Tuesday 17 January 2023

Llandovery Castle

 


I had a dental check up in Llandovery yesterday, and as I was parked beside the castle, here are a few photos to remind you what it's like.  This Darth Vader- like figure is a tribute to Llewellyn ap Gruffydd Fychan, a Carmarthenshire landowner, who was hung, drawn and quartered in the market place there for his part in the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr in the early 15th C. Henry IV made an example of him because he refused to betray his Prince and his country. 


There's not a great deal left of the castle I'm afraid, but that is fairly common - think of Builth, just the ramparts left to show it was ever there. The earliest castle here was begun (in wood) by Richard Fitz Pons, who was granted the Lordship of the cantref.  However, it was lost for several generations to the Welsh Princes of Deheubarth, united under the Banner of the Lord of Dinefwr - the castle and estate which is in present-day Llandeilo in the Towy Valley.  Edward I, who was very keen on getting Wales under control, finally got his hands on it in 1177.  Various Llywelyns got it back and lost it and it was finally abandoned around 1490.  







Looking out over the town.  The crane was associated with the piece-by-piece felling of quite a large (Ash?) tree on the edge of the Bailey.



Yesterday was a bit full-on. When I returned from Brecon, having driven a triangular route to do some necessary shopping there, instead of having the chap from Care and Repair fitting new handrails upstairs, there was a lady here in advance of him to do a full house assessment of Keith's needs. She was early. Then there were phone calls I had to make andI  kept getting cut off when I was speaking to the solicitor about wheelchair access to their premises and it was all a Bit Much.


Very cold here overnight - minus 6.  Hoping the lanes won't be icy when we have to venture forth later.

10 comments:

  1. I can just imagine that having those assessments done in your home is a bit much, especially coming home to it after dentist etc.
    Nice photos
    Alison in Wales x

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    1. I didn't have time to draw breath, and she didn't have a mask on - had I been here I'd have insisted on one - not so much for Covid, but to keep flu and the awful cough at bay.

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  2. I bet all the local kids know it as the Darth Vader statue, they killed people in some horrible ways back in the day didn't they.

    I should imagine it is all a bit much at times, thank goodness you had been out and had a short while to yourself before you got back home. Take care. xx

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    1. They certainly knew how to prolong the agony and deter other people who might push their luck or take a stand. The fact that a keen audience would have been there says a lot about the baseness of human nature.

      Last week was definitely a bit overwhelming, not knowing how to deal with it but I asked for help and got it, thank heavens.

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  3. At least there is more to see than Builth, you need to go to Aberedw nearby for ruins and part of that has been damaged by the railway that was there. That seems to be a long way to go for a Dentist thought there would be some in Builth or Llandrindod

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    1. This has been our dentist (though we used their Llandeilo branch when in Carms) for quite a few years now. We still go to him as he is NHS and NHS dentists are like hens' teeth.

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  4. Love the comparison to Darth Vader... I can just imagine slightly all the comings and goings getting things set up for Keith.

    God bless.

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    1. Well, it is a spot on look-alike I reckon! Looking forward to a quiet day today. Essentially snowed in as a couple of inches of snow over ice is not conducive to safe driving. I can't chance getting stuck and there's nothing we need, though I may walk to post an In Sympathy card later.

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  5. I love it when you talk about Welsh history, the Welsh were such a feisty lot back in the day. We are having days of beautiful sunny frosty weather and are making the most of it. Weather transforms a landscape. Good for you for sticking with your dentist. I am only on my third dentist (now in Petworth town a couple of miles away) but my first two NHS dentists did me proud for the my first 60 years and I have never needed a filling or any other treatment. I put it down to good genes (thanks mum!) and using an electric toothbrush since my teens and flossing daily for the last 10 years. Long may it continue. Right time to get out and stretch our legs. We walked up to the top of the Downs on Sunday and it was so beautiful, we are thinking of doing the same again, it is a good seven mile walk from home, but S is doing so well that by the time we finish the walk you would not know anything was wrong and the feel good factor lasts for the rest of the day. Always at the beginning of a walk he is slow and shuffling and we have to make a big effort to pick up our feet, lead with the heel, shoulders back, eyes looking straight ahead and really exaggerate swinging our arms and as we get into a rhythm he gets stronger as we walk. Last night he drove us to Chichester for the theatre (12 miles cross country and a route he knows like the back of his hand) which was slightly scary as he doesn’t drive at night nowadays (unlike myself) but we’d had a good walk during the day and we were looking forward to going out and I thought it would give him confidence and the drive home under the starriest sky was perfect. When we arrived home we walked over to the meadow, leant on the gate and just looked up - it was magical. I hope you can have a walk today, it’s not as cold as you might think with the sun out. Sarah x

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  6. I did NOT KNOW - certainly we've never been told - that you can start off slow and shuffling and literally improve the further you go. For Keith it has been a case of just getting tireder and tireder - which we still wonder is due to the Thyroxine levels. Tam got him started back on L-Glutamine. He's been on that 10 days and there HAS been a quite remarkable considering I thought last week he was within days of being bed-bound. He's been on increased Thryoxine just bit longer. Whichever or both, I don't care. As long as he can improve.

    So glad that your husband could drive ok after dark - stars are so magical when they seem almost close enough to touch.

    I have teefs like Pam Ayres I suspect (though she probably has gnashers you take out and put in a glass overnight!) as I had a very crammed mouth and a mum who was fairly ignorant of dental hygiene, although she had good teeth. I must have got dad's. Ah well, I can still chomp on a crisp apple.

    Envy you your longer walks, but I see a smidgin of daylight now . . . Back to my x-stitch and I think I shall put the DVD of Rebecca on . . .

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