Wales

This will interest you all, there was a faggot and peas cafe in Ponty market , just wooden tables and benches, my brother -cousin and I had a who can eat the most and I was so sick , my brother-cousin got a ticking off for not taking care if me, my aunt had allowed us to wait in there whilst she queued fir material , I was proud of him for not saying it was my idea , he had revenge by not letting me play Cowboys and Indians the next day

I'm still fond of Ponty. The market is a shadow of its former self, and Marksies has moved out, but the new Lido is open now, and Ponty Park is as ever it was.

Quite a lot going for it, really.

I loved Pony Park and the cinema

Packing and bored so just popping in to let you know I'm off home to Sir Fon tomorrow...
Neath Market also had a Faggots and Peas Cafe, Anniebachand gettingonabitI was never brave enough to try them (being from the North!)

You missed a real treat Oldgreymare. Have a great time and I hope the sun shInes for you

My brother got stung by a jelly fish in the sea at Colwyn Bay many years ago. We used to go on holiday there or to Llandudno, from the Midlands (nearest seaside!). Or a day trip to Rhyl on the coach.

Jalima, perhaps best you try Scotland mist, rain , jellyfish

Mr C took me to Ponty market when I first went to Wales, 50+ years ago. I loved it. So did my parents. It's a wonder I got there at all as he told me I needed a passport for the border. I believed him. But I was 18! Goodness, the naivety back then. We still visit Ponty and Porth to see family but haven't been to the Ponty market area for many years. The closest we get is Sainsbury by the dual carriageway. Small world, though. Castle Coch is just superb, our children and grandchildren have also been there and love it. My mother in law used to call it the Gibbs toothpaste castle. I've many wonderful memories of the area.

Noooooo! Not Scotland Jalima! The gnats there will eat you alive! Only went once, in September, never again. I got gnat bites on my gnat bites. Welsh gnats aren't as vicious!

Midges would eat me alive anniebach

I prefer mist and rain, it's so good for the complexion.
And the jellyfish got DB, not me (I was probably still in a pram at the time, I don't remember it but it was one of those stories that got told and re-told for years.)

We went to Scotland once. Every midge in Scotland was waiting for me at Inverness. I came home looking as if I had a bad case of chicken pox. Never again

I did a walking holiday in Scotland and no midges

Ditto Chewbacca! We went up to Loch Garten one September and I've never see so many midges! Couldn't wait to get out of there and the ospreys had all gone off to South Africa anyway (very sensible!). Having said that we didn't see them anywhere else that week. Fishing when there is a hatch of midges on is an absolute bugger. I have a nifty mosquito net that fits over my hat but it's very claustrophobic - I don't know which is worse.

We had a 2 week holiday at Loch Lomond a few years ago, the flipping midges nearly ate me alive, spoilt what would have been a great holiday, scenery fantastic. But we never had any sight of midges whenever we were in the Kintyre area.
Thank goodness Wales doesn`t have the midge!

Well Wales doesn't have a big midge problem. So that is an extra bonus point

The weather forecast shows sunshine for North Wales today and I could really do with a day ou! Off to pack up a picnic and then we're off⛰⛱ I find seeing the sea and the beach so uplifting ☀️

After reading all these comments, I feel very lucky to live in North Wales, close to the sea and mountains. ?

Me too *Dyffryn"

Me tooDyffryn but close to the sea in West Wales

How lovely to know Wales doesn't have a midge problem! I'm now looking forward to coming next year!

On a serious note - although on the map Norfolk looks close to London and we're only a little county and not a proper country, London has recently discovered we exist and I'm not sure I like it! Don't wish too much for too much development Anniebach, it snowballs and the sense of identity and place becomes more and more diluted and it's not the locals who generally benefit. Keep your mystery!

I like Wales. Been to Aberystwyth ( my brother went to uni there). Been to Colwyn Bay, Betywscoed (spelling? - sorry, I'm sure that's wrong), Anglesey, and loved it all. I've got a Welsh name as my godmother was Welsh and my parents were unsure what name to give me to match my surname and my godmother suggested the name I ended up with! It matches my married surname too! That's about as Welsh as my heritage goes, though. Not aware of any Welsh ancestry. ?

NfK, we survived the industrial revolution , I think things will change but not in my life time , saddens me , we have battled for centuries

I totally agree about the Brecon canal Anniebach my DD's just bought a house in Brecon with a view of Pen y Fan (so envious....) and we're off there this week to carry on sorting out the garden.
Wonderful part of the country!

Anniebach I agree, things might not improve in poorer areas of Wales, it will take a while.

Nature is covering the industrialisation scars, the tips, the colliery sites but its not so easy for the economy to change.

I am glad to live in Wales too....beautiful, she is...

Hello Anniebach.
Love the name and thought I would say hello as I'm from Wales but have lived in England for over 30 years now. Go back 2 or 3 times a year to visit friends and I miss it more now than I used to. I'm getting nostalgic in my old age.