World's End

For many years, Wrexham people have enjoyed the barren beauty of an area near to us called World's End. Not, as you might imagine, a place that is far away or perched on the edge of a cliff, but an area at the end of a rather attractive drive across moors into a valley, through woodland and crosses the Eglwyseg River by a ford, then goes on towards Pentre Dŵr, under the Horseshoe Pass, leading eventually to Llangollen or onto the Panorama in Trevor.

Early August, still very hot and we decided that we needed somewhere a little cooler. The hot spell over the summer was starting to get my elderly companions down. It is strange that we all seem to love and long for heat, but when it comes it's as popular as a man in a dress shop. So I looked to the mountains - (or what laughingly passes for mountains here).

Minera 'mountain' is 456 metres high, but it has a special place in our hearts as we can see its profile across the valley from our house. It has a dour appearance being mostly covered in gorse and bracken but acts as our personal barometer as varying degrees of its visibility warn of incoming squalls of rain or storms.

The distant but ever present,
ambitiously named Minera Mountain

Much of the history of Minera can be read elsewhere, but it is always a joy to take Mum & Peggy out as they have their own memories and perspective of the area having both lived here all their lives. They may not always get everything in the right order, but it is great to have this closeness to a bygone era.

They told me that in 1940 German aircraft on their way back from Liverpool jettisoned their bombs onto the mountain setting it on fire. This story is born out and detailed here and it would seem that at one stage, 28 square miles of the mountain were alight. The footnote is that the Germans thought that the Monsanto Chemical factory had been raised to the ground - but it was quite safe (only our recent recession could bring about an end to that).

You start the journey to World's End by taking the Ruthin Road exit off the A483 and driving upwards through the large village of Coedpoeth with its bakeries and the houses built from large tan and black stones which are so typical of the place. Turn left on reaching the Five Crosses and take the road which hairpins past the village of Minera (and its lovely community-run pub-Tyn-Y-Capel) to sharp right which is signposted New Brighton.

Then it is a lovely exhilarating drive over the moors on a single track road. This climbs steeply, and as it does it reveals fantastic views of Wrexham town to the East. There are various hazards of unpredictable sheep and twists and bends in the road - so it is quite a stimulating drive. Up at the

Cool at last - on the road to World's End

top we find a rare parking place (that is not a passing place!) and quickly take this photo. It was quite cool and breezy and for a dreadful moment I thought this wind might blow them both clean off into the valley below - but they are made of sterner stuff!

The drive ended on a rather sober note as we realised that parking up by the river past the ford was no longer allowed and the old gate which was an bedstead and Elizabethan Farm House, Plas Ucha (built in the 1563) were no longer visible. Now you have no choice but to keep on going without stop until you reach Llangollen. Such is progress..... but we smile and enjoy our afternoon anyway.

Rocking at the Aqueduct...

At last British summer has gone against type. The sun has come out, a Brit wins Wimbledon and England wins the Ashes. We just need snow on Christmas Day and Jeremy Clarkson to take up riding push bikes and I will start to believe in miracles.

Before the fireworks......Sue, Martin, Kellie and Myles

So the setting for 'Under the Arches' music and lighitng event at the rather unique Poncysyllte Aqueduct on Friday could not have been better. Although the action started at 7pm there was various musical entertainment from early evening. We arrived at 8pm to settle ourselves down with wine and beer and a bottle of something refreshing for our designated driver, my sister Sue. Children had set up impromptu games of footie and adults were already well settled after various portable repasts and enjoying the music. A happy atmosphere abounded in anticipation of a great night.....

The aqueduct was was declared a World Heritage Site in 2009. 'So what?'I hear you ask. Well, other World Heritage Sites include the Taj Mahal, The Great Wall of China and the Pyramids, so it is in illustrious company. Having grown up with this Telford-built structure (which has 19 arches rising majestically over the valley at a height of 126ft) it's sudden fame was somewhat of a surprise to locals. A bit like discovering your naughty little sister is secretary of the United Nations........ But we are all kind of proud of it.

As the last of the daylight left, lasers and coloured lights started playing across the stately arches. An excited Myles (10) and his equally excited Nan (over 10) speculated on another light which was hovering red and green light in the sky above the crowd. This turned out to be a remote controlled camera taking arial shots, but was none the less exciting for that....

Then suddenly 2 huge fans of flame burst out as the music from Limited Series and later The Big Beat played along. The light and fire show gained momentum and culminated in some lively fireworks over the stage to end the show at 11pm.

As we trailed back up the hill amongst the excited, chattering crowd homewards, I wondered what that maverick Mr Telford would have made of it. Would he have baulked at this intrusion into the usual stately serenity of this valley of the Dee? I don't think so.......I think he would have been rocking along with the rest of us....

A Day to Remember

On a glorious April Saturday in the middle of the magnificence of Snowdonia our beautiful daughter Natalie (Tali) married her wonderful fiancée, James Ware.

We had our doubts about lots of things that they wanted to do - the remote venue, the bright green and yellow colour scheme and the huge guest list of friends from all over the world, but they did it their way. All the planning, discussing, ordering, speculating, inviting, beautifying, emailing and telephoning finally paid off and it all magically came together to become a truly memorable day.

It had been an exciting time and for months myself, Peggy and Mum have been sourcing the right outfits, hats, handbags and shoes. It's not been easy. What on earth can you wear to a wedding on a campsite, in a barn and on a field? I made my plans clear right away; I have only one daughter and I was going to be in full 'mother of the bride' regalia. So hats were to be large, shoes high and handbags decorative. So Peggy and Mum followed suite and both looked quite wonderful.

Correctly guessing that sleeping in bell tents was not a good accommodation choice for her grandmas, Natalie had sourced a lovely country house hotel nearby. Peggy and Mum were able to relax in lovely surroundings and over the weekend had the opportunity to sit up talking with other wedding guests. One night being asked to switch off the lights before they went to bed as it was past midnight.

Other members of the family stayed in holiday cottages nearby, this meant that I had my sisters, their children and my son, his partner and babies all close at hand. The fun we had socialising together, walking and talking before the wedding was a real time to remember.

As Saturday dawned - (the fixing up of the barns, setting up of the 5 tier cake I had made, the bars and booze, a very special marquee, bunting and the arranging of what seemed like 20,000 daffodils had been completed the day before by an army of friends) it was clear that it was going to be a gloriously sun-drenched day. The morning of the wedding the men went walking with the babies and the rest of us sat with the bride discussing whether she could get her vows out without crying with the emotion of it all. My son's partner Nina a yoga teacher was able to calm the bride with an impromptu session.

Then all too soon it was time to travel the 2 miles to the venue. I was resplendent in purple and the aforesaid large hat and felt rather like royalty as we swept into the car park to see so many smiling faces.

The ceremony went well with no tears...well that's not quite true. My son Nathan gave the performance of his life with a poem containing so many warm references to their gregarious Liverpool life that all of us had to reach for the tissues (even the registrar). It was particularly poignant for so many of the guests as Natalie and James have for the past 5 years run a household which was always buzzing with people as they held parties, Carol Singing sessions and dinner parties. This day not only marked the beginning of their lives together, but also the leaving of Liverpool and this crowd of friends as they start their married life in Copenhagen.

Mum, Peggy, me and Natalie on her beautiful Wedding Day-
memorable for all the right reasons

Then man and wife made their exit down the aisle skipping hand in hand to the riotous cheers and stamping feet of their guests. Outside to the accompaniment of their friends The Loose Moose String Band and they expressed the joy of their union by dancing on a nearby hillock as we sipped Prosecco and cheered.

The rest of the day passed in a delightful haze of music, food, drinking, dancing, cheering and talking. Some highlights - the father of the bride's speech (a huge success after a lot of nervous planning), the stamping of feet to encourage the bride and groom to kiss on the table top, all the men in the room lining up to kiss Tali when James left the room (a Danish tradition), the band playing four hours straight and the atmosphere of joyous partying as strangers and friends were united in their happiness for the couple as we danced until our feet ached.

It was lovely to see Mum and Peggy enjoy themselves with their families around them. Widows for many years, I wonder if they each missed their husbands? I pondered sadly how proud Noel and Gwyn would have been of their granddaughter. My dad would have loved the occasion's quirkiness and the socialising and Gwyn would have loved the venue and the presence of his small great grandchildren. Then I wondered whether of all the weddings Mum & Peggy had attended in their long lives whether this one will remain in their hearts and their memories as special? I rather think that it will......

All photographs  Alice Myers

Shopping for the Siege....

Winter has bitten and snow is seeming to fill up the small valley of Wrexham. After anxious phone calls we establish that we are able to pick up our mothers for their regular date with us for Sunday Dinner. It always amazes us how, having lived through wars and and seen the deaths of so many of their friends, our elderly nearest and dearest have a tendency to believe the worse can befall us and them at any time. This fear gets more intense if you add a little bit of snow, rain or travel to another country. Why, we reason to ourselves, when they have reached this grand old age safely would they think anything bad is going to happen to them now? But I guess the memories of past losses is precisely their their reason....

I must admit, I was so stumped as to where we were going to go this afternoon that I even put an appeal on Face Book. The snow, although light, was constant and it was clear that driving anywhere to see the beauty of snow covered hills was not an option. But apart from my sister's suggestion that we go snowboarding, my appeal went unanswered. I was thinking jigsaws, perhaps a movie or even play cards... ("don't like cards" my mother's usual refrain came to mind immediately and I rejected that idea).

Well wrapped up

So himself goes to pick them up so that at least we can all have a hot and enjoyable meal together. Vests, warm jumpers, good base layers, hats, fully lined fleeced jackets, scarves, gloves and boots are donned ready to walk the 3 yards to the car then and 3 yards along the salted path up to Merrivale.

On arrival, Mum provides the solution to my dilemma. Her kettle has broken and she wants another one and will probably need more food...Never one to turn down an opportunity to stock up the pantry, Peggy agrees - and so it is settled.

Again, we done more clothes than strictly necessary as himself drives them up to the door of the supermarket. Thirty minutes later we emerge with all the essentials necessary for a month long siege when responsible for the feeding of a small army and oh yes, a kettle too.

Stocking up just to make sure......

Another successful Sunday. Entertainment was provided by them with their tales of the winter of 1947 ..... "Call this snow? This is just a sprinkling and the country comes to a standstill now in 1947....." they have lived through so much.