ABC Wednesday - B

B is for back at last!! Haven't done this for a while, but pleased to be here again!

B is also for Bryntail Lead Mines. A beautiful place not far from where we live, what's left of the mines lay at the base of the Llyn Clywedog dam, near Llanidloes, Powys.

Bryntail Mine, a Guardianship Monument in the care of Cadw, was worked between the late 18th century up to the late 1860s, producing lead ore and barytes. Visible workings are largely of 19th century date and include 3 main shafts and a deep adit, well-preserved remains of an earthwork incline, tramway track beds, a leat which once carried water drawn from the Clywedog further upstream, substantial remains of buildings including structures which housed pumping and winding machinery, a barytes mill, mine office, smithy and store building, a circular explosives magazine, together with wheelpits for winding and crushing machinery, ore bins, roasting ovens and precipitation tanks, jigger placements, a washing and picking floor area, buddles, slime pits.
(Information from Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust)

The approach to the mines with Llyn Clywedog dam in background



Part of the mine ruins



An old stone wheel



Llyn Clywedog that lies above the mines



A woodland walk close by




Photos mine!

Updates and Adventures

Right, I'm going to try and get back to regular blogging! It's been a really mad start to this year and it feels like it should be about June already!!

Things have improved for Blue quite a lot, she is getting feed and attention at least every other day. Not quite perfect but a damn site better. Her owners aren't spring chickens anymore and I have to hand it to Mrs for going out in the weather we have been having to tend to her. Fingers crossed it will continue. As for the RSPCA they still haven't been back!

Jedi's idea of a good start to the year was to go into hospital on New Year's Eve down in Somerset, when she was staying with my parents and I was stuck up here in Wales suffering terribly from Flu with poor hubby. Just before Christmas she had had a pain in her tummy which went off quite quick and that we put down to trapped wind or something. Anyway it happened a couple of times after that and eventually wouldn't go away, so she was admitted with a suspected apendicitis. She showed all the classic signs and was really quite poorly but when they did blood work there was no evidence of infection. They also did an ultrasound scan and couldn't find anything wrong there either!! I rushed down there on New Years day, still dying myself, and spent a further two nights there with her. They eventually released her with no real explanation for the pain except that it may be a grumbling appendix which may well kick off again. It took quite some time for the pain to go but she is much improved.

Hubby is back in Dumfries, we are on our third week apart :( I'm not sure when he'll be back, he left saying 'see you in February or March!!' He did ask me the other night where in my menstrual cycle I was. I wondered why he was suddenly interested in women's things, turns out he's planning the best time to come home!!! Oh well, at least I know I'm good for one thing, oh and doing the washing he inevitably brings home with him!!!

I am finally getting eggs!!! Yay! My one youngster that had come into lay before winter has finally started laying again, along with two others. The ex-batts haven't bothered yet, but I don't mind that so much, the eggs are a bonus really. It's so nice to have proper eggs again. I really do hate buying them when I have chickens in the garden.

I promised the girls a picnic at the weekend, and you know what happens when you make promises like that, so last Saturday we wrapped up warm and packed some lunch. We headed off to Llyn Clywedog and Bryntail Lead Mines. It was cold but sunny and we had a lovely day. The resevoir is stunning and the kids loved the lead mine ruins. They found a tiny one room cottage and tried to imagine what it would have been like to live there back in the 1800s. They gathered sticks and made a pretend fire in the old fireplace, and swept the floors and scattered grain for the pretend chickens. All the while waiting for daddy to come back from the mines! It was a great day and the weather held off just long enough.

I'll leave you with some pictures.

Updates!!

Apologies for the delay in updating you all on poor Blue. Unfortunately my dear Jedi has been attention seeking again (not really!!) and spent New Year in hospital in Somerset! She's fine, problem not resolved yet, but that's a long story for another post!

Anyway, Blue. I had a phone call from an RSPCA inspector back on the 22nd December. Apparantly he had visited on the 19th. I had wondered, because all of a sudden Blue had started getting a little more attention. He told me that he had not been impressed with Blue's conditions and had layed down some requirements, including cleaning her shed and feeding her properly. (The phone call from the Lib Dem office obviously worked!) The inspector told me that he would return the first week of January to ensure that things had improved....... haven't seen or heard from him yet!

But things have improved for Blue, they aren't great, but she is being feed hay and hard feed (although I don't know what), her rug is being adjusted and water is being provided. At the moment this is happening about once every three to four days although one day she was seen to twice!!! Her shed still hasn't been cleaned out but fresh straw has been put down on top. Not acceptable but better. At least she made it through the terrible cold weather we have had. Before Christmas I never thought she would.

I do have doubts that this period of 'care' will last, I think the novelty will wear off quite quick, but we are faced with Blue every day so we won't be giving up. Another call to the RSPCA from the Lib Dem office may be soon needed too. The inspector promised me he would be back and I intend to ensure he fulfills his promise.

Blue - show your support

Some of you may remember the old horse that lives in the field next to our house for those who do and those who don't here is an insight into her life;

Blue's Story.

Blue was once a well cared for and loved horse who was placed at shows and won rossettes for her owners' children. The children have since grown up and left home, so Blue is retired.

I first called the RSPCA out last summer when I noticed that she was very unsteady on her feet and on closer inspection noticed blood oozing from her coronets (top of the hoof) and mud and pus in her feet. The RSPCA eventually responded after about 5 weeks and a barrage of phone calls from both me and my neighbours. The RSPCA inspector had a look round her, never lifted her feet and recommended she see a farrier, that was it. They never even returned to make sure it was done.

A few months ago the owners of this horse were evicted from their property so effectively the horse was abandoned. No one came to check on her and as the weather deteriorated and the grass disappeared we became concerned. Again the RSPCA were notified and eventually turned up many weeks later. This time the Inspector was very unhappy with the horse's conditions and as by this time the owners had returned left a list of criteria which had to be fulfilled. This was several weeks ago and the RSPCA have as yet not returned to ensure the requirements have been fulfilled.

To give you a better idea of her conditions read on;

Blue has an open fronted 'shed' to shelter in. It is full of LAST years cow muck. To get to it she has to wade through mud and stones.

Until a couple of weeks ago she had no rug. She now has a non waterproof rug which is too small. Considering the weather we have been having she has been drenched during the day and frozen at night. It also slips to one side causing the straps on the other side to dig into her belly and leg. No one comes to straighten it.

Her water trough has been freezing, no one comes to break the ice.

The grass is long gone. There is hay in the barn but no one gives to her and besides a horse left out over winter, especially of this age needs far more to eat than poor quality hay.

She repeatedly collapses and spends hours on the ground struggling to get to her feet. Last Sunday morning she spent at least five hours down in a very hard frost. Our neighbours thought she was dead.

We have done what we can for Blue, we groomed out her moulting summer coat in the warmer months, straightened her rug, given her water, and hay. The RSPCA have now told us to stop so they can see that she isn't being cared for, which makes sense........ if they ever bother to come back.

Merry Christmas!


I now have Lembit Opik's office fighting for Blue, they have contacted the RSPCA and asked that they come back to see Blue asap. Next step the papers!

If any of you have Facebook please join the following group

If not then please just show your support for Blue by leaving messages here.

Anyone who wants to link to this post, please do - I want as many people as possible to read it.

Thank you.

Happy Birthday to Me!

What a funny day! I've had the girls home for a couple of days, there is an awful tummy bug going round the school and both girls have been low with awful colds, so I decided to keep them home for a few days. Half the school is absent anyway! My dad turned up unexpectedly this morning, he'd come up to view the bungalow in the village. It was only a flying visit but a lovely one!

Then Hubby rang to say that he had been temporarily laid off! For some reason they hadn't got all the planning permission they needed and the job has been stopped. So nice news that Hubby was on his way home for my birthday but not great circumstances just before Christmas. Luckily he has managed to get a bit of work with my cousin so it should just about tide us over.

Then off to work. I have a ridiculous dry tickly cough which of course raises it's head when I am taking phone calls. I have been drinking cough medicine straight from the bottle all day but it doesn't seem to help much!

Then back home where I had to cook tea! Hubby can be a bit useless with things like that. Oh he can cook, he just doesn't much! And he'd brought a mate with him so I had to make a vast Shepherds Pie for them all. Jedi had made me a cup of coffee though, which was very much appreciated.

Anyway, not the most exciting birthday I have ever had, but I guess that happens as you get older! At least I have a nice warm body to snuggle up with tonight.

Very proud mum!

Well, even though we have all had dodgy colds we made it to the school Christmas show. Because it's not a church school, they have a slightly different take on the nativity and this year was the Xmas Factor. Trouble was an angel of all things and Jedi was Mary. They both did a fabulous job and Jedi's solo brought a tear of sheer pride to her mummy's eye. The infants and junior are split and do their own little show and I have to say the standard was incredible. Those teachers must put so much time and effort in to get all those little ones doing and saying what they are meant to. And some of the juniors definately have an acting career ahead of them!!

Jedi's foot is much improved, her chest is fine and the troublesome child has been removed from the school, so things are definately improving for her.

I am still getting no eggs from my chickens, which is very frustrating but apparently I am not the only one! There was a young fox loitering around the house this morning so I must be vigilant. We have hardly thawed at all over the last few days but we have had no snow. The Bengal Brothers are spending most nights under my duvet and will wake me up, patting my face until I let them in.

I am slowly getting through the Christmas shopping but have disappointed myself by giving in to the kids and putting the Christmas tree up yesterday. Christmas never starts this early in this house! We usually put the tree up the weekend after my birthday, which isn't until Wednesday. I think we just all needed a bit of a boost, and I have to admit that seeing it twinkling by the window have lifted us all. Jedi has been madly wrapping everything in sight, I love wrapping presents but I haven't had a look in, she even offered to write my Christmas cards! The tree brings much joy to the cats of course and Clay has been climbing it every five minutes since it went up! Hubby would hate it but he's not here so up yours with ya humbugs!

Does it ever end?

Jedi was so pleased to get the part of Mary in the school Christmas production, but it looks as though it could be under threat! She has developed a terrible cough and we are desperately hoping it won't get onto her chest like it usually does. She saw the doc today who said she had the start of a crackle on the usual lung, but thinks she should clear it on her own. He has, however, prescribed antibiotics to take in a couple of days if it hasn't cleared.

The dress rehearsal/grandparents production is tomorrow. My parents are coming up to view a bungalow in the village and are hoping to combine the two. Then there are two further evening productions on Thursday and Friday. Hopefully the girls' dad is coming up for Friday night, so all in all I hope Jedi can hold out until the end of the week.

I broke a tooth on my lunch at work yesterday. It's quite bad as half of my tooth is now gone! Luckily it's the inside that has come away so I don't look like I've been fighting, but what a time of year for major dentistry!!!

On the other hand I am loving my new job. Although by Christmas I will be twenty stone! The boss sends out lots of goodies to customers at this time of year, including tins of chocolates and biscuits. Because he is of a generous nature he opens them for us too. Trouble is as soon as one is gone he opens another. This has been going on for two weeks now and there is still another couple to go. When I got into work today there was; a tin of Quality Street, a box of fancy biscuits, a box of After Eights, a chocolate orange and a white chocolate orange, all sat on my desk! Every time I reach for my tray my hand falls into one of them!! I could do with putting on a bit of weight but all this chocolate can't be healthy! Oh! the trials of life.