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Recent Posts
- Plant a tree in ’73 – View the scene in 2016
- Surprise visitor
- Undergrounding
- Red Kites in Dinas
- Our Aunt Emily
- Truly free range eggs in Dinas
- The Frenchman’s Feet
- Mudlarking at Newport
- Bara Brith – 5* review
- Sneak Preview
- Gedeon
- What would John James Esq think?
- Strung along in Dinas
- Threads
- A scattering of sheep
- Ty Twt: a little museum in Newport
- The best of all possible worlds
- At anchor on the heavenly shore
- Part 7: Unknown lives. Guesses, Slivers of Information and Cul-de-sacs
- Part 6: Friends
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Category Archives: History
Getting closer to Ireland
Our childhood summer holidays in Dinas seemed exotic to us Londoners. Of course the language was different, as was the food, the weather, the freedom we were allowed to roam, the stamps we bought for our postcards and even the … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged catamaran, day trip, Dinas, Dinas Cross, ferry, Fishguard, Irish sea, Pembrokeshire, Rosslare, stena, Tegfan, welsh language, Wexford
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The risky business of researching your family tree
Our local author, Patricia Watkins, comes from a literary family, but started writing in earnest when inspired by the characters she discovered in her family tree. Her research into the ‘Potter’s of Haverfordwest has lead to a new career and … Continue reading
Posted in books, History
Tagged Dinas, Dinas Cross, family history, Haverfordwest, historical fiction, local author, Pembrokeshire
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Perished at sea
David Vaughan Clay fell overboard and was drowned at sea when his ship was off the River Plate in S America. His family’s gravestone in Ramah Churchyard, a few minutes’ walk from Tegfan, gives the bare facts. The wonderfully informative … Continue reading
Posted in History, Sea
Tagged Dinas, Dinas Cross, mariners, master mariner, Pembrokeshire, Ramah, sea captain, Tegfan
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A very local author
Helen Carey is a very local author whose books have a double connection to our part of West Wales. Her Lavender Road series is set during the second world war and centres on a (fictional) South London street. My grandfather, … Continue reading
Posted in books, History
Tagged author, Dinas, Dinas Cross, Pembrokeshire, romantic fiction, Tegfan, WW2
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Car spotting and other nerdy pursuits
With a possibly unjustified generalisation I’ll categorise people interested in the finer points of buses (or trains – planes – cars) as either geeks or nerds – probably nerds. I don’t think it is overly unkind as I’m going to … Continue reading
Posted in History, Transport
Tagged A 487, buses, car spotting, copper beech, Richards Brothers, transport
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When was the last invasion of Britain?
You’ll find the answer in Fishguard Town Hall, along with pictures that bring the remarkable events of February 1798 to life. The glorious Fishguard Tapestry, designed by Elizabeth Cramp for the bicentennial celebrations and stitched by 70 local people, splendidly … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Crafts, History, Sea
Tagged Carreg Wastad, Dinas, Dinas Cross, Fishguard, French invasion, Jemima Nicholas, Pembrokeshire, Tegfan
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The smallest village clock in the world?
Of all the village clocks in the country in 1899 Dinas village clock must have been one of the smallest. I found this picture on a bottle collectors’ website. A similar clock, on a bottle advertising Mother Seigel’s curative syrup, played an … Continue reading
Our very own tractor museum
Just round the corner from Tegfan lives an enthusiast. His collection of vintage tractors is displayed one at the time on the street corner. The tractors are in working order and beautifully restored.
Posted in Farming, History
Tagged Dinas, Dinas Cross, McCormick, Pembrokeshire, Tegfan, tractor, vintage
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The hard life and death of a Master Mariner from Dinas
For such a small village, the number of sea captains buried in Dinas’ graveyards seems incredible. Just round the corner from Tegfan, in Ramah, is this headstone, inscribed in memory of Thomas Williams who died over a century ago on the … Continue reading
Posted in History, Sea
Tagged Dinas, Dinas Cross, graveyard, master mariner, Pembrokeshire, sea captains, Tegfan
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How did George Bennett and Co get onto our window sill?
This lovely stoneware flagon hasn’t travelled far since it was filled by George Bennett’s wine and spirit business in the 19th century. George Bennett and Co started life when George married Elizabeth Davies, the daughter of the landlord of the … Continue reading
Posted in Food, History
Tagged Bennett's Navy Tavern, Dinas Cross, Fishguard, George Bennett and Co, Pembrokeshire, pubs, Tegfan
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(Not) Sleeping with wild animals
I must have seemed an awkward and stubborn child. On our summer holidays in Dinas I was lucky to have a bedroom to myself. The sunny room was quite delightful and I slept on a feather bed that I knew … Continue reading
Posted in Crafts, History, Nature, Wildlife
Tagged Dinas, edwardian, furnishing, Pembrokeshire, style, taste, Taxidermy, victorian
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How well do you know your cawl spoons? (A quiz)
Cawl (more of that another time) was traditionally eaten with a wooden spoon. If, like me, you don’t fancy the idea of eating soup from the sort of wooden spoon you might use for stirring cake mixture, let me assure … Continue reading
Posted in Crafts, Food, History
Tagged cawl, cawl spoon, Dinas, Pembrokeshire, soup, Tegfan, wooden spoons
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Tegfan, Dinas Cross 