Land of Dragons

Dragons (draigs) have historically featured in Welsh folklore as symbols of might, strength and national pride. 

It is said that the red dragon of the native Britons defeated the white dragon of the invading saxons to claim Wales' sovereignty

  

A young Merlin (Myrddin, pronounced mur-thin) features in one of the Welsh myths about the battling dragons and how they disrupted the building of a castle

Charlies

There's a shopping complex near Welshpool known as Charlies - it's like a sprawled out country mall on what was once the farmland associated with Powis castle. 

The assortment of things available here vary from tractors to plants, livestock feed to clothing, kitchenwares (but not general groceries) to candles, specialty foods and wines to hardware, tools, and screws ...

We visited last week to get a feel for all that's available there, to do an explore without an agenda

There's a large free (noteworthy in the U.K.) car park, a restaurant, benches and pleasant walkways

And there's this goofy looking sheep statue in the foyer! What???

Patterning Fascination

 

Studying for Test

We're having to study for our Learner's Permit to drive, all over again, as if we were 18 and starting from scratch. How is it then that we can drive untested and unopposed for the first year on our foreign license, but must thereafter take a road and theory test? Our current S.A. (old version, no longer accepted) and U.S. licenses just aren't transferable in our situation. It makes no sense, since driving is driving, and if I can safely be allowed to drive on the roads as a visitor, why does it change after a year?

We have to have been in the country for 185 days before we can take a Learner's test (that will be around October), and then there is a shortish waiting list to do a road test, all of which we must accomplish within a year. After that, driving will only be permitted with a licensed driver accompanying us since our licences are 'provisional' until we qualify and pass. Does any of this make sense? So convoluted, and unnecessary.

Some of the funniest phrasings we've come across is the very British understated way of saying things, such as:

some areas have 'traffic-calming measures,' (roundabouts, humps, etc)

and

a failure to change one's speed after a speed limit delimiter is regarded as 'a failure to proceed'

There is to be no lurching of driver or passengers while doing a road test - it must be 100% smooth!

There are 758 practice test questions online, and a total of 307 highway code rules. Some questions are directly related to using a manual vehicle, and others are very specifically about first aid techniques at an accident scene - those aren't difficult.

Cat Burglar

We walked into the kitchen one morning to find this peculiar situation - it was not how we left the kitchen the night before.

On top of the hob, where the splatter guard was placed over a potato and a leftover hunk of roast pork in a cast iron pan and forgotten overnight, was this:

Just a potato. Something had helped itself to a piece of meat, and we didn't wake when the splatter guard fell to the floor. I thought we had a creature living in the house (mouse? rat?), but Dale realized right away that leaving our windows open overnight to let cool air in allows marauding cats to visit and prowl through at night. The window opening (no fly screens) is wide enough and low enough (aided by a few totes stored just outside the dining room window) for furry, four-legged cat burglars to have the run of the house!

We've seen probably 4 different cats in our yard at different times during the day up until now, and Dale saw one strolling through the garage into our utility room on one occasion. We didn't catch the guilty critter red-handed, but we believe we've worked it out. So, I did a thorough clean of our kitchen counters, we've adjusted our lower window settings, opened upper fanlights wider and I've also made a note not to be so forgetful about putting food away at night.

We live and learn!

My Heart Weeps

I can't let this go ...

Say their names aloud:

Pretti, Goode, and Guerrero -

Murdered innocents.

Hazardous Door Handles

Never mind bed knobs and broomsticks, what about door handles and doorknobs? Some of our interior doors have door handles, and others have doorknobs.

          

On two occasions now, I've had trouble with door handles, or rather, my t-shirts have had trouble with door handles. They're at the exact height to be able to slip under my sleeve as I walk past, and I've found this to be hazardous when I'm carrying something I don't want to spill.

The jerk is so sharp and unexpected that my sudden stop results in what I'm carrying to propel forward - last night a wine glass flew off the tray, smashing on my tile floor of course (Ha! Lucky we brought so many of our glasses over in the container)

.

Last week as I was taking a rotten mango outside on a cutting board, a different shirt got caught on a different door handle and stopped me in my tracks, jerking the mess off the board onto the carpet. Argh! I feel like such a klutz when I do these things.

Staying Local

This little adventure took me to our town's butcher, hairdresser, charity shop and laundromat, all bipedally. Charity shops in the U.K. are a lot like a thrift store, but they're 'cause' based and not-for-profit. That's the £1 rack on the sidewalk.

Our local High street store is run by the North Montgomeryshire Volunteer Bureau to fund their community car scheme, where volunteers drive elderly or disabled people to appointments, social activities and local services. The organization covers the cost of gas and parking.

After that, I did some yardwork, of course, on my own two feet

and was able to run away from some fussy wasps, mostly bipedally.

One sting only.

PLAS Fest

PLAS (Pints, Live Acts, Smokin' BBQ) Fest is a one day summer event, where local artists perform at the beer garden attached to an old pub, built in 1702. It's loud! Here's our neighbor's band sweating and performing in our heatwave - they even got quite a few people dancing, despite the exhausting heat.

They were facing the sun, and it looked really tough for them while we sat under shady tents.

 

The pub provided a BBQ banquet for £20pp for this occasion. The poor chef cooking over the hot fire! We had a selection of the following, which was a great feast:

Local Shepherd

 Area man takes on shepherding task

to investigate excessive bleating from the hill above

on a blistering hot day in sunny Wales

It seems they were merely feeling the heat, bleating their complaints, and congregating in a shaded glade.

Admire the Admiral

Velvety and lush -

Wings like silk; colors quite drab:

Impressive details.

This gorgeous creature was happy to sit with me for quite some time - I think its bulbous-tipped antennae are fascinating and beautiful. Its open wings are very colorful.

Heather and the Heath

 This gorgeous heath landscape is full of drama,

 and fine detail. The holes in this evergreen heather have been drilled by bees seeking a shortcut to the nectar.

View from the heathlands down into the valley where the town of Llanymawddwy nestles

The Tip

Our local Transfer station (recycling depot) is about 20 minutes away, in Welshpool, in the same town as we do our grocery shopping. We were very impressed with the level of granularity they go to in sorting recyclables as they are dropped off.

There are separate dumpsters and bins for carpets, lumber, metal, e-cigarettes, batteries, hard plastics, household plastics, small appliances, light bulbs cardboard, printer cartridges, furnishings and mattresses, etc, etc.

We had an assortment of things to get rid of, and of course had a lot of questions. When I asked what invasives were NOT permitted in the garden waste, the answer was 'diapers, plastics, etc'! I expected to be given a list of plants, such as Japanese knotweed, but I was told that people are too lazy or uninformed to be able to go to that level of detail. However, the facility sorts through the green waste Noxious weeds are removed and burned by the workers. The rest of the garden material is

 "taken to a composting facility in Carmarthenshire. Here it is shredded prior to undergoing 'open windrow' composting. This process involves mixing the shredded material and storing it in large open air bays. The material is turned periodically to aerate it and allow full breakdown throughout the load, and the process can take several months (typically around 16 weeks) to produce the final compost output." Powys Garden Waste

There is a 'Choose to Reuse' section in the facility. All items must be in proper working order and not in need of repair. Items are sold at low prices, they aren't free.

Severn River Picnic

The river Severn (Afon Severn) runs through Newtown, just 45 minutes from home, and is quite a hub by Wales standards. No wait, that should read Newtown is situated along the Severn, since the river was here first.

We stopped and picnicked at Dolerw Park (Supposedly pronounced similar to 'dol-arrow' with rolling r sounds. X marks the spot) on one of our scenic drives. It's a well maintained green space 

There's a network of paths and picnic benches to facilitate enjoyment of this tranquil space

So many fish paddling and swarming in the amber shallows

A footbridge across the river gives access to both sides of the river

So peaceful, and shady as well!

We had so much food left over from our previous day of feasting, that it took just 5 minutes to put together a picnic lunch.