Cardiff - A Winter wonderland

and some soothing music.

I dont know who made this video but many thanks to whoever did.

A Merry Christmas to you all.

Snow - At least its seasonal

If only we could cope with it, when we have snow like this, the whole country just grinds to a halt.

But this has happened now for the last two years, and if its the weather pattern of the future then surely we have to change and invest in facilities to deal with adverse weather.

In the Bleak Mid Winter

In the Bleak Mid Winter by Christina Rossetti, its one of my favourites!

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Tongwynlais

The next village along from Taffs Well going towards Cardiff is Tongwynlais.

Before and after

The top is the old road bridge to Taffs Well but now its by passed by the A470, certainly making for a quieter village with the volume of traffic today .

Winter Sun

Its quickly disappearing, and then you notice how cold it is.

A sprinkling of snow

The first of the snow. It hasn't been this early since 1993.

Great bike skills and great scenery...speakers on

Garden Life

There still some life in the garden. The cowslips usually flower in April so they are out of sync flowering now. But I read recently that someone else has also had some flowering.

The fungi just crops up but it adds that bit of colour.

New shoes?

Jane Austen

For all Austen fans I expect Winchester is a bit of a pilgrimage! Why ?

Saint Swithun

Saint Swithun day is on the 15th July and is an important day for weather watchers because, if it rains on St Swithuns day it will rain for the next 40 days.

More here

Winchester Cathedral

The top two are of the nave and if you look at the roof upside down you can see the resemblance to the structure of a ship.

Sound ll by Antony Gormley

This is in the crypt at Winchester Cathedral.

Because the crypt is built below the water table, when the water rises the crypt floods, this is then the best time to see the statue.

Rememberance Day

This is an original wooden cross brought back from the First World War cemeteries.
Its now in Winchester Cathedral crypt.

As it was

Copied from the Bush collection.

This is just down from where we live. The bus stop is roughly where the telegraph pole is in the picture.

The last tram

Not my picture but one that shows the end of an era.

Whilst the passing off the coal industry is still mourned by some, the upside is that it has made the valleys a far greener environment. In fact some of the valleys are now possibly the best that they have ever been. The air and the rivers are fresh and clean.

Caerphilly castle

These were taken on  a stroll around the castle moat.  I think its one of the largest castles in the UK.  

The leaning tower was damaged by Cromwells army during the Civil War and angle of lean is more than that of the Tower of Pisa. 

The pictures were taken on my phone.

Along the coast from Barry island

We have had some glorious days, much too good to stay indoors, so have a breath of sea air.

Last of the summer colours?

There is still some colour left in the garden.....but not for long though.

Autumn's here

The colours are just beginning to appear.

Its amazing how quick it all happens, as the colours of the trees have changed again in the last few days.