Welsh Words You See In Wales: free parking!

Problem
How to pick up Welsh words easily?

Answer
Just translate the words you see regularly.

Fishguard Fort Sign. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

I took a photo of this sign at the car park by the path leading down to Fishguard Fort. I thought it was about the fort and that I would read it later.

English - Welsh

about - am

council - cyngor

county - sir

free - ddim

hours - awr

nothing - dim

the - yr

parking - parcio

Pembrokeshire - Penfro

welcome - croeso

Welsh - English

am - about

awr - hours

croeso - welcome

cyngor - council

ddim - free

dim - nothing

parcio - parking

Penfro - Pembrokeshire

sir - c o u n t y

yr - the

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Photos of the Fishguard Fort, Canons, and Resolute Defence of Wales

Problem
After all those filling Welsh cakes in Fishguard, how do you burn a couple of calories and feel virtuous and ready for some more food?

A surprising number of people have been through Fishguard on their way from Wales to Ireland by ferry, yet have not enjoyed the delights of Fishguard.

Answer
For exercise, family fun, walk to the Napoleonic fort. What is a Napoleonic fort?  It was a defence against Napoleon's Bonaparte's well-known plan to invade England. He had already invaded Ireland in 1796.

Welcome to Fishguard Fort sign. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Where is the fort? Below. Down the path. "Only two minutes."

It's two minutes from me to the lady with the dog.

Another two minutes down the path towards the sea.

Now I can see it. In the distance. Another two minutes?

 Looking at the photo, with the fort enlarged, I can see four canons. How much fort? A bit of a wall. A nice archway for framing photos.

Back up again. Now we know what's down there. Take a picture. Rain is forecast for tomorrow. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Welsh man David is driving. That decorative, dangling item in the middle of the screen is very colourful, but right now in the way of my view of signs and any potential photos. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

History
The area had eight canons, which were installed when the fort was built in the late 1700s (between 1779 and 1981). The nine pounder guns were fired as a warning to the French ships approaching about twenty years later. On reflection the guns did not have much effect because the French landed in 1797. Maybe the guns frightened the French troops.

Some of the French soldiers (after losing an earlier battle to British troops) then surrendered to local heroine Jemima who reputedly marched about in a circle. I am not sure whether she intended to deceive or just had that effect by good luck. It appeared to onlookers at a distance as if she (and a few female friends), wearing red coats, visible from a distance, and tall black hats which gave them added height, were line after line of never-ending defending soldiers. Certainly the repeated marching was a sign of the marchers' resolution.

(They were only women. However, if that was the courage of the women, what would the men be like!)

More information from:
Historical information:
http://www.ecastles.co.uk/fishguard.html

Aerial view from Google maps:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.001142,-4.970037,198m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

Directions
A40 / A487 junction north Pembrokeshire.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer,  author and speaker. I have previous posts on the Fishguard Fort, walks and sights and the Invasion Tapestry Museum in Fishguard, Welsh cakes, speaking Welsh. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Walks from Fishguard to the harbour, the fort, and St David's

 Fishguard headland overlooking the sea. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Problem
Where do you walk?

The cannon on the headland. Photo by Angela Lansbury. 

Answer
Ask the tourist office in Fishguard. Check out a map of Pembrokeshire. Or ask other locals and regular holidaymakers.

Follow in my footsteps.

The signpost on the headland. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

1) HEADLAND
A Welshman, David, and his wife, drove me up to the headland overlooking the harbour. I saw an odd sculpture by British Gas. (Or is it some technical item left over from the old days?

The view out to sea. Take a deep breath. Fresh air. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

2) FORT
I was driven to the fort. Follow the signs to the downhill path. I asked, "How far?"

"Two minutes," David assured me.

I walked along the path for two minutes. I met a lady with a dog. I asked her, "How far to the fort?"

She replied, "Two minutes."

I walked for two minutes.

So far four minutes. I could see the fort below.

I met another couple coming up. I asked, "How far?"

"About two minutes. But it's very steep."

That 'walk' was going to take me at least four minutes, running downhill fast. The total walk to the fort would take me eight minutes.

But I would not run downhill fast. I would trip once - and then get scared.

Walking around the fort was going to take me at least five minutes. I would be taking photos of three directions from the fort. Then pictures of the fort.

I would be standing around, waiting for other people to get out of the picture. Then, more delay, asking them to stand in the picture, to create foreground interest, human interest.

Finally, asking them to take a picture of me. Just a moment - they would want me to take a picture of them. Not the final picture. Out of politeness, they would want a picture of them with me. Call over granny, Dad, the dog.

After that, more time, returning uphill, slower and slower, puff, puff, would take twice as long.

After spending an indecisive minute, contemplating this, I had lost another minute. I took distant photos of the fort.

From where I was, about halfway, returning took another eight minutes, plus one for a photo stop, and one at the top for the signpost, now I knew the trip was worthwhile.

I got back in the car. I said, "Sorry I took so long. It was a 'Welsh two minutes'. That means about ten minutes, in English or tourist time. Adding photos, plus selfies, because I have not seen it before and might not see it again."

They weren't in the least offended. They laughed. They agreed, "Yes. A Welsh two minutes. Stretched out. Life is very leisurely around here."

(Photos of the fort in the next post.)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Please bookmark your favourite posts and share links with your friends and family.

Wetherspoon Pub, and Pubs Around Britain: a meal for two, £20 including drinks

The flower-bedecked front of Wetherspoon Pub, Hatch End. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
Where to get two meals and drinks for under £20?
What to eat and drink in a pub?

Answer
You can eat two main courses and a drink and share one dessert, or maybe two, for twenty pounds in a Wetherspoons pub.  That's good for budgeting if you are short of cash, counting the pounds, or the drinks, and don't want to run up a big bill. It's also great for counting calories. They don't add twelve and a half per cent service to the bill, or even ten per cent like some restaurants.

You don't even have to go to the bar to order, nor leave your drinks with strangers when you go to pay. Instead you can order and pay in advance by phone from your table!

The price is great for a date, no risk of running up a huge bill. And ladies, if you are in any trouble on a date, you can go into the ladies toilet and read the advice and then inform the staff.

Plus a large choice of drinks. I could order a Prosecco, a zinfandel, red or white wine by the glass, beers, teas and coffees and soft drinks, much bigger choice than many.

The branch we tried was one I knew well in Hatch End Broadway on the Uxbridge Road, a long linking road around the north like the M25 and the North Circular road. Three generations of my family have lived nearby in different eras and we and other Londoners often pass through on the way to Edgware, Harrow, Hendon, Kenton, Northwood, Northwood Hills, Harrow and Wealdstone, Pinner, Stanmore or Uxbridge.

The Hatch End branch has a garden at the back. We opted for the garden. However, first we saw smokers, so we moved further into the garden, then it started to rain so we went back inside.

The pub is called the Moon and Sixpence. The menu explains that several pubs use the name moon inspired by the fictional place, The Moon Under Water described by George Orwell in the Evening Standard newspaper as the perfect pub.

Food We Ordered
My dining companion (son, aged over 21) wanted coke (with no ice) because he was driving.  The coke offered was Pepsi. I was delighted to find a rose wine, Zinfandel, included in the drinks included deal.

The menu was so long it took us ten minutes to read it all. I ordered chicken with jacket potato.

Chicken with jacket potato, peas. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Sunday brunch at Wetherspoons pub. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Our other order was the Sunday brunch. It was just like the picture, a hearty British breakfast, two eggs, sausage, tomato.  What made it a brunch rather than a breakfast? The late time, I suppose. Plus the addition of chips.

I was disappointed not to see the traditional Sunday lunch of turkey and roast potatoes. On the other hand, we managed to order 'lunch' at gone 4 pm!

Tips
Water was help yourself at the bar. Grab it on your way to the table, so you don't need to stand up again nor send anybody else to get it.

You might want to order at the bar to pay cash.  While there you can check on the menu choices, or have a quick chat. Make sure you know your table number because when the food is ready they will bring it to your table.

I asked for apple crumble, then saw carrot cake at fewer calories and changed my order. The person taking my order asked me if I wanted the dessert with the main courses or afterwards as a dessert, and I said afterwards.

The carrot cake was a little dry but still very good. I supposed the thick creamy icing helps keep cake moist and protected from the air and offsets any dryness. The best part was the nuts. From a health point of view, I do like some vegetable and nuts. Carrots are sweet.

Carrot cake. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Accommodations and Pubs All Over Britain
The Weatherspoon pub magazine is worth a read. I learned that some of the pubs have accommodation at very reasonable prices. Plus of course you can buy good breakfasts, coffee and snacks all day, lunches, and dinners until late.

Quirky Pubs
Weatherspoon pubs are individual and feature people and places of local interest.

ZULU
For example, have you seen the film Zulu, and the other film from the same period, featuring the battle of Rorke's Drift in South Africa? The film features Michael Caine, in the first major role which made him famous. The film was made in 1964.

When was it set? January 1879, at the time of declining and ageing PM Benjamin Disraeli back in Britain. The blame for the loss killed him. He died in April 1881.

Anyway, a Wetherspoon pub is named after another person who got the blame for that military disaster; his descendants are fighting to have him exonerated.

More information from:
www.jdwetherspoon.com

Getting there:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ (for driving, walking, landmarks etc)
http://www.londonbusroutes.net (buses, tourist routes etc)
https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/ (train routes, times, ticket prices, weekly cards, discounts etc)
http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/sightseeing-tours/top-london-tours
https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/ (trips, tours, offers: London; England, Scotland, Wales)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts on Hatch End, and restaurants worldwide. Please bookmark your favourite posts and share links to my posts with your family and friends.

Welsh words: new news newspaper newspapers, Sir, sir or madam

Problems
I see the words Cyngor Sir Penfro under Pembrokeshire County Council. I think I know which word is which but must check to be sure. Is Cygnor county or council? Is sir council or of?

Answers
(Spaces inserted to e v a d e automatic spell checker!)
Welsh - English
Council - C y n g o r
county - sir (I think: A country gentleman from this COUNTY, a man who counts - yes, SIR.
Penfro - Pembrokeshire (I think: Pem and Pen are similar; fro - from that area which sounds like Pem)

English Welsh
council - cyngor (I think: I am cynical about the council and go to remonstrate cyn-go-r)
county - sir (a bit like shire)
Pembrokeshire - Penfro

More words which sound similar:
Welsh - English
a n n w y l    s y r - dear sir

English Welsh
dear Sir - a n n w y l   S y r
or Madam - neu Madam
new - n e w y d d (double letters d d are pronounced 'th')
news - n e w y d d i o n
Newspaper - p a p u r   n e w y d d
newspapers - p a p u r a u  n e w y d d

Travel Tips
https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/ (trips, tours, offers: London; England, Scotland, Wales)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, illustrator, teacher of English and other languages

Why You Should Sign And Date Signatures And Photos

Problems
How old was I then? Was that in our first house? What was the name of the hotel? Who are these people?

Answers
I now label photos and paintings with my name, the date, and the place.

On the back of the photo you can stick a detailed label. A smaller one on the front can be seen when the photo is framed, and is security in case the label falls of the back. You might not have space on the front and not want to damage the picture's surface.

In a painting you don't have much space and don't want to distract.

I have experimented with putting my name on a poster as part of the picture. Some artists like to use a symbol. Two different people have used a mouse. One was a carver in the north of England.

Stories
1 I have a photo of a wedding group in a back garden in the East End of London. I wish I could identify it.

Is a member of my family in it? Could it be my grandmother's wedding?

I don't recognize the bride nor any of the people. Maybe it's a member of my mother in law's family? But, if so, it's also a member of my extended family, because I married a second cousin (my husband's late mother was my late mother's first cousin.)

I have labelled the back of the photo '1910?' I was going through my family history and noted the date of my grandmother's wedding, 1910. (My mother was born in 1912, two years later.) I have a photo of the wedding couple on the upstairs landing of their house. She is not the same woman as the bride in the photo.  She is wearing different clothes.

2 Why did she not label the photo at the time? Most people do not label wedding photos. The bride and groom know each other and their parents. But the photos will be kept and passed on to grandchildren. By the time the grandchildren are teenagers or in their twenties and interested to look at the photos, or do family tree research, the grandparents will probably be dead, their full first names, surnames, maiden names, and married surnames not recalled, especially if the grandchildren knew granny as as 'Nan' or Bubba' or 'Granny Sally'.

3 I was talking to a group on one of my themes, Why You Should Write Your Family History. I showed a picture of my wedding and told the audience they should label their wedding photos. I turned over my photo and realised that I had not labelled my own wedding photo! I have now remedied that.

4 My full maiden name is Hazel Angela Lansbury. That's a lot to put on a drawing. I dropped the Hazel after I left school where teachers called me Hazel and fellow pupils had nicknamed me Nut.
(When I looked for a name for a publishing house or a stage name for performing comic poetry I found that Hazel Nut is copyrighted as a brand name by all the nut producers. I had to quickly take Hazel Nutter, which is fine for comedy, being amusing, but too silly for any other business.)

Signature
I needed to condense my name to fit into a tiny space when drawing caricatures in the small notebooks, A6 or postcard size. I often drew the picture, then found very little space in the corners for my signature.

I now have a new system. When I remember, I sign the page before I start drawing. This has two advantages:
1 I leave sufficient space for the signature and date.
2 I don't forget.
3 The person being drawn getting impatient or called away, or the event end, doesn't make me close the sketch book quickly before I have time to finish.
4 I can discuss the location or my signature as a distraction to the sitter to get them used to sitting without starting with the nerve-wracking and tense instructions to sit still and look this way commands.

Abbreviating My Signature
At first I abbreviated my signature to Angela. But there are many people called Angela. When I tried to get Angela, combined with London, recalling the author Jack London, I found that at least a dozen people already had that idea. That's why my email is not Angela but Anna. I decided to change my signature from Angela to Angella. That also combines ANGELA and LA nsbury.

You might like to remember that when looking at my signature, or when creating your own, or suggesting a name for a person, or business.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, illustrator. I have many posts on painting and destinations. Please bookmark and share your favourite posts.

Re-painting And Finishing Holiday Paintings With Erasers and Signatures

Self-portrait by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 

Problem
You arrive home with your paintings done on holiday.

Now you have more time. You have space. No need to pack up and go back to the hotel. Your work can stay on the kitchen table or desk.

First you feel pleased and proud. Then you think:

AMATEUR? / PROFESSIONAL?

AMATEUR?
1 That's a bit basic, amateur. A five-year-old could have done that.

No.

Even if they could, on the other hand, it has a certain primitive charm. Like Rousseau. Like Toulouse Lautrec. Like impressionists.

PROFESSIONAL
Better at a distance. The artist is always painting close up. I can hang it on a wall and stand at a distance. Very effective.

Other people liked it. They didn't just say, "Oh - is that yours? Interesting ..." They said, "That's you! It's a good likeness. I like the frame. Very original."

I didn't think it was original. I thought I'd seen many 'frame' pictures before. There's a famous painting in the National Gallery in London, showing the artist at his easel, in the distance.

Why the frame?
a) I drew exactly what I saw. That included the frame.

b) I wanted to include the frame.  If I see something near the focus of my painting, such as a doorway or window frame I will often include it, or move it sideways or downwards into the picture.

Signature as Metaphor
I must make more effort to make this a signature, or permanent feature of my paintings. My other feature of self-portraits is my hand holding the pen or pencil or watercolour pencil.

Signature as Signature
I also have a signature in which my hand is drawing the signature. But that takes up space. The frame and the signature can distract from the subject of the painting.

Yet, when I am painting a self-portrait, a hand holding a pencil is appropriate. Why? Firstly, because it mirrors reality at that moment. For that moment in time, I was stopped as a painter. I was not busy, active, laughing, moving, cooking, cleaning, chatting. I was still, frozen, silent, concentrating, contemplating, peaceful, painting.

Secondly, the hand, although secondary to the eyes which want to engage with you, makes an additional statement that I want to be permanently known, remembered, identified, classified, honoured, as a professional painter.

However, when I am drawing somebody else, I want to concentrate on them, their eyes, their mouth, not distract. However, you should be able to come back to a painting later, or a second time in quick succession, and notice details which you did not spot at first glance.

Years ago I read an article or book about photography which said that you should look for a frame for your photograph. Now I always look for a tree to frame a photo of a building such as a skyscraper or church or group of people.

In a painting, the artist always has the opportunity to be creative and insert a frame for the top, sides, and often forgotten bottom front of the picture.

Susan taught us to draw a pencil frame about an inch around all four edges of our paper so that the picture would not have details at the edge which end up covered by the frame nor an inner mount.

(I have often found that y signature is half covered by the mount or frame. I have so many paintings and photos that I have run out of space on my walls.

My family are tidy-minded. They keep removing pictures because they hate clutter. They want space and uninterrupted clean walls.

Perhaps unconsciously they want no distractions from little squares behind when they are talking to you.  They also want you to focus on them when they speak, not admiring paintings over their shoulder.

b) I Like a picture to be self-framing. I like the arch of a doorway or arch in a church. Trees surrounding a lake.

The traditional parallel lines of the railway. Or path from the front and sides of the picture narrowing almost A shape to the centre of the horizon. Do you remember the classic advertisement for Start-rite shoes, little feet have far to go, showing a pair of boy and girl toddlers or small children, seen from back view walking into the distance, down a pale road edged by darker trees?

PENCIL LINES
I must be more professional. I must rub out the pencil lines.
I often get out a sketch book from last year and look at a caricature. I immediately notice pencil lines and start rubbing them out.

COLOURS
I must intensify the colours. Add colours. Edge with black waterproof pen.

WATERPROOF PEN
I always buy washable pens. I put pens in my pockets and they leak over my clothes.

However, on Writers' Holiday, Susan Alison loaned us waterproof gel pens. The advantage is that if you want to add watercolour paint afterwards, you black pen outlines, eg across the top of the head, don't leak into the colours or blonde hair below nor smudge uneven grey into the white paper above.

I must tone down the absurd unnatural oblongs on the sky.

Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author, illustrator, caricature artist. (I have several more posts about paintings and painting holidays. Please bookmark and share and tweet your favourite posts.)

How To Pack Fragile And Liquid Items: Where's the packaging?

Problems
1 You want to pack a fragile item (such as the mirror for a self-portrait mentioned in previous post).
2 You want to pack liquids such as a bottle of vodka for yourself or a present.
Where do you store packaging? How do you find it when you need it?
Why bother? Why not buy new?

Answers
First - why bother saving packaging?
1 If it's raining or snowing you'd rather fold, stack and store an item and its packaging than take a trip to the bin.
2 It takes time to visit the tip. Some councils charge for removing large items.
3 Have you seen the price of packaging!
4 Do your bit for recycling.

1 SAVE PACKAGING
Save the original packing for your fragile item.

2 CUT CLUTTER.
STORAGE
Keep packing boxes and bubble wrap from packages sent by Amazon stored out of the way.
Pick somewhere where nobody else more tidy-minded will find it and throw it away!

LOCATIONS FOR STORAGE
(In an old suitcase. High hat cupboard in hall. Your wardrobe. In America in a closet. Above a cupboard in kitchen, scullery, coat storage area. But if you are concerned about fire do not keep papers and plastics in the kitchen near the hob.

The attic. The basement. Consider all options.
If it's a high cupboard or attic up a ladder, will you or the person who needs it be able to retrieve it easily and safely?)

Always keep packaging in one place, the same place, such as a closet in the USA. (We had a walk in closet when we lived in Rockville Maryland.)

Later in a condo in Singapore we kept a small windowless box room for suitcases and packaging.  If everybody knows where the suitcases and packaging are kept, you all know where to look when packing for a trip. If you employ a maid of cleaner and run out of things to do, get the suitcases and boxes out and the cupboard cleaned from insects, everything stacked like a pyramid, or nested like Russian dolls with a large label with big felt tip writing on the front, or all sides.

SUITABLE STORAGE SITES AND PREVENTING WATER DAMAGE
In another condo we had what in the UK in the old days would be called a scullery and back balcony. Unfortunately the scullery area (containing a second sink and overhead pulley for hanging washing) was open to the elements on one side. The cardboard boxes for large speakers were left on the window side on and below a shelf. During the spring thunderstorms, rain came in.  Eventually the cardboard was waterlogged, mouldy, and warped.

The boxes had to be brought into the kitchen or front balcony in the sun, lifted off the floor, dried in the sun. Once dry, the sides were taped with duct tape for reinforcement. The boxes looked awful, but served the purpose for transporting damaged goods (old speakers overseas warped in humidity) for an estimate for repair or re-sale.

The morals are:
1 STORE Carefully.
Keep cardboard away from windows, leaking pipes, wash basins.

2 COVER Everything Including Covers!
Protect cardboard with protective plastic.

3 INSPECT regularly.
Check whether storage area is safe from damage by termites and mould. Remove insects. Change or start using plastic covering. Throw out packaging beyond repair. Dry out and repair items packaging needed for moving home or taking on trips.

3 MAKE A LABEL / SIGN.
It should be where you can find easily.
Make sure you know where packaging is kept. Write instructions in your diary for the date of your next pre-booked event or trip. For example, if you have gifts for Xmas, ski trips, summer camping, store in an obvious place. Put Xmas wrapping paper, or but Xmas advertisements from Xmas time magazines to use as labels or edging for labels or to wrap the box. Cut out seaside pictures for labels and tags, showing seaside scenes for a box or suitcase containing swimsuits, beach bags, electric fans for gifts.

For example, I buy a revolving magnifying mirror for only £1 from Tanna's chemist (called pharmacy and drug store for in America) in Hatch End, London, England. I save the box inside a suitcase. I have more than one suitcase.

STORAGE REMINDER LABEL
So I send myself an email called Where is it - magnifying mirror box - in small red suitcase labelled one of more of the following: 'For Xmas/Easter/Summer/ Ski trip/UK/USA/Canada/Russia/France/Spain/South Africa/Romania/Singapore/Hong Kong/Cambodia/camping/swimming/hiking/art holiday/'.

STORAGE REMINDER EMAIL MESSAGES
EMAIL
Email yourself a message.
CALENDAR
Mark your calendar with a packing and place where items are kept.
ALARM
Set a timer or alarm with the place to look. For example, for a week before your Xmas holiday trip.

DIARY
Note in a hand-written diary where items are kept and when to check them and retrieve them.

WARDROBE PACKING LIST
You can also keep a packing list on the back of the door of your wardrobe or closet.
A duplicate can be pasted inside your suitcase for packing to go on your holiday, and to check you have retrieved all items.
(Not left behind the skis on the balcony or behind the back door, nor swimsuits drying on a balcony, not clothes in the washing machine, baby items in the dishwasher, nor slippers under the bed, nor night clothes under the pillow, nor baby toys inside the borrowed cot, nor maps in the hire car.)

FRAGILE ITEMS
1 Cover with bubble wrap.
2 Double wrap all liquids with plastic or solid packaging.
3 Pack inside boots and shoes.
4 Pack against the reinforced edges of suitcases and boxes.
5 Keep liquids upright.
6 To avoid staining, store coloured goods in same colour wrapping. For example, water can be wrapped in a white towel or shirt or blanket. But brown rum needs to be wrapped in brown shoes, brown socks, and brown towels or blankets. Similarly, red juice or red nail varnish is better wrapped in red wrapping paper, red towels.

FOOD
Do not wrap items such as leftover vegetables inside a dark blue or black table napkin! Place immediately in a proper Tupperware brand or similar click shut box. For inexpensive and throw away at destination packaging, save Philadelphia cream cheese boxes.

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Painting A Portrait On Holiday

Problem
How do you paint a portrait on holiday when you don't have a sitter?

Answer
Paint yourself in a mirror.

Pack one and take it with you.

Self-portrait in a hand mirror by Angela Lansbury. July 2017. Copyright.

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

What Are Welsh Cakes? Recipe!

Welsh cakes from Fishguard Bay Hotel. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Notice the cakes contain currants. Welsh cake can be broken into four pieces using the cross which has been scored with a knife (or fork).

Problem
What are Welsh cakes? Where or how can I try them?

Answer
Welsh cakes are round or square cakes which look like flattened scones. Like scones, they have sultanas or currants. Like scones, you can serve them with jam and butter, or cream.

I first tried them in Fishguard, Wales. You eat them hot with butter and jam.

I had them for elevenses at Jane's. Delicious and more-ish. Perfect small cake to go with coffee for mid morning or after noon tea.

Handy bag from Janes reminds you of the address and phone number.

The second time I tried them was at Fishguard Bay Hotel. Scrumptious.

The third time was on the Aviva train from Fishguard ferry port via Fishguard to change at another station for the train home to Paddington, London. At £1.50 for two small cakes, not with crockery, just from a train trolley, they seemed expensive. No receipt either.

But I still thought they were a good buy. They filled me up and left me feeling satisfied.

Tips
You can make them from a recipe such as Jamie Oliver or the BBC or the Welsh tourist board. Here's the recipe from the tourist board:
http://www.visitwales.com/explore/traditions-history/recipes/welsh-cakes

If you put a cross on them, scored with a knife, you can divide them into smaller pieces to go with coffee.

Welsh cakes bought on the Aviva local train. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Blas y Castell means Taste the Castle.
Welsh Cakes bought on the Aviva train from Fishguard to Whitland (where you can change onto the train to Paddington).

My ticket was via Whitland, which is an easy change of train. You stay on the same platform. Whitland has no café and no toilets, so if you go via Whitland you will be glad of the opportunity to buy food and drink on both trains.

Wikipedia says:

• Llech Cymraeg: cooked with plain flour (particularly wholemeal flour) - rather than the standard self-raising flour, and baking powder, resulting in a much flatter and crisper cake. Typically, this variant is made as a slab on a bakestone, or nowadays on a baking tray, hence the name Llech Cymraeg (literally, "Welsh slab").
• Jam Split: popular in South Wales. As the name suggests, this is a Welsh cake split horizontally, with jam (and sometimes butter) added, rather like a sandwich.
• Apple Dragon: Adding grated apple to the mix helps to keep the cakes moist for longer.
• The Newport Lovely: regional variant hand-crafted by the men of Newport for their women as either a wedding-gift, or engagement present.
• Mynydd Cymreig: (literally, Welsh Mountain): from North Wales, doubling the amount of baking powder results in their increased rising. They are also finely coated in icing sugar, symbolising the seasonal snow cap of some of the higher peaks in Snowdonia.
• The Kiwi Cake: exported by Welsh settlers, the Welsh cake has been produced in New Zealand for many years.

I think the Welsh Mountain Cake would be good for tea-time in a snowy winter or at Christmas.
Here's a recipe from Wikipedia:
Ingredients]

• 1 lb (450g) plain flour
• 8 oz (225g) butter
• 6 oz (170g) sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 oz (85g) currants, raisins or other dried fruit
• dash of milk
• pinch of salt

Procedure]

1. In a large mixing bowl, rub together butter, flour and salt until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Mix in sugar and fruit.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating together until mixture forms a thick dough. If dough will not form, add a small amount of milk.
4. Knead for two to three minutes until dough becomes cohesive and slightly elastic.
5. Roll dough out on a flat surface.
6. Cut two to three inch circles from the dough and fry on a griddle until golden brown.

Tips
Janes of Fishguard, Crafts, Coffee House14-18 High Street, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire.
Website: Janes-fishguard.co.uk
https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/ (trips, tours, offers: London; England, Scotland, Wales)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker. I have several other posts on Wales and Welsh language. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Paintings Produced On a Painting Holiday

 The pupils in the art workshop at Writers Holiday in Fishguard, Wales, had a different demonstration and exercise each hour long session on the painting course. For this painting we had been told to find a coin and draw around it to create a moon, leaving the paper inside the circle white (or painting it white later). We then added the sky in two or more colours. 

Some people added trees below, which was the scene outside our window overlooking the Fishguard Bay from Fishguard Bay Hotel. However, I am a city girl. So I drew a city scene.

Blue sky at night over the city by Angela Lansbury. 2017. Copyright.

A walk by the lake. By Angela Lansbury. 2017. Copyright.

I did a second painting with trees. The instructor, Susan Alison, suggested that I put something in the foreground to increase the perspective. First I added the picket fence, similar to the one outside the window. 

Fence and walk from Fishguard Bay Hotel, Fishguard, Wales. Photo by Angela Lansbury, copyright.

Then I thought I would add a man and a dog. 

In one session we drew the human body facing you, then with legs bent when walking. In another session we had drawn a dog. I had asked for a session on a dog. A previous year the class had requested a session on drawing a horse.

You might like the earlier version of the painting of the lake, with its view through the trees to the boat. I am glad I took a photo of the painting at each stage. That way I could see if I preferred the original version. 

If I ruined it with too much clutter, or a poorly executed figure, I still had a photo of the original. I could copy it as a postcard or book illustration.  I could re-paint it.  

I could use both illustrations for a book chapter or short story. I could start with the view over the lake. Then the man walking the dog. Finally the lake again, without the man and dog.

However, I was very pleased with the addition of the man and the dog. 

You can see that the addition of the man and dog creates a complete change. First we have human interest. Secondly, the eye goes in the direction of the walking man. This creates the impression of a boardwalk or path. It opens up the path ahead of the man. 

For the next Writers' Holiday, (February 2018) see:

www.writersholiday.net

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts about paintings, the painting holiday in Wales, and Wales. Please bookmark and share your favourite posts.

A New Perspective On Painting Holidays

Self portrait by Angela Lansbury. 

Problem
Will I learn anything on a painting holiday or just left to sketch on my own - which I could do at home or without paying for a holiday?

Answer
You do learn just by doing. I learned that when you paint using a mirror you are reversed right to left, and when you are right handed you appear to be left-handed, as shown in this picture.
If you need a babysitter to make you paint consistently, stock up on paper and paints. even the worst painting holiday would be better than nothing, very relaxing.

If you have painting and want help with it, take it along or print a copy.

I can only recommend one painting holiday which I have taken recently. Susan Alison ran two courses at the start and end of the week at Writers' Holiday in Fishguard, Wales. She was brilliant in instructing us how to use colour to show perspective, use different brushes for different effects, and use proportions for the human head and body. She also looked at our paintings and showed us how make the paint thicker or more transparent and how to add interest in the foreground. 

She will be doing another course at Writers' Holiday next February. Highly recommended. She is on Facebook.
So is writers holiday.
www.writersholiday.net
https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/ (trips, tours, offers: London; England, Scotland, Wales)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Painting holidays and painting on holiday

From a train window. Painting and Photo of painting by Angela Lansbury.

Problems
How do I paint on holiday without taking a lot of equipment?
How do I get subjects to stay still?

Answers
You can do pencil sketches for paintings you finish at home later. Take a photo to get correct colours.

If you can't get anybody to sit still, do a self-portrait. You can use your hat to add to the theme. For example, a baseball cap, cycling helmet, ski goggles, a swimhat, sunglasses. Add a suitable bag such as a gold clutch bag for the opera, a beach bag, a golf caddy. Wear a tee-shirt with words on it, buy a tee-shirt, or photograph local tee-shirts with foreign language words, or pictures of a local landmark.

 Self portrait. Watercolour painting and photo of painting by Angela Lansbury.

Please share links to your favourite posts.

I was looking at this picture and wondering what was wrong with the hand holding the pencil. I just realised something. In this self-portrait I appear to be left-handed. But I am right-handed. 

If you draw yourself using a mirror, or copy the hand you see looking down on it, the effect is as if you are left-handed.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on painting and Wales. Please share your favourite posts. 

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Writing Poems About Your Holiday

Problem
What do I write a poem about on holiday?

Answers
Make a list of subjects. Number them. Throw a dice (or two or three, depending on the number of subjects).

For example:
You homeland compared with the country you are visiting.
PEOPLE
The new country's people.
The new country's historical characters.
A poem contrasting friends and enemies.
Tourist families.
Elderly tourists.
Tour guides.
Business success or disaster.

PLACES
Your destination's buildings.
A statue. (Ozymandias. My name is Ozymandias ...)
The sea. (John Masefield. I must go down to the sea again ...)
The land.
The birds. (Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven.)
The insects.
The trees.
The flowers.
The cars.
The boats,
The planes.
Trains. (See W H Auden: This is the night mail ...)
The passport or tickets.
The hotel.
A restaurant or pub.
Big cats. (Tiger, tiger, burning bright ...)
Moon
Sun
Summer
Winter
Your suitcase and the stories on the labels.
Your holiday clothes.
Your inappropriate clothes from home.

Reading my poems on a Writers' Holiday in Wales. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

You could write a poem in praise of the destination, or a comic poem about holiday disasters. Ask everybody in your family or holiday group to write a poem to read on the last night. (If you can't write a poem, pick your favourite well-known poem.)

Travel Tips
https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/ (trips, tours, offers: London; England, Scotland, Wales)

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker, comic poet.

Two Pubs Associated with the last invasion of Wales

Problem
Where are the two pubs mentioned in the film about the Last invasion tapestry/

Answer
One of the pubs, the Royal Oak, is directly opposite the town hall where you can see the tapestry. No distance to walk it. Almost every time you drive to Fishguard you drive through the main street passing the green town hall and the Royal Oak pub on the other side of the road.

Drive down to Lower Fishguard around the harbour and you can see the Ship Inn which has memorabilia.

The Town Hall, painted green. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The Royal Oak pub opposite the town hall. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The Ship Inn on the lower harbour, Fishguard. Painted pink, with the painting of a ship over the doorway. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

www.visitpembrokeshire.com

https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/ (trips, tours, offers: London; England, Scotland, Wales)

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my previous post on the tapestry of The Last Invasion. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Wales' Last Invasion Tapestry and the Bayeux Tapestry

Fishguard's town hall, painted green, is easy to find.

Downstairs is a three panel tiled panorama of Fishguard and Goodwick.

Here is the train which brings you to Fishguard, perhaps from Paddington Station, London, or elsewhere in England, Scotland or Wales, via Cardiff, Newport or Swansea, depending on time and route.

The Welsh lady, Jemima, who captured French invaders.

Typical Welsh woman's high Black Welsh hat and red cloak, national costume worn by Jemima, which fooled the French into thinking soldiers were marching around.

The long gallery housing the 100 foot tapestry.

Some souvenirs of Wales sold in the shop and tourist information centre of the ground floor of the town hall in Fishguard. (More goodies such as Welsh wooden carved love spoons in craft shops around the town.)

Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
How do you celebrate the successes of the men and women of Wales?

Answer
With Fishguard's imitation of the Bayeux Tapestry. On the one hand it's a celebration of a victory over the French invaders, in 1797, on the other hand it is a tribute to the enduring popularity of the French Bayeux Tapestry which is a tourist attraction in Hastings in England.

Watch the fascinating film of how the story was researched. The backing and wool were obtained at the best value price. The drawings were made, with trips including one to the church which the French soldiers pillaged, and where they surrendered. Then the drawing was transferred to the backing. Finally, the kinds of stitches were selected, to make the whole tapestry consistent although each panel was sewn by a different groups of stitchers.

It all took time. Not without a few mishaps. One enthusiastic embroiderer was told her stitching was lovely, but she had sewn the wrong colour! She had to unpick it and embroider it all over again. Despite this, everybody was delighted with the new friendships, new skills, and contributing to something which enhanced tourism to the region and might last for centuries.

Tips
First stop:
Last Invasion Tapestry Museum
Town Hall
Fishguard
Pembrokeshire
Wales
www.visitWales.com
Fishguard Tourist Information Centre is on the ground floor.
See tile three part mural by children on ground floor. See tapestry upstairs. Watch the film.
Also see the website for Pembrokeshire tourist board.

2nd Stop
Royal Oak Pub
Fishguard Square
Fishguard
Pembrokeshire
This is where the peace treaty was signed when the French army surrendered.

3rd Stop
Lower Town where Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood was filmed starring Richard Burton.
The Ship Inn served the cast and crew. See memorabilia.

4th Stop
Fishguard Hotel, restaurant and Bar
Goodwick
See the story of how Richard Burton stayed here, panel on left of the bar. Fine view over the bay and on the terrace.

Tips
Read about the Bayeux Tapestry In England which inspired the one in Wales.
St Mary in the Castle
Pelham Crescent
Hastings
East Sussex
England
www.visit1066 country.com

Events:
Music Festival 24 July-4 August 2017.
Writers' Holiday Feb 2018.
www.fishguardmusicfestival.co.uk
www.writersholiday.net

Travel and Tours
https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/ (trips, tours, offers: London; England, Scotland, Wales)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts on Wales and speaking Welsh. Please share links to  your favourite posts.

Novelty Photos You Can Try - Wearing A Welsh Hat, Holding Up The Eiffel Tower

Problem
How can I do a different personalised photo?

Answer
Put yourself in a picture like this:
1 Wearing a hat at an exhibition.
2. Holding up a building.
Favourites are the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I've also seen similar things done in Cambodia at temples. You can do similar tricks with falling walls.

In Prague, Czech Republic, adults and children alike pose beside a naked man fountain in front of the Franz Kafka museum.

You can also pretend to fight dinosaurs, and do similar trick photos with statues.

Stories
I wanted a photo of myself next to Jemima, the Welsh heroine.When I saw that one model of the Welsh heroine, Jemima, was wearing a hat, I realised I could be photographed wearing the hat.
www.visitwales.com

Travel Tips
https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/ (trips, tours, offers: London; England, Scotland, Wales)
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk (You get the UK version when you log in from the UK)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
Please share links to your favourite posts.

Angela Lansbury and Welsh hat at The Last Invasion Tapestry museum alongside the library in The Town Hall, Fishguard, Wales. Photo copyright Angela Lansbury.

Strolling Around Fishguard, Wales

Problem
What to do first?
Go to the tourist office on the ground floor of the Town Hall which is conspicuously painted green in the middle of the square on the main street.
Inside you will see souvenirs and lots of brochures and two ladies waiting keen to help you.

On the ground floor is a three part tile mosaic created by talented local children showing Fishguard. This is the far left panel showing the blue water of the Harbour and the Fishguard Bay Hotel on the hillside on the left of the water.

Upstairs is the red costume and hat worn by local heroine Jemima who captured a group of French soldiers.

The hundred foot long tapestry tells the story.

Problems
What to see and do in Fishguard Wales? What will it cost?

Answers
TRIP One
A)
Tapestry Museum
Town Hall and Library
Fishguard
Pembrokeshire
Wales

Free toilets and information shop on ground floor. Mural at the back hall of ground floor made of tiles painted by school children in three sections, showing Fishguard.
Upstairs free view of tapestry and film explaining how long it took to make.

B)
Jane's Coffee Shop and Crafts Shop
14-18 High Street
Fishguard
Pembrokeshire
Wales
tel 01348 874443
Welsh cakes and food and drink. Craft and embroidery shop. About £4.50 for coffee and cake and about £4.50 for an item or two from the craft shop.

C)
Seaways Bookshop
12 West Street
Fishguard
Pembrokeshire
Wales
Tel 01348 873433.
Books and art materials.
Books on Welsh. Jungle Books.
I bought 6 charcoal pencils from Derwent for £7.99, 1 light, 2 medium, 2 dark and 1 while, including tin and sharpener. I didn't know whether to buy charcoal or graphite. But the graphite came with white.

D)
The Gourmet Pig
32 West Street
Fishguard
Pembrokeshire
Wales
Bottled juices are in a chilled display cabinet at the back behind the dining tables..

I ordered a lamb samosa.
The cheese and salami platter for one came with good stoneless olives.

Amusing toilets. Look like a cow shed door of corrugated iron. The toilet seat has a laughing lion's head painted on the toilet lid and cow markings on the seat.

A sign outside sent me back inside to look at the scarves. The scarves seemed to me expensive at £40.

Parking
Pay car park for 2 or 5 hours, under £1. However,  watch you don't spend more than five hours.

We spent just over five hours. Where did the time go? Firstly, we dawdled along window shopping as we walked to the tapestry museum. After checking out the tourist office downstairs, we first saw the downstairs tile mural. Upstairs we saw the embroidery museum and watched the film.

We stopped to see Janes craft shop where I bought craft items. We took a break stop at a table in the bay window for coffee and Welsh cakes. (We could have eaten in the garden at the back.)

Then we mooched around the bookshop.

Finally, we had lunch in the restaurant behind the deli called The Gourmet Pig. Then we walk back uphill to the car.

I suggest you set an alarm on your phone. The car park had toilets but we had found toilets at our food stops.

Tips
www.visithttps://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk

TRIP 2
Walking downhill to the harbour is another separate jaunt. You could spend 2 hours or more if you
A) Walk downhill,
B) Pass the herring statue, read the plaque, take photos
C) Look at the cannon, read the plaque, take photos
D) Look in the ship pub at memorabilia,
E) Look into the cafe to read at leaflets and browse items for sale,
F) Walk on to the far end of the jetty, taking photos,
G) Read the plaque on the sculpture.
H) Return.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.