Bleanavon - Visit 3

The Pit Head Baths

If someone had said to me a month ago that it would take me three full day to really explore the heritage town of Blaenavon I would have disagreed. Yet, it has taken my friend and I just that - three trips up the valley and we are considering another one. 

The cafe in the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre is well worth a visit.  Clean, affordable and delicious food, all cooked freshly; with all cakes home made by the young women who run it.

Much more than just the baths are here.

It is wonderful that all these museums are free of charge.  An educational place to take children in the long school holidays with minimum expense to the parents.  Literally, a mine of history!

ANOTHER New start!

Bleanavon Iron works, remainder of the tower.





Stack Square where the BBC series 'The Coal House' was filmed


Having had two very informative visits to Blaenavon Heritage Town recently, I have decided to have yet another attempt at this Blog! Why I don't keep it up I don't know.  I enjoyed Blogging for over two years, but somehow I lost the plot!  Let's see if I can keep up the momentum this time.

The Heritage museum in Blaenavon is very informative and the food in the Cafe is delicious, all home made cakes and scones and freshly prepared meals at extremely competitive prices. Within walking distance is Stack Square (pictured above).  'The Coal House' series on the BBC was filmed here, but it has now been turned into a museum. The Industrial history is celebrated at this revealing site.  It is one of Europe's best preserved 18th century Ironworks.  We are fortunate in South East Wales to have such a legacy from the Industrial Revolution on our doorstep to study.  I doubt that the people who lived through it at the time thought that though!

New Blog ...

Hello Everyone,

If anyone who followed missjonesonline stumbles upon this post then please join me again at missjonesjournal.blogspot.com It will be good to catch up again.

Re-opening of the Transporter Bridge 2010

The re-opening of the transporter bridge was met with much enthusiasm for those of us who have lived in Newport for many years and for people born and bred in the town/city. A few days after the opening my friend and I went over in her car. It is all done electronically now and we were giggling like school girls when recalling the days when it was operated from the gondola itself and we cranked our way over. This is so different. We reached the other side in about 45 seconds. well that's progress I suppose, at least its running again!

I went again as a foot passenger when another friend when we did the dragon trail. It was a blustery day, but I managed to get these photos (below) of the SDR bridge and a view down the Usk from the middle of the river, which you cannot get unless you use the transporter bridge or are on a boat of course!





There is a notice on the Pill side of the bridge showing the charge for the crossing 50p for a car 20p for a foot passenger. Each time I have done it there has been no charge. I wonder why?





Both trips, although very different, were super experiences and long may this wonderful monument stay open!

Revival!

Having made a decision not to continue with this blog I stood by it for two and a half months! Then friends (followers) persuaded me to start up again. Why? There is nothing controversial ever written here, well nothing that couldn't be challenged anyway, rants about MU and tales of the valleys can get a bit monotonous. Pictures of my very armature pottery is mostly what is on here anyway. Sooo, I will give it another go for a while. It will give me a chance to practise writing as I
am still plodding on with the college creative writing course!

On Tuesdy I did the dragon trail with a friend. What is that,I can here people who don't live in Newport asking their PC screens? Well,it is a celebration of Newport's vibrant art scene (yes, we have one apparantly) and the dragons pictured on this blog, showcase a cross section of work from some of the areas leading artists.







Newport superdragons is the result of many months of hard work from a truly amazing group of people. Sadly after they were placed around the city, seventy of them I believe, some were very quickly vandalised. Predicable in any city I suppose.




I wonder how the sculptors felt about that, and the school children who designed the smaller ones? In society today there is always a small element of people who will spoil it for the rest. It spoiled the trail too. A super idea for locals and tourists to follow the map of where they are situated and read about them or photograph them. But because the vandalised ones had to be removed, repaired and then were put back in safer environments, meant that the printed trail map was not correct. It must be disheartening for the organisers of this event, which is part of the Newport Festival summer, a fore runner to the Ryder Cup. One wonders what will happen when that comes to town. You can bet there will be someone out there waiting to try and disrupt that too.

Raku 2010

An internal Raku day at pottery yesterday provided three pieces of Raku which are satisfactory. If I don't give up this summer, then next term I need to revive some interest and become more creative. I dislike large pieces (unless they are very large and very good) so I was disappointed that this pot was on the primary list to create.



The blend of water based Raku finishes has worked worked on this piece,giving it a copper lustre look.




The three 'poured pieces' for yesterday session (Pics of the other two to follow).




Above is the mould used for the pouring. It is filled with liquid clay (slip) then left for twenty minutes before the residue of the sli is poured out. The remainder left for a week to set before being carefully extracted from the mold.

The facts of predication.

The swans taken in February in the snow.

I visited the Wetlands today with Anne my friend. As this was her first visit I was keen to show her the family of swans that I had been photographing over the winter. They were nowhere to be seen. In the coffee shop on the way back I asked where they were. One of the Reserve wardens told me the whole family, with the exception of the cob, had been wiped out, eaten by foxes.

Swans are elegant creatures. We grow up with them on the pages of books, especially fairy tales. Their pure white feathers compliments the lovely curvature of their neck. However, swans can be aggressive birds, and their beating wings can break a mans arm so we are told. They protect their territories from other swans, and from strangers, but it appears that this family could not defend themselves from the urban foxes that prowl the wetlands area at night. They were all wiped out, the pen and the six cygnets. The cob survived the attack - just. We were told he was miserable for a few days but is now making good ground and back on the water.


Anne and I were sad to hear this, but reasoned that predication is all part of the animal kingdom. However, I was surprised to hear that a fox can kill an adult swan, but then I know very little about these things. The Reserve warden explained that if a fox gets the swan by the neck it disempowers the swan. Whatever the circumstances it's a fact of life I suppose, but a terribly sad one.

Cabage leaf bowl

I was rather disappointed with the way this project turned out. The leaves are super and the colour has come out well, but not the 'whitish' stalk in the middle of the main leaf. Never mind, this is what pottery is all about isn't it - trial and error? At least I got this project fired within a two month period.