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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: Sea
Help needed. Can you tell us anything about this sailing ship?
One of this blog’s followers, to whom I am probably related, would love to know more about this ship. The picture hung in her grandparents’ house in Brynhenllan for as long as anyone can remember but nobody in the family … Continue reading
Posted in Art, History, Sea
Tagged Bryn Henllan, Dinas, Dinas Cross, family history, maritime history, Pembrokeshire, Sailing ship
2 Comments
From Welsh to London Welsh
Some time towards the end of the 1860s, my distant cousin, Thomas George, moved from Llanwnda near Strumble Head in North Pembrokeshire to South West London, where he worked as a carpenter, married and brought up his large family. Had he … Continue reading
Posted in Farming, History, Sea
Tagged economic migration, Llanwnda, London Welsh, male clerks, Pembrokeshire
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The Windrush
Until a few weeks ago this canvas lay hidden, rolled up in a trunk in the attic of a Dinas cottage where it had probably lain undisturbed for 100 years or so. The painting belonged to Capt John Walters, known … Continue reading
Posted in Art, History, Sea
Tagged Capt John Walters, Dinas, Dinas Cross, master mariner, Windrush
4 Comments
Ducks and Drakes
If you are on the beach at Dinas’ Aberbach or Aberfforest it won’t take you long to gather a handful of perfect ‘duck and drake’ slates from the high-tide line. While you are skimming them across the water, here is a … Continue reading
Posted in books, History, Sea, Sport
Tagged beach, children's game, Dinas, Dinas Cross, ducks and drakes, skimming stones, slates, stone shipping
2 Comments
Fifty years too late
This photograph of Cwm yr Eglwys Churchyard, taken in 2005, gives a false impression of timelessness. This scene has not remained unchanged for centuries. The 1859 storm that destroyed the Church (while a service was taking place – miraculously there were … Continue reading
Posted in History, Religion, Sea, Uncategorized
Tagged Cwm yr Eglwys, Dinas, Dinas Cross, family history, history, St Brynach's Church
2 Comments
What did the Sea Captains from Dinas do with their money?
The first thing many of them did was to build a house and change the shape of the village. Dinas had originally been sited in the bay of Cwm yr Eglwys, where all the land was owned by large land … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Crafts, History, Religion, Sea, Welsh language
Tagged Dinas, Dinas Cross, sea captains, Tabor, Tegfan
3 Comments
Marie Elsie and the Man with the Golden Gun
Capt. Joe Francis (of Eryl, Dinas) was captain of SS Marie Elsie in 1915 – a dangerous time to be a sailor. Fortunately, by the time the Marie Elsie was torpedoed and sunk on its way to Arkhangelsk in June 1917 … Continue reading
Posted in History, Sea, Transport
Tagged 1st world war, Dinas, Dinas Cross, Ian Fleming, James Bond, master mariner, Pembrokeshire, scaramanga brothers, sea captain, tramp steamer
1 Comment
John Brett’s holiday rental
When the artist, John Brett, decided to paint on the coast of West Wales in the 1880s he became a regular summer visitor to the Dinas area, renting Newport Castle to accommodate his large family. This was handy for visits to the bays … Continue reading
Posted in Art, History, Nature, Sea
Tagged artists, Dinas, Dinas Cross, John Brett, Newport, Pembrokeshire, photography, seascapes
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Dinas fashions c1912 (or More than you ever thought you’d want to know about gentlemen’s hats)
Before I learnt the names of these men, who served as Deacons at Tabor Chapel (Dinas) in about 1912, I became fascinated by their hats. Did their choice of headgear tell us anything about the individuals beneath? John Stephenson of Lock … Continue reading
Bird watching in the Nevern estuary
The cars you can see parked on the far left may belong to visitors looking for a signal for their mobiles but they are more likely to be bird watchers, who know that the Nevern River’s tidal estuary at Newport attracts a wonderful variety of … Continue reading
Posted in Nature, Sea, Wildlife
Tagged bird-watching, Birding, coast path, Coastal path, Dinas, Dinas Cross, heron, Newport Bridge, Pembrokeshire, salt marshes, shelduck
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A thousand years at Nevern
As a child , it was the shady avenue of ancient Yew trees, one of which intriguingly bled thick dark red sap, that would make my visits to Nevern’s St Brynach’s Church special. Now, my treat awaits at the end of the shadows, where … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Crafts, Farming, History, Sea
Tagged bleeding yew, Croatia, Dinas, Dinas Cross, Istria, mosaics, Nevern, Parenzo, Pembrokeshire, Porec, sheep, St Brynach
2 Comments
A mystery solved
While I have been trying to identify the people in this photograph (all deacons of Tabor Chapel, Dinas), I have become increasingly fascinated by them. I’m interested in what I can guess of their characters but also the possible significance of their style of hats, beards … Continue reading
Tegfan, Dinas Cross 