St Cynog's church, Merthyr Cynog

 Morning all.  Another cold one.  8 deg. C (46 F) here and I have had the heating on for an hour or so.  Will now reach for the velvet hotty botty to warm just me rather than the rest of the house.  I am trying to get excited about a (cold) walk or some chilly gardening . . .

I have had St Cynog's on my radar for a while.  It has a terrific history attached to it.  Just 2 3/4 miles along a lane from the main road across the Epynts.  In fact, I have a book marker on the page for it in my Pevsner's Guide to Powys, but it's also the page for wonderful Partrishow . . .  St Cynog's was probably a clas (mother church).  Apparently there were once two churches here, but the older one's whereabouts are now unknown, but it is probably the original church here.

It stands in a large circular churchyard, and is believed to be the burial place of St Cynog, who was the eldest (but illegitimate) son of King Brychan, for whom Brycheiniog is named (Breconshire).  I live (just) inside the Breconshire border.  The church was built after the Norman conquest and has a chunky low tower (12th/13th C) and a very long nave.  It was, of course, one of the thousands of churches restored in Victorian times, in this case in 1860/61 by C. Buckeridge.  I found it very plain internally, with the memorial slabs to the gerat and good of the parish outside on the wall.  I - somehow - missed the rare 14th C Piscina and screen.  

The circular stoup dates from around the 12th C.

The plain goblet style font is a similar date.

Plain clear glass windows throughout.  

Priest's door.

A pulpit with restored base, which has replaced the "old and crazy" one.

The greatest and goodest, approaching the altar . . .

Cynog was the offspring of Brychan and Banadlinet the daughter of Anlach, King of Powys, during the time when Brychan was a hostage at Anlach's court.  Violation is no better word than plain rape.  Cynog was baptised at Llangasty Tal-yl-Llyn near to Llangorse (Brychan's palace was nearby at Talgarth).  Brychan gave his son a torque taken from his own arm which was still revered in Breconshire centuries later.  Giraldus Cambrensis described it thus:  "from its weight, colour and texture one would think that it was gold.  It is made in four sections, as you can see from the joins, wrought together artificially by a series of weldings and divided in the middle by a dog's head, which stands erect with its teeth bared.  The local inhabitants consider this to be a most potent relic, and no one would dare to break a promise which he had made when it was held in front of him."

Giraldus also mentions that there was "the mark of a mighty blow, as if someone had hit it with an iron hammer" and indeed once a man tried to break the torque for its gold and was rendered blind for the rest of his life.  Rhys ap Gruffyd stole and hid the torque of St Cynog and hidden it at Dynevor.  Sadly, after this incident the torque was subsequently lost.

There are other folklore style tales associated with the torque and these were still legendary when they were recorded in 1702.  Cynog led a hermit style life as a young man but was appreciated when outlaws known as Ormests were ravaging the country and he saved a widow with several young children, using his torque as a weapon which, when thrown at the leader, disembowelled him!

I don't think we can appreciate quite HOW structurally bad churches were in Victorian times, and why virtual rebuilds were often necessary.  In the early 1800s it was described as: "This church, like most of the other country churches in Breconshire, and we fear in Wales, resembles a large barn, into which something like pens for sheep have been thrown in disorderly regularity to rot . . . the floor is partly of earth and partly flagged, the seats and benches are decayed and broken, the pulpit is old and crazy, what is called the communion table nearly rotten, and the windows are frequently broken."

Extracts in this piece are from The Celtic Christian Sites of the central and southern Marches by Sarah and John Zaluckyj.  A wonderful and well-thumbed book . . .

Well, this won't do.  I shall go out for my walk now.  THe old railway line probably.

Oh, and before I forget, I have just put my name down for a wet felting tutorial in June, with the Spinners and Weavers group I've joined.  Upstairs I have all the "ingredients" for wet felting which I bought at a Quilt Festival a few years back.  Then life got in the way.  I shall try it out once I have gone to this tutorial next month.  This year is the year where I WILL finally learn new skills in crafting.

A challenge

 The morning was housework - stripping winter bedding off the guest bed, deep clean the bedroom, vacuum mattress etc and washing.  New summer bedding back on.  It was cold in the night though - I put the central heating on for an hour last night, but then put it back to 14 at which setting it will kick in if very cold.  It hasn't for months, but it did last night.  No wonder all the cats were using me as a hotty botty!

This was my challenge, the cobbled (hah!) corner behind the greenhouse which has been ignored far too long.  I had NO reason to carry on ignoring it so have given it about an hour and a half of my time this afternoon, and made progress . . .

Willow trees reduced (will have to try and remove the bottom bits), brambles removed, grass and umbellifers and dandelions with 18" leaves all ripped out.  I need to make an appt at the Tip for next week and then I can clear the area beneath the rubbish.  This was two wheelbarrowsful. I think this area will have a covering of good weed membrane and some bark chippings, so at least then nothing can get rooted into and under the cobbles . . .  Yes D, I am looking ahead to when I Can't Do It . . .

Now I am weary.  I've read a bit more of Rynor Winn's "Landlines" - I have to say I would NOT be walking the Highlands with blisters and plasters ripping the skin off my feet.  When Danny was going to walk Hadrian's Wall, I found some blister-proof socks for him and bought him a couple of pairs and they worked a treat.  His mate, in ordinary socks, had blisters from day one.

I am back to my knitting and another challenge - knit the hidden internal band onto the outer - managed it, albeit slowly, and now I am back to knitting the outside again.  I shall go in and finish watching an old film I found yesterday, Tea with Mussolini, filmed in beautiful Florence.

I'm not paying THAT much!

 

I decided as it was so cold out, I would delay gardening till later and go and get the week's shopping as I was very low on fresh veg and salad.  I went into the little newsagents by the PO, to see if they had any cookery magazines to tempt me.  No, but this lovely magazine is always full of my sort of things, including a selection of baking recipes I know I shall return to again and again.  Now I don't have a newspaper each day as we always did when Keith was alive - I only buy one sometimes now - I thought I wasn't being too over-indulgent, especially as I had found some small change in a drawer, forgotten, which pretty well paid for most of the shop at Aldi!  The magazine has gone up another 26p in price since the one I bought last year though.  Just as well I keep them forever for the recipes etc in them.

The wine is for when Tam is here at the weekend, and the "Tarts" is a gorgeous lemon tart I couldn't resist, as I was tasting Lemon Meringue in my head, so to speak,  yesterday and my palate just HAD to have some of this.  The Oriental/pepper is a Stir Fry mix for tonight.  This shop cost me £7.49 as I found £25 in change.  I was abstemious in Tesco too, but think the two ladies in front of me, mum and daughter by the look of it, must shop monthly as they spent £336 on two trolley fulls!

To my surprise, the little cheap charity shop was open, and I went in to look for a Kate Ellis novel.  Unlucky there, but I did find some craft things, abandoned WIPs, including this kit of Beauty and the Beast, partly done.  Original stitcher had lost all hope once she had finished the all black corner!!  I was charged just £3, and there is a lot of useful embroidery floss there which I can share with sewing friends.  

I shall put the pattern and Aida back into a charity shop.  It has all the floss numbers if someone wants to carry on with it.

I stuck to my shopping list, but after reading the recipes in the magazine, needed apricots (I bought tinned) and some more Ground Almonds.  I was shocked at the price for the latter in Tesco - £4.25 for 250g and £6.60 for 500g.  I went back to Aldi, and bought two 100g packs at 99p each.  Some difference!  I shall make the Banana and Strawberry loaf for Tam, Rosie and I at the weekend, and have a friend visiting on Thursday so I shall make the Sticky Apricot Loaf then.  I love trying out new cake recipes.

I have been listening to various podcasts on my phone when I drive.  On Friday it was several episodes of Three Ravens podcast, which I can recommend (folklore and slightly spooky things).  I also listen to various history podcasts.  Saves expenditure on Audible anyway, though when they offer me three months at 99p a month, I shall stock up on more long books.  I need to finish getting the last couple of Outlander novels. ANyway, I thought I was about to listen to another Three Ravens podcast this morning, but turns out I had touched something which suddenly gave me a Findyourpast podcast, so that is another one to tune in to when I'm going somewhere.  This morning's was part 3 about Lucy Worsley's family (gran onwards) so I will have to listen to the first two parts.  Right, Badminton Horse Trials now. . . .

Hope that you are all enjoying your weekend.

Gardening and spinning

 Two poor nights' sleep have caught up with me today.  I felt very tempted to drop everything and have an outing again, because the weather was so beautiful first thing.  However, nose to grindstone and some weeding in the garden first, around the French Doors, then up to tear up some old cardboard boxes for the compost heaps.  Then more weeding/digging over and removal of heavy duty thugs like Lemon Balm which seems to be all over the garden here.  I planted 3 Lupins in the space, one being one I grew from seed last year.  The other two are Purple, not sure what colour this will be.  

This bed has suddenly gone mad with grass and weeds.  The tall Aquilegias are ones that used to be here and then got covered over with membrane which had rotted half away and had to be removed.  The pale pink one towards the orange Geum is also one of this ancient sort.  I have taken out the grass around/through the Golden Margjoram in the middle.  It needs mulching again though after I have weeded it thoroughly.  When I arrived, there was one climbing white rose which had reverted, a tumbling down rose support and Lemon Balm and Marjoram.

Free food - the black trays with tomatoes in were grown from an overwintered yellow cherry tomato which had rolled under the tables.  It was just a husk of skin with seeds inside.  I opened it and shook the seeds onto a pot of compost and all these appeared.  I shall have to give most of them away as I don't have room for that many and I prefer the larger salad tomatoes.  I have several diffrerent sorts of Cucumbers started in the house, and some Cantaloupe melons for Tam.  I won't put them out in the greenhouse just yet as it's meant to be cooler this next few days, though not the 2 degrees tonight I saw on one forecast earlier in the week.

A treat from the Nursery on the way to Carmarthen on Weds.  This and the pretty mixwed Verbena below.  The Leucanthemum is a tall perennial daisy and will go in the long border.

When I went up to vote on Thursday I took a couple of photos of the view before it is totally decimated by gigantic turbines almost the height of the Shard, and marching miles of pylons.

We have Reform coming in for this part of Powys.  They got in up at Wrexham too and in the Newport area.  Away from the English borders, it is Plaid, which is in favour of wind farms . . .  Reform isn't, so at least I agree with them on that.

L. Whale is much better now.  I took the executive decision to remove his cone yesterday as he kept digging at it with his bad foot and it was taking the newly healed skin off the wound.  It looked sore and I gave him Loxicom for the pain and then last night he slept on the bed beside me all night, and was clearly MUCH happier without the wretched cone on.

I have had a couple of sessions spinning today, trying to get the treadling and tension right.  It's years since I last spun so almost like starting again.  

On the way home yesterday I came over the Eppynts so I could visit Merthyr Cynog church.  Not very visually exciting inside, but it has SUCH a history connected with St Cynog, who was one of King Brychan's sons, the oldest I think.  Story and photos tomorrow.

Craig-y-Nos Country park and spinning wheel fettling

 I had to take my spinning wheel to be repaired today - a general overhaul.  It needed a replacement  polycord drive band, as the one it came with was just cotton and the new one is purpose made and it spins beautifully now.  He had to sort out the wheel running wonky - turns out that someone in the past (before I bought it) had fastened the Mother-of-all with two hefty screws which came threough the bottom but worst of all didn't hold the MOA properly in line with the wheel.  It may have been knocked off line when we moved house as the removals chaps weren't at all careful with our possessions.  Anyway, the MOA had to be realigned and new screws put in.  He put another  tensioner in the Scotch tensioner that was on there so I could ply on the spinning wheel now.  I also bought a replacement threading hook as mine had got lost in the move (I shall doubtless find it now!)

I am very fortunate to be within a reasonably short drive of the one and only spinning wheel repairer in the UK!  About 50 miles away in fact.  Plus I had a nice day out on the back of my trip, as he is at Craig-y-Nos Country Park, about 25 miles from Swansea.  The village is Ystradgynlais.  Victorian Opera Singer Adelina Patti owned and lived in Craig-y-Nos castle.  Whereby hangs a tale.  We once bought from local auction a big linen cupboard which came from the theatre at Craig-y-Nos, and had once belonged to Adelina Patti.  We put it down in mum's kitchen.  Anyway, a few weeks after buying it I was woken in the night by operatic singing, a woman's voice, coming up from mum's flat . . .  It was about 3 a.m. in the morning and I can remember thinking, sorry mum, you're deaf and won't hear it and damned if I am coming down to check it out.  It happened several times after this and Keith heard it too, so we put the "haunted cupboard" back in auction . . .  Odd I know, but true.

Some views below from my walk around the park whilst my spinning wheel was worked on,

Red Campion.

Adelina Patti's initials in the ironwork of the bridge.

Mallard mum and chicks having a rest from swimming round the lake.

Ramsons (wild Garlic).

Lovely photos on display of what is on our doorstep.

I treated myself to this (reduced) book today, from the craft shop at Craig-y-Nos.

Then when I got home, I found I had inherited a chicken - lovely point of lay lass with perhaps some Golden Leg Bar in her.  She was very friendly.  I then had to go round the neighbours to see who she belonged to, and last port of call was her owner.  Sadly he had lost his two cockerels, and a hen to Mr Fox last night.  At least he didn't lose this one.

Little Whale minus his cone.  I found out he was doing probably more damage wearing it, as he kept using his bad foot to scratch at the cone.  I had a dilemma - did I leave it on and have definite damage, or take it off and L. Whale might overlick the wound/infect it?  I have Hibiscrub here, so will continue with that, and I gave him some more Loxicom for the pain tonight.  The cone causes Social Anxiety problems with the other cats too, Alfie especially who snarles and hisses at his brother.  We will see how we go.  The vet forgot to return my call when I phoned earlier.

I am off to sit down now.  I am so pleased to have my Spinning Wheel fettled and running so smoothly now.  Back to practicing :)

Have a lovely weekend all.

St Mary's church, Llandovery - sadly still shut

 The Monster is asleep on my bed.  I've just dunked his foot in a weak Hibiscrub solution, dabbed some of the old dried blood off and then dried it (make up remover pads work a treat).   I have to do this twice a day.

He was beside me on the sofa last night.  He felt cool and his breathing was heavy - like he was worried by the cone or it was pressing on his throat.  I put the little pink blanket over him and a warm hot water bottle and he was soon purring away, but his breathing still looked a bit laboured.  He was tucked up in the living room overnight and seems a bit brighter today, though really fed up that he wasn't allowed out.  I was out this morning but when I got back, carried him out to sit on the side lawn for a few moments, but he wanted to Go Exploring, so had to come back in again.

 I went to see my friends Pat and Pam.  Had lots of horsey cuddles with Pat's horses and a good natter.   On the way back I took the little lane up to St Mary's Church, hoping it might be open, but no . . .

This appears to be in French . . .  I am hoping gz has better eyesight than I do.

Memorial slabs inside the porch.

How frustrating that it remains locked.  I can't really find on-line details of the alterations you can see in the wall or earlier windows, entrances.  Perhaps I will be better informed  when I can finally get inside.

The drive to Carmarthenshire today was through such a beautiful array of wild flowers.  The Bluebells are such an intense blue at the moment and many of them are lining the hedgerow side of the verge, laced with the purest white of the Greater Stitchwort, and the mid-pink of Red Campions.  The Hawthorn hedges are just coming into bloom and act as a creamy white foil behind them.  Nearly all the  trees (bar the Ash) have their leaves now, and of course the Oak trees are a murky olive green just yet.  It was so beautiful.