Don't Rain on my Parade...

There is a Welsh theme to my blog today. 'Why?' I hear you ponder, well read on and all will be revealed...

Today I am feeling sorry for myself...After a jolly jaunt to Cardiff yesterday with my parents, sister and niece, I found myself feeling rather sickly yesterday evening. Sore eyes and throat, blocked ears, achy limbs...woe was me! So I went to bed and left Hubby to cook tea. I still feel a bit poorly but the steady torrential rain outside is making me feel, well, rather depressed. Is it a UK bank holiday weekend?!

Well luckily I have no plans to go any further than the end of my garden over the next couple of days so let it rain! And I apologise now to all of you who do have plans this weekend and hope it doesn't rain on your parade, or on the Notting Hill Carnival. 

If you're not planning to get away for the last few days of summer (ha ha!) then spare a thought for the poor residents of Port Talbot, Neath and Baglan in South Wales who are currently battling with flash flooding. Say a prayer too for those tens of thousands of people in the US who are awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Irene. Perhaps, a little downpour here is not so bad after all.

Now back to Wales. Last weekend was a special occasion for my Hubby's extended family as we all headed to New Quay, West Wales, to attend his Aunt and Uncle's Golden Wedding Celebration. People gathered from all over the UK and further afield for the party on Saturday and despite the cold and windy weather, we had a great time. The rain held off all afternoon and evening, but the heavens opened just after we had snuggled into our tent for the night. Did I say tent? Yes, we failed to book any accommodation and so at the last minute asked if we could pitch a tent next to the festivities. Of course, the advantage was we didn't have to drive anywhere when the party finished; the disadvantage was that one daughter, who shall remain nameless but she knows who she is, was not at all pleased with the prospect of impromptu camping and huffed and puffed and did sit-ups throughout the night!

I had never been to this particular part of Wales before but Hubby was keen to make a full weekend of it so we visited Aberaeron, just up the coast, on Saturday lunchtime. We ate fish and chips and marvelled that we had made the whole journey without arguing over directions or map reading once! Aberaeron is very pretty and well worth a visit if you are near. I found a lovely shop too called Box of Delights, on Bridge Street, which sells lots of pretty gifts and shabby chic bits.

After waking to glorious sunshine on Sunday, we headed down the coast to Pembrokeshire, and to Parrog, Newport, in particular. 

Parrog was a favourite holiday haunt of dear Hubby when he was a child. He learnt to canoe there and was very keen to go back. What a beautiful, idyllic place. It is only tiny but obviously a real hub for recreational sailing and canoeing. And as we strolled along, who did we spot just on the other side of the small beach - well, Hubby's brother also feeling nostalgic for the place! 

 

I would say you must visit but I would quite like to keep Parrog to myself actually, because it is definitely a case of small is beautiful.