A Wale(s) of a Time (Part II)

It's deja vu all over again - Yogi Berra

Photo 1: Clock Tower, Twyn Square, Usk (Nov 25)

A few days after arriving back in Hereford from our weekend break in Llanbister, we were heading off to Wales again for a short one-night stay in Usk or Brynbuga in Welsh. The main reason for staying in Usk, apart from it being a pretty little town, was a visit to the pantomime, Brynbugadoon. This is always a family-friendly pantomime presented by the Usk Panto Players with a script written by local author, Julie McGowan.

We stayed in a lovely cottage a short walk from the town centre. But I'm getting ahead of myself because before arriving in Usk we visited Raglan Castle, a few miles to the north of Usk.

Photo 2: Raglan Castle (Nov 25)

As members of English Heritage, we get free entry to Cadw properties. We unfortunately arrived as it started to rain so our visit was necessarily brief. This is a compact and interesting castle dating from the 15th Century with later additions.

Photo 3: Moat, Raglan Castle

CADW have made an effort with some interesting artefacts located around the castle ruins. For example, this one is placed where the library used to be ...

Photo 4: Library, Raglan Castle

... and this contraption (designed and built by one of the castle owners) was an early version of a tray warmer designed to keep the food warm.

Photo 5: Early English Renaissance Plate Warmer

We attended the panto in the evening and it was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone present. Another bonus: we won another raffle prize!

The following day we had a look around Usk itself. Unfortunately, the museum was closed for the winter but the locals were very friendly. We wandered up and down the high street visiting Twyn Square where this Georgian House (Photo 6) was available to buy for £1,000,000 ...

Photo 6: Grade 2 Listed Georgian House, Twyn Square, Usk

We strolled up to the privately-owned Usk Castle but this was also closed for the winter ...

Photo 7: Entrance to Usk Castle

... and it was difficult to get a good view of the castle remains (Photo 8) ...

Photo 8: Usk Castle from the Car Park

The ruins do not appear to be as extensive as those of Raglan Castle but the gardens are apparently worth visiting.

Before going back to the car for the journey home, we popped into the Priory Church of St Mary where the organist was playing (Video 1) the Gray & Davison organ (built 1861) that was relocated from Llandaff Cathedral in 1900.

Video 1: Gray & Davison Organ, Priory Church, Usk

The organ is rather unusual (to my eyes) with its horizontal pipes (Photo 9) ...

Photo 9: Horizontal Pipes of the Gray & Davison Organ, Usk

... but I don't know much about pipe organs.

Just one night away but a nice break.

Happy New Year 2025

 HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025

We celebrated from the warmth of our Hereford home with a glass of non-alcoholic ginger wine. We did stay up to watch the fireworks and light show from London, though. Impressive as always ...

I always think London does this sort of celebration rather well ...

LONDON

However, you might have other ideas ...

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

HONG KONG

DUBAI

PARIS

RIO, BRAZIL

Capital Cardiff

After visiting Worcester on the Monday, the very next day (12/11/24) we caught the train to Cardiff for another away day. Mary said she hadn't been to Cardiff before until I reminded her we had visited the Ikea store there; this would have been 15 or so years ago when we were setting up a couple of letting rooms for students. I had visited Cardiff a number of times during my BP career because I tutored a couple of PhD students there. On this visit, the main attraction was Cardiff Castle following a recommendation from Mary's sister who had visited last year.

After entering the castle via the South Gate, the central area was a hive of activity getting ready for the Winter Wonderland event due to open in a few days time.

Photo 1: View from Entrance Looking North to the Norman Keep

Photo 2 was taken from the eastern battlements near the entrance to the wartime tunnels. A trebuchet can be seen in the foreground, while along the skyline from left to right are the South Gate (and Black Tower),  the Clock Tower, the Manor House (centre) and the Norman keep (far right).

Photo 2: Inside Cardiff Castle Looking Westward (November 2024)

Entry to the castle costs £15.50 per adult or £12.50 if you are old codgers like us. We paid an extra £4 pp for a guided tour of the House which was well worth the extra.

First port of call was the cafe, located in the same building as the ticket office, for a cup of tea and a toasted teacake. The staff were very friendly as you would expect in Wales. In the basement of this building is a mural called the Roman Chariot Corner ...

Photo 3: Roman Chariot Corner

The mural was designed and made by artist Frank Abraham between 1981-1983, using cement and plaster with a metallic gold paint finish. Photo 3 shows only a small part of the mural albeit the most impressive part. Entrance to the Firing Line, a museum dedicated to Welsh soldiers, can also be found in the basement.

We dashed off for our midday tour of the house and spent an hour looking around this ornate Victorian makeover. The first room we entered was in the Clock Tower (Photo 4) ...

Photo 4: The Clock Tower

... and was the Winter Smoking Room (Photo 5) where the gentlemen retired after dinner for drinks and smoking ...

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Photo 5: The Winter Smoking Room

... followed by the children's nursery with its painted mural depicting various fairy tales ...

Photo 6: Children's Nursery

The Banqueting Hall was magnificent having originally been 5 bedrooms before its makeover ...

Photo 7: The Banqueting Hall

Photo 8: Minstrels' Gallery, Banqueting Hall

As with lots of artefacts in the house, there are stories to be told. For example, the fireplace (Photo 9) depicts Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, as a knight on horseback (Robertus Consul). An illegitimate son of King Henry I, he was the chief military supporter of his half-sister, Empress Maud, in the civil war (The Anarchy) against Stephen, King of England. Just to the left of Robert, there is a person behind bars - this is Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, who was imprisoned (house arrest) in Cardiff Castle for the last 8 years of his life until he died aged 83.

Photo 9: Fireplace, Banqueting Hall

A rather unusual room, The Roof Garden, is only open to those paying extra for the guided tour. Roman-themed, it sits at the top of the Bute Tower and was open to the outside elements. Unfortunately, the rain for which Wales is famous was damaging the structure and furnishings; it is now protected by a plastic tarpaulin which you can see above the tiled roof.

Photo 10: The Roof Garden

One of the last rooms we visited was The Arab Room, possibly the most ornate of all the rooms. We were told the room itself was valued at £15 million, presumably because of the copious use of gold leaf in the decorative finish.

Photo 11: Ceiling of the Arab Room

Thanks to the immense wealth acquired by the 2nd Marquess of Bute from the development of Cardiff Docks, the 3rd Marquess of Bute had an open chequebook to restyle Cardiff Castle - and his chosen architect, William Burges, spared no expense.

After another visit the the Castle cafe, this time for soup and bread, we headed off to the National Museum Wales but only had time to look around the natural history section before heading for our train back to Hereford.

A tiring but rewarding day. Another visit is planned to cover the bits we didn't see (e.g. Cardiff Bay, Techniquest) and a deeper dive into the National Museum.

Royal Worcester

We had a couple of days with nothing planned so, rather than stay at home, we decided on two day trips. The first was to Worcester, the historic county seat (town) of Worcestershire. There are excellent road and rail links between Hereford and Worcester; the 25-30 mile journey takes about the same time (45 minutes) whether travelling by car or train. So we took the latter.

Photo 1: A Gulp of Magpies, Hereford (November 2024)

The walk to the station is just under a mile and takes about 20 minutes at Mary's walking speed. On the way, Mary spotted a rather large number of magpies roosting in a tree on a bit of wasteland as we approached the station. There was probably a score or more - not all of them in the picture I took - of non-breeding magpies. In the garden we usually see anything from one to three magpies in a group. A group of magpies is known by many names including, but not exclusively, a conventicle, a gulp, a mischief, a tiding, a tribe and a tittering.

Worcester is famous for many things, among them are Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, Royal Worcester Porcelain, and the composer Edward Elgar but not the monkey wrench (as Google's Gemini reported) - that was Worcester, USA! Unfortunately, being a Monday, quite a few places were shut including the Museum of Royal Worcester.

One thing Worcester does have in abundance is swans ...

Photo 2: Swans on the River Severn at Worcester (November 2024)

... largely down to the establishment of swan sanctuary along this stretch of the River Severn in the 1980s; angling is banned in the sanctuary which has reduced accidental deaths by ingestion of lead fishing weights¹ and entanglement in discarded fishing line. The Swan Food Project was set up to provide a source of nutritious pellets for the swans - available to buy at local retailers.

[Note 1: Fishing with lead weights was banned in 1987 though legacy lead weights still turn up every now and then]

This explained why the mute swans made a beeline for the river path shore, where we were standing, in the hope of a food bonanza.

Photo 3: Hungry Swans?

We spent a little while in The Hive, the main city and university library, before heading via the swans to the Watergate entrance to Worcester Cathedral. This is the final resting place of John, King of England (1199 - 1216) ...

Photo 4: King John's Tomb, Worcester Cathedral (November 2024)

Photo 5: Worcester Cathedral from the River (Severn) Path (November 2024)

Worcester Cathedral (length = 130 m, width = 44 m, height = 62 m) is noticeably longer than Hereford Cathedral (length = 104 m, width = 78 m, height = 50 m) though not as wide.

Photo 6: Looking towards the West Window

Photo 7: Worcester Cathedral Looking towards the High Altar

Levels of ornamentation are much higher in Worcester Cathedral whether that is the painted ceilings ...

Photo 8: Painted Ceiling, Worcester Cathedral

... or the grandiose tombs ...

Photo 9: Tomb of a Local Dignitory

I have to include a photograph of the altar frontal. Mary, as head broderer at Hereford Cathedral, wasn't overly impressed ...

Photo 10: Altar Frontal, Worcester Cathedral (November 2024)

And, finally, there was a photographic exhibition in the Chapter House showing the naves of all 42 Anglican Cathedrals ...

Photo 11: Peter Marlow, The English Cathedral Exhibition

One thing we didn't see were the peregrine falcons that nest regularly at Worcester Cathedral - wrong time of year.

We made our way slowly back to the railway station (Foregate Street) arriving back home in the dark around 6 pm. Tired (14,000 steps) but happy.

Classic Vinyl #2 Stevie Wonder - Innervisions

 A talent like Stevie Wonder only comes along once in a generation. A multi-instrumental singer/songwriter/producer who signed up to his first record deal (Tamla Motown) aged 11 and had his first #1 hit when only 13. Born 6 weeks premature in 1950 as Stevland Hardaway Judkins, he was blind virtually from birth. He is still performing and active musically.

Innervisions was released in 1973 which makes my copy 51 years old; and it still plays beautifully. See here for a bit more on the story behind this album.

Front Cover

Back Cover

I've included all the tracks from the album below, courtesy of YouTube (sorry about the ads), so you too can appreciate this wonderful music. You can still buy copies on vinyl or you might be lucky and find second-hand copies in record stalls, shops, e-bay, etc.

My favourite track is Living in the City but it is a close call.

SIDE ONE

Too High

Visions

Living for the City

Golden Lady

SIDE TWO

Higher Ground

Jesus Children of America

All in Love is Fair

Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing

He's Misstra Know-it-All

Bicester Trip and Snowshill Manor

 Having already visited two National Trust properties (Chastleton House and Waddesdon Manor) on our long weekend trip to Bicester, we went for the hat-trick by stopping off at Snowshill Manor & Garden on the journey home.

Photo 1: Snowshill Manor (September 2024)

The manor (village and land) dates back to at least 821 CE/AD when it was gifted to Winchcombe Abbey by the King of Mercia. In the Domesday Book (1086 CE), Snawesille was valued at £5 and included 12 villagers, 2 smallholdings, 6 slaves and 72 oxen (or 9 plough teams). After the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1539), it became Crown property and was included in the dowry to Henry VIII's sixth and last queen, Catherine Parr in 1543. It is around this time that the current building was established.

Several owners later and following a 150 year period of farm tenancies, the house and grounds were purchased by Charles Wade in 1919. Wade was an inveterate collector of artefacts and he made numerous additions and modifications to Snowshill Manor to house his collection. The eclectic collection of over 22,000 items include Samurai armour, bicycles, carriages, musical instruments, and much more.

Photo 2: Some of the Many Musical Instruments on Display at Snowshill Manor

Wade also had a workshop on-site where he constructed models houses, boats, etc. In the gardens, you will find an example of his craftemenship at Wolf's Cove, a model fishing village ...

Photo 3: Wolf's Cove at Snowshill Manor

The gardens comprise a series of garden rooms and are sizeable but not extensive; there is an orchard and kitchen garden as well as more floral displays. 

Photo 4: Garden View from the Workshop (Snowshill Manor)

There is an excellent cafe/tearoom at Snowshill. We had a really tasty curried cauliflower pastie. There are toilets at reception and the Manor. It is a 500-yard walk from the car park/reception to the Manor along a smooth, but at times steep, path. We took the golf buggy to the Manor and walked back to the Car Park.

The house has several storeys accessed by stairways that you need to consider if you have accessibility issues. The garden has uneven paths and quite a few steps.

The Priest's House and the Workshop are also worth a visit.

The Wade family owned sugar plantations in St Kitts and Charles spent his time between Snowshill and St Kitts. Previous generations of the Wade family had slaves and were recompensed for their 'loss' following the abolition of slavery in 1833. Charles Wade never owned slaves but obviously benefitted financially from the slave trade practised by his ancestors. The National Trust does not hide this fact though it doesn't advertise it either.

Bicester Trip and Waddesdon Manor

 Following on from my earlier blogpost, while staying in Bicester we paid a visit to Waddesdon Manor. We had visited Waddesdon on two previous occasions: the first time when our youngest daughter was married at the Dairy, and, the second time, when we were passing and needed refreshments/facilities at this National Trust property. The second occasion turned out to be very brief after we turned around in the car park when we discovered the facilities were a shuttle bus ride away (or a 20-30 minute walk).

Waddesdon Manor is a French Renaissance-Style Chateau built by the English branch of the Rothschilds.

Photo 1: Waddesdon Manor (1st Sept 2024)

As National Trust Members, we have free entry to the house & grounds but on this occasion paid an extra £6 per head to attend the Chilli Festival held in the grounds.

Photo 2: Chilli Festival, Waddesdon Manor (1st September 2024)

There were lots of stalls selling various chilli-containing products (tea, cheese, seeds & nuts, sauces, jams, pickles, ice cream, etc), chilli plants and more. Most, if not all, products could be tasted before buying (or not). Plus a large selection of hot (as in temperature) and cold food emporiums catering for the many hungry customers.

Music and entertainment was provided throughout the afternoon including the infamous chilli eating competition where eight brave (or, possibly, foolish) men and women work their way through increasingly hotter chillies (Photo 3). The winner is the last man/women standing - sick bags and milk drinks are provided though you are immediately disqualified if you use either!

Photo 3: Chilli Eating Competition

The Scoville Scale is used to classify the pungency (heat) of chilli peppers. I grow Jalapeno peppers in my polytunnel using a QuadGrow Veg/Salad Planter.

Photo 4: Home-Grown Jalapeno Chilli Peppers

These chillies are rated somewhere between 2500 and 8000 on the Scoville Scale. Out of the 10 types of chilli used in the chilli eating competition, Jalopeno was, I think, the 9th hottest with a Scoville rating of 2500 - 8000. From memory, in second spot was the Californian Reaper, rated at over 2,000,000 on the Scoville Scale, and nobody except the winner could get pass this one.

The Bubble Wizard was a popular attraction especially for the children ...

Video 1: The Bubble Wizard

Video 2: The Bubble Wizard

Video 3: The Bubble Wizard

And for the older visitors, a chance to look round the magnificent gardens ...

Photo 5: Parterre, Waddesdon Manor (September 2024)

Photo 6: Parterre, Waddesdon Manor (September 2024)

Photo 7: Parterre, Waddesdon Manor (September 2024)

The 'Flights of Fancy' exhibition in the house and gardens was current during our visit ...

Photo 8: 'Flights of Fancy', Waddesdon Manor (September 2024)

Photo 9: 'Flights of Fancy', Waddesdon Manor (September 2024)

... linked to established Aviary at Waddesdon ...

Photo 10: Aviary at Waddesdon (September 2024)

We only had time for a short walk round the pleasure gardens where you can see the Elephant Family ...

Photo 11: Life-sized Indian Elephant Sculptures

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.. with no time to visit the extensive parkland ...

Photo 12: Parkland at Waddesdon

We both enjoyed our visit to Waddesdon Manor and hope to return sometime soon. We still have to do the house tour and many of the walks or attend one of the many events.