PhotoHunt: Clouds

It's Saturday, which means it's PhotoHunt day. I absolutely love this week's theme. Clouds are one of my favourite photographic subjects.

This sunset shot was taken at Swansea Marina. I managed to get a long aircraft trail in the shot, as well as some clouds.


Here's a shot taken looking across Swansea Bay, towards the city itself. I was standing on the promenade at Oystermouth at the time.


All of the following shots were taken at Rhossili, on the Gower Peninsula, about 20 miles from where I live. I love the way the clouds cast dark shadows on the ground below them, which move along as the clouds move, like some dark, supernatural entity creeping along the beach. I hate taking landscape shots when there's a perfect blue sky. Clouds add such interest, don't you think?




I just love to see fluffy white clouds against a nice, blue sky. If you look at the wire fence in the foreground, you can see where some sheep rubbed themselves, and left behind little hanks of their fleece.


I remember thinking the sky looked rather ominous at the moment I shot this. I feared it was about to rain.


Shortly afterwards, I noticed the clouds starting to thin a little, as the sky brightened, just over the island of Worm's Head. As beautiful as Rhossili is, these cliffs are not a nice place to be during a rainstorm. As you can imagine, I was relieved when the clouds began to dissipate.

Oh well, that's my PhotoHunt for this week. I've set this blog entry up to auto-post at 6 AM UK time. I'm off to bed now, but I'll be visiting other PhotoHunters sometime during Saturday afternoon, UK time. Have a lovely weekend!

Llandeilo Talybont Church - 2

As promised, here are the rest of my images of Llandeilo Talybont Church , at the National History Museum in St. Fagan's. I mentioned in part one of my feature about the church, that the interior walls have been decorated in pre-Reformation style. Note the simplicity of the images. This reflects the fact that medieval church interiors were usually decorated, pre-Reformation, by local parishioners, rather than commissioned artists. Although nowhere near as grandiose as the works of Michelangelo, I suspect a great deal of love and dedication went into such simple artwork.

Note also, the simplicity of the altar itself. Churches in those days served as both spiritual centres and a place for the locals to gather - a kind of medieval community centre.

Here's a slightly closer look at the artwork in the above image. With sunlight streaming in through the window, and bouncing off the pristine, white walls, the artwork proved quite difficult to capture.

This next one is my favourite shot of the day. I wish the floor had been covered in something other than modern mats. As it was a rainy day, I guess they were placed there to prevent accidents, in compliance with health and safety regulations.

Apart from the mats, looking out through this door really was like peeking into a long bygone era. I hope to return to St. Fagan's sometime soon, but not yet. I'm waiting for the school summer holidays to end, early in September, as the place will probably be overrun. I hope you enjoyed my shots of the Old Church on the Marsh, as it's always been known by the people of the Pontarddulais and Hendy areas.

Llandeilo Talybont Church - 1

As promised, here are a few more of my images from St. Fagan's. It shows Llandeilo Talybont church. This medieval church was originally Roman Catholic, but during the days of Henry VIII and the Reformation, it was ransacked and turned into an Anglican church. I can remember this church standing at its original location, on marshes adjacent to the River Loughor, between Pontarddulais and Hendy. In fact, Pontarddulais was originally called Llandeilo Talybont. The church was eventually abandoned, due to its isolation, encroaching marshland and the ensuing floods. You can read more about the church's history, and see images of it in its original location here and here.


Before it was dismantled and removed to St. Fagan's, Llandeilo Talybont had fallen into a sad state. Having lived within a few miles of the church during my childhood and adolescence, I remember it being a dirty grey colour, instead of pristine white. The interior of the church had been vandalised, and desecrated by a Satanic cult, who left behind many remnants of black masses celebrated there. For more information about the reconstruction of the church, including images of it before and after restoration, visit this page.

Even though I'm not a religious person, I love old churches. Since its reconstruction at St. Fagan's, Llandeilo Talybont has yet to be reconsecrated, but it has a lovely, airy and peaceful feel to it. This pic shows my first glimpse of the interior.


Here's a close-up of the rustic stone font you can see about half way down the far right hand side of the above image. I love its functional simplicity.


Here's a look at some of the interior artwork. This particular work is above the altar. Although the artwork inside the church is in an authentic, pre-Reformation, medieval style, it's not original artwork. However, upon stripping away layers of limewash, etc, during the restoration, numerous authentic medieval paintings were found, which are believed to date back to the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries. In order to preserve them, the paintings were removed to another part of the museum. You can see one of them here.


I'll be posting a few more images of the church's interior soon. In the meantime, if you want more information, including historical and architectural data, visit the National History Museum's Llandeilo Talybont page.

PhotoHunt: Hanging

It's Saturday, which means it's PhotoHunt day. For once, I'm not hideously late. Click the logo above if you fancy taking part.

For last week's Photohunt, I showed you some shots I took at the National History Museum, at St. Fagan's, near Cardiff. Upon reviewing the rest of my St. Fagan's pics, I found this shot, which is perfect for this week's theme.

I came across this colourful old Romany caravan at the edge of some woodland. I was a little perturbed to see a pair of dead rabbits hanging up at the window, but I guess that's the way people lived in olden days. I've no idea if the rabbits were fakes, or stuffed, real rabbits.


I was too entranced by the artwork on the caravan to remain horrified for long. Oh well, just one shot for this week's entry. Thanks for visiting - have a lovely weekend!

Even more from St. Fagan's

I think I must be losing the plot. I promised, a couple of days ago, to post some more images from my St. Fagan's trip, later that day. Well, I uploaded the images, and saved the post as a draft, planning to finish off writing it after dinner. Dinner came and went, and I promptly forgot all about my post. Oh well, better late than never!

I don't remember where this old thatched cottage originally stood, but it looks incredibly old. Had the elderly gentleman sitting outside it been in old-fashioned dress, I would have been convinced I'd captured a shot of the original owner's ghost. No such luck, though!


This next shot shows a close-up of the low entrance to the cottage. Judging by the height of the door, I suspect people may have been a lot shorter in medieval times than they are today. I had to stoop to get inside it, and I'm only 5 ft 1.


I don't remember where this row of old cottages came from, either, but they were built for workers of some kind, either miners, quarrymen or iron workers, I think. They were very dark inside, but lovely and warm, as each contained a hearth with a blazing log fire. It was mid-March at the time of my visit, rainy, blustery and bitterly cold, so the log fires were a welcome sight.


I have two more batches of St. Fagan's images for you, as well as a single shot for this weekend's upcoming PhotoHunt. I originally intended showing that image in this post - until I realised it was ideal for PhotoHunt. Check back soon - I think you'll like the rest of my shots.

St. Fagan's yet again!

I hope no-one's fed up of reading about St. Fagan's. Here are a few more of the images I shot. This first one shows an old-style shop, Gwalia Stores. I can remember old shops like this from when I was very young, just before the world got overrun by huge supermarkets. Such shops would sell everything from ham to hammers. You could pop in for a box of teabags and a pack of ginger nuts, and buy a cake tin or a hacksaw at the same time. You would also be updated on all the local gossip. The supermarkets just don't have the same character.


Here's an old post office, complete with an old-style red telephone kiosk. There aren't many of these old kiosks around these days, and small, local post offices are going pretty much the same way, sadly.


The next couple of shots were taken inside an old-fashioned flour mill. I've no idea what the implements on the wall were for. They look like some sort of utensils.


This machine, despite obviously being very old, was happily working away, separating wheat from chaff, and grinding it into meal. If you enlarge the pic and look at the floor below the machine, you'll see a few wheat grains making their bid for freedom.


Apart from the PhotoHunt pic, I'll be making one more post containing St. Fagan's images. They'll show the interior of the recently restored medieval church, Llandeilo Talybont, which was rescued from the marshes near Pontarddulais. I haven't edited them yet, so those pics will be up sometime over the weekend.

More from St. Fagan's

Here are some more of my images from St. Fagan's. I know quite a few of you enjoyed the earlier images I posted, so I hope you'll enjoy these ones, too. The first two images should be of interest to local readers. The old farmhouse depicted is called Kennexstone, and once occupied a site very close to a newer house of the same name, near Llangennith, on the Gower Peninsula. Here's a front view.


This shot shows a rear view. The house was built around 1610, and its exterior walls have been painted an authentic colour for those times. Traditionally, houses were often daubed with a mixture of lime wash and ox blood. This wasn't done simply to make the place look bright and cheery. It was believed that painting such a mixture on the walls of a dwelling, would drive out any evil spirits within, and prevent any more from entering. You can read more about the history of Kennexstone here.


This old pigsty, or twlc moch, as it would be in Welsh, stands near to the old Kennexstone Farmhouse. This particular sty is unoccupied, and appears to be for display only.


Here's another little bit of Welsh tradition - a vegetable patch with a load of leeks growing in it. The leek is one of the traditional emblems of Wales, the daffodil being the other. That poor cabbage looks like the pariah of the veg plot, ostracised to its solitary position at the far edge of the plot.


A short walk away, I came across this old water pump. I can't remember which era it dates from, but it looks at least a couple of hundred years old.


I'll be posting a few more pics from St. Fagan's today, so don't forget to check back.

Camera Critters

I've decided to give Camera Critters a try for the first time. I found some pics on a CD, of some shots I salvaged from my laptop, just before it finally died on me. As you will have seen in a previous post, I visited the National History Museum at St. Fagan's, near Cardiff, a couple of months ago. Shortly after entering the extensive grounds of this unique museum, I encountered this large black cat, and got two critters for the price of one. Note the mouse or baby rat in his mouth.


After walking around the grounds for a while, trying to locate a recently restored medieval church, I encountered some pigs rooting around in a patch of very muddy woodland, adjacent to the church. Despite my best efforts to get this sow to pose for a shot, she completely ignored me and kept on sifting through the mud with her snout, looking for some tasty roots and shoots. I even tried yelling 'apple sauce' at her, but she continued to treat me as a non-entity.


Click here if you fancy taking part in Camera Critters, hosted by Misty. Have a nice, peaceful Sunday!

PhotoHunt: What IS that?

Oh no! I'm late for PhotoHunt again. Oops!

All the following shots were taken at St. Fagan's National History Museum, near Cardiff, the Welsh capital. I uttered the words 'what IS that?' many times during my visit. This first image shows an ancient bed-warmer, from the 1700's, I think. On a cold, winter night, a person would stick the round, metal end of it into an oven or fire, wait for it to heat up a bit, and they would then pop it into their bed for a few minutes, to warm it up.


So what does the next image show? Well, there's a clue on the roof of this old building. It's a cockpit. No, not the kind you find on an aircraft, but one which was used during medieval times, to carry on the barbaric sport of cock-fighting.


No, this isn't a giant, moss-encrusted, medieval polo mint. It's an old millstone, which millers would use to grind wheat and other cereals into flour. Of course, this grinding is all done by machines nowadays. It must have taken a long time to grind enough wheat for a bag of flour.


This next shot shows an old toll house, which used to stand at Aberystwyth, on the West Wales coast. Like all the buildings at St, Fagan's, except St. Fagan's Castle, the toll house was carefully dismantled at its original location, transported and restored to its former glory, at its current home.


Here's a close-up of the old sign which is attached to the other side of the tollhouse. Click the pic if you want to read it.


Oh well, that's my PhotoHunt for this week. I hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of Welsh history. Have a lovely weekend!

PhotoHunt: Water

Oh no! I'm late for this week's PhotoHunt. Never mind, better late than never!

I'm certainly not stuck for images for this week's water theme. I'm surrounded by the stuff! I live on the coast, and there are rivers and ponds galore in the area. But I'll have to show pics that some of you have seen before - sorry. My laptop died a few weeks ago, and although I saved all my data, I haven't transferred it to my desktop - and I'm too lazy to hunt out my CDs.

The first shot was taken along the banks of the River Tawe (pronounced Ta-weh), close to sunset.


This next shot shows boats moored in the Marina. If you enlarge the pic, you can see the Moon has just risen.


I saw this swan nearby, on the river.


This man was enjoying a sunset jog along Swansea Bay.


Here's Swansea Bay on a hot, sunny afternoon.


This patch of pink thrift was growing above Caswell Bay, on the Gower Peninsula.


Finally, here's one of my favourite places in the whole world, Worm's Head, which sits in Rhossili Bay.


Hope you enjoyed my water pics. Have a lovely weekend!