Tuesday 27 September 2022

The Thomas Shop, Penybont

 


Pam and I went to the nursery near Crossgates last week and then popped down the road to The Thomas Shop at Penybont, for a cup of tea and a piece of home-made cake (Victoria Sponge, very good it was too).  This is the back of the shop - I said to Pam, I can remember having a bath in a tin bath like the ones on the wall.   The coal fire would be burning warmly, and the bath filled up and the folding clothes horse put around it, draped in a blanket to keep off the draughts.  MUCH better than the icy bathroom!  Note that wooden panel in the top window - perhaps  it was the children's room and if it got hot in summer they would open that to let air in, but the children still couldn't escape!  Never seen its like before.


Downstairs is a little cafe, and upstairs books for sale, 2nd hand and a few new.



Then through into the Wool Emporium which has displays of locally made crafts, including patchwork too.


One corner housed a loom and a spinning wheel.


Isn't he fun?  A proddy Tiger (rag rug).


Patchwork corner.


A lovely hand-made hurdle, polished smooth.


Then across to the Museum. Originally the shop and much stock was left there, but people have also donated all sorts of old curiosities from their homes.








I slept badly so am absolutely tired out today and resting up.  I'm weepy too as a kind gesture from the vets brought the tears back.  A little note saying they knew how much I lived and cared for Theo, with a small packet of Forget-me-nots to plant, and his paw prints inside the card.  That finished me off completely.  I collect his ashes later this week, which will be difficult. I think I shall just sit and read and watch something easy on the tv.




18 comments:

  1. Oh good heavens. That gesture from the vets would have finished me off too. We had a card from our vets when Gwen went over the Rainbow Bridge.
    Well, this Thomas Shop is a proper little goldmine, isn't it? I remember as a child we had a tin bath outside the back door, and it was filled up from a boiler every Sunday night. We all had to take it in turns, being the youngest I was first in, and I was also first to bed. As you say, in front of the fire with a clothes horse draped with blankets to shield from any draughts. Happy times. Simpler times.

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    1. It was a nice gesture but heart-breaking to open.

      The Thomas Shop is lovely inside - like stepping back in time. I was an only child, so had that tin bath to myself!

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  2. There you go, I never knew that place existed but then I only ever passed through the place on occasion, sort of out of my way. It is rather oldy worldly, but they must do well seeing the crafted stuff. Sometimes we all need to have a rest day I'm no different. Sorry to say Wessex Mill stopped producing the Oat & Bran flour months ago

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    1. I suppose it is the sort of place you'd drive by as it's easily missed from the road. Worth having a look around though.

      I can still get the Oats & Bran flour on line, so will get it when I can. There are some local stockists too.

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  3. I love the look of this place, all my favourite things. I grow tulips in a tin bath and sow salads when they have died back, I’m currently producing pea shoots and rocket for a bit of a salad in a sandwich. We got out early for a cycle this morning and met two Welsh Cob ponies, Section C and brothers and the smaller had been awarded supreme champion at the weekend. They were both gorgeous ponies. What else happened, oh yes a big oak tree had fallen across the entrance to the bridleway. A farmer had evidently chainsawed the bits obstructing the road but we had to lift our bikes up and over big branches to get out. We crossed the lane and continued on another bridleway to home. We were lucky because as soon as we got home the heavens opened, but not before I’d harvested a few bits from the veg garden. Lunch was celeriac and apple soup and buckwheat cheese scones. Like you I am going to have a quiet afternoon stitching a new piece of canvaswork embroidery using a leaves and berries design by Elizabeth Bradley. A friend donated her 94 yo mother’s needlework wool stash to me so I am starting to make a dent. There is a lot of change afoot as both adult children are now coming home for an unspecified period, daughter is arriving on Thursday and son arrives tomorrow with a car load and returns to London until Saturday. I am going to need all my strategies to keep calm to which end I have just ordered some Gotland roving from Dorset for spinning. I know you had Tam at home for a while so you will understand. I’m sure it will mostly be good fun but I am prepared for the worst! Thank goodness we have plenty of space and I have my part time job in the bookshop. Have a lovely relaxing afternoon BB. Sarah x

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    1. It is a lovely room to explore. So many familiar things - the little Christening gowns used to turn up at all the Dorset auctions we went to. This one was so beautifully stitched. Such expertise - the tiniest stitches.

      Did you used to ride then? You clearly know a bit about horses -lovely to see those prize-winning Section C's.

      Glad you got home before the heavens opened, despite the bridleway being rather blocked. One of ours has been impassible since a big storm last year so there are some frustrated riders locally now they are short of a good route.

      Glad you still have edibles in the garden -I just have a few runner beans, tomatoes and perhaps a cucumber or two to come. I love pea shoots in a stir-fry. Buckwheat cheese scones sound very tasty. I adore cheese scones still warm and dripping with butter!

      Gosh, BOTH your grown children returning to the nest. Hmmm. That will be an ask for you. I found it quite difficult with Tam, especially the longer she was here! She wanted her own autonomy again, and the Lockdowns didn't help matters, preventing her from meeting up with anyone. There will be much biting back comments from you I suspect! I hope that the needlework wool stash for embroidery and theGotland roving will save your sanity . . .

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    2. Yes, I used to ride and would love to do it again, in the meantime I really enjoy our off-road cycling. On holidays daughter and I would often fit in a day of pony trekking on Dartmoor, Exmoor, the Pembrokeshire coastline. When you mentioned the Brecon canal that reminded me of when husband and son were cycling along the canal and son was filming on his phone while riding. He hit a bump, phone landed in the canal. Husband phoned the number to locate the phone, son stripped off to underpants, dived in and retrieved phone. Immediately off to a shop to buy a bag of rice, place phone inside and amazingly several hours later phone worked! The canal was very muddy on the bottom apparently and son was about 16 years old. You’ve got me worried about the children now. Son will be working in London during week and sofa surfing and daughter needs our help, and it is a stressful time with husband at the moment as he manages his exit from the company we founded in 1994. Whoever said life was easy, but onwards is the only way. Sarah x

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    3. I know how mucky the Brecon canal is and was surprised your son could ever find his phone in that! Glad there is some truth in the bag of rice saving wet phones. Tam was only a problem towards the end of her being with us, as she was used to running her own household and was being a bit of a bossy boots! I am sure you will all get along just fine. I survived!

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  4. What a fascinating shop stuffed with goodies :) Sorry to hear about the lack of sleep - and I am sorry the vet's gesture upset you -it would have upset me too. I still remember when the last two rabbits had to be put to sleep it was awful!

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    1. I had to have a sofa nap in the morning AND after lunch. Hardly surprising. I am struggling to stay awake now too. It is so hard to saygoodbye to much-loved pets.

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  5. Replies
    1. I am sure there is a lot I missed, but when my eye fell on the Reckitt's Blue, I was instantly transported back to when I worked with horses, and washing grey ponies' tails before a Pony Club rally or Camp (not easy if they had come back pink from staying with the childrens' grandparents in the Quantocks!). Also washing Patrick's (show hack) or Fanny's (Part bred Arab) silvery tails before a show. Happy days.

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  6. It seems as if vets are starting to realize how much our fur babies mean to us. Our son received a card from the vet he took Ray (his cat) to after the cancer diagnosis. It even contained a picture of Ray. We got a card from our vet about a month after Shania passed. It was signed by every single person in the practice. So wonderful that they take the time to do this and even make an effort to say something personal or add a personal touch to the card.

    Very interesting shop.

    God bless.

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    1. Indeed, and they should. They are like children to us.

      The shop was very well stocked - so much to see.

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  7. Your lovely vet would have set me off too. I found sadness hit me, completely unpredictably, for months after our Goldie's sudden death. And little things can still overset me. Be gentle with yourself, and remind ourself we've 'told you so' ... difficult and all as it is.

    Your visit sounded delightful - and the photos were great when I enlarged them. What a treasure-trove of a place. New Zealand is 'too young' to have many places like that, and as most of the early settlers' building was in wood, it got burnt down or altered and so few buildings remain as they were.

    You've permission to rest and laze, as you need to!

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    1. I have been resting up as each night recently has been a challenge, with Keith sleeping badly. Just one sofa nap today - yesterday it required two! I borrowed Keith's heated throw which was very comforting.

      I am still haunted by other pets we have lost down the years. One of them (Lucy?) came back to visit - I would feel a cat landing gently on the bed by my feet, and curl up - but no cat in the room.

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  8. Gosh my vets did that for me when Bella died, and I was in floods of tears for hours afterwards. I popped the card and seeds in a book for safe-keeping and I come across it regularly. I really feel for you. xx

    That cafe/shop looks fascinating, I have a tin bath too, but mine is full of herbs at the front door. When I was little, we bathed in front of the coal fire in the living room in a little pink plastic bath. My Dad used that on his allotment right up until he died.

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    1. They mean well, but it's hard to deal with when the grief is still so raw.

      I don't have a tin bath now - and if I wanted one, the old rusty holey sort are stupidly desirable! Glad your pink plastic bath was in service for many years.

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