𝗕𝘂𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸-𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲- Cardiff Bus No.8

I was early for my No’8 Cardiff Bus to Cardiff Bay via Grangetown so went for a wander around Central Square. It’s a dangerous time of year to dawdle around there as you may get speared in the head, not by Cupid’s arrow but by a ripened seed pod from what looks to be a Catalpa bean tree of some sort. I won’t complain though. I’ll leave that to the many others who moan about the lack of greenery in Central Square and continuously mention the words ‘Why don’t the Council…….’ in their social media posts. That reminds me. There must be a huge opportunity awaiting for anyone who can develop a Google Extension or alike that filters out posts containing the word ‘Council’.

Catalpa bean tree in Cardiff Central Square

I still had time for another find before I caught the bus, this time a mislaid passport left on a bench in the bus station. I pictured someone on the way to the airport and barred from boarding their flight without their passport. This one however was battered with ripped pages and more likely used for ID purposes that international travel. I handed it in to one of the attendants. These finds are getting a regular occurrence. It was a mobile phone when I was on the No.6 route.

I like the No.8 route. Instead of going direct to Cardiff Bay from the centre of Cardiff it does a sort of slingshot type route through the multi-cultural community of Grangetown. I got off part way and visited Grange Gardens, one of the smaller but still splendid Cardiff Victorian parks. It has been modernised with an up-to-date playground and five-a-side football pitch but still has relics of the past in the form of a war memorial, bandstand and not forgetting the park caretaker’s shelter complete with Cardiff motif above the door. In 1938 an inventory was made of the contents of the shelter and it included pruning saw, axe (felling), a set of drain rods and kettle (copper).

I went into the Pavilion in search of a bite to eat and a beverage. It was a hive of activity. There’s a lot of community initiatives going on in here and a pleasant atmosphere. I had a seasonal biscoff hot chocolate and cheese and chutney toasty. The menu appeared to comprise of three type of cheese toasty: cheese and jalapeno jam, cheese and chutney and 3-cheese toasty. I was tempted to ask what their signature dish was but thought better of it. Bet it included cheese.

My book today was ‘The People on Platform 5’ by Clare Pooley. I must admit I had picked it up in error in a charity shop. I thought it was going to be travel book but it’s actually a novel. When I discovered this I feared it may be chic-lit but I’m halfway through and no chicken has appeared nor fowl of any sort. Actually, it’s pretty good read, very funny, about a group of people on commuter train who break the rules of commuting and start talking to each other. My only disappointment is there’s no mention of the types of trains e.g. are they loco-hauled or multiple-units?

Biscoff Hot Chocolate and Clare Pooley The People on Platform 5

I still had time after lunch for a walk around the streets Grangetown with its Victorian schools and churches. I even went down to the Taff embankment and had a view back up the river towards the Principality Stadium in the distance.

I then rejoined the No.8 which took me down to its terminus at Cardiff Bay and after a five minute scamper around the area and hopped back on the same bus to bring me back to town.

Click here to see more Bus-Book-Beverage adventures.

𝗕𝘂𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸-𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲- Cardiff Bus No.4

Somewhere in Cardiff Bus, hidden away in a dusty office, there is probably a person whose job it is to plan the routes and times of their busses. Armed with maps, survey results, shift patterns and other important information like where their Nan lives, they conjure up the timetables we know and love. In order to justify their existence they repeat that process every couple of months in response to changing demographics and the latest social media furore. Somehow out of all that must have dropped the No.4 route and timetable. It runs from the Cardiff Bus depot on Sloper Road to the Cardiff Bus Exchange but only early morning and in the evenings. I know not why.

Tea-time isn’t when you normally find me in town. I’m more liky to be found watching Pointless shouting Tuvalu at the screen. The city centre was a lot more busier than I expected. Office workers and early evening revelers were dining or partaking in two for the price of one cocktails.

In the Cardiff Bus Interchange the No.4 appeared on the information boards – it wasn’t a phantom imaginary bus. It also told me however that some of the subsequent No.4 services had been cancelled and I had less time in Leckwith that I thought.

Cardiff Bus No.4 at Cardiff Bus Interchange

When the No4 appeared it was in disguise, painted in 57/58 livery. I wasn’t the only one making the trip out of town. The disadvantage of nigh time bus riding is the views out of the windows are restricted. By the time we got to the Bus Depot I was the only passenger on board. After a quick check with the drive regarding the pickup point for the return journey I headed to the Capital Shopping Park, passing the Cardiff City Stadium and Glamorgan Archives on the way.

I had planned to go to the Sand Piper pub for tea but was my time was now more restricted I visited Nando’s. Needless to say that without my minder present I caused chaos, ordering my food for the wrong table assignment. I fancied a burrito and although there was a heading entitled ‘Burgers, Burritos and Wraps’ I failed to find one so ordered a wrap. What a disappointment. It looked like it had been run over by the bus I had just been on and was dwarfed by the plate.

My grandfather from North Wales served in Mesopotamia in WWI and luckily survived. I didn’t even know with what regiment until a few years ago when I realised such details are engraved on the side of the medals. Apart from that there is the fob watch chain with a 1917 half rupee attached which he always wore which probably came from an Indian soldier he fought alongside though I don’t know the story behind it. The only story passed down the family was that when they stood guard outside the tents containing POWs that spoke Welsh to prevent giving away information to the enemy. I guess that was probably unnecessary as the enemy troops probably didn’t speak English either.

Curious to know more about the war in the Middle East in WWI a friend has lent me book detailing the events. It’s a dense read and one for dipping in and out of but highlights immense losses on both side and atrocities of war. The Royal Welsh Fusiliers only get one mention which hit home to me the numbers involved.

The napkin in Nando’s poignantly read ‘We Served, You Ate’.

I dashed back to the bus stop outside the Cardiff Bus Depot and dead on time a No.4 came along and took me back to town.

It was still quite early so rather than heading home I went to see if there were any tickets left for the Ye Vagabonds gig at The Gate, an up an coming Irish Folk band. There were indeed though I had missed the support and ten mins of the Ye Vagabonds. They took pity on me and let me in free of charge. My hearing is too poor these days to hear the lyrics or between-song banter but a good way to cap off the evening, oh and meet my wife.

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𝗕𝘂𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸-𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 – Cardiff Bus No.7

“Do you fancy a trip to Penarth?” I asked my wife last week. She told me she did and even when I told her we’d be going on the bus, the long way round, she was still keen. I’m guessing the fact she’d never caught a bus from the newish Cardiff Bus Interchange that made it sound tempting.

There are buses which go a fairly direct route to Penarth but the No.7 isn’t one of them. It weaves it’s way around Grangetown, diverts up to Llandough Hospital, before weaving again through the streets of Cogan and finally arriving in Penarth almost an hour after starting off.

You need to be a calm and skilful driver to tackle No.7 route. It goes up and down narrow suburban streets where just one badly parked car could mean the end of the journey. The houses of Grangetown were adorned with Halloween decorations. I pretended not to be scared and Margaret told me to stop hiding under the seat.

The bus stopped in Llandough Hospital and the driver turned the engine off and got off. He disappeared into the hospital, I’m guessing either for a pee or very quick prostate examination appointment.

We arrived in Penarth and were met with rain. That’s wasn’t in the forecast. We walked up to St Augustine’s church. I was keen to find a few graves I heard were here such as the grave of Samuel Arthur Brain, the founder of Brains Brewery. Brains SA beer is named him.

Grave of Samuel Arthur Brain, St Augustine’s Penarth

We were also looking for the resting place of the Welsh composer Joseph Parry. I’d recently taken my u3a Slow Train Coming group to see his birthplace in Merthyr Tydfil where we sang his song Myfanwy. After a bit of searching I shouted to Margaret I’d found it. “Liar” she said. “No, honestly, it’s over here” I told her. Turns out she was referring to the lyre, on top of his headstone.

Joseph Parry Headstone at St Augustine Church, Penarth

The rain was hammering down now so we retreated into the café in Belle View Park and treated ourselves to coffee and cake. When we finished Margaret said she was leaving me which was a bit of a shock after all these years and cruel considering I’d just paid for the coffee. It turns out she meant she was off to do a bit of shopping and then planned to take the faster bus back to Cardiff. Lightweight.

Heroic Science at Swansea book by Ronald Rees and Belle View Park Cafe

By now the rain had stopped so I headed down to the seafront via Alexandra Park and onto the pier. This was one of those days where the weather changed every five minutes.

By the time I had walked along the Esplanade and up onto the cliff top the sun was out and temperature soaring. I nipped into the public conveniences to change out of my long johns (let’s be honest, you wouldn’t read a sentence like that from a young blogger).

I sat on a bench on the cliff top and read. Today’s book was one I’d found in a local book-swap thingy and not one I’d ever expect to find there: Heroic Science: Swansea and the Royal Institution of South Wales 1835-1865. The first chapter was all about John Henry Vivian who created the copper industry in Swansea. In those early days it was a filthy process, emitting gasses that withered trees and shrubs and turned the grass yellow. Vivian was wise enough to live upwind in Singleton Abbey, now part of Swansea University. It was especially interesting to me having recently visited Singleton Abbey on a reunion.

When I was there at university I think I only ever went into the Abbey once and that was to register to do a PhD. They looked at the forms and gave them back to me saying they thought it best if I was applying to do a higher degree then I should probably spell ‘research’ correctly and not resurch. Spelling has never been my strong point which together with other traits such as a fascination with lists, like catching buses in numerical order, probably means I deserve a label. I’m however quite happy being called ‘a little bit quirky’.

Anyway, back to John Henry Vivian. The book told me how he tackled the problem of acrid emissions from his factory by setting up a fund with a prize of £1,000 to anyone who could solve the problem. The problem was taken up by famous scientists of the day including Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday. Whilst Davy liked coming to stay at Singleton Abbey to visit the copper works and then partake in social events such as hunting in the Abbey grounds, Michael Faraday found all that rather irksome. My mind went back to our recent tour of the campus and the Abbey and how we were stood in the same room that Michael Faraday and Humphry Davy had once had their evening meals with the Vivian family.

I strolled back to the middle of Penarth along the old railway track before catching the No.7 bus back to Cardiff where the sun set on another bus-book-beverage adventure.

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𝗕𝘂𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸-𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 – Cardiff Bus No.6 Baycar

This is more like the type of bus I anticipated myself catching when I started this challenge. A bus that travels between two significant destinations, Cardiff City Centre and Cardiff Bay, not some out of town industrial estate as was the case with the 1A and 2A or a nighttime journey to the Bus Depot as with the No.4. Here I was mixing in with the late-summer tourists and some Belgium football fans over for the World Cup qualifier game with Wales tonight.

Cardiff Bus No.6 in Cardiff Bus Interchange

I’m guessing Cardiff Bus probably deliberately put one of their most cheerful drivers on this route to give a good impression of the city. I felt like asking him why is the bus called the ‘No.6 Baycar’, when it’s obviously not a car, it’s a bus. And why haven’t the other buses got a name such as ‘miserable-industrial-estate-car’? I didn’t have the heart to ask him.

To wow the tourists the No.6 drops you right outside the Millennium Centre. It’s hard not to be impressed by this slate and copper-fronted building with its giant words in Welsh and English set to confuse many a tourist and even the natives when they discover that the English translation of the Welsh words is different from the English words. I like this area with the Millennium Centre, the Senedd and the Pierhead building. Yes, it not a grand as was at one stage proposed but it’s still good.

Wales Millennium Centre: I must admit I didn’t know until now that the words These, Stones, Horizons, Sing are four words from the end of four lines in a poem.

I’m much less impressed with Mermaid Quay around the corner but this is where I was heading on a mission to see the E.T.Willows clock. I’m thinking of doing a talk on the airship pioneer, Ernest Willows and this was part of my research. The clock is looking a bit battered these days and some bits, notably the gold model airship have gone missing.

The clock’s outer kinetic components that were in sync with the hour hands, include landmark buildings and aeronautical motifs depicting key events in Willow’s life. On the one face the buildings are from Cardiff, and the other face shows buildings from London. Both clocks have a second-hand that has a model of an airship on its tip that used to sweep around fairly quickly. The clock was designed by Andy Hazell.

I’d even bought some Ernest Willows reading material with me in the form of a book called Weekend with Willows about a trip in a balloon in 1924. Willows was a great inventor but a lousy businessman. By 1924 he was broke and making money by taking people on balloon trips. It’s a fascinating account of ballooning. Willows would descend when he was lost and shout to ask passers-by on the ground where he was.

I sat alone on the deck of the Mount Stuart pub, enjoying my pint of Exmoor Dark and imagining myself up there with Willows, floating quietly across the skies over London.

Exmoor Dark and a Weekend with Willows in the Mount Stuart Cardiff

I took a stroll along the boardwalk outside the St David’s Hotel and arrived at the Cardiff Welands, first to enjoy some of the art; Cadair Idris and Ship in a Bottle, and then onto the wooden jetty to look at the birdlife. Much of it moved up the coast towards Newport when Cardiff Bay was flooded after the barrage was built but some decided to stay put (I guess I’m talking about the bird’s ancestors rather than the present generation of waders. No idea how long a duck lives for.)

It was then a few more building to look at on the way back and then a short wait for a No6 Baycar back into the City Centre. A fascinating couple of hours.

Cardiff Bus No.6 Baycar outside the Wales Millenium Centre

Some additional pictures from the trip:

Cardiff Bay Rugby Codebreakers – Billy Boston, Clive Sullivan and Gus Risman that was unveiled in July 2023

Caardiff Bay (L to R): Mermaid Quay, Pierhead Building, Millenium Centre and the Senedd Building

Click here to see more Bus-Book-Beverage adventures.

𝗕𝘂𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸-𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 – Cardiff Bus No.2A

I never imagined when I dreamt up this challenge that it would require getting up early. I naively thought that all busses ran throughout the day and I would be able to pick and choose when I travelled. Who would have thought, apart from a rather mean bus planner, that the last trip for bus 2A is 8.15 in the morning. The 2A is a workers bus that goes out to Wentloog Industrial Estate and a few other industrial estates along the way.

Yesterday I rose to the challenge, rose early that is, for me anyway. I was surprised, though perhaps I shouldn’t have been, that the bus was pretty crowded. Fifty years ago passengers would probably have been reading their newspapers, 25 years ago they’d probably have had a Walkman with headphones. Now it’s all mobile phones and Bluetooth earphones.

We passed through Splott and Tremorfa, picking a few more up, dropping a few off, before heading out to the Wentloog and the Great Point Seren film studios. I kept my eye out for any stars getting off the bus but Russell Crow nor Sigourney Weaver were nowhere to be seen today. The bus terminus is a rather bleak roundabout with no tea wagon in sight.

A 15 minute walk was therefore required up a shaded path to Trowbridge but still no beverage seller in sight so it was another 15 minutes up to Rumney and a trusty Greggs. The sun was out so I walked on to Rumney Hill Gardens and had my breakfast and read.

Breakfast with the Morels in Rumney Hill Gardens

My book for the day was the Morels of Cardiff, that’s the ship owners not the mushrooms. I’m leading the walk around Cathays Cemetery tomorrow. I told them about Philip Morel last time so this week it is his brother Sir Thomas Morel, who was Mayor when Cardiff purchased Cathays Park off the Bute family and had the Town (City) Hall built and later the museum and university.

Rhymney Trail sign in Rumney Hill Gardens. Yes, it took me a while to realise both are spelt correctly.

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𝗕𝘂𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸-𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 – Cardiff Bus No.2

Disaster! How can I possibly catch three busses, all the No.2, on the City Circle route, and forget to take a picture of any of them. I’ve a long way to go before I’m a true busaholic I can tell. Having said that I’ve still got the tickets so if you really want to know what bus numbers they were I can tell you.

The No.2 took me around to the other side of the city where I had a very pleasant time exploring Victoria Park and its history. I learnt about the zoo where they once had Billy the Seal. A vegan sausage roll was had outside the cafe that used to be the public conveniences I think. After another lap of the park my hour was up and time to head home. Another No.2 took me into town, a quick walk around then back on the same No.2 bus to home.

Drinking Fountain, Voctoria Park, Cardiff

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𝗕𝘂𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸-𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲. Cardiff Bus No.1A

This challenge is much harder than I imagined it was going to be.

Cardiff Bus 1A goes from Wentloog Business Park into town but only three times day, in the afternoon, coinciding with the finishing times for workers. To make things more difficult for me the bus travels there ‘out of service’ so to catch the 1A I therefore had to somehow get myself there. The answer was to catch a 44 or 45 to Trowbridge and then walk down a dodgy footpath, over the main railway line and onto the industrial estate.

Cardiff Bus 1A route map near Wentloog Business Park

I tried it yesterday and failed. It was a horrible wet day and I got soaked. I managed to get to the 1A bus stop in Wentloog but the bus never turned up. I got even wetter trudging back up to Trowbridge.

My misery was compounded by the fact that I’d picked up a book to read in a charity shop about Peace. The back cover professed it would tell me how to bring about world peace even though I wasn’t a political leader or campaigner. It quickly transpired that the answer being put forward was to pray. Things got worse when I Googled the author, a French Canadian, who had won his fair share of prizes but then had some withdrawn for sexual scandals.

I had it all planned yesterday too. After the bus adventure I still managed to salvage the day and go to a meeting of the Cardiff Scientific Society where Professor Sir Colin Humphreys spoke about ‘Next generation ultra-low-energy consumption 2D semiconductor materials and devices beyond silicon’. This was a very topical lecture given the announcement yesterday about Microsoft investing £ billions in datacenters in UK. To power them we will need more nuclear power stations and still have the most expensive electricity in the developed world. We can only hope that the inventions of Sir Colin Humphreys come to reality, cutting the energy needed to power these datacenters and keep out lights on. I can’t help thinking UK has got the raw end of this trade deal. Once datacenters are built they sit there not employing people but using up massive amounts of electricity. Whereas the US gets a multibillion dollar investment from GSK employing a highly skilled workforce.

Anyway, back to the bus. I tried again today. I binned yesterday’s book and bought a new one. The bus turned up on time and picked up four other people on the industrial estate before we got to Tremorfa where we joined the conventional City Circle route into town.

smartJamima’s Pitchfork at the Great Western Hotel, Cardiff

I headed over to the Great Western, (maintaining the transport theme) and ordered myself a pint of Jemima’s Pitchfork, went upstairs and found a quiet corner for a read of Richard Ayoade’s Ayoade On Top. He has a unique style of humorous writing with a rich vocabulary. I was a third of my way down my pint when my corner got invaded by a group of noisy school children, who had no intention of buying anything. In fairness they were fine, having harmless fun playing a card game. I took my hearing aid out and continued to read.

Richard Ayode On Top and a pint of Jemima’s Pitchfork

I wonder what the next bus adventure will bring me.

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𝗕𝘂𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸-𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 Cardiff Bus No.1

A new idea for autumnal days when the weather is looking a bit inclement.

I was introduced to the bustimes.org website recently. Fascinating stuff. It got me thinking of something I could do on days when the sun isn’t shining and I know I shouldn’t be spending all the time hunched over a laptop.

Accompanying me on my journey would be a book for when I got bored with the view out of the window or people watching on board the bus. I’d also aim to take in a beverage of some sort at some stage on the journey.

So today I felt like Laurie Lee stepping out on a new adventure, my senses heightened.

I caught the Cardiff Bus No.1 bus, the City Circle (clockwise). A good place to start I thought.

Embarking passengers took part in the wobbling skittles game i.e. could the somewhat heavy-footed driver make us fall over before we got to a seat.

I alighted at the terminus in Canal Street and went and had a coffee in John Lewis. The 3rd floor café is very tranquil, a good place for a read.

I’m part way through ‘The Golden Orphans’ by Gary Raymond. He is an author, critic and presents of The Review Show for BBC Radio Wales. It’s good quality descriptive writing which I’m enjoying.

Gary Raymond – The Golden Orphans – John Lewis Cafe

I mooched around the Alliance sculpture by French installation artist Jean-Bernard Metais outside the library. I think it’s somewhat changed from its original installation, less reliance of moving parts and projected images, but still an impressive piece of art.

I caught another No.1 to continue my clockwise journey which stopped off at the hospital for those people requiring A&E after a somewhat jerky ride. Fortunately, I arrived home unscathed and am now working out the intricacies of the No.1A bus.

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My Dylan Thomas connection

Well, I wasn’t expecting that. It turns out my family has a Dylan Thomas connection. His great-uncle, the man who inspired Dylan Thomas’s middle name Marlais, was the minister at my ancestor’s church, where my hard of hearing g-g-g-grandfather James used to sit in the pulpit to hear the sermons. It is also said that the same minister probably inspired the character Rev. Eli Jenkins, in Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood.

I was looking around the lovely Dylan Thomas Museum on Swansea Marina when for some reason my eye was caught by an open book in a display cabinet. It was open at a page about Rev. William Thomas (bardic name: Gwilym Marles). He was the great-uncle of Dylan Thomas or Dylan Marlais Thomas to give the famous poet his full name.

It is said that Dylan’s father decided upon his son’s first and middle names. Dylan comes from the Mabinogion, the collection of mythical Welsh tales. Marlais is a derivation of his great-uncle’s name Marles. In fact Dylan Thomas’s sister also had the middle names Marles.

Rev William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) was a Welsh radical Unitarian minister, poet, school master and political activist. He led his congregation during the scandalous Llwynrhydowen Lockout of 1876, when they were evicted by the local landowner because of their religious and political views.

Rev William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) – on display at the Dylan Thomas Museum, Swansea

The sentence that had caught my eye in the open book on display at the museum was the first about Rev William Thomas ‘Born in Brechfa, Carmarthenshire in 1834, educated at Ffrwdfal, Carmarthen College and University of Glasgow, took charge of Llwynrhydowen and Bwlchyfadfa in 1860 and in the same year opened a grammar school in Llandyssul, came to the front as a political leader in 1868, became a convert to Unitarianism’.

It was only a few weeks later, the evening before I was about to take a group on a trip to Swansea and to see the Dylan Thomas Museum, did it click into place.

Bwlchyfadfa, mentioned in that first sentence, is a tiny village in Cardiganshire where my great grandfather Evan Christmas Thomas was born. I’ve visited it a couple of time researching my genealogy. My g-g-g-grandfather James Thomas is buried there in the churchyard of the Unitarian chapel. The last time I was there I met the present minister who showed me around the chapel and then took me to nearby Llwynrhydowen chapel where we discovered some obituaries in church magazines to my ancestors.

Bwlchyfadfa, Cardiganshire approx equidistant from Cardigan, Aberaeron, Lampeter and Newcastle Emlyn (map credit: Open Streetmap)

The visits were very useful in helping me piece together my family tree. I wrote up my finding in an article ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’.

Great grandfather Evan Christmas Thomas family tree, Bwlchyfadfa

Having read the fact that Dylan Thomas’s g-uncle Rev. William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) was minister at the Unitarian chapel in Bwlchyfadfa between 1860 and his death in 1879 I went back my notes. He would have been officiating there when my great grandfather Evan Christmas Thomas was born in the village in 1864.

It appears Rev. William Thomas officiated my g-g-grandmother Mary’s funeral in 1875. Her obituary makes sad reading.

Obituary for my g-g-grandmother Mary Thomas, unmarried, in Ymofynydd magazine, with rough translation using Google translate.

It also appears Rev. William Thomas was also due to officiate at my g-g-g-grandmother’s funeral in 1879 but could not due to ill health (he died later that year).

Obituary for my g-g-g-grandmother Elizabeth Thomas, in Ymofynydd magazine, with rough translation using Google translate.

My g-g-g-grandfather James lived to the age of 84 in 1890. His obituary stated he was hard of hearing and used to sit in the pulpit in order to hear the sermons. I’m guessing these included sermons of Rev William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) before he died.

In 1876, the local landowner evicted Gwilym Marles and his congregation from Llwynrhydowen chapel because he disapproved of their “radical” politics (they supported the Liberal Party and electoral reform) and unorthodox Unitarian faith. The eviction caused a national scandal and Gwilym emotionally addressed 3,000 people on the steps of the locked chapel, famously declaring that while the landlord could take their chapel and its contents, down to the candlesticks, he could never take the burning flame – that could never be extinguished.

I am guessing my g-g-g-grandfather James and maybe Evan Christmas Thomas, being a keen Unitarians in Bwlchyfafa chapel, may well have been among the 3,000 people on the steps of the locked nearby chapel Llwynrhydowen.

Llwynrhydowen Unitarian chapel information board with information aobut Rev William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) and the lockout at the chapel.

Barred from their beloved chapel and the graves of their ancestors, the congregation built a new chapel a short distance away, but Gwilym, defeated by stress and ill-health, tragically died in 1879 aged just 45, before the opening ceremony of the new chapel, where his body was laid to rest.

It is said that Rev. William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) probably inspired the character Rev. Eli Jenkins, in Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood set in the imaginary village of Llareggub. Reverend Eli Jenkins is Llareggub’s reverend, preacher, and poet. He addresses the town in the poetic daily sermons he delivers from his doorway, and he is constantly writing, thinking about, reciting, and praising poetry and dreams of Eisteddfodau. Eli Jenkins loves Llareggub, though he knows that there are places more magnificent and exciting than the small village. He’s in the process of writing a book the town called the White Book of Llareggub. Though Jenkins knows Llareggub’s citizens “are not wholly bad or good,” he thinks that God will judge them on their goodness and forgive them their sins, and he sees Milk Wood as a symbol of “the innocence of men.”

When I next listen to Richard Burton reading Under Milk Wood I’ll be imagining my hard of hearing g-g-g-grandfather James sitting at the feet of Rev Eli Jenkins.

There was one more piece in the family history jigsaw that revealed itself during this little bit of research. Looking at the information board for Llwynrhydowen chapel online it specifically mentions Christmas Evans, the man who I think my g-grandfather Evan Christmas Evans named himself after. I had known Christmas Evans came from the Llandyssul area but hadn’t realized there was such a local connection to Bwlchyfadfa where my g-grandfather grew up.

Llwynrhydowen Unitatian chapel information board – about Christmas Evans. For more information about Christmas Evans see previous blog It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Jamaica

Food

We wanted to sample some Jamaican cuisine was part of my Armchair Travel Challenge and had heard about Jam-Welsh based at the Horseshoe Inn, Llangattock. We had a lovely Coconut Vegan Curry served in ½ pineapple and a Jamaican Spice Jerk Chicken Breast Burger, served with chilli & mango salsa, chips & coleslaw. I later gifted chef Raymond and Sheila a clock in the shape of Jamaica I had made earlier in the week.

Drink

When walking through a park in Butetown, Cardiff following a party I noticed the bins were full of empty bottles of a Magnum Jamaican Tonic Wine (16% Alcohol) – made in Jamaica. The nearby international supermarket had never heard of it but a tiny corner shop near the police station had some in the fridge – bottle purchased for future consumption. The bottle reminded me of cough mixture and there was something about the taste that had a similar resemblance too. We drank the Magnum with some Jamaican Jek chicken made at home.

Jamaica JerkcChicken and Magnum Tonic WIne

Clock

Not a bad shaped country for making a clock but barly enough room to nail the hanging triangle in on the back. Out of hands now – must remember to get some more.

Literature

I made several attempts to read ‘A Brief History of Seven Killings’ by Jamaican author Marlon James but must admit I struggled with it and never finished it. Ah, well, that’s how it goes sometimes.

Music

I’ve always liked a bit of reggae so how better to spend our ‘virtual’ time in Jamaica than by playing Bob Marley, the king of reggae.

I also heard some live Caribbean music when I gate crashed a Windrush event at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. I caught some of the closing speeches, lots of thank yous followed by 20 minute fun Caribbean music sing-along. They started with Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. I desperately tried to remember the background to the controversy of the song being sung in rugby matches.

Film

Staying on the theme of Bob Marley we watched the 2004 film One Love about a young Rasta musician falls in love with the gospel-singing daughter of a Pentecostal preacher, meeting her as they both sign up for a music contest. It stars one of Bob Marley’s children Ky-Mani Marley. I must admit I think we watched it by mistake after I had read there was a biographical film about Bob Marley called One Love. It turns out that one has only recently been released.

Railways

Well, I wasn’t expecting to discover that. There is a railway in Jamaica! Only just and not many. In fact Jamaica has a long association with railways going all the way back to when the first tracks were laid in 1845. The railways of Jamaica were mainly for agricultural purposes and in later years more for industry, specifically transporting bauxite (aluminium) ore. There have been passenger services in the past but they died out until in the past year or two a school-train service started up and as far as I can tell is still in existence. I like the way the seats are in the same colour as the Jamaica flag.

Geocache

There are presently no Puzzle geocaches in Jamaica for me to solve. I had a look at some of the Earth caches there but I just don’t like Earth caches – and that’s putting it mildly. I find the answers can be so ambiguous. In the end I took a look ay a Virtual cache Rainbow Country that is at Bob Marley’s birthplace. It encourages visitors to find the piece of rock, now painted with a rainbow design, where Marley used to sit and compose some of his songs.

Sport

Jamaica appeared in the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Australia in August 2023. They made it through the group stage with a 0-0 draw against Brazil and into the last 16. If they had managed to beat Columbia they would have played England in the Quarter Final but unfortunately they lost 1-0.

The other sporting event that took place whilst we were ‘virtually’ in Jamaica was the World Athletics Championships held in Budapest. Needles to say Jamaica did well in both the men’s and women’s events. In the 200m race Shericka Jackson became the second fastest woman ever with a time of 21.41 seconds.

I also kept an eye on how Jamaica were doing at the World Lacrosse Championships in San Diego, California as I was also following how the Welsh team were getting on there.

Highest Point

The highest point in Jamaica is Blue Mountain Peak in the south east of the island. It is 2,256 metres (7,402 ft) and home of Blue Mountain coffee. By a stange coincidence I came across Blue Mountain when I was putting together a talk this month on the Mackintosh family. Alexander Mackintosh, the 24th chief of the Mackintosh Clan became a merchant in Jamaica, built a house there called Moy Hall (the same name as the family base in Inverness shaire, Scotland).

The Blue Mountains are popular for hiking and camping. The traditional Blue Mountain trek is a 7-mile (11 km) hike to the peak and consists of a 3,000-foot (910 m) increase in elevation. Jamaicans prefer to reach the peak at sunrise, thus the 3- to 4-hour hike is usually undertaken in darkness. Since the sky is usually very clear in the mornings, Cuba can be seen in the distance. Judging by the YouTube videos I watched however the summit of often shrouded in fog).

Stamps

I purchased a set of 1971 stamps celebrating the 300th anniversary of the post office in Jamaica. One of the stamps is upside down presumably a replica of an actual printing error in the past.

Current Affairs

I read around a bit about the news from Jamaica. There was quite a bit about the proposed move to cut links with the British monarchy and form a republic, a view that appears to be gaining traction since the death of the Queen last year. There was also continued discussion concerning reparations for slavery in the past.

Touring Jamaica

We were able to fly to Montego Bay, Jamacia direct from Birmingham with TUI. Where did we go? Well, naturally we didn’t stay in the same place all the time. We took some inspiration from some suggestions I found online such as the Ultimate five day tour of Montego Bay and the Jamacia Travel Guide blog by Oliver.