Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Now I know why it's so green!

After enjoying a cup of tea sitting in the garden in Pj’s it was time to rouse ourselves and get organized for the trip to Wales. First stop was a dash onto Marks & Sparks for a pair of shorts – well today was warmer than expected! – five items later we headed to the  supermarket to shop for 12 people.
The journey took a couple of hours through beautiful countryside. It’s amazing how many different shades of green there are. We were directed through the cottage by imposing white posts and held our breath as the car moved through within a hairs breadth of tearing of the wing mirrors.
We were greeted by a rather dour Welsh lady who showed us around. The five bedrooms  are large and with great views – all you see are green fields, mountains, sheep and cattle. Once unpacked, cup of tea and welcome cake later we headed out to find where the local hostelry was – save us cooking for one night!
The countryside is lovely, so lush compared to when I visit in the winter. Rhododendrons of all colours are in full bloom and there are  many wildflowers. The  walk was followed by a laze in the hot tub with G & T  in  hand and views to die for!


Dinner was cooking in the oven when Justin and family arrived. It was a little surreal as Ivy and Benny got out of the car and acted as if they had seen me last weekend and not 18 months ago! We couldn’t remember when Justin had last seen his aunt and uncle but time just vanishes. Ivy and Benny were keen to be shown around the house and they are in the rooms up in the attic – lovely beams, amazing views but low doorways. Justin has lost count of the number of times he’s cracked his head!!
Dinner had started when my brother, s-i-l, and nephew arrived. My side of the family were now together for the first time in 12 years. It was a rowdy affair and for poor Lauren it was like baptism by fire! I loved the fact that Ivy and Benny carried on as if this was a usual affair.
Monday dawned bright with weak sunshine so we took the opportunity to head to the nearest beach half an hour away. Interesting to see that a few people were in their sleeveless tops behind windbreaks whilst I had three layers on! The wind was very strong and really quite cold and nothing enticed us to run barefoot in the sand. Ivy and Benny enjoyed kicking the sand  their wellies.
After a while a coffee or ice cream was on the menu. On the way back for lunch we stopped at the local supermarket where I & B have found comics with toys attached – Ivy now talks on her ‘phone’  whilst wearing pretty red earrings and Benny enjoys his ‘ phone’ and carrying a pretty blue purse – they really are funny.
Unfortunately there don’t seem to be many walks around here but we persevered and found a quiet lane to amble along. The countryside is lovely and watching Red Kites (birds) in flight, lambs running around and babbling brooks is very relaxing.
After our afternoon ritual of sitting in the hot tub we got the ‘boys’ onto the barbecue – there were only a few spits of rain!
Tuesday dawned cloudy, grey and raining – the weather app finally got it right. Had a mooch around the town after the, now daily, supermarket visit – I can’t remember what was on the comics today!
Left Justin and family to their own plans and sis, b-i-l and I made a sandwich and headed out to a craft centre. Before entering the centre we did the very English “Let’s sit in the car to eat our sandwich as it’s peeing down!”
 Some of the Welsh crafts were interesting but the most interesting was the Gin distillery. They made three different types from foraged botanicals. Did I want try one? Why not! Wow at 45% proof they knocked your head off. I told my sis, who has a cold, that she should have had a taste as I’m sure that would have cured her.
Later in the afternoon Kerry and Richard arrived and when my brother and family popped in  it was bedlam.

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