Friday 5 February 2021

Here be dragons!

 This escaped dragon is on a wall down in the town.  Isn't he delightful?  I think the artist is the same one who has done similar paintings in Hay-on-Wye.


Yesterday was another busy day. When we took the mattress of Tam's bed the other day, it went straight into the car to go to the Tip, along with umpteen bags of bubble wrap for recycling.  There are several Tips we could use, open on different days.  Friday it was Llandrindod Wells (known locally as "Llandod").  It's about 7 or 8 miles from her, so we set off after breakfast and soon had an empty car again.  It's quieter than Carmarthen, and there is no appointment system as a lot less people use it.  There was one car ahead of us in the queue.

    Then it was back x-country to get a new controller for the UV water system, on sale or return.  The chap was SO helpful and showed us how the system worked, how to take it apart to fit the new bulb, and explained about the glass liner which could have been made dirty by the build up of silt in the system (believe me, it is BAD).  Don't think the filter has been changed for years by the look of it - possibly not as the stop-cock barely moves and we are trying to get a plumber out to help sort the system out as we have no drinking water.  Now having to buy in bottled water from the Co-op.

    We had our suspicions when there was no water test done here (despite being asked for as part of the questionnaire from our Solicitor) and all the paperwork was delivered to the solicitors at the VERY last moment - e.g. on the day we exchanged, so we had no chance of chasing anything up - blardy Christmas in the way and all that. Vendor did NOT leave a forwarding address and the horsey neighbour we met the other day said he "was glad to see the back of her" so it sounds like she upset a few people round here . . . 

Round the corner from the dragon is this little scene.



This is Cobble Alley/Ruth Alley - both names on the wall plaque at the bottom of the hill.  You can park up in the Co-op and walk down to the town this way.  There is an almost identical one in Brecon.


Above and below This is The Owls, hotel/B&B.  The two Owls on the roof survey the town.




Below : Three Owl? Wings on a Plaque at the other end of the building, the end which houses the chippy we have used a few times for quick meals since arriving.  It has an amazing Arts & Crafts fireplace inside.



A forlorn and unloved cottage quietly rots away in someone's back garden.  Tam would love to rescue it!

    Finally, a bit more Municipal.  The Strand Hall, which now has a Rotary Club plaque on the wall.  From Builth's Victorian past.  It was built as a Market Hall in the 1870s by Oliver Morgan Bligh of Cilmery (a distant relative of Bligh of the Bounty and its mutinous crew.)  It had an asphalt floor, so that the young people could use it for rinking (roller skating - which was very popular at the time).  It was also a venue for Eisteddfodau, (plural of Eisteddfod), religious meetings, and concerts.
    After lunch we had to drive all the way to Brecon so we could pay in the cheque for the balance of our house selling and buying transactions.  We have always had a soft spot for Brecon, although it is ALWAYS colder there than home and yesterday was no exception.  We had a quick wander round the town, which was busier than Builth, but then everywhere is busier than Builth!  Suits us just fine.


Brecon street and below, this used to be full of dealers selling antiques and bric-a-brac, now totally empty due to Covid Lockdowns.  I wonder if it will ever trade again?

Finally lots of pictures of the Brecon Beacons under a fresh weather system, with clouds stacking up behind them.  Taken from a handily-placed layby - near the motel and restaurant which looks scarily like the one from "Psycho"!!!  Enjoy.









25 comments:

  1. Is Brecon your nearest bank now? My sister lives 5 miles out on the other side from you.

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    1. I can bank in Llandod, but Keith's nearest bank is Brecon. I can also bank there.

      I see we are "almost neighbours" with your sister.

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  2. I whole heartedly approve of this art. The world needs more Dragon.s :)

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  3. Love that little cottage - maybe St Fagans could find a place for it if it's in need of rescue? My holiday memories of Builth are mostly of market day - the one busy day. My mum & nan would do all the shopping & my granddad & I would head to the cattle market to look at the animals & decide which ones we'd buy if WE had a farm to take them to. He felt in his element there. He often used to talk about the "farm" his dad had & especially the horses. I've since discovered that in 1911 the family was living in a terraced house in the middle of Pontypridd, & my great-grandfather died in 1924, so unless it had previously belonged to a relative I haven't done much research on, the "farm" must have been a fairly short term thing. But only another year or so until the 1921 census, so I might be able to make some more headway on that.

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    1. I rather get the idea that the cottage just happens to be in the garden of another property and they are happy for it to fall down - huge cracks in the chimney from water ingress. No market for cattle or sheep here in these times of Covid, and the Friday market was down to just the fruit and veg stall yesterday. Glad you have such happy memories of being here and good luck when you find the 2021 census up on line.

      I think from your holidays in this area on the farm, you might well have walked past our new home!

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  4. Pretty... and quaint... and begging for long walks!! ~Andrea xoxo

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  5. Oh yes. Wales. Dragon. I have just got it. I love that little cottage too.

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    1. You don't follow Welsh rugby then Tom? The little cottage has been much modified - a window filled in and made tiny, etc, but it could still be a home for someone.

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  6. As my mother would have said, You did get around on your tea half hour! All those back doubles and charming streets--so sadly empty these day. Love your Brecon Beacon photos--so moody with the ever-changing cloud formations.

    Beastly of the twit seller to have left you with no decent water, but from your chat with a neighbor it seems she was indeed beastly. Hope a trustworthy and timely plumber may be found so the water situation is sorted soonest.

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    1. What a lovely expression Mary - not one I've heard. We are still being very careful because of Covid and I went into a supermarket for the first time in months this week (for bottled water - and wine!) - not very busy but there was a queue for the tills, all socially distanced. Folk are careful here.

      I think she left a lot of jobs undone - just put a fresh coat of paint inside and hoped for the best. ALL the drains were blocked - I unblocked another two today. Considering she said she had the gutters emptied - a bit of a waste of time really! Still waiting on a reply from plumbers who have been contacted.

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  7. What a lovely dragon!! Great photos of your trips. I love that white cottage and hope someone does decide to rescue it.

    God bless.

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    1. He is the biz Jackie! Glad you liked the photos and it would be nice if someone restored that cottage, but sadly unlikely.

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    2. Oh that little cottage! The cloud formations are breath taking!

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  8. Not well acquainted with dragons, but I like that raised paw/claw as though he's had enough of being earth-bound and about to launch into the clouds.
    Photos of houses and shops in Wales and England always astonish me with the close proximity to the roadways. It surely wouldn't do to meander through town heedless of traffic!

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    1. Indeed, rarely is there much of a pavement and roadways are normally pretty narrow too (some dating from Medieval routes). Only in rope-making towns (such as Bridport) do you get a nice wide pavement and highway. Bits of Marlborough (Wilts) too, and I think I remember Alton's (Hampshire) layout being roomy.

      Note, the dragon is chained to the wall (there is even a real metal ring he is "tethered" to!) so he's going nowhere. The Red Welsh dragon is meant to allude to the red rose of the Welsh Tudors who rose to power after Bosworth.

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  9. I LOVE the dragon :) The Towns look full of interest too for exploring. I hope you can sort out the water system soon. Lovely to see all the photos of your new area and towns.

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    1. It's a nice little town. Lots more to record - we've not even been to the castle tump yet - it was a BIG castle but got robbed for building (I presume). There's a lovely historic mural painted on the end wall of a building near to the bridge over the river too - will get photos of that soon. The plumber is coming out tomorrow.

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  10. Fabulous dragon and we are so envious that you can get out and visit the new are? We are in 4th month of lockdown (permits required to go out and masks compulsory even outdoors) and the curfews and closures are just getting tighter and tighter. Now the government has even closed our outdoor produce market and is trying to force us all into supermarkets. It defies logic. Your views of some variety of scene are sweetness indeed.

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    1. We can travel reasonably locally for essential things only. We can go to the PO, the bank, grocery shopping (we mostly have it delivered), but most shops are shut and certain areas of, say, supermarkets, which are deemed non-essential items, are shut off. Which puts more delivery vans on the road as of course people order what they need on line. We wear our masks out of doors as a belt and braces approach(not compulsory, although in shops of course it is now). What are infection rates like in Greece now then?

      Nice to see our little Ghengis cat on holiday in Greece!!

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  11. Love the dragon, such a talented artist. A great tour you took us on and so unusual to see empty streets. Hope you manage to get the water sorted, a definite oversight of your solicitor.

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    1. It's a quiet town, especially during Lockdown. It's only really busy during Royal Welsh week, and the Show won't be happening again this year.

      The solicitor did NOT chase our vendor up on non-returned paperwork and when we said we would, said to let it ride - as she didn't want to try and exchange before Christmas. In her defence, her mother had had a very bad stroke, and been sent home to die (if she'd stayed in Hospital it would have been Covid that took her). She was working from home and nursing her. Which is why we didn't have sight of any of the paperwork until within an hour of signing the contract - NOT ideal as we couldn't do anything about it. She advised "not to proceed" on several points including the water . . . but we had no choice but to bite the bullet.

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  12. I love all dragons...

    But not chained up.

    -sigh-

    💟

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  13. I so love that dragon! wish he was painted on my house, although it wouldnt do him justice!! x

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