Christmas and New Year in The View from the Terrace
- Jan. 4, 2015, 12:03 p.m.
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- Public
The New Year is here and for us it started well with a visit to see Cat and David in Cardiff in their new flat. It’s a very smart place, much better than their last one. No broken washbasins or holes in the window panes. It is a little smaller maybe, but adequate for them. The only disadvantage is it’s not on the ground floor like that last one and there isn’t a garden. This makes it difficult with the dog. They are not supposed to have the dog but the landlady said they could have her temporarily and has said nothing since. Unfortunately, while we were there we went out and the dog started howling, something she never normally does. The person next door rang David to warn him. I don’t know yet if the landlady heard.
They took us down to see Cardiff Bay. I’ve never been there before. It’s beautiful, especially in the early evening with all of the lights reflecting in the water. We had a drink in a pub shaped like a ship. They told us that on the top floor there is a small area shaped like a crows nest with a mock mast. Unfortunately the upper floors were closed and we couldn’t see that.
We had a good Christmas. There was the folk club Christmas do the week before and another at the Open mic in Abergavenny. Chris came over for Christmas Day. He bought us a sat nav because he said we were always going places and getting lost! We took it with us to Cardiff but I couldn’t work out how to use it when we did get lost. I now know so should be OK in the future. Tony gave me a lovely wind chime for the garden. I won’t put it up until the spring as the last two broke in winter storms. Hubby gave me a new guitar strap embroidered with purple flowers, very me. Chris left when I said I wanted to watch Call the Midwife. I guess it’s not a man’s programme but it has become part of Christmas for me, that and Downton Abbey, and the Eastenders Christmas episode where everything always goes wrong for everyone!
I sound like a telly addict but I don’t normally watch a lot. It’s just that all of my favourite programmes were on Christmas Day.
Now it’s back to the usual routine. There’s not much to do in the garden for a few weeks and it’s too cold anyway so I guess I will try to get a few things done in the house and do a bit more writing.
jamez ⋅ January 09, 2015
Your Christmas sounds a very good family gathering, we haven’t been to south Wales much, in resent years we have passed through south Wales on our way to Anglesey, but we could have a look round this year.
My Christmas watching was Doctor Who, I’ve been watching since 1963, the other thing I watch every Christmas in ‘The Snowman’ it reminds me of Christmas’s in the 50’s, alas snowmen didn’t fly then; I also love the music that flows through the story.
A little late I know, Happy New Year.
Sabrina-Belle jamez ⋅ January 10, 2015
I watch The Snowman every year too. It always reminds me of when the children were young. Our youngest, Tony had a beautiful voice and he used to sing that song while I accompanied him on the piano. I could never persuade him to do it in public though.
We've only been to Anglesy once. We went there for the day during a holiday in North Wales. Must go back sometime.
Happy New Year.
jamez Sabrina-Belle ⋅ January 10, 2015
RYNote. Before you go to Anglesey let me know, we came from Shrewsbury and we had never heard of the island, as soon as we moved to Manchester we found most people had been, and the man I worked with had a second home there! Some friends of ours went and kept to the main roads and told us there was nothing there!
We didn’t go there until we had children, the beach at Trearddur Bay is wide and clean, and if you take the ‘Lon Isallt’ you will find Port Dafarch, and smaller beach with higher land around it, a good place when its windy. Farther on you will find the road to South Stack, on a clear day you can the Wicklow Mountains, and as well there is South Stack Lighthouse, the Hut Circles and Ellen’s Tower which is owned by RSPB, as well as bird watching there are great views around; and down the cliffs!
All this is on Holy Island, or as Google Earth calls it ‘Holyhead Island, from Holyhead you can have day or longer trips to Ireland. Anglesey is the much bigger island you have to travel over to get to Holy Island. I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve been there, our first visit was in June 1984, the second September 1984; the last March 2014!
Sabrina-Belle jamez ⋅ January 22, 2015
Sorry, meant to answer you before. Holy Island sounds beautiful. You make me want to go there this year but don't think that's possible so maybe next. Would love a day trip to Ireland too. We holidayed there years ago and I would love to go back.