Woodfest Wales.

Anybody in North Wales next week it's the WOODFEST and i'm soo looking forward to it. It's a working holiday Where i set up my marquee and sell clothes to wonderfully jolly folk all out for a good day .............. I'll be camping for the 3 nights even though its only 10 miles from home, and enjoying the live music and beer tent while col stays at home.. I'm taking extra children this time I must be mad, but it'll be fun.

Last year i bought myself a bench made out of planks of gnarly elm with the bark still on and this year i want a table to match. I also nearly bought a 9ft chair which was a green man [Amazing] which i'd watched grow out of a log, there are a group of chainsaw artists who over the weekend create some amazing sculptures,which are all auctioned of on the sunday Very tempting if i've had a busy weekend..

WELL WORTH A VISIT!

An hour on the beach .

Llanfairfechan one of my favourite beaches just before the sea turns into the menai strait, a wonderful place to beachcomb, and your always guaranteed to come home with a pocket full of seaglass and shells... Does any one know what that rock is with a hook in it ?? an anchor maybe and i've no idea if these ancient trees are tide breaks or an eel trap?? very picturesque whatever they are.....

And when the walk is done a coffee laced with brandy in the unchanged Arts & Crafts cafe .

The walk home from pont y gwyddol.

....Sometimes i just NEED to walk and just breathe in and absorb the Green ! do you understand? I hope so or else i must sound completely bonkers......so col dropped me off at the back of our hill after work with "Ben bodran" our ancient 16yr old JRT, and we walked and we sat and we just listened.. we watched a bird pretend to be injured holding it's wing down to distract us from its nest. I trespassed a bit, to visit old friends ie badger setts and tree stumps! but i'm sure my neighbours wouldn't mind, i did no damage and left no trace...

And now i'm working in the shop dressed head to foot in green playing Kate West on the cd and feeling like i've got back in touch with the goddess.......Mad i know.

spring in Eden.

The shops looking lovely at the moment and the lovely fresh smell of the cotton and silk, the new collections been recieved really well ! thank heavens because i'd forgotten what i'd ordered you have to do it 6 months in advance and i can't remember what i did yesterday..

Tomorrow i'm off to manchester to trawl the warehouse for accessories, it's one job i love doing choosing loads of jewellery and handbags and scarves ,and then the pleasure of displaying them the day after i'll need lots of turqoise, natural wood and stones tee hee i can't wait..

Before i set off though i've got my first weigh in at slimmers world Gulp!

PENMON.

Whats this?

Would you stick your camera in there?

The Dovecot

Penmon.

Last week we went on a ride to Penmon Priory [Llanfaes] on Anglesey, I've visited it once before last year pili pala took me there. How could i not have visited this place before it's mentioned in some of my favourite novels sharon penmans "Here be dragons" trilodgy and i'm sure in Barbara erskines "Child of the pheonix".....it's in a beautiful setting you can imagine Cadfael pottering around there...Sadly this was not to be we pulled up on the bikes and removed our helmets there was radio 1 blaring and a scouse bloke held out his meaty fist for a parking fee which also allowed us into the museum,it's worth it....inside are some celtic crosses rescued and kept safe on dating from the 10th century as had one of it's arms sawn off to be used as a window lintel. Theres a shiela-na-gig and other interesting bits...

My favourite is outside The carp pool and St siriols well of which i've no photos ??

But being nosey and wanting to test my camera i stuck it down a dark hole and look what it showed up.Top photos.

On the way out i said to the bloke you should be wearing a monks habit and playing some gregorian chants." Not a berludy chance" he said "they don't pay me enough " ..Salt of the Earth

Cheeky young soldier...

Climbing up the stairs of the dusty antique centre a face caught my eye it was a photo of a soldier hung on the wall, i passed by dismissing it from my mind.

After pottering around upstairs for a while looking at antique tiles and choosing one to buy i headed back down with my purchase reaching the bottom of the stairs i turned around to meet the lovely smile of this boy i climed back up the few steps and scrutinized him, i usually find these sad photos depressing but i found i couldnt help smiling back...I noticed the price tag £9.50 Leaving the shop with my tile i looked back again...

That night i couldnt sleep why hadnt i bought it ???........ Because how could i that lovely young face so familiar so full of promise and eagerness ... did he live did he survive the war? .. The words of a song came to mind "a whole generation that was butchered and damned".. "enclosed in forever behind a glass frame" just two lines but so sad.......Had this photo been the only reminder of a son lost at war or had he arrived home safely back to his family..

Needless to say i went back for it and he now hangs on my kitchen wall making me smile with his lovely face, i like to think he came home and married his sweetheart and had a family .....

Strangest of all ! though not so strange, as it may explain my attraction, but theres more than a passing resemblance to jake my boy.....

Intrepid explorers.

If you get a smaller bike you'll be able to keep up with me, i said looking at cols 650cc monster next to my 125 scooter "eh" he said raising a quizzical eyebrow trying to figure out my logic, As if.

Well its simple to me ! i'm always getting lost ! i pride myself on getting lost ! it's all part of the discovery process when out on my vespa, and if he has to do an 80 point turn on a muddy track that i managed in one , because i went the wrong way and he followed well i'm not waiting..

So he did he traded in his monster for a neat navy largish scooter fair does to him.....

So yesterday we did our second trip together we left at 8am and headed down to Ludlow.

l know a beautiful route that i had to show him avoiding all A or b roads if possible he's christened it the cattle grid route cos we went over at least 18..

Needless to say it was cold but not wet.

The view above is from the long myndd a fabulous road that takes you from the stipperstones to church stretton, not recommended for the faint hearted as theres an extremely narrow very steep decent.

If any of you have read mary webs " GONE TO EARTH" or watched the film the stipperstones are where the devils chair is [SBS will no doubt correct me] i wasnt sure which outcrop was which .

I'd past both SBS's house and Mountaineers so i'd left them carrier bags of inula to plant...I didnt knock this time but last week we'd stopped for a panned [cuppa] at mountaineers Thank You xx

I'm trying to work out how to put my photos in the right order on my blogs i hope it works this time.