Wordless Wednesday: Sunset

Vintage Tractor and Steam Engine Rally

Last month, after flying from Chicago to London, and riding in the car for three hours, we thought, for some reason, that it would be a fantastic idea to go look at tractors and steam engines. I think I operated my camera in such a stupor that I forgot we even went, hence the delay.

It was a glorious day in Hay, and the views over the hills were beautiful.

Boo, being mad for anything remotely related to a tractor, dragged everyone down to a field to watch a demonstration of a vintage steam engine pulling a plow-type-thingy. It took a lot of effort to plow one row. I was exhausted watching.

There were plenty of traction engines to look at. (If you're a Thomas the Tank Engine fan, or know one,   its a whole lot of Trevors. The fact that I know this means I spend way too much time watching Thomas videos with Boo.)

Plenty of tractors, too, including a few kinds I'd never heard of...and again, hello, Boo, farm fanatic, I thought I'd heard of every brand of tractor there was.

The Hubs was particularly pleased with this Fordson - it has Virgina colors (Wahoo-wa!) 

I was impressed with their endurance, as I could have curled up in the back seat of a vintage car and had a nice nap. Hopefully next year it won't coincide with any Transatlantic flights, and the kids can take advantage of the bouncy castles and other fun stuff that we made them skip because they were running on adrenaline by the time we left.

It seems like there is always something interesting taking place around Hay!

When in Rome....or Hay

When by the river in Hay

And you don't have a swimsuit

Sometimes, you just have to roll up your trousers

And jump right in....

But sometimes, that's just not enough....and when the little ones nearby stripped to their underpants...

Mine did too!

Happiness is sitting on the beach in your underpants!

Hay Walk

Today was simply gorgeous, sunny and warm (meaning, not typical weather for Wales) and to make the most of it, we thought we'd take a walk. There are a fair amount of walking paths in the area, and we really haven't had the opportunity to venture out.

The walk we took is called Cusop Mill and Offa's Dyke. It was an easy, 1.3k walk and took about 45 minutes (Pea has short legs).

Pea started complaining about, oh, 500 yards from our front drive. "My legs are tired". Great.

When we arrived at the bottom of the steeply pitched road leading up to St. Mary's Church, the Hubs generously offered to give Pea a piggy-back uphill until we reached a level path. Better him than me, to do that with an extra 35 pounds on his back.

Needless to say, when we reached a bench, we stopped for a brief sit (so the kids could have a drink of water - the weather is quite hot, not that I'm complaining)

The view from that bench was so lovely, it was obvious why it was there.

Making our way up the hill, we walked past St. Mary's Church.  Sadly, this was the closest we've come to going to church since we've arrived, much to my dismay. It was Sunday, too.

Leaving the church, we walked along a path. Supposedly the remains of Cusop Castle were along the way, but we didn't quite figure out where it was. I suspect the mounds of grass we saw were all that was left of it. Boo was disappointed, to say the least.

As far as directions go, well, here they are.

Pea found some energy, and chattered the entire way to the Hubs.

We also learned that Boo had actually done this walk, one Friday afternoon during "Golden Time". It think it is wonderful that one of the options the children get during the special free time at the end of the day on Friday is to do walks - along the Warren, through town, and through Cusop, each with a different teacher.

Almost home, here! A gorgeous, sunny day, and a wonderful way to spend some family time. So, who's coming to visit? (Dad, we'll let you skip the walk up the hill.....)

Fun Fair

The Fun Fair was in town this weekend. (FWIW, a "Fun Fair" is basically a carnival.) But cleaner. And more geared to children, which was fantastic.

Some random thoughts, which my friends back home might find of interest....

1. Instead of buying tickets for rides, you pay cash. At each ride.
   
2. For some rides, you bought a token at a booth next to the ride; in some cases you paid for the ride from the car.
3. Sometimes, the car is already moving when you get your change. Not good for the uncoordinated. Like me.
4. This seemed pretty darn inconvenient, until we realized how many times we've left a carnival with a few spare tickets in our pockets.  Back home, they make you do the math in your head when they hit you for 6 tickets a ride, or whatever. Here, they are just up front on how expensive a ride is.
   
5. Pea was able to ride on ALL the rides but one. To her delight, I will add - as she would've been far too small at home to ride on some of them.
   
6. OSHA would have a field day. On one of our favorite rides, the operator walked along side the cars, on the moving platform, and gave some of the cars an extra spin. Fun? Yes.  Crazy? Absolutely.
   
7. Unlike the carnie's back home, the people running the rides and games seemed to have all their teeth.
   
8. The prizes from the "hook a duck" were equally cheap as the toys back home, only you don't have to spend an hour trying to win them. Perfect for uncoordinated peoples like me.

I love the incongruity of the bumper cars in front of the sheep field.

I will admit, the bumper cars are NOT my favorite ride, but Pea was excited, so we do what we need to for our children.

This, ride, on the other hand:

Best. Ride. Ever.

Ok, so maybe it doesn't look like it now, but when it is moving, it is spinning. I didn't dare pull out my camera. I was holding on too tightly. And screaming. With Pea.

(The cars spin in circles; this is the ride whereuponwhich the operator walked on the moving platform and gave the cars a push if they stalled out - more for the cars containing kids only, not ours with two heavy hearty adults flanking the kids in the middle)

The first go on this ride was awesome. However, the second go was too much for the Hubs. It took him a minute before he could even get out of the car. He was pretty much a sissy done for the day after this ride.

He's looking a little better here

but you will notice that he is still sitting down.

Overall, it was a great afternoon. There were very few people there when we were there - I'm assuming it became more crowded in the evening, and this was the third day it had been running. While we occasionally had to find someone to operate one of the children's rides, there was no actual waiting in line!

Boo tried out the giant slide....

And then they both had a go at "hook a duck".

Pea, of course, picked out a sparkly purple unicorn. With an irridescent pink horn. She was very, very proud of herself.  (I'm a bit jealous, too, as we were NEVER allowed to keep the stuffed toys WE won at the carnival - my parents feared they were "teeming" with bugs. )

Her name is "Sparkles", of course. The unicorn, that is.

It all ended much too soon, but Momma and Daddy's pockets were considerably emptier than when we arrived - and he wasn't going on ANY more rides. The kids are already talking about NEXT year's Fun Fair.

New Friends

As I mentioned earlier, I learned through "Life in Hay" that there was another American/fellow Illinoisan living here in Hay, so before coming over, I sent a quick note to Leslie, the owner of the blog, and she returned my email with details of where Jackie worked and on what day I might find her there.

When we arrived at Broad Street Books, the accent of the lady at the front of the shop was distinctly un-English. Confirmation that we had indeed found Jackie was the SIU ball cap perched atop the head of her husband, Richie, who was seated beside her.

I think we gave her quite a shock as she wasn't aware of our coming to meet her. Thankfully, we didn't frighten her away, and we had a wonderful talk. They invited us to meet them for drinks later in the week, and I am oh so glad we did!

Last night we met them for drinks at Kilverts. Sitting outside in the garden with a half pint (I'm not stupid - I know I'm a lightweight and know that meeting for "a drink" does not mean just one), with a few fellows playing guitar & singing, dogs sitting beneath fellow patrons feet, and the marvelous company of Jackie and Richie - it was a great evening.

I find it both hilarious and comforting to come this far, only to meet someone who lived about 6 miles from where I went to college. Who else could I reminisce about the Spillway, or Booby's, or anything else related to Southern!

I like them very much, and would like to think that we have made our first friends here in Hay. Jackie is funny, warm, and down-to-earth. Richie is hilarious and has a story for just about everything. Boo will be speechless when he learns that Richie once toured with his favorite band - but we're leaving that information for Richie to tell Boo himself.

It makes me look forward to our return, as they are charming, lovely people. Pete agrees, even if it didn't take long for Jackie to say "you know, you remind me of someone, but I just can't place it..."

Hopefully, Pete won't much get referred to as "Simon Cowell's younger brother". I think he prefers saying that he works at "the Pill Factory", as it apparently is referred to here!

Pictures of Hay

I am ridiculously behind on my blogging, as there is so much to tell, I'm not sure where to start.

So while I gather my thoughts, I'll share some pictures of this lovely area....

Pete, enjoying some tea in the garden of the Swan Hotel, just after our arrival. It doesn't appear that jet lag has affected him much...

A view of the area from our hotel windown. The gorgeous gardens below (the picture doesn't do them justice) belong to the hotel.

Hay Castle, in the center of town.

A view down a random street.

Signage in Wales is first in Welsh and then in English. This has led to many missed turns for us, as by the time we got to the English, we were past the sign!

The Welsh are very proud of their culture, as as such it is taught in the schools. Boo and Pea will learn Welsh as a second language! (So they can read street signs for us, perhaps!) We did learn that at some point, they will also learn Spanish. We also learned that Boo can take piano lessons at school, and it appears there are many people here who might be able to teach him guitar - although it may not be classical, as he is currently learning with Suzuki. I doubt that he will be disappointed by that, as he really wants to learn to "rock it out!"

We've had such an interesting time. I met Leslie Arrowsmith, whose blog "Life in Hay" I have been following for some time. If you want an honest, open look at daily life in a small market town in Wales, she is worth a read! Through her blog I met Jackie (a fellow Illinoisan) - but that is worth another post alone! - and we even merited a mention on her blog!

Funny, what a small world it is with the internet. The owners of the house we are considering renting live in Australia, currently. The estate agent got quite a surprise when he opened a return email from them yesterday - they knew our names and that we were from Illinois (as they follow Leslie's blog to keep an eye on things at home!)

I'm told, however, that Hay should not be taken for either a traditional English village or Welsh village (it is actually on the England/Wales border). We were told that they town attracts people from all over, so we weren't really that unusual. We were also told that it attracts some eccentrics in the mix, and that the locals will help us sort out what is typical for the UK and what is a bit, um, unusual.

All in all, it has been a wonderful introduction to the area!