Tag Archives: Dinas

How Dinas out-shone London

These were the railings of my childhood. Growing up in postwar London, all we had were stumps where iron railings had been removed to aid the war effort. Thousands of tons of decorative iron work, as well as aluminium and … Continue reading

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Our blue-eyed boy (and another mystery solved)

It would be churlish to ignore totally the little man on the left. He was the Secretary of State for Air, Howard Kingsley Wood, and his visit to RAF Kidbrooke in 1939 occasioned the arrival of the photographer and hence … Continue reading

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Come to Dinas to see the real thing

  We saw these birds by Ugo Rondinone in Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof earlier in the year. A few months later, the memory of the gallery installation worked to make the ordinary birds on the murky Newport river mud a joyous sight.

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Do you remember your classmates from primary school?

I love this photo of class 3, Dinas Primary School c 1953, and can give you the names of everyone in the class, including the four children who were absent on the day. Back row, from the left: David Stephens, Ken … Continue reading

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And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

By the time the photo* was taken in the 1960s, these walls had withstood the wild sea weather for 60 years at least and provided an apt example for the local Vicar to use when teaching the parable of the house built … Continue reading

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Haunting Churchyards

 In Memory of LETITIA and GEORGE children of the Rev.d David GRIFFITHS, VICAR of this Parish, who died in their Infancy AD 1794. ——— They tasted of life’s bitter cup. Refused to drink the potion up But turned their little heads aside … Continue reading

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Slate quarrying at Aberbach (How to lose lots of money fast)

  The lovely beach at Aberbach gives some clues. There’s slate nearby and the tiny quarries in the Dinas area were probably the earliest attempts to work slate in the region; George Owen, writing in the very early 1600s referred to sites … Continue reading

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Stitched in a chapel to be hung in the cathedral

I was privileged to see the beginning of St Caradoc’s journey from a converted chapel, where he was being hand-stitched by Amanda Wright, to his appointed place in the great Cathedral of St Davids, where his bones are thought to … Continue reading

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When Wales was the envy of Russia

To those of us who find it hard to resist the opportunity of wandering around a graveyard, a headstone will often offer a personal, privileged glimpse into largely undocumented lives. This inscription marks a grave in St Mary’s churchyard, Newport, Pembrokeshire. John Morgan, a … Continue reading

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A walled garden offering delicious solitude for readers and nature lovers

If you should be looking for a quiet place to retreat with a good book, I suggest Manorowen Walled Garden. There is a small entrance fee but I am sure that you could find a comfortable seat and spend a delightful day … Continue reading

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Searching for John Henry Jones and William Lloyd: the mysteries on Dinas’ war memorial

Thirteen men from Dinas are remembered on the village WWI memorial. Locally there are long memories and diligent historical research so quite a lot is known about most of these men. There are two sets of brothers, three were sailors who … Continue reading

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The Church on the Rock

The best way to get a good view of this little building is to approach by boat which is why, I suppose, we have some fishermen from Pwllgwaelod to thank for restoring the little Church after it had fallen into … Continue reading

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