Elizabeth Taylor, Moby Dick and Fishguard Bay Hotel

Liz Taylor, centre, Richard Burton, right. Photo from bar of Fishguard Bay hotel.

Fishguard Bay Hotel is up on the cliff above the end of the train line where passengers are brought by train to catch the ferry from Wales to Ireland.

The hotel overlooks the bay where Moby Dick was filmed.

Film stars who stayed at the hotel were Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole and entourage. Liz Taylor was also in the film of Under Milk Wood by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

The framed report of their stay is in the hotel bar, which says that the magic bedrooms were number 123 and 124. I am in some doubt as to whether Liz Taylor stayed on the hotel.

Rooms 123 and 124 are suites, larger rooms. They were occupied when I was there. Next time I visit the hotel I shall take a photo for you to see.

Another place open to the public featuring the story is down in the town.

Above the end of the railway line is the clifftop hotel, with a view.

Regarding the hotel, it is old fashioned, the best of Britain as it used to be. Solid food, meat and two vegetables, usually including potatoes.

Dessert options on my three day stay included Banoffee (banana and toffee) pie, chocolate cake, apple tart and fruit salad. (Three choices per set meal.)

Cooked breakfast included baked beans, hash brownies (grated potato fried), brown or white bread, sachets of marmalade or strawberry or black currant jam. Vegetarian sausages on request.

Old fashioned in what way? Free-standing wardrobes.

The staff are lovely, can't do enough for you.


Fishguard Bay Hotel and the bay, Wales. Photo taken and edited by Angela Lansbury.

The View
You can see the sea from the terrace in front of the hotel, the windows of the bar and the window side of the restaurant, and the front bedrooms.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Author of Quick Quotations.
Please share links to your favourite posts.

Fred Keenor, Welsh and British Hero of Football and Two World Wars - plus Liz Taylor and more about what to see in Wales

Statue of Welsh Foodball player, Keenor, in front of Cardiff Stadium, Wales, UK

I had never heard of Fred Keenor when I read that his statue had been placed outside Cardiff Stadium in Wales. Keenor was a keen football player who was one of eleven children and so poor that they could not not afford a football but played with tennis balls and bunches of rags. As a child he shared a room in a typical Welsh terraced house with three others in the bedroom, no electricity and an outside toilet.

However, despite all his disadvantages, his enthusiasm for football inspired others and the team he played in reached first division.
Wartime Trials
In World War II he was at the battle of the infamous and relentless battle of the Somme, in trenches filled with rats and raining shrapnel. His leg was so badly injured that doctors considered amputating it.
After the war he married and had seven children.

WWII
World War two when he was too old to be at the front lines brought no respire. Two of his sons were killed and after the war he travelled to France to see where one of his sons had been shot down.
he developed diabetes. Throughout his life he and his wife continued to work and literally feed themselves and others, growing vegetables and raising poultry to sell at Christmas. Alas his wife died when there was a gas leak and he was lucky to survive it.

I can relate to this. We had gas smells for years in my house. We were told that it was just the Years  flue. Years later we called the gas company again. this time the gas pipe was re-routed outside the house instead of along the inside. I have pictures of our garden dug up by the gas company.
later in life he continued working despite the problems with his diabetes, at one point walking five miles to work - with a leg severely injured in WWI.

Keenor's surviving sons included two who went on in the football world.
Truly a remarkable character with an extraodinary life.

If you are passing though Cardiff and go to reflect on the determination of this man to work and play and make the best of life.


What else is there to see in Wales for a tourist? Sites associated with Dylan Thomas, a whole trail, not just the boathouse where he lived with his wife. If you take the train to Wales from Paddington, London, on Paddington station you will see the statue on the station of Brunel who built the railway, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and railway right across Wales to the port where the ship he built linked Britain and Europe to the USA.

What To See And Do In Wales
The final stop of that section of the railway is Fishguard Bay where you can catch a boat across to Ireland, or stay at the clifftop Fishguard Bay Hotel and read about how Liz Taylor and Richard Burton appeared in movies filmed here, such as Moby Dick and Dylan's Thomas's Under Milk Wood.

Poster of Liz Taylor and Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole in Under Milk Wood, by Dylan Thomas.

Every February a writers' Holiday takes places in the hotel. Arrive early for breakfast or dinner if you want to get a romantic window seat at a table for two overlooking the bay.

Fishguard Bay Hotel. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

If you drive, you will see Welsh bilingual signs on the road and plaques about local history. If you take the train you will see bilingual signs in English and Welsh on the stations. Wales is a wonderful green break, with white sheep on the green hillsides in Springtime. Train fares vary according to season and you can reduce the price by booking early, changing your day of travel or taking time to shop around and taking a different route and seeing even more of this cute little country. It's the land of legends, the red dragon on the flag,

Welsh cakes, if you buy them on the train, cold, save them until you get home. They are half way between a pancake and a scone, delicious served hot or warm with melting butter.

Which Welsh characters do you already know? You might know Dylan Thomas the poet, Richard Burton the actor, Katherine Zeta-Jones the actress, singers such as Jones.

Another feature of Wales is the male voice choirs. But Wales is not all about men and mining and football. In Fishguard you can see the long embroidery featuring the indominatable Welsh ladies in red dressed and black hats who captured the invading French soldiers a few hundred years back.

Useful Websites
Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikitravel, Tripadvisor, Welsh Tourist Board, Cardiff Tourist Board
Fishguard Bay. Fishguard Bay Hotel, Writers Holiday. Duolingo to learn Welsh. You will see

Wales
About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. I have many more posts, on Fishguard, Brunel, Wales, learning languages, the UK and the world. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood - New Walking Tour Of The Film Locations

I returned to Wales for the annual Writers' and Artists' Holiday at the Fishguard Bay Hotel and I was delighted to see a new walking tour taking in the locations of the film of Under Milk Wood.

The whole tour takes about an hour and a half. If you are like me and have to go into shops, buy books, souvenirs and postcards, and look around, as well as taking photos, it would take much longer. That is a good thing if you are not in a hurry. You could fill a long weekend or a week.

If you are in a hurry, and don't want to bother with the places which are just facades, the best place for a one stop outing is to the pub down in Fishguard harbour.

Liz Taylor and Richard Burton who starred in the film stayed in what was and still is the largest hotel, the landmark Fishguard Bay Hotel, on the cliff above the station and departure point for the ferry from Wales to Ireland.

Go up to the hotel for a fine view over the bay to the opposite side. You can buy drinks in the bar. The hotel is open to non-residents. They also serve excellent food. (See next post.)

Author
Angela Lansbury

Welsh Names To recognize in history, geography, novels, or writing your novels

Flag of Wales, with the red Welsh dragon.

Problem
How do I recognize a Welsh name, when reading history?
How do I find a Welsh name for a character in a novel?
Where would I see Welsh names?
When would I need a Welsh name?

Answers
Check the list below. You will see Welsh names amongst authors, composers, poets, politicians, singers, writers and many more. Welsh names pop up in books and plays, and films (movies), and advertisements on cars and shop signs in Wales.
You might need a Welsh name for a character in a book, or a comedy sketch. (A Welsh accent is distinctive and can be used to differentiate one character from another. Famous characters you might wish to quote or perform on stage: Richard Burton, actor, Dylan Thomas and his poems, singer Tom Jones.)

Welsh First Names

Female  Welsh First names
Megan -

Male Welsh First Names
I have included names which come to mind. They may be Welsh, or of Welsh origin, or copied from somebody else living nearby or at the time.

Arthur
Dylan (as in Dylan Thomas, poet, author of Under Milk Wood)
Elgar (as in the composer)
Elvis (as in Elvis Presley)
Ffloyd (as in Pink Floyd band - notice the double f)
Gareth
Garth (as in Garth Brooks, country singer)
Harry (or Harri - as in Harri-son Ford)
Iago (as in the Shakespeare character in Othello)
Luc
Owain
Owen
Rhys
Steffan
Trebor (as in Mints)
Trevor (means village)
Trystan (as in the classic story of lovers)
Tudor (as in the Tudors on the English throne)
Vaughan
Winston (as in Winston Churchill)
Wyn

Surnames
Bevan
Bryce (as in Bruce Canyon in the USA)
Bunyan (as in the writer of Pilgrim's Progress)
Cecil
Cogan
Conway
Davies (son of David)
Dewey (as in the Dewey system for classifying books in libraries)
Evans (as in the department store you see in England, D H Evans)
Harris (like in Harris tweed, and island of Harris - see Wikipedia)
Hopkins (as in the poet Gerald Manley Hopkins)
Hughes (as in the poet Ted Hughes)
Jones (as in Tom Jones, the Welsh singer)
Lloyd as in the English bank
Morris
Povey
Price
Pritchard
Rees
Thomas (as in Dylan Thomas, poet)
Williams

More information from:
Book
Welsh names by D Geraint Lewis.ISBN 978-0-7524-4636-3. I bought this book for £2.99 in Tesco in Fishguard, Wales.
Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_surnames
https://www.wales101.com/welsh-baby-boys-names

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and other languages and creative writing. 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.

Welsh, Words, "Would Like" What to say in Welsh, Why Visit Wales and Ireland

View of Fishguard Bay, Wales. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Wedding at Fishguard Bay Hotel.

Problem
How do you say I would like in Welsh? This is a problem when translating from English into any other language.

Answer
I am learning Welsh from Duo Lingo. Their simple English-Welsh lessons often give alternative answers but they gave the Welsh which I translated as I would like which was not allowed. I wondered whether the Welsh had only one phrase, in which case my alternative should have been allowed. However, according to somebody who replied in the forum, the Welsh English goes like this.

• Hoffwn i... - I would like...
• Dw i eisiau... - I want...

If you want to hear how it is pronounced, go to www.Duolingo.

Story
Children of today speak simply and more directly.
For example:
How are you? to an elderly person requires the answer
Very well, thank you.
A young person says
Fine.
That sounds terribly rude to an older person.

Why Learn Welsh Words?
Why would anybody want, or need, or like, to speak or understand Welsh?
If you drive or take the train across Wales, you will see many signs in Welsh. Why not take a few free language lessons?

Why Go To Wales?
Writers' Holiday
Many of my friends are going to the Writers Holiday in Fishguard, Wales, this week. You can book for a week or be a day visitor.

History and Films
Fishguard is also the setting for many movies or films from the past such as Moby Dick and Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

You can read about the making of the films in the bar of the Fishguard Bay Hotel which is above the port where you catch the ferry to Ireland.

Ireland And Wales
Some people go through Wales because they need to in order to get the ferry to Ireland. You might do so deliberately in order to Enjoy and two destination trip to both Wales and Ireland.

Tourist Information
www.visitWales.com
www.wales.com
www.gofishguard.co.uk/
http://www.writersholiday.net
http://www.directferries.co.uk/fishguard_rosslare_ferry.
http://www.directferries.co.uk/ferries_from_wales_to_ireland. (Choosing which ferry route.)
http://www.irishtourist.com/wexford/towns/rosslare/
www.duolingo.com (Welsh, Gaelic, English for speakers of other languages, other languages)
I have several other posts on Wales and learning Welsh. Please share links to your favourite posts.

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

Fishguard Bay - Setting For Under Milk Wood

A plaque on the little Harbour at Fishguard Bay tells you this was used as a setting for the film of Under Milk Wood, the poem written by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, in the film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. You can happily while away an afternoon walking around the bay. Or watching or participating in the kayaking. You might like to take the bus around the bay to the Fishguard Bay hotel, on the hillside opposite, actually in Goodwick, with a view over Fishguard Bay. This was where Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole stayed when making the film.

Back down on Fishguard Bay, The Cafe on the Quay is a cheerful place for tea, with a small gift area. Proceedings are presided over by jolly Jo, who will tell you about local events, boat competitions and music festivals, and people, such as the twins and the police.

The houses around the bay and throughout Fishguard are painted in contrasting colours, creams and greens, and blues and plums and pinks and rust red. The Town Hall is green, and that's where you find the tapestry about the ladies with their black hats and red shawls who helped head off an invasion by the French.

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