Crete - Minoan Museum

 This shell is crafted in alabaster, stands 30 cm and is hollow,  and a couple more items that took my fancy.

A 'David', 1,500 years before the famous one,

along with other Roman sculptures found on the island.  OK, that's it.  Will confine the rest of the museum photos to a gallery special.

Crete - Minoan Museum

This has to be one of the most amazing collections of ancient artifacts on the planet.  I could get incredibly boring in the next two blogs but I DON'T CARE. This golden pendant depicting two bees dropping honey into a comb is 3,700 years old. The craftsmanship is outstanding.  How is it humans on a remote island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea 3,700 years ago had the time and inclination to make this?

And these cups with handles?  The Minoans must have been drinking hot 'teas' long before China's tea and coffee.

And these two-handed saws used on tree trunks?  Made of bronze from 3,400 years ago,

with crosscut teeth.  What happened in the interim? Very sad.  Rise and fall, usually brought on by humans themselves.  Talk about shooting ourselves in the foot!!!

Crete - Heraklion Water Front

The view from our balcony.

The Venetian Fort from the sea side of the harbor wall

and from the inner harbour side.

Gek happy on a Cretan morning having arrived on the island very late the previous evening.   The sun is shining!!!!!

Workshop

Finished at last, me posh workshop, best one ever.

Fourteen Locks

 The pond at the top of the locks.

 Completed on 1799, the 14 locks raised the barges 160 ft in one flight.

The majority are yet to be restored. Fabulous walk on an Autumnal day

A House to Model?

As seen from the Hengoed viaduct.  What a wonderful model this would make.

Canal - Pontymoile

Pontymoile Basin.

Sunlight highlighting the mist.

A glowing beech tree.

The ducks have the water to themselves now. A riot of colour that the camera cannot do justice to. Well not my camera anyway.

Hengoed, Now and Then

From a book found in the local library, photos cira 1958.  Hengoed station before Beeching.

All that remains is the foot bridge.

The view of Maesycwmmer taken in the 1960's.

Not much changed today,

 although the village no longer has a railway

passing through it.

Darran Valley

 This was the valley 40 years ago

and today.  A transformation.

 with a lovely park taking the place of the mine head.

 The change is even more dramatic when viewed from the head of the valley.

And so on to Gelligear Common to drive across it on the Roman Road.  More exploring done.

One more step nearer

Now a clad space, with still the board and plastering to be done but already now a warm usable space to do some woodworking.

Book - Rasputin, A Short Life

Not a very nice man.  A mystic who was a sex maniac and alcoholic, running a country to it's ruin in the back room.  Amazing that it might have been a British MI6 agent that done for him just before the 1917 Russian revolution.  A very good read 4 on the door for Frances.

Another Day

OK, I cannot deny it.  I have reached 70 years of age.  All this nonsense about repeatedly celebrating on your birthday when you clearly only have one, mine being on the 11th October 1946, doesn't wash with me.    But this time I made an exception and received a new outfit from my lovely Gek and a steak lunch at the pub.

The Rhymney Ridgeway Walk - Measycwmmer to Bedwas

After parking the van, we stepped out on to the Common, heading south towards Bedwas.

Turning around and swoping to the long lens, Pen-y-fan 30 miles to the north.

to the east, the Sirhowy Valley snaking its was towards Newport.

Could that be the Severn Bridge in the far distance?

Gosh, so it is.  Love these almost Mongolian crystal clear days.

Round a corner in the track and we were looking out over Caerphilly towards the channel and the Devon coast.  Here we were 1000 feet above sea level looking the the south west.

Creating a Posh workshop - Cut a New Door

 We had a new insulated garage type door fitted some time back.

Now a side door for easy access cut on the garden side of the building.  Neat.

Creating a Posh Workshop - Clear the Garage

A nice space, 18 feet by 10 feet,

 ready to be morphed into a cosy workshop with lots of insulation cladding for the walls.  No more shivering in the months to come.

Miniatura at the NEC

Gek's very first miniature fair with a stall of her 1/12 scale old masters  We had a great weekend of it, meeting with loads of nice people, customers as well as other stallholders who gave us good advice on how to approach selling Gek's art.  We sold 10 works, a very good start.  We will be back at the next Miniatura in spring next year.

The Gower

A blustery day on the cliff top at Port Eynon

Rhossili beach with Atlantic rolls powering in.