Ok-- actually I just got back from the pub. I started typing this earlier and pictures weren't loading so I couldn't post. Went to the pub for a pint and back by 11 pm. This definitely isn't the Mullet on a Sunday night where 11 pm they're just getting started. . . Wales in general seems more quiet and reserved-- Celts in a different way than the Irish or Scots. Maybe because they're closer to the English in physical proximity or perhaps the lingering results of the enforced union but definitely a different vibe. But enough on that . . .
Yesterday was another day of excursions. We drove back towards Llangollen to Valle Crucis Abbey, the remnants of a Cistercian abbey set in a beautiful valley surrounded by rolling green Welsh hills and, right next door, a caravan park. For those non-Anglophiles, caravans are campers or motor homes and a popular way of having a holiday in the UK so it was interesting to drive up and see a field of people camping with their RVs right next to the abbey ruins. Nonetheless, it is a picturesque setting and very serene. It would be lovely to live here and indeed, before the abbey existed there was a village of what were presumably happy Welsh families living in peace and harmony. Then the Cistercians came over after the Norman conquest. The Cistercians are like the Greta Garbos of the monastic orders-- they just want to be alone. So the church accommodated their desire for being apart by throwing the Welsh villagers off their land and giving it to the monks to build their abbey. Ahhh the medieval Catholic Church. More about them later.
After departing Valle Crucis, we headed to a little Church of Wales church, Bryn Eglwys (Bryn means hill in Welsh and Eglwys--pronounced Egg-lewis-- means church and it was, indeed, a church on a hill) where we were met by the former rector, Margaret, who welcomed us and led us in a very brief time of prayer and singing. After telling us about the church she told us about the retreat ministry she and another woman who is the current rector at Bryn Eglwys, started several years ago. In addition to having a retreat center located a few miles away (we stopped there for lunch and it was lovely-- very cozy and homey and delicious lunch including a table full of different types of cakes to go with the tea and coffee), they also have a non-residential community of people who live according to a simple rule of life according to what they understand are the basic principles of Celtic Christianity.
Unfortunately we didn't have much time to chat because we had to board the bus and rac
e to Llangar Old Church before it closed at 2 pm. It was a bit of a hike to the actual church, which was interesting primarily because of the remnants of wall paintings that were uncovered during some restoration. Evidently these paintings, unlike frescoes in churches in Italy for example, were painted on dry plaster with the idea that they would be temporary and when the church started getting a little grungy, the wall would be white washed over and new scenes painted. Consequently, not much of the work survives as it either flaked off as the plaster below the paint got damp and buckled, or it was painted over. The varying layers of images are able to be seen on one wall where the frames that are of an earlier date are painted over with a scene of what looks like a castle but is supposed to be Jerusalem. On the opposite wall are the remains of the painting of seven animals and it is conjectured that they are supposed to be the seven deadly sins. I was hoping for something more dramatic than animals when I read the seven deadly sins were depicted at Llangollen so I was a bit disappointed but there was a nice looking skeleton on the wall opposite the animals.
e to Llangar Old Church before it closed at 2 pm. It was a bit of a hike to the actual church, which was interesting primarily because of the remnants of wall paintings that were uncovered during some restoration. Evidently these paintings, unlike frescoes in churches in Italy for example, were painted on dry plaster with the idea that they would be temporary and when the church started getting a little grungy, the wall would be white washed over and new scenes painted. Consequently, not much of the work survives as it either flaked off as the plaster below the paint got damp and buckled, or it was painted over. The varying layers of images are able to be seen on one wall where the frames that are of an earlier date are painted over with a scene of what looks like a castle but is supposed to be Jerusalem. On the opposite wall are the remains of the painting of seven animals and it is conjectured that they are supposed to be the seven deadly sins. I was hoping for something more dramatic than animals when I read the seven deadly sins were depicted at Llangollen so I was a bit disappointed but there was a nice looking skeleton on the wall opposite the animals.After Llangar we left for Rhug Chapel (prounounced Reeg). It's an example of a church that bridges the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods and was quite different from the churches we'd been seein
g-- the interior had a lot of intricate wood work that had been painted rich colors. The ceiling was decorated with gold stars and cherubs on a midnight blue background, there were carved and painted wooden angels that looked like American or German folk art dotting the walls, and the carvings on the bottom of the pews were very Celtic looking. It just happened that Saturday there was a medieval craft display and fair where artisans were showing a bit of life in the middle ages. There was a blacksmith, basket weavers, spinners, people with weaponry, etc. It was a nice little diversion. I learned that stripping blackberry and holly branches, while painful work, yields stems that are purple and green and make a beautiful basket. I refrained from buying a blackberry basket (for blackberries, not made out of-- these particular artisans were working solely in willow) but did buy a few small skeins of hand dyed and spun wool for what in the US would be a steal.
g-- the interior had a lot of intricate wood work that had been painted rich colors. The ceiling was decorated with gold stars and cherubs on a midnight blue background, there were carved and painted wooden angels that looked like American or German folk art dotting the walls, and the carvings on the bottom of the pews were very Celtic looking. It just happened that Saturday there was a medieval craft display and fair where artisans were showing a bit of life in the middle ages. There was a blacksmith, basket weavers, spinners, people with weaponry, etc. It was a nice little diversion. I learned that stripping blackberry and holly branches, while painful work, yields stems that are purple and green and make a beautiful basket. I refrained from buying a blackberry basket (for blackberries, not made out of-- these particular artisans were working solely in willow) but did buy a few small skeins of hand dyed and spun wool for what in the US would be a steal. On the way back to Hawarden, we stopped for a quick 45 minute break in Llangollen. A few of us were all churched out so we headed to a pub on the canal and had a quick drink on the deck overlooking the water. While we were standing there, a group of Morris dancers who had obviously been appearing at the Eisteddfod came in and they left about the same time we did. They over heard one of the women say she lived in New Jersey and they stopped her an
d said they did a dance called "The Rose of New Jersey" and said they'd perform it for her if she helped them. Evidently they do this frequently to unsuspecting women, just changing the location depending upon who their victim is. We were taking pictures and got the inside scoop from a couple of the group who weren't dancing. At the end, they lift the woman into the air and spin her around so while Becky and I knew what was going to happen, Laura was surprised, but a good sport, as you can see from the pictures. It was hilarious.
d said they did a dance called "The Rose of New Jersey" and said they'd perform it for her if she helped them. Evidently they do this frequently to unsuspecting women, just changing the location depending upon who their victim is. We were taking pictures and got the inside scoop from a couple of the group who weren't dancing. At the end, they lift the woman into the air and spin her around so while Becky and I knew what was going to happen, Laura was surprised, but a good sport, as you can see from the pictures. It was hilarious.Although it was a long day yesterday, we had a lecture after dinner by archaeologist Jennifer Foster on the iron age Celts, which was fascinating. Nothing like pictures of bog bodies and stories of head hunting and human sacrifice by the Celts to keep you awake and entertained during a lecture. One interesting thing we learned is that the Iron Age Celts loved their wine-- they'd import great quantities from Italy or France, trading goods or services for it. And their beer as well. Caesar wrote about the Celtic fondness for the drink almost 2000 years ago and little has changed during that time.
This morning we had two more lectures by Jennifer-- one on Celtic Life and Society in the iron age and another on Iron Age Celtic religion. I love all that archaeology stuff so I found it fascinating. Last night I was talking to her husband, Martin, also an archaeologist, at dinner and he was telling me there is an iron age site that's been recreated right near Petersfield so I'm hoping to get there at the end of the month when I'm in that area.
After lunch we had yet another excursion planned-- this time we headed for St. Winifred's Church and Well, a popular pilgrimage site known as the Lourdes of Wales. Winifred was the niece of St. Beueno (whose site we visited earlier in the week). The story goes that Winifred decided to go into a convent which didn't go over well with her intended, so he took his sword and cut off her head. It rolled down a hill and where it landed, a spring appeared. Lucky for Winifred though, she had a saint for an uncle and thanks to Beuno's prayers, Winifred's head and body were reunited and she miraculously came back to life and lived for another decade or so as a nun and abbess. The well where her head landed became known for its healing power. Today was special in that the church had arranged for a Latin mass and procession to the well and we were to attend both. Big mistake. I mentioned earlier the Catholic church in the middle ages . . . that's where a majority of the people who were attending would have been right at home obviously. The music was lovely. I quite like the smell of incense so that was lovely. The Latin was amusing (no wonder the medieval Christians were superstitious and clueless-- there was no way of knowing what was going on in the service) even if the whole thing was incredibly patriarchal and clerical in terms of leadership. That still didn't get me angry enough to leave. Nope-- that was the sermon that did that. In fact, over half of our group, including Gareth, the staff person from St. Deiniol's who was with us, walked out either during or right after the sermon. Evidently, according to the priest who preached the sermon, this special day honoring Winifred was a great opportunity to speak about the evils of secularism, Isalmism and modernism. I never heard him get to modernism but that's quite alright as the first two were bad enough. Basically it was the most hate filled, ignorant, intolerant, thing I have ever heard. Rush Limbaugh is a bleeding heart liberal compared to this guy. He used words like "Mohamadism," "infidels," and the phrase we all enjoyed as Prostestants, "the scandal of the Reformation." As one of our group pointed out, it was the scandalous Reformation that allowed him to preach because before the Reformation, Rome had outlawed homilies. It truly appalling and archaic and antithetical to everything Celtic Christianity stands for-- so in that respect it was a learning experience, albeit one I don't ever want to repeat. The good thing about it was that in those of us who left early walked to the well and avoided the crowd that processed later from the church. Needless to say, it was an interesting discussion on the bus on the way back. We'll see what surprises-- hopefully good-- tomorrow holds. Lectures in the morning with Jane Cartwright, and a free afternoon. Becky, Joe and I are planning on going to Mold (sounds like an appealing place, huh?) and then having dinner at the local brasserie in Hawarden which is some award winning gourmet place. We'll then come back to the Library for the evening harp concert. A report to follow tomorrow . . .
1 comment:
I am planning to have an excursion on my short breaks in wales. I like your blog! Thanks..
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