Friday September 15, 2006

Aberfan forty years on...

Excellent program on this disaster last night. It told the story interviewing people who survived the incident - many talking about it for the first time. The shocking engulfing of the local school by tons of waste from the local coal mine was well told. It then described the inquiry and how the village campaigned to have the other heaps of waste removed - although the government at the time had the village contribute 150,000 pounds to have this done. This amount was paid back by Tony Blair's government but as 150,000 no interest or any attempt to make the amount relate to its value today.

A week in Ceredigion ( Part Three )

On getting up on one of the later days on our holiday we found all the houses along the harbour front had sandbags left for them. Clearly winter was on its way. Own penultimate walk had us start from the nearby Welsh University town of Aberystwyth. We went along several roads round towards open countryside, passing a very modern nice looking schoool after passing by a railway track. Up above us on the left cound be seen the National library of Wales and behind it hidden from view - thankfully the University itself. We past the pretty church of St Padarn a contemporary of St David this church having been destroyed by the Vikings was rebuilt in the twelfth century and is one of the largest churches in Wales. After passing through more houses we finally got to open countryside. After passing around a hill we had a lovely view of the sea.

Above us we could see a tall monument to the Duke of Wellington which sits atop an old Iron age fort one of many monuments to him in the UK. Eventually after pasing thorough a tall hedgerow we got the the pretty harbour of the town and then went for a stroll along the pretty front.

Our final walk had us start from the town of Cardigan. The name of the town has nothing to do with the woollen industry which the name might suggest but to the Earl of Cardigan renowed for his gallantry at the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean war. We had lunch in a local pub and headed out under leafy hedgerows and came out at a very Austere Blaenwaun Baptist chapel by a graveyard. We then followed more hedgerows eventually dropping down into a small village where the smell of fish and chips had us pop in for last orders and a nice chat with the local owner of the shop. We then munched our way through the chips while wandering around the ruined St Dogmaels Abbey which was the daughter house of the French Abbey Of Tiron founded in the 12th century.

We then left the Abbey and followed the road back into the town.

Our last night had us having a couple of drinks resting on the harbour wall watching the summer sun go down. Lovely holiday.