Recent radio silence…

Filed by: Darren on June 27, 2007 at 20:43
Filed In: Books, Life, Photography

Spent the best part of last week in the picturesque seaside town of Tenby, down in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. I was there on family business: my Nanna - who'll be 91 years old in just a few weeks - decided a few months back that she probably wasn't going to be able to cope through another winter on her own (my Grandad having passed away a couple of summers ago) so it was high time she relocated to a bungalow in Leeds.

A very good decision, if you ask me: her old house, was horribly inaccessible for someone of her advanced years (halfway up a hill, with steep steps at the front and back) and she's now much closer to most of my family and only an hour from Jo and I in Manchester. And it was a very brave decision, too: leaving the home she's lived in for the past 56 years to start a new life at 91 is just an incredible thing to do (and it was her decision, too; nobody pressured her into it) and I have nothing but admiration for her.

So, being the dutiful type and eager to assist in any way I could, I went on down to help out with the move: packing up the last few boxes, waving Mum, Dad and Nanna off on their car journey back to Leeds, then coordinating with the removal guys at the tail-end of the week, before making my own way back home by train on Friday.

The thing about Tenby: lovely place to visit, nice place to live if you fancy a bit of peace & quiet (except for the summer season, which can get a bit hairy), but not exactly what you'd call a wi-fi hot-spot. Hence my complete lack of T'Internet access all week, and the subsequent mad scramble to sort through my email backlog mountain and catch up with various work-related tasks (and resulting lack of blogging here) since I've been back at the weekend.

Of course, a week to myself with no WWW access - plus a six-hour train journey at the end of it - meant that I was able to read a whole two books (Charlie Huston's second Joe Pitt novel, No Dominion, the second of John Connolly's Charlie Parker novels, Dark Hollow) and make a good start on a third (K.J. Parker's Evil For Evil - finally!). And this, sadly, is something of a personal best since I knocked the daily commute on the head, not counting holiday reading...

And here - just in case you're contemplating a holiday, or even retiring to the coast (I know where you can buy a very nice semi - in need of redecoration, true, but in a great location) - are a few scenic shots of Tenby that I snapped off with my trusty old Fuji Finepix on the Monday evening. This was the last spell of sunshine that I was able to enjoy before the rain-clouds set in for the rest of the week.

The subject matter: St Catherine's Island (complete with largely-derelict C18th fort), the approach to Castle Hill (with a section of the old town walls), and the old lifeboat house (now replaced by a shiny, modern one, from where this last photo was taken).

Back to the regular genre-fiction-stuff next time I find a spare moment to put fingers to keyboard...

Filed on: June 27, 2007
Filed under: Books, Life, Photography
Tagged with: Charlie-Huston | John-Connolly | K.J.-Parker | Tenby |

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9 Responses to 'Recent radio silence…'

mhayinde on June 27th, 2007 11:00 pm

Best of luck to your nan with her move!
Ariel on June 28th, 2007 7:01 am

Cheers MH - I think she's probably settling in nicely already. Just needs to get herself into a new routine... oh, and to find something to do with the dozens of boxes of stuff from the old house... 56 years' worth of memories and keepsakes, all squashed into that not-exactly-massive bungalow :)
Christopher Teague on June 29th, 2007 10:34 am

Is your nan a born and bred Northern lass and she temporarily re-located to Tenby... staying for 50-odd years?

Not been to Tenby in an age, but glad the move went okay and she's settled in - 91 is a grand age, but any change in routine takes some getting used to...
Ariel on June 29th, 2007 11:07 am

Actually, my Nanna was born and bred in Cardiff, but my Grandad came from Blackley in North Manchester, which happens to be about a mile or so from where I live. I think they met when he was on duty with the RAF in Cardiff in WWII or something and they moved to Tenby because he got a job with the electricity board... must remember to ask her about the details some time.
Gill Harrison on June 30th, 2007 5:38 pm

Hi Ariel,

Just got to your blog by chance and found it very interesting. Being a Pembrokeshire lass myself I think your Nan is very brave and spirited in making her choice. I am sure she will be very happy to be closer to her family and I wish her the best of luck in her relocation.

There is are many very good Pembrokeshire Websites out there, but I think this one (MyPembrokeshire.com) is particularly good as it is a community online publication, and doesn't really print the hard news, but more about community-living in Pembrokeshire. It has a lovely photo gallery and forums, and keeps you up-dated on Pembrokeshire life, and the Archives are full of interesting stuff. I just thought it might be nice for you to access regularly as a way to keep your Nan in touch with her old home.
Ariel on July 1st, 2007 11:31 am

Hi Gill - Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting, and for the kind words as well.

I'll certainly bookmark the MyPembrokeshire site. Nanna is already missing her regular Welsh radio shows (although I think she can pick up most of them again via Sky, or failing that we can buy her a DAB radio) and I'm sure she'd like to hear what's going on back in the Old Country... :)
Christopher Teague on July 2nd, 2007 8:04 am

You mean she's missing Owen Money?! ;-)
Lizzy on July 5th, 2007 8:41 am

Those pics bring back good memories for me too and I'm not 91! (don't say it Ariel, just don't......)

Many a happy time spent in Tenby and Pembrokeshire.

Glad all the move went well and your Nan is settling in well.
Ariel on July 5th, 2007 8:49 am

It's a lovely part of the world. I think when we're a bit older I might drag Jo back down there for a week wandering up and down the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. And there are some fantastic castles dotted all around the area, of course...