Bisged, Dewi and Trebor

I found this item on my saucer after finishing my tea at a local inn - if you think creatively you can clearly tell what it is!

It's a biscuit, aka bisged!

We also came across a new Christian name we'd not encountered before - Dewi. It's not pronounced like the Dewey decimal system, but more like 'Debbie', but as if you have a speech impediment and can't say your 'b's:  deh-wee. It's a common Welsh masculine name!

Here's another weird one:

Trebor Jones, not Trevor! I think the name was given by someone who'd just had anesthesia at the dentist and couldn't form their lips properly to say Trevor and it stuck!

Water Meeting

We attended the Chester University's CLiCC (Center for Living with Climate Change) forum to discuss water availability, controls, preservation and quality last week at the Cross Keys coffee house in our town. 

The research project sought input from community members and locals in an informal setting.

We met many interesting and like-minded people from our community, and heard more about the Cain Valley River Group. They are looking for someone to take up the reins as they have run out of steam and leadership ... 

Does it have my name on it ... ? I need some time before I jump in and get my feet wet, but I'm thrilled to hear they want volunteers to help in the town's wetland project, and removal of ... Japanese knotweed. What am I waiting for?

South Africans in Wales

The Amazon delivery guy who stopped by last week was a South African from Durban, my birthplace. As soon as he greeted me, I knew right away he was one of us, and asked "where are you from?" He'd grown up in Kloof, where Dale once taught High school. His accent was unmistakably from our part of the world.

Also, we recently bought a drawer set from someone in our town, and found out he was originally from Krugersdorp, in South Africa. He sports Springbok rugby paraphernalia and a S.A. flag emblazoned on a cap or sleeve, but his accent and name, de Kock, are also a dead giveaway.

We gave our local butcher the spices and recipe to make South African sausage (Boerewors, pronounced "Bu-ra-vors.”) and came home with 7kg of it! I need more space in my freezer now:  there were 6 packs like this:

Oh man! It's so good Heaven in a sausage 😊

Shopping

We had a quick lunch at the Charlie's shopping complex. It offered a great view

over which to sip our drinks

Then we added Morrisons to our list of grocery shopping experiences. I was so very pleased to see I could buy loose (not pre-packaged) produce - oranges and mushrooms were available this way, and small brown bags are provided for this! Yay, Morrisons. They also have a deli section, and sell lamb samosas - yum!

I've compared prices across 4 grocery stores, and the basics I buy are the same or very, very similar in price across them all. Some stores are better for variety (Tesco, especially alcohol), some better for bulk buys (Morrisons, Sainsburys), loose produce (Morrisons) and some for their meat selection (Aldi).

 Aldi Price Matches are advertised at all grocery stores, clearly indicating they're the baseline. But Aldi stocks aren't always consistent, and the checkout process can be rather hectic.

This summer our local Tesco has had its fridges break down on 3 occasions, so Aldi across the street has benefitted from their losses. 

Interestingly, we've encountered more people we 'know' or recognise in grocery stores and about town in Wales, than we ever did in Maine!