3/14/12
Morning run through 2 townships, a graveyard and ended in a silent playground in the valley.

Irish Sea

Finally, the sea.  Toured the western coast of Wales on our way to Snowdonia Area in the Northern part of the country.  I've been waiting for that salty air.  Feelin' so close to home again and loving it.



:Barmouth (equivalent to Outer Banks, maybe a lil more money coming through, but essentially facing the same issues as the banks...bridge to island is unsafe, yet provides services and toursits to boost economy...should we wait to fix? who knows)

_although bleak weather, this town is quiet and beautiful. got that urge to disappear here, find a little cafe, live above it and have coffee talk with locals in the off season. not to mention unlimited cockels and seafood. favorite. streets lined with bright pots and plants make me eager for summer again.

> <

The afternoon was spent in the city of Caernarfon and touring the castle.  Edward I's premeir fortress and palace in this ring of northern Welsh castles, modeleed on the lines of Emperor Theodosius's wall at Constantinople.  The castle was designed with intention of isolating Welsh forces in the Snowdon mountains by cutting off their supply to mother Wales.  No Welshman was allowed to live within the city of Caernarfon...Edward I did not underestimate Wales' uprising, but was tactical in his castle placement and forcde isolation.  The castle itself is capapble of being defended by only 50 men-full of secret passageways and deep dungeons.

Here I am on the greens of Caernarfon.  So green too.  Charles, current Prince of Wales, had his commencement ceremony right were I'm standing.  Royalty by default?

Cruised the city of Caernarfon for lunch.  Here are a few of my favorite spots in this city...teas, toasties, and bitters....content watching life go by me for a while.

w. 6

plucked from the sea

like a stone in the sand, my heart be still

and awake

                         inhale.

salt sticks to the inside of my lungs

swallow hard

and breathe.

make it a part of me just one more thing i can have

no currency

     can take me here, below the surface

                   

tides pull the medicine i seek into my veins

ebb. 

3/13/12



aaaaaaahhhh yes. last night in Chepstow. No other way to find culture than stumbling upon Monday night poker league? No problem at all. I'll sit here and soak it in.
The stench of gambling. The warmth of cider.

(from midnight on...epic skype sesh) so delicious.

And in the morning.....

Caerwent(Roman town) Beautiful church, misty mornings.  No socks in the crocs this am...wet grass.


Here I am at Caerffilli Castle.  The Anglo-Norman castle was built betwee 1268-1271 AD during the First Welsh War of Independence against the English crown, prior to the annexation of Wales under Edward I.  This was a major fortress encorporating state-of-the-art design and fortifications influenced by the Crusades.  Long metal spouts lined every entrance to the castle-these were used to pour boiling oil, hot coals, and defecation on intruders...hey, whatever works? 


The castle was great to explore.  The sidewalks were crowed with kiddos on field trips and it was quite obvious these had been on the coach for a while.  Thought about my raptors a lot today and how I wish and hope they will have the opportunity to participate in something like this...  After a walk about the grounds, though, a castle begins to disappear into a big lot of stones.  I chose to walk into the city of Caerffilli and indulge my people watching.

Bonus: located a thrift shop and helped an old maid choose a sweater that would be warm enough.  Sweaters, old ladies, thrifting...just my cup of tea. No pun intended.

 Rhonnda Valley: South Wales Coalfield, developed in midle and later stages of the Industrial Revolution and typifying coalfield towns, with modern problems of economic decline, landscape dereliction, degradation & reclamation.  Great drive, not pleased to be spending so much time on a bus though.  Actually not excited at all-getting cranky...but soaking it in.  Mental note, bus seats are uncomfortable.  Thank the Lord for my nimble ways and Coates roots-I can sleep anwhere.


Then on to....Cors Goch and Dyfi Estuary

This is on the Cambrian coast on the east shore of the Irish Sea.  It's a gigantic dam that has been overflowing recently, direct result of global warming/ice cap melting/rise in global sea level.  Look out East Coast of US! Also talked about the neccessity of water in the UK.  Wales supplies the majority of water for entire UK...wowzers.  And if you're having a dejavu moment, YES, this is the lake the ship from Harry Potter 4 disappeared to at the end of the movie(jk, but I mean, seriously?!?)

Here's me at the Cors Goch!! Crocs and socks and all...what a beautiful way to end a long bus ride.

Dolbrodmeath Hotel/Middle of Nowhere Valley/I'm in the Room The Werewolves Can Get You

bonus: fireside skype with Randy, Dottie, and Hannah<3

W.5

the fog hangs on
as if dear Life depends on the damp air
cold toes and buried walls

cerulean passageways slide by with each step,
yet i cannot enter

borders upon borders, stone upon stone
leave some for them, for they will soon forget.
red yarn on your finger.


Into the country at last.
God's own acre.
the Ripe flesh, sweet nectar runs down my chin
streets again, my own in the sun.

A war for water
ominous
overlooked

and the mist returns
She slips into the hills and waits for the comfort
like a warm sweater, engulfing me.

cold noses, curries.
i'm still waiting for more

3/12/12

Cardiff Bay, South Wales.  The most potential for environmentally friendly energy sources so far...yet not cost effective.  It has been a continuous culture shock when the majority of reasoning behind the lack of environmentally friendly items has been because of cost, go America?

Today global climate change and its results were directly compared to 9/11.  Why is it we are able to pay more attetnion to immediate, inumerous, and tragic losses more so than the same loss over a period of a year.  Last year over 50,000 people died of heat stroke(global warming) yet we cannot wrap our heads around this increasingly tragic string of events.  How sickening it is to describe our generation as instant gratification, but the truth seems to come out.  Why can't we see what's happening?  A dramatic sea level rise is expected to occur within the next 2-4 decades and those towns(NYC to Buxton) will be below sea level...imagine.  It's real and its happening.  Today matters.

Walked the length of the bay(about 1.2 miles) and ended at the opera house.  The walk itself was bleak.  Dampness seeped through the skin, but the watery air was perfect.  I've missed this connection to the sea.  A rare breath of salt came through like a shooting star, and I saw each one.

Skaters, odd couples, dog walkers.  Nothing like a stroll to watch real life pass by.  Time itself seems nonexistent.  the days continue to grow, as do I.

Here I am with little piggy.  Dont' worry, swine flu is completley irrelevant.  St. Fagan's Museum was awesome.  They have relocated and recreated a number of historical Welsh homesteads into one area, creating the most representative picture of Welsh culture(for me)thus far.  Pigs were common sources of food in historic Wales.  The Welsh are even thought to have coined the 'piggy bank'.  This is because you can feed them trash and all your leftovers(i.e. your spare change) and when you slaughter them you reap the benefits(breaking the bank, you're rich).  How clever.

Welsh have great gardens.  Note taking on this is a must.  I will localize and provide 85% of my vegetables this summer.  Goal is written down...must do it.(Picture also at St. Fagan's)

Then to Tintern Abbey, a monastery dissolved by Henry VIII.  A poet's dream.  William Wordsworth wrote lines describing the green of this valley.  Luckily caught it at sunset.  This place was not only a monastery, but a symbol of power.  It used the river beside it as clean drinking water, hydro power, and you guessed it....toilets.  River runs right to left-i.e. your dorm did NOT want to be on the left side of Tintern.

I digress.  This place is magnificent.  A church, school, home, farm, vineyard, garden...all settled in a quaint valley with a mountain creek and a river running alongside.  Already checked, price of land is what you'd expect.  I imagine I'll retire someplace like this.



I

W.4

The ruins are silent, yet speak with magnitude.
a Dream once had
                     and becoming my own

cricket.

a moment i know i own
but how? can something so immense be tamed

archways peaks and valleys
there is something to be said
                    and no
      words
come

this Game i play so easy and quick
a selfish existence i allow, i feed It

say it. 

need i steal from another? does my heart fall quiet today
if any
should i never find words his might suffice

'glamourous night
careless rapture crest of the wave
           the dancing years

king's rhapsody

perchance to dream'

say it, easy now.
      

3/11/12

Here I am at Blaenavon Iron Works.  It's been a really interesting introduction to Welsh culture.  COAL.  The origins of industry in Wales.  how fitting too, that my roots belong below the Earth.  As if my idea of European history wasn't completely incorrect, Ken(our resident Welshman...and a lot less harrier than I imagined) informed me that West Virginia/Virginia is of the same geological feature that Wales is.  When the entire continent was once Pangea, Wales was directly related to the same mineral composite of VA/WVA...in short...we are all COAL miners at heart<3

Thinking of you Uncle Charlie!

We travelled 300 feet below ground in the morning at Big Pit, one of the last working coal mines in Wales.  This pit went on 5 miles deep into the Earth.  Women and children also worked at the mines.  Women were in charge of pulling the carts above ground, but children seemed to have the worst of it.  They were taken into the depths early in the morning and left by air vent doors(used to direct the flow of clean air in the mines)...in pitch black.  Seriously the darkest of dark I've been in.  And I thought I lived in dark without light pollution....but these children truly survived in the pitch.

Where would my mind go?  Left in the blackness, with nothing but my own fears, insecurities, unsure if my mom would return for me.

Arriving in Wales, I had a bizarre feeling of dejavu? or was it home?  I couldn't place it until these bits of history came into view.  These mountains are essentially the same I lay my head to rest every night.
This feeling of comfort eases me, a warm tea for my thoughts.


W.3
steel cages pierce the Earth, layers upon sand. to the core.
sinking into the depths
of black gold.

the price of a culture.
bits of time spent in pitch black.
the darkness may take your soul, your mind.

easy, child. the Light will come.

she heaves the heart above ground,
hands on fire, inheritance.

white flash. blinders on.
tomorrow, again.

can we build again?
a Green so lush, it erases the pain.

The two pictures here are in Aberfan.  A tragic coal mining disaster flooded and drowned 144 teachers and students in an unsuspecting school on October 21, 1966.  The grave sites define the town in somber remembrance of children taken too soon.  The burial site brought me to tears. 


Appreciate today for what we have.  Love the ones who share your moments and treasure the ones who have.

3/10/12

a poem for each day...


W.2

lots of Words to describe something so
deep
and simple.

                     Heritage.
all together at one point
     and driven Apart by

magma. shifts, movements and
     a slow Waltz
to the gentle melody, identify note?

                     Who I am here?

another spot on the Bus.

in hertiance.

                 Fire and leeks.

Arrived in Wales just yesterday(3/9/12).  Here I am in the city of Cardiff for the International Rugby match Wales vs. Italy.  I'm completely open to new sports and this indeed is a man's sport...although there is truly nothing like American football.  A day long event full of chips, booze, and friends couldn't possibly better than RUGBY right? So I thought...

(Pregame) Thoroughly enjoyed the Goat Manor Pub and some other local spots while waiting for the match to begin.  This is the big thing. Wales has the opportunity to win the 'grand slam' meaning they have won the most games this season...quite a proud moment in fact.  And the locals know it.

I was, at first, interested in my tolerance for being blatantly American, but I've been embraced and included in everything Welsh.  It's really quite homey. Brains SA and Dark welcome me in like a bonfire and marshmallows.  Yet the fire wins.

(Match) The smell of a stadium crosses borders, oceans alike.  The warm buzz of fans and athletes soothes the soul.  Embracing all that is Welsh, I am a leek today. A daffodil too.  Gwlad.  HOME.

The fans are quiet, surprisingly.  The game intense.  Not to mention all manors of tackle are allowed in rugby, including pants pulling and other such inappropriate moves to gain advantage.  No sissy padding here, just a simple soft helmet to protect the scrum foremen from permanently bent ears.  Genetics at its finest.  Burly.  Hairy. 

Guiness.  Lager.  I met a year two(second grade in the States) teacher who was so proud to be in cahoots with one of his kind(teachers of raptors unite!).  WALES. waaaaaales.  The chants drown my thoughts to pure pleasure.  This is exhilarating.

(Post game)  Snagged a take out tea and waited in line amongst fans of all ages, true bloods of Wales.  Red, green and white are blinding yet defining.  Enjoyment. 

W.1

subtle Greens
and familiar greys

I want what is tucked behind them, home
what's left Underground...
                        the scent of Family
              the tears of placement

Purpose

hidden soft behind stones of century, sharp wild
and waiting

Free grazing
forget your fences for here I will stay
here I will find sustenance
and here I will                             be

free to taste whichever blade I choose.