Dunraven Bay

A beautiful day to visit the coast, warm enough to take my tie off,

 with Polly.

180 million years old sedimentary rocks, limestone layers formed when the Vale of Glamorgan was at the Equator under a warm shallow sea.  Now, Dunraven Bay.  Spot the beach combers.

 Polly's first paddle in a while.

Harvest

Gek's first significant harvest, new potatoes.  500 gram.  Should keep us going for a couple of meals.

Penarth

Following our trip to the Mumbles, at 50 min local train ride from our home to Penarth to join the other retirees enjoying an ice cream on the pier.

Younger ones enjoying a crawl in the mud and dam building supervised by dad.  Something for everybody, no?

Mumbles.

 The pier with a new venue at it's head.

The lighthouse on the head land.

Swansea across the bay.  Swansea is a very small place. Always a surprise.

The chairs say it all.  Are we going to get any kind of summer this year?

Pontaedawe Revisited

 The town looking very smart.

with a renovated  institute,now the Pontardawe Arts Centre.  I know, Pontardawe with a first class arts venue.  But then again, why not?

The building where I worked as a draughtsman  in the late 70's, early 80's.  The company, Valentite-Modco.

And where me and my mates used to get our fish and chip lunch.  Still good.  Gek and I treated ourselves to fish and chips, mushy pea fritters and corn beef rissoles.  The current owner is a career changed engineer. Hence the mushy pee fritters, I guess.

Motor Show

Llancaiach Fawr Manor is a semi-fortified Tudor mansion thought to date from around 1530. 

But on this weekend in July 2016, it hosted a classic car show. A Frog Eyed Sprite.

The tiny Fiat 500, a car we could have rebuilt if I hadn't sold it.

Gek's favourite.  The SS Jaguar.  The girl has very good taste.  My own favourite car of all time.

 The next best thing, a Morgan.  Appropriately, not in the show but in the visitors car park.  A car to use every day if you have half the chance.

Visiting the Past

This is the first house Jenny and I bought back in 1974, I think it was, along the main road through Cwmgors. Looking very smart.

 Our second was a 300 year old cottage, here behind Rhos y Mynydd an early  20th century house.

The houses water supply comes directly out of the side of the 'mountain'.  In our day the well was open to the sheep to pee in and frogs to spawn in.  Looks like the current owners have taken measures.

The frontages.  

And the biggest surprise of our revisit.  Our local pub is no more, becoming a rather posh looking residential development.

Armed Forces Day

 This year it was Caerphilly's turn to host the parade.

Led by the military band

serious looking guys behind a goat.

Then the RAF contingent led by a lady officer.

The Navy here as a token only, I suspect.

The most significant photo of the day. 

Watch over by the ever present Dragon. 

These guys are seriously tall.