Birds of a feather flock together

Starlings flocking at sunset in Aberystwyth, Wales.  I presume that is the Royal Pier that we can see at the bottom left.  As with many piers, it is now much shorter than its original length of 242 metres or 794 feet.

Translation of the bible

In 1988 the Royal Mail issued a set of four stamps (shown as PHQ cards above) to commemorate the 1588 of the bible in the Welsh language.  There were in fact about eight translators but the four shown on the stamps were Richard Davies, William Morgan, Richard Parry, and William Salesbury.

William Salesbury and also Richard Davies translated the New Testament in 1567.  William Morgan translated the complete bible in 1588 and Richard Parry was responsible for the 1620 revision.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

St David's Day for Wales

In honour of St David's Day, St David being the patron saint of Wales, I'm showing three of the maps of Wales I have.

At the top is the full map of Wales, dating from 1992, sent from Colwyn Bay in north Wales.  The second is an old MF Peck (Maisie Peck) with her name at the bottom right of the card.  It is an older sized (140 x 90mm) unused card.

The third card is also very much in Peck's style but it's unsigned.  It shows the Llangollen Canal in north Wales.  Llangollen is pronounced Chlangochlen where the "ch" is pronounced the German or Scottish way.  That probably clarifies nothing....

A word about Maisie Peck:  she produced these maps for the publisher J. Salmon from 1953 until her death in 1974.  Many of them are still available as postcards today though they are now produced in the modern larger format.  Her map of Kent is one I very frequently send out.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.  Just click on the button to visit and join in.

Two places in Wales

As it's St David's day the feast day of the patron saint of Wales, I've chosen two cards showing very different views of the country.  Both were issued as stamps during the 1980s.

The first, Stackpole Head, is a popular beauty spot on the south west cost.  The second is in the north east and is the aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal over the River Dee valley.  It is the longest and highest aqueduct in the British isles and is a World Heritage Site, though only relatively recently inscribed.

Snowdon

Mount Snowdon is the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland.  According to the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, it's probably the busiest mountain in Britain.  People seem determined to  walk or climb to the top.  In the late 19th century it was decided to build a railway to reach the summit.

The Snowdon Mountain Railway was completed in 1896 and operates in some of the worst weather conditions in the British Isles and doesn't operate at all from the end of October until March.  It is the only rack and pinion railway in Britain and was the inspiration behind some of the stories by the Reverend Awdry, now best known for Thomas the Tank Engine.

The card has the title "Snowdon, train at danger point" which is a little disconcerting.  I can find no mention of a danger point anywhere else but there is a story by the Reverend Awdry called Danger Points.  The story can be seen on a YouTube video on narrated by Willie Rushton.

The message reads:

Dear Glad
Have been up Snowden today, my word I have never felt so cold in all my life.  Before we went up we got soaked through with rain, then we got frozen on the top of Snowden, & then Bob (a boyfriend) & myself got in the front of the train & the sun baked us.
Love, Margaret.

And it's nicely stamped to prove they did get to the summit.

This is a post for Sepia Saturday.  There is very little link with the theme, but after such an exciting day I'm sure Margaret did sleep well.

Caldey? Caldy? Cold Island

I am mystified as to why Caldey Island is spelt Caldy on this card.  I can find no reference to an earlier or alternative spelling.  There is a Caldy in the north west of England, near Liverpool so I'm wondering if the postcard publisher has made a mistake.

The name comes from the Viking name, Keld Eye, meaning cold island.  A little strange that the Vikings would think the place cold, but who knows.

This is another card given to me by John of English Wilderness who posted his own photograph of Caldey Island a few days ago.  He got the spelling right. :)

St David's Day

From one card showing traditional dress to another, this time Welsh national costume.  The costume is based on what Welsh country women might have worn during the early 19th century.  The card dates from 1984.

Today, 1 March, is St David's Day and St David is the patron saint of Wales.  Many towns in Wales have a parade to celebrate.  People will wear one of the two national symbols of Wales, the daffodil or the leek.  Children will sometimes wear the national costume.

The smallest house in Great Britain

"This house, situated on Conway Quay, North Wales, measures Frontage, 72 inches; depth 100 inches; height 122 inches.  The lady in Welsh costume is the owner of the house."

Once upon a time a 6 ft 3 inch fisherman lived in this one-up, one-down, house, the smallest house in Great Britain, until it was declared unfit for human habitation in 1900.  If his height was correct, he wouldn't have been able to lie across the width of the house which is only 5 ft 11 wide.  He couldn't even stand up straight because the total height for the two floors is about 10 feet.  The reason it was so small is that it was built in a gap between two terraces of larger houses.  Later, the houses to the left were demolished, and nowadays the house is painted red.

When I examined the card with a magnifying glass, I could see that the sign over the front door offers admission for 1d (one old penny).  With inflation that has risen to £1.  The sign also says that postcards can be obtained within.  I would like to think that this card came from there.

This is a post for Postcard Friday, which is hosted by Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Aberaeron

Aberaeron looks here to be an attractive old seaside town.  It's certainly attractive but it's a planned town and not especially old.  In 1807 the landowner was given permission to improve the harbour and rebuild the quay.  It developed into one of the major ports on the Welsh coast.

In time, especially with the advent of the railways, the trade through the port declined and nowadays its major industry is tourism.  It is known as the jewel of Cardigan Bay.

Felin Isaf

It strikes my as a very modern idea to use dual power sources, this mill called Felin Isaf in Anglesey, the island just off the North Wales coast.  When the water levels were low, it could use wind power.  When there was no wind it could use water. 

It was built in 1835 and continued in use until 1930, when the sails were taken off.  It used water power alone for a time but it was accidentally largely destroyed by fire in 1975.  It has since been restored and is rented out as a holiday property.

The card was posted in 1908 in Rhosneigr, a village on Anglesey.  The message is a little odd:

"Dear Bessie, I hope you are taking the kittens out for a walk".

An island monastery

This is a special place, not least because the island is often cut off during the winter.  The 2 km (just over a mile) crossing is surprisingly dangerous. However, for such a small place it packs in an amazing amount of history.

The text on the card, which was sent to me inside a book during 2005, says

Monks have lived and worked on Caldey Island for 1,500 years.  The original Welsh name of Ynys Pyr - the island of Pyro, preserves the name of the first abbot from the 6th century.  The abbey building was erected between 1910-1913 by an Anglican Benedictine Brotherhood under Dom Aelred Carlyle.  Growing financial problems in the 1920s led to the monastery and the island being sold to the present owners - the Catholic order of Reformed Cistercians.  The advance party of monks from the new mother house at Chimay in Belgium settled into residence on Caldey in January, 1929.

The interior of the monastery is in keeping with the Cistercian tradition of simplicity and austerity. The focal point of the daily lives of the monks is the abbey church where, wearing their traditional habits, they gather for seven services each day.

On the island is a Norman church with a 6th century floor, a 6th century cross, and a 12th century church.  It is an ancient place.

Singing in Barry

This card is dated  19 October 1907 and postmarked Barry BO Glamorgan.  I though possibly the road shown, Windsor Road, might be where the sender was staying, but no, the address given is Princes Street.  Barry is in south Wales, not far from Cardiff.

The intriguing message on the back reads:

Dear Miss D received your kind letter safely Cannot send a letter very busy working and singing So I hope you will accept PC I hope to send you a letter has [sic] soon as possible awfully busy now working late every night till 7 PM and sometimes all night kind regards best wishes JTE

What on earth can he have been doing?  I've been assuming it was a "he" which I suppose is a big assumption.   Who would work all night?  My first thought was that he/she was a singer, but surely not all night?

Castles of Wales

Another coincidence this week when this card arrived just after I'd posted the Conwy Castle card.  This one is postmarked Shropshire & Y Canolbarth, dated 7 September 2009.

Top row (L - R):  Beaumaris Castle, Caernarfon Castle, Caerphilly Castle
Middle row (L - R):  Cardiff Castle, Conwy Castle, Harlech Castle
Bottom row (L - R): Kidwelly Castle, Laugharne Castle, Pembroke Castle.

The castles of King Edward I are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  They were built by Edward to establish English presence in Wales.  The four castles listed, Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Conwy, and Harlech, are outstanding examples of military architecture.

Conwy, Wales

 

Postmarked Chester, dated 2004.
Conwy at dawn
Conwy gyda'r wawr
Picture Rhodri Clark

Conwy, once called Conway, is a popular tourist destination in North Wales.  Its castle was built by Edward II between 1283 and 1289.  It has several interesting historic buildings, including the smallest house in Great Britiain which was lived in from 1500 until 1900.

A week of castles: Day 3 - Powis Castle, Wales

Postmarked Gosport, Hampshire, dated 27 April 1982.

Powis Castle, Powys
Built of red linestone and spectacularly sited on a lofty ridge near Welshpool, the mediaeval Powis Castle has been inhabited without interruption for over five hundred years.  The home of the Powis family, the castle now belongs to the National Trust.

The castle rises giving an excellent view towards England, high above a world-famous garden, French style with Italianate terraces.  It was built in roughly 1200 for the Welsh princes of Powys, hence the view towards England.  In 1578 the castle passed to the Herbert family, who have been the owners ever since.  In 1784, Edward Clive, the son of Clive of India, marrried Lady henrietta Herbert, bringing many Indian treasures into the family.

Hay on Wye, England

Postmarked Wolverhampton, dated 26 July 2008.

The Bookshops of Hay-on-Wye.

Hay-on-Wye is known as the town of books. It has 30 - 40 bookshops and two castles, but fewer than 2000 inhabitants. It was Richard Booth who put Hay on the map in 1977 by declaring it an independent nation on 1 April, and since then it has become a bookshop centre and the venue for an annual Literary Festival sponsored by The Guardian.  It is situated in the in the Brecon Beacons National Park, on the bank of the river Wye. Both Offa's Dyke and the Wye Valley Walk pass nearby.

This card was sent to me through Postcrossing from someone I had not previously known, but coincidentally I visited Hay on Wye myself at precisely the same time the card was posted.

Abergwesyn

Postmarked Dulith Wells 8 August 1976.

Abergwesyn - Tregaron Road

Clarach Bay, Aberystwyth

Postmark dated 31 July 1916.
Aberystwyth Clarach Bay.
"Splendid scenery and a lovely place. Very quiet and reserved."