Llandrindod Wells, Wales
Colleen and I arrived here safely on Monday evening and were greeted in Llandrindod by our Welsh friends, Ann and Terry. We met Ann and Terry last December in Venice during our trip to Italy. We had read in the Lonely Planet guidebook of a good restaurant very close to our hotel, but the book said that reservations were a necessity � without them, we shouldn�t even try. However, it being December and very few tourists being around, we decided to give it a shot. The restaurant was small and packed with a little line in the initial entryway, but the waiters indicated we would be able to get a seat. When our turn came around, we were seated at a table for six with two other couples. We were on the end, and a couple from France was sitting next to us.
At first, we tried being friendly with the French couple. I pulled out some of what I remember from 9th grade French, but the couple was having nothing to do with us. They ate quickly and got out of the restaurant. After they left, we noticed that the other couple spoke English, so we started talking to them. Well, to make a long story short, the other couple was Ann and Terry, and we had such a good time talking with them that we spent the rest of the evening (and well into the night) in their company. So when we were planning this trip, we got in touch with them and asked about the possibility of visiting Wales.
Now, we know that Ann and Terry are nice people, but nothing could have prepared us for the onslaught of Welsh hospitality that awaited us. They picked us up at the train station and drove us to their house, where Ann had prepared a dinner fit for a king � shrimp, melon, bread, beef � it was amazing and exactly what we needed after a long day on the trains. We had a wonderful evening catching up and basking in the warm glow of a welcoming house. Honestly, these are two of the nicest people we have ever met.
Yesterday morning we awoke and set out for a drive around the middle and south of Wales. They countryside here is beautiful. I have never seen anything so green. The hillsides are cut into pieces by hedgerows and are teeming with sheep and cattle as far as the eye can see. Powys County, where Llandrindod is located, has 3 million sheep within its borders � more than the number of people.
We finally ended up at the Big Pit, a now-defunct coal mine that is open to visitors. In it, we were treated to a tour of the shaft and some of the pit (300 feet below the ground) by a man that was a coal miner until only 3 years ago. He told us of the long days and hard work that are involved in mining coal, the dangers of the work, and the condition of the men who have since retired.
About a hundred years ago, boys would start working the mines as young as 5 or 6. They would start by opening the doors in the shaft to let the carts filled with coal through to the surface (12-16 hours per day, 6 days per week), and gradually they would move up the ladder to collier (coal miner). Each miner was paid only for the amount of coal he dug, and pay was distributed by the owner�s agent at the local pub (owned by the owner of the mine). Invariably, the paymaster was late, and the men would while away the time with a pint or two. The money for the beer was taken out of their pay, and they were sent home with what was left. They used the money to pay the rent on their home (owned by the owner of the mine), to buy groceries and clothes at the local store (owned by the owner of the mine), and to buy whatever else was needed to survive (from guess who). Basically the workers were working for food and shelter.
In the 1970s the mines were nationalized. The government ran the mines according to a standard set of regulations, and apparently the conditions were better. By the mid-1980s, however, cheaper coal produced abroad and the advent of cheap nuclear power forced the closure of most of the mines in South Wales. About 200,000 men lost their jobs and their source of pride. Men were left to collect unemployment and deal with the consequences of idleness. There is a great hope among the miners we spoke with that the mines will reopen soon.
By the time the tour was over, and we had been through the museum and the gallery (a demonstration of the equipment now used to cut through coal and rock), it was late afternoon. So we piled into the car and headed back to Llandrindod. Ann fixed us another absolutely overwhelming dinner, and we headed to bed just before midnight.
That gets us pretty much up to date. Colleen continues to feel better, so I think we�re over the nausea phase. The baby is about 3.5 inches right now and growing fast. I am dying to know if it is a boy or a girl. Of course, we�ll be happy either way.
I have put up some more pictures. You can reach them by clicking here.
Until next time.
Paul and Colleen
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