Hay Bluff

"I love many places to which I have no connection, but identifying an ancestor, or someone I think is an ancestor, has taken me to places I'd never have gone to otherwise."
Jeremy Hardy

So true for me too.  The last two years have been a fascinating journey of exploration - history, industry, art, travel - and meeting so many helpful people along the way.

And so begins a weekend of celebrations, beginning last night when we had an unexpected call from K2 and a brief catch-up in the car, taking her across town to a hen weekend.  A promising start to the weekend.

Today I head off for a family gathering in Dilwyn, near Hereford, a 60th wedding anniversary.  For several years the comment has been that the only time we see each other is at the big events - births, marriages and deaths.  And when you get to our age it's mostly funerals.  So today is a light relief, more hello's than goodbye's.  I'm travelling alone today, K is recuperating after her foot operation last month.

I arrive at the village pub at the same time as the guests of honour, and there are plenty of relatives gathered to keep me company for the afternoon.  One of the many topics of conversation is of course the on-going family history research.  The photobook I produced last Christmas has been passed around and even attracted the interest of some of the youngsters; people I've not met before and who show a surprising enthusiasm for the subject.  Cousin B asks when the next "edition" is due out.  I've been amassing as much background as I can about the grandparents over the last year and decided to give myself a target date of Christmas to produce something, otherwise it just drifts on.  "So what will you do afterwards?" he asks with a cheeky grin.  I also meet O, the latest addition to the family, who is more interested in feeding than meeting the rellies.

Several hours later and it's a very successful afternoon;  I manage to catch up with all of the people I know, including meeting a few people I didn't know!  It's a sunny afternoon with only the briefest of light showers, a perfect summer afternoon for eating, drinking and chatting.  Cousin R has put in a lot of effort to make this such a success.

I decide on a return trip through the Wye valley via Glasbury, where Dad spent his youth, and Talgarth where he played football.  The views are spectacular in the late afternoon sunshine, with Hay Bluff and the Black Mountains in the distance.  The last time I passed this way after a family visit - a route suggested by cousin T -  there was a light on in the scout hut where Dad was a very active member.  On a whim I dropped in there, a "social" evening, and introduced myself.  A few months later I now have a contact to view the log books from the 1930's, so even more material for a revised and updated version of the family history. 

And so this evening I stopped off at The River Cafe at Glasbury, a really friendly place, for a coffee on the decking overlooking the Wye.  They were serving dinner to guests at the restaurant but happy to serve me a coffee while I watched the Martins skimming the river, a perfect way to wind down before heading home.