More Ryder Cup

Prince Charles at the Celtic Manor Resort,
 with Colin Montgomerie.

Where is all this traffic?  As we in East Newport are all stocked up for the siege and have been warned we won't be able to leave our homes for the huge traffic jams predicted, we now feel a bit cheated.  We are stock piled and waiting, but the traffic is very light!

I went to Tesco's for petrol early this morning to avoid the jams - there were none.  I pulled into the petrol station and the only sign of the Ryder Cup was an American guy in front of me in the queue waiting to pay.  He said to the cashier 'I don't understand your money, will you take what I owe you'? He handed her £80 in twenties, she smiled politely and gave him £49.55 back! When he left we both smiled, and she said 'He was one of the nicer ones!'  I didn't ask what that meant - I paid and left! 

There was no traffic on the way home, the roads are deserted, far more than usual.  Either the warnings are paying off, or there has been an over reaction by the organisers.  I still say - the competition days have not started, it may all change yet!

Ryder cup - kicking off !

Celtic Manor Resort, NEWPORT.

Up until today you would not know that here was a major world wide golf tournament on my doorstep. However, sitting here late afternoon with my friend Mary, we heard helicopters flying overhead to what we assume was the Celtic Manor Resort helipad. Traffic so far has been as normal.  Me and hundreds of other locals are tuning into the Welsh (and national) news to see what is going on.  It's sort of surreal; not as if it's our Celtic Manor everyone is talking about!

Prince Charles was here today (we think that's why there were so many helicopters) and tonight, after a reception at Cardiff castle there is an extravaganza at the millennium stadium with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey and Kathryn Jenkins (where's Tom I want to know?) I would like to be a fly on the wall tonight especially when the Yanks try to sing the Welsh national anthem at the end!

The weather though has let us down, and the forecast is not too good for the remainder of the week - Sod's law!  It was fine for a while this afternoon, but it was not long before the autumn mists, already shrouding the beautiful rolling valley, blotted out the stunning views from the fairways.  I wonder if our visitors will ever see how beautiful this part of Wales is?

The Ryder Cup Effect.

Colin Montgomerie with one of the Newport dragons.





As I live in Newport, I thought this small city cannot host the Ryder Cup and me not mention it in my blog! Then I saw this picture of Colin Montgomerie with one of the Newport dragons and thought I would post a short piece.

Newport is supposedly poised to maximise the economic boost from the Ryder Cup 2010.  We are told that the city has benefited from 1,600 jobs and around £98 million has been poured into the economy since 2003.  There is no doubt that since 2001, when Newport's Celtic Manor Resort won the right to host the 2010 Ryder Cup that this new city has been transformed.  There have been much needed road improvements, particularly on the A449 and the Coldra round about, and Newport has definitely been propelled into the international spotlight.  But what about the long term effects? I hear that the Welsh Assembly are planning to bring more sporting events to Newport in the coming years, but will all this give Newport a future?

This city is best known for the Chartists riots, It remains to be seen if the aftermath from the Ryder Cup can usurp this notorious history.

More Raku

Finished dish.

After the bisque firing and before the final Raku process.

I am posting pictures of this dish simply because it is one of my favourites from the weekend. very simple, yet stunning in the kitchen.

Raku Pots - update

From kiln to sawdust.

On the weekend myself and my pottery friends went back to Wrington to finish the pots we made a week  ago (see posting of 21st Sept 2010).  The beautiful autumn weather continued throughout the day and we were able to have our lunch al fresco! We worked through from 10am to 6.30 pm.  this whole course is a delight from start to finish.




Douse with more sawdust.



                                                                               Finished Pot.

                                                   Sunset at The Walled Garden, Wrington.

The end of our time at this lovely place at the foot of the Mendips.  This is the last thing we saw, the sun setting over the tiny little village Church in Wrington.










Jewellery making.

 

Just a small sample of what I made on Monday.  At £2 a class in the Chaple hall in Ynysddu is fantastic value.  You then pay the tutor for the beads and findings that you use.  These four pair of earrings cost me £6.  Four Christmas gifts for £6 isn't bad.  Okay, I have to by the small boxes to put them in, but that will be minimal on the Internet.  Good value for token Christmas gifts and stocking fillers.  It would be even cheaper if you made them at home yourself of course, but then you have the initial outlay for the tool.  It depends on whether or not you want it for a hobby or not I suppose!

Dylan Thomas - A Child's Christmas in Wales.





 Having dutifully handed in my homework today, I thought I would do a short posting on this lovely book - A Child's Christmas in Wales - that I had to study for homework last week. It's not the first time I have read it by any means, but to hear it read by our tutor today gave it a whole different perspective.  It is a far better story for being read aloud than it is to read.  Thomas writes in a prose style that highlights the pleasure of words.  It is evocative of Christmas and viewed with great pleasure by me as I was born and brought up in the Welsh valley's.

It brought back so many memories for me and the sentence in italics below are probably my favourite piece of the text, as I can identify with it.

"I can never remember whether it snowed for six nights when I was twelve, or whether it snowed for twelve nights when I was six!"

Well, neither can I remember that kind of detail, but Christmas was always a snowy time (or so it seemed) when I was a girl.  Those were the days when winter was winter not these muggy, watery, sunny, mild days we have now at Christmas.  Ahh... nostalgia!





Raku pottery

Barley Wood Craft Barns, Wrington





Stage 1 - Throwing a pot.

Stage 2 - Throwing a pot



For the second year running my pottery friends and I went to the lovely Barley Wood Walled Garden craft barns in the village of Wrington ,nestling below the Mendip hills.  What a lovely venue for the teaching of crafts.  In our case we went to received pottery tuition, just as we did last year. 

The walled garden dates from 1901 and were constructed for Henry Herbert Wills, director of the Imperial Tobacco company in Bristol.  Walled kitchen gardens were the zenith during this time, supplying every kind of fruit including figs, grapes and nectarines to the family in Barley Wood house. Although not part of the house any longer, they are still beautifully tended by the current owners, and the craft barns, a relatively new addition, lend themselves perfectly for creativity in this glorious location.  In addition there is a delightful cafe/restaurant within the walled garden complex.  They serve wonderful freshly cooked country fayre.  A wonderful day out if you are a gardener, of the craft persuasion or simply for a ride in the country with a delightful lunch.  I can't speak highly enough of this venue.

I must not forget our pottery tutor Bill Moore, an excellent craftsman with enormous patience.  This extremely talented man has a display of all his own work in one of the craft barns, and it's all for sale if you are looking for a gift or just collecting pottery. This place and the whole experience for my friends and I have been a real find over the last year or so.













Independent Ballet Wales - The lady of The Lake/ Llyn-y-Fan

This time last year I went with my friend Anne to see the Independent Ballet Wales perform 'How Green Was My Valley' at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. I was enraptured. This evening I was fortunate enough to see them perform again at the  Riverfront theatre in Newport.  This young, vital group performed 'The Lady of the Lake', the fairy bride who left her underwater home to marry a farmer and lived as his wife in the Brecon Beacons. Ultimately, she returns to her water home in the lake, it is quite a sad tale, but beautifully performed again this year.

These young people take the most famous Welsh folk tales of all time and perform them as breathtakingly as any professional performing the classics.  These young dancers are pushing back the boundaries of classical ballet while bringing life to the finest characters in literature. 

A literary coincidence?

 The Boathouse, Llaugharne

 On our return journey home from Pembrokeshire, my cousin and I stopped off at Laugharne.  Neither of us had been there for many years and decided it was time to return.  Lying on the estuary of the river Taf is this lovely home of Dylan Thomas.  He lived there from 1949 until his death in 1953.  It is said that Laugharne is probably the town that inspired Thomas when he wrote about the fictitious town of Llareggub in 'Under milk Wood'.

It was amazing that on my first day back at college today (2nd year HND course with the University of Newport Wales) the tutor should ask us to read short stories for homework, recommending Dylan Thomas's 'A Child's Christmas in Wales' as the one for student discussion next week.  There followed a question and answer session on Dylan Thomas and his lifestyle, which was good for me as I was able to shine with my recently refreshed memory of some of his work and background - unusual for something to go my way!

Pembrokeshire 2010



Proof that I had a paddle!



Canadian geese gathering for migration.



Beautiful Newport bay.

Pembrokehire was equally as beautiful this year as last.  My cousin and I made the most of our three-day break and we were lucky to have experienced just one day of rain.  Considering the summer we have had this was good.  However, the day it did rain - it poured!!  We parked at Manobier bay, read the papers and nodded off for a while, that was all we could do!  It was far too wet to go out and explore. We had set aside this day for a return trip to Caldy Island and hoped to attend a service in their local church, but the weather was so rough all sailings to Caldy were cancelled.


The day before had been warm and sunny and we managed to paddle (see photo above - actual proof!).  We took ourselves off to Newport, (Pembs. obviously) and explored the area. A picturesque little town between Fishguard and Cardigan on the A487. We found a lovely place for coffee and were so impressed we went back there for lunch. On our way down to the beach we saw Canadian gees gathering prior to migration.  It was a magical sight.


If anyone reading this blog is thinking of a break, you won't go far wrong with this pretty little town especially if it's peace and tranquility you're after.

Goodbye and Hello!

Having had several emails from followers of missjonesonline.blogspot.com I thought I would post a thank you message to say thanks for your kind comments and best wishes for continued success with missjonesjournal.

Keep following, you will either be bored or amused if nothing else!

Ponypool Jazz Festival

On Friday I was invited  to the Pontypool Jazz festival. When I heard that the marquees had been abandoned, after being washed away three years ago (the whole Festival was a wash out that year apparently) I was disappointed, but I needn't have been so. It was brilliant, even though it all took place indoors.


This years Festival has a 'Jazz from Wales' theme and showcases the tremendous number of hugely talented Welsh-born and Welsh-based jazz musicians. The singer in the second half was a young girls called Alicia Hooper, it seems her dad is the well known Welsh jazz musician Dennis Hooper. She sang the Amy Winehouse number 'Valerie' brilliantly and there were loud called for an encore, even from the friend I was with, who doesn't get excited about much! There was an encore of course, and we all left Pontpool park on a high. If that was the first night, I am sorry I can't make the rest of the weekend!

Transporter Bridge, Newport

The river Usk taken from mid-crossing

On our way up they valleys yesterday, I decided to take my friend as a foot passenger on the Transporter bridge. She had photographed it last year when it was being refurbished, so I thought she might like to see how the work had panned out! I have been over twice since it re-opened, thus the photos. However this was not to be yesterday!

The SDR bridge taken from mid-crossing.

A man, from London, dressed as the Incredible Hulk had scaled the iconic landmark and unfurled a banner. The banner then became entangled in the workings of the bridge gondola and it had to be closed for safety reasons.

Newport's iconic Transporter Bridge.

Well, a worthy cause I am sure, but the police time and disruption to the newly refurbished landmark isn't really worth it, as it will be old news tomorrow and he ends up in court. What message does then send to the person he wants custody or justice from?

The Cholera Cemetery, Tredegar.

 I paid my third visit to the Cholera Cemetery in Tredegar today. I took a friend of mine with me as I have been promising to take her for some time. She, like me, found it an emotional, lonely and evocative place.

I have blogged about this before on missjonesonline.blogspot.com so I won't repeat myself, but I will post a poem that I wrote after my first visit there some two years ago.

The Cholera Cemetery

-six standing gravestones visible. The rest have fallen with the winds of time or stray animals which, until relatively recently, were allowed to roam the moors and disturb them. The graves are now fenced in and only sheep are allowed to graze there to keep the grass and heathers at an acceptable length.

May their souls rest in peace and rise in glory.

The Cholera Cemetery

Lying like coffins,
granite grey and worn.
Headstones, where words,
once engraved,
have faded now.
While others,
swathed in moss.

Shaped like coffins. Broken in two.
Unkempt, uncared for.
Forgotten.
Erased from social order,
stigmatised in death, as in life.

Bleak, hard, lonely place,
apart from society
and conscience.
Only a secular burial,
prompt and impersonal.
Shunned by humanity.

People who once laughed,
danced, loved.
Made contribution to a culture
that has rejected them.
Now lying under mossy mounds
where no one remembers them.