quiet, or did not understand the concept of the day. The latter I suspect. The welcome in this very beautiful place was special with the nuns showing genuine hospitality.

We all met for midday communion, but sadly only the bread could be given as there are concerns regarding the cup due to the forecast swine flu pandemic. The Church in Wales issued guidelines yesterday to all the Churches in the Diocese of Monmouth that only consecrated bread is taken during Holy communion during the swine flu outbreak rather than both bread and wine. The use of the common cup will be suspended until the risk of contamination decreases.



The weather was perfect for such a day and we were able to enjoy their beautiful grounds and gardens in lovely temperatures. This was not the case on my first visit there, over a year ago now, when it poured with rain all day making it impossible to see the magnificent grounds, but yesterday I managed to spend some time there.



I would probably do it again, but for the peace of the day rather than any long term benefit I will feel from such an exercise.

A Poetry Book

My morning at the Parish office was slow. People on holiday, people out weekend shopping, all the summer weddings booked, not a lot going on which left me at a bit of a loose end. There was a book on the desk, I had not seen it before, so I guessed it had been left behind by a previous incumbent of the office earlier in the week.



It was a Poetry book of all things. 'A Collection of Poems by Philip Larkin'. Regular followers of this blog know my thinking on poetry. I leafed through the pages. I found one I liked. I read it, and thought I might like to know more about this guy Philip Larkin. (That's him pictured above).

One poem that jumped out at me:

Church Going.

Once I am sure there is nothing going on, I step inside

Letting the door thud shut.

Another Church: matting, seats and stone

and little books ..........

Now here is something I understand, something I can read. I will read some of his work over the summer and then maybe, just maybe, I can pick up some enthusiasm for September's course?

Tandoori Green light!

This is the menu from The Tamarind, the new Indian restaurant open in the suburbs of Newport. I went there on Tuesday night with some friends. It was good, well worth recommending . It's only been open 7 weeks. The service needs to improve, but they are all trainee waiters and very polite - and they try very hard.

I asked at Weight Watchers on Monday night what I could eat and not 'fall by the wayside'. They recommended the dishes I should order and pointed them up for me, so I was well impressed with that. You could say I had the tandoori green light from Weight Watchers ... and very nice it was too!

A mucky morning ...

This is one of my tomato plants given to me by my cousin's husband some weeks ago. Both plants are thriving. They are hanging basket tomato plants really, but I have sat mine on upended empty tubs. There are half a dozen small green tomato's and lots of flowers on this one, but you can't really see them on this photo. I shall be eating my own tomato's soon - if we ever see the sun again to ripen them!

My bay trees were water logged. I planted them in pots with no water drainage holes in the bottom - mistake! (I got them from the £1 shop and thought they would be okay.) With all the rain we have had, the little bay trees were learning to swim! I put fresh soil in today, after punching small drainage holes in the bottom. It was a mucky job pouring out all that black mud from the pots onto the garden and then having to wash the yard down afterwards with bowls of water. I don't have an outside tap. I hate it when people say 'It's easy to install a tap outside, you have a water outlet to the rear.' Easy for who? The know it all's that are advising with no intention of offering to help? Not easy for me, I haven't got a clue where to start!

Ahead of myself ...

After Church this morning I was presented with the plans for my Stable (above). This is what I intend to make myself. I suppose it is not that early if I want to complete it for Christmas? I shall need help with the lighting I suspect.

Tomorrow when I go to pottery, I need to get the measurements of the models that I am painting, as they have to be to scale. Then I can decide on the size of the stable. I am looking forward to this project. It's certainly the earliest I have ever planned for Christmas!

The Welsh Proms

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the Welsh Proms tonight from someone in Church who could not attend. The Orchestra National De Ville was conducted by Owain Arwel Hughes CBE. It was a really super evening, the music brought a wonderful combination of music and a party atmosphere to St. David's Hall in Cardiff. The Promenaders were quite fun with their coloured balloons and their top hats, they were all cheering and clapping and were a joy to watch. It has always been my dream to attend the last night at the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in London, but that for me will remain a pipe dream on financial grounds alone, so I guess this is the next best thing.

The second piece played was Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No.1 This particular piece was my introduction to classical music in the early sixties and has remained a firm favourite ever since.

The last time I was in St David's Hall I was with my former husband, my friend and her husband. Little did I know then that she was going to have a raging affair with him and they would end up living together not far from the theatre!

I also reflected on my first visit there when it opened in the early eighties. I went on that occassion with another set of friends to see Victoria Wood. That friend is now a senior figure in the Church in Wales. I wonder if he is still a fan of Ms Wood?

Car park rage!

I popped over to Staples to buy some bits and pieces earlier and upon retuning to my car I found that the car next to me had parked so close I couldn't get back in my own vehicle. I was really annoyed, so after flashing my knickers to the world climbing over from the passenger side I wrote my temporary neighbour a note. It read:

Please ensure that when you are parking you leave room for

the person in the next bay to access their car ...

and try to park within your chosen bay,

not encroach on someone else's, it's not difficult!

I have never done anything like that before ever, but there are some things I have learned over the last three years, it's to look out for yourself and say what's on your mind. Others Do!

1st results in!

My exam marks for my first assignment for prose fiction came in the post this morning. I got a B+. I was delighted with this for a first ever University Assignment. I will continue as a part time student, but I will need to talk to someone at college about what credits I already have (photography), what I potentially have (the recently submitted assignment) and if I can mix 'n' match with the OU to get a degree. I can but ask.

However, I am well pleased with today's results!

Pottery Painting.

Hobby ceramics is a very different way of relaxing and at the same time creating something to keep, perhaps to give for a present or to mark an occasion. It is also a way to meet new friends in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere; and as in my case today in lovely surroundings.

I chose a milk jug to paint today, but had to choose something for the rest of the summer. I am going to do some pottery figures for my Christmas nativity.

I have been planning for months now to create my own nativity scene for next Christmas. I want to make the stable and the manger myself and was wondering about the figures. The original plan was to take the next five months or so looking around charity shops and car boot sales for them but how much more satisfying to make them. This is not possible in my regular pottery class as I have asked about it. They don't have the mould, but this place 'Crafty Ideas' will make the moulds, they make all their own to order. They make the mould and you get to use it afterwards.

These people, he is a wood turner and she is a 'crafty lady' much like myself, have got a really good thing going here in Newport. They have created their own professional craft barns, all done to building regulations, loo's and a kitchen, plus a room for kilns and firing, and one for storing hundreds of moulds. Their house, by comparison, looks small to what they have created around it, but it is a normal detached house in an ordinary road. A bit of forward thinking there at some point in time.

A great morning was had by all and I was lucky to get in as they are usually full. I was very envious of their set up I have to admit! Ahhh ... in another life!

Endings and beginnings

College finished today, and I decided I might find some enthusiasm for next semester by looking for poetry in the college library. I didn't.


I went down into town to see if Waterstones fared any better for my recommended summer reading. They didn't. I am still totally uninspired. I take heart from my last module, I didn't want to do Children's Writing and I ended up loving it, so who knows?


It was a bit sad to leave college this lunchtime. We were a nice little group, and not all are continuing with the creative writing, so there were some goodbye's. I hate goodbye's.


Tomorrow I am off to a summer class, pottery painting, that should be fun. Life moves on .....

Seasons of life.

I read this somewhere.


Old age, to the unlearned is winter.

To the learned it's harvest time.

Choose a beautiful Harvest.


What a nice way to look at things.

Tyre Pressure

Tyres need air! Up until now in my single life, I have been fortunate enough to have someone to do this chore for me - sons, servicing team, warranty checks, but today my luck ran out. I had a warning on the dashboard panel telling me that it needed doing, so it was solely down to me!



I picked up a friend and asked if she could pull a 'helpless' face. She tried, it was okay, and so off we went to a garage. Well, at first all seemed to go well, and then she announced that air seemed to be coming out! That wasn't the idea, and what's more, by this time a queue had formed.



We put on our 'helpless' faces and sure enough the guy behind us got out of his car and offered to help. Firstly he pointed out we hadn't pressed the start button.
'But we did have air' said my friend
'Yes, but that was from the guy in front of you' said the kind stranger.
'When the sound stops you have to press the start button again' he pointed out.
'Oh' said we two.



He proceeded to put the air in the tyre for which we thanked him profusely. When we drove away we laughed like drains. Well, how were we supposed to know that air release was timed? For goodness sake - whatever next!

Organ Recital.

The concert I went to tonight was held in order to raise money for the Organ Fund. It seems our Church organ is due for a service and we have to raise the money to service it. Sadly, it won't be from tonight's concert. There were very few people in the audience, and although the visiting Choir gave their talents for free, we had to pay for their transport, so I doubt there was very much money made for the fund. I think it was too soon after the Gwent Police concert, that was only a few weeks ago. Also we are right in the middle of the holiday season. It was very good though, the ladies choir had a very good repatoir.

The highlight for me was our organist who gave organ recitals in the middle of each half of the programme. He played spectacularly. The music he played was as follows:

Toccatina for flute - Yon

Tocatta from symphony no.5 - Widor

Tocatta & Fugue in D minor - Bach

Excerpt from the Organ Symphony - Saint Saens.

Needless to say he had a standing ovation. No wonders he plays at St. Davids.

3 lbs - on the dot!

Feeling very virtuous after 'toppin 'n' talin' my gooseberry's, I washed and weighed them. There are 3 lbs, not an ounce over or under. Spot on!

They are all safely bagged and tucked up in the freezer now waiting for my next visitor.

When I sat down with my coffee this morning, I spotted this in our parish magazine:

Together Forever

The older you get, the tougher it is to loose weight,

because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.

I like that!

P.Y.O

I had a nice day with Miss L in Monmouth. I was told that if I stripped the gooseberry bush of the fruit then I could have the fruit, so I did. It didn't take long and the weather was good for this job, not wet and not too hot. So now I have to wash, top 'n' tail and freeze them. I will have them on stand by for the winter months and if someone comes to lunch then I can do a gooseberry dessert - unless its Miss L, she doesn't like gooseberry's. That's how I got the ones from her garden!


It's MU tonight, then we break for the summer, resuming in September. This will give me time to think about this particular Branch and whether or not I am going to continue with it.

Poetry

The Sick Rose

O rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night
In the howling storm


Has found out they bed
Of crimson joy,
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

William Blake

My sister is delighted that my next module will be poetry. As I write she is out collecting books (poetry books that is) that she thinks I will need. When we spoke earlier she suggested that I look up this very popular poem by William Blake and explained to me, very patiently, the academic thinking behind it. It seems that the poem shares the common motifs of death and destruction, telling of a rose that has reached the end of its lifespan in the advent of the creeping winter. Hmmm...

I can see the words of the second verse are beautiful words, but what does it all mean? Unless you understand what poems mean, how can you write one? Perhaps that is what I will be learning, to understand it. Thank heavens it is prose as well!

Having handed in my assignment Ruby Beeswax Goes To The Seaside, I feel bereft. I am missing her antics! Considering I spent the last few days cursing her existence, I am quite surprised at myself!

Pondering the future.

This will be my tutor for next term at UWN. His name is Goff Morgan and I met him for the first time this morning. Hmmm, what do I think? Certainly different to the outgoing tutor.

I obviously know who he is, he was Newport's Official Poet from 1997 - 2000 and he has broadcast on BBC Radio Wales since 1991, currently speaking to the nation every Friday morning as part of the BBC Wales 'Here For You Events'.

The first noticeable thing about him is that he is loud. His speaking voice is loud and projects across the room. He trained as an actor, perhaps that's why. He could be Newport Uni's answer to Brian Blessed!

The next module is Poetry and Prose (what a surprise!). I do not have the slightest interest in writing poetry and a few of us voiced that thought this morning. He explained that it can be a balance either way. Either 75% Prose and 25% Poetry (which is my preferred option) or the other way about. But there is no doubt where his leaning is. He has a reputation among other students of being sloppy, not in his tuition, but on the marking side. How much notice we should take of that I do not know. I feel disinclined to work at the level I have been working at for a non-appreciative tutor, but he is a literary man and should, in theory, be interested in all aspects of the course.

The requirement of my acceptance at UWN is that I do a minimum of two terms in an academic year. I have some serious thinking to do over the summer holidays. I would like to continue to write, but poetry?

Barley Wood Walled Garden Pottery.

I went back to Barley Wood Walled Garden Pottery today to pick up the pots I made some weeks earlier. (see blog of 6th June 2009) I was thrilled to bits with the results. The bowl above was the first pot I have ever thrown on a wheel and I am chuffed to beans with the result.

The above piece is a gargoyle, created by yours truly! I suppose he could be a lot more ugly, but this piece still has to be painted, and I didn't fancy any more 'nooks and crannies' in his face as it will be hard enough to decorate as it is!!! We made four pieces in all and the other two are not bad either. I would call that venture a success.


We had lunch again in the lovely Walled Garden Cafe, which was delicious, and friend A and I just sat there drinking our real Somerset Dandelion and Burdock, just absorbing the views. What a super weekend I have had, that's two in a row. There must be a grey cloud on the horizon somewhere soon!

Meet Ruby Beeswax .....

'Ruby Beeswax just couldn't keep still; she was jumping up

and down and clapping her hands. Today she was going to the seaside ...'

I collected the illustrations for my story today. They were brilliant! I felt quite emotional when I saw them. My cousin's husband had done such a good job, and for me to see someone I had created in my head actually on paper was wonderful. The little water colour paintings were just what I had in mind, but sadly the one above has not transposed onto the blog very well, but they really are excellent. Huge thanks to D. xx


This final assignment story for this academic year goes in on Monday, then I am free until the new term starts in September. We haven't been told yet what the first module for the next term will be. I hope they will tell us soon, then I can do some reading through the summer. I am still unsure how I feel about children's writing. It was difficult with lots of restrictions, thus stemming the flow of creativity. However, overall it was enjoyable.


Later, I had a nice birthday lunch with my cousin. At that point the weather was good, but it deteriorated a little later on and now as I write it's raining. Saves me watering the garden I suppose!


Also today I was given some hanging basket tomato plants to come home with, which have now been liberally watered and carefully position in my garden on top of redundant pots (as I don't have to hang them up) who knows I might be picking my own tomatos soon!

This & That

This photograph on the left is where my friend and I went for a drink Wednesday night. It's very lovely there. She had been married about 500 hundred yards from this spot thirty+ years ago. I had no idea of this fact when I suggested we went to Caerleon for a drink Thursday night. We searched for the Registry Office and found someone who knew where it had been. It's gone now of course, but her memories live on.

It was my day at the Parish office today. One of my duties was to look for a baptism entry from somewhere between 1972 - 1975, I couldn't find it, so I decided to telephone the person and ask for more information. When I eventually got hold of her she was pleased to tell me she didn't think she had been baptised in our Church at all, but at another Church in a different part of town! If that person happens to be a random blog follower - cheers, thanks for wasting two hours of my time !!!

I hated those jobs when I was a Registrar and people would come into the Registry Office to look for Births, Marriage and Death certificates from the past. Hours of work, with so little information to go on! No wonder I couldn't settle into family history when I tried that. At least in the R.O I got paid for the searches, today's little time wasting exercise was all voluntary!




Well, Andy Murry is out of Wimbledon. Like the rest of the British public I am sorry about this, but the other guy, Andy Roddick, was a superb player and looked as fresh as a daisy at the end of the match! I guess the best man won.

Today I went to the swings ...

Having a friend to stay at short notice for two days and two nights finds you wondering how to entertain them. This week was especially challenging for me as I have my Final Assignment for college to complete. It's due in on Monday. I managed - I had to. (That's the story of my life !)



We took a picnic to the Cwmcarn Scenic Drive and after lunch we played in the kiddies play park (!) It was good fun. I stopped after the swings ( There was no slide - WHY?) but my friend kept trying out these new fangled chains that you walk/balance on. Not me, I didn't fancy chancing a broken ankle!



Later when the weather was cooler, we went for a drink down on the coast. Back to reality tomorrow, finishing the assignment ready for presentation on July 6th. Just as well I was ahead of myself !