The Kleeneze Man

We are all perhaps familiar with the Betterwear catalogue dropping through our letterbox.  The catalogue is full of gadgets that we have probably managed perfectly well without, but when we see them we suddenly can't live without them.

In the 1950's and 60's the consumer society was just in its infancy.  Shops had very few luxuries so when the Kleeneze Man arrived at our front door, not with a small catalogue, but with a rather large suitcase and an armful of brushes and mops, it was an opportunity for housewives to spoil themselves by purchasing a new sweeping brush, floor mop, or tin of polish.  The gentleman was always dressed very smartly, generally with a trilby hat, suit and gaberdine mackintosh. (I never did see a Kleeneze lady!)

Kleeneze Christmas trees

My favourite free gift, as a small child, was a small round tin of polish around the size of an old penny. I can't really remember doing much with it, but it was lovely just to have a gift from a strange man who came to the door.  Can't really see mothers agreeing to that these day.

Anyway, one Christmas they must have decided to be creative with their brush making machine.  They brought out a group of small Christmas Trees.



Christmas tree decorations in those days were quite a luxury, and kept for many years.  One of the first mass-produced decorations was made from flat metal stamped into shapes and spray-painted with metallic paint.  A hole enabled them to be attached to the tree using wire, ribbon or thread.

Not quite as sophisticated as some of today's decorations, but they still have a charm.

The Crumlin Arm

No, don't get upset.  Its not a fossilised bone or dismembered body part.  The Crumlin Arm is the name of a section of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal which used to extend from Crumlin to Newport Docks.

Unfortunately now it no longer reaches Crumlin or Newport Docks, but extends 16 km from the outskirts of Newport.

The towpath skirts the contours of the mountain and takes you high above the valley town of Risca, once descending through a series of  21 locks to sea level.

The Fourteen Locks Heritage Centre is situated at Lock 21 with a trail down to Lock 8 approximately 1000 mtrs away, just before the underpass for the M4 motorway.  The Centre is the hub of a regeneration scheme for the locks as well as a cafe and information centre selling books on local history.  This time of year its even possible to see Santa in his Grotto and have your picture taken with him.

Unaware of the extent of this section of the waterway, we only covered a short distance the other day, but  we plan to continue along its length in the New Year.

Harry Roberts' Bridge seemed a good place to end our walk.  Who was Harry Roberts?

Alfred Russell Wallace - 1823-1913

Alfred was one of the first men to think about and document biogeography.

He was born in London but his family due to financial problems, moved to Usk.  I understand his sister is buried there.  He was raised at a time when Creation Theory was highly thought of and people could be pilloried and made a laughing-stock to talk of evolution.

Alfred became friends with Henry Walter Bates and developed an interest in beetles.  They met regularly at Leicester Library.  Here he developed an interest in natural history through an anonymous 1844 publication "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation," and "Voyages up the River Amazon," by W H Edwards.

Through study and his travels abroad he developed the idea of geographical distribution of animals.

Wallace created a line between Australasia and the African continent. 

Wallace's map of the world, showing his 'lines' of division between species is not very different from the lines which have been developed today after many years research.

On 1 July 1858 Darwin after discussions with Wallace, presented "The Big Idea," to the Linnean Society in London.  It was the theory of natural selection.  Darwin went on to present his "Origin of Species" which was published in 1859.

Unfortunately Wallace lost much of his credibility as he become interested in Spiritualism and became a Honorary member of the Central Association of Spiritualists in June 1882.

The idea of evolution was not new. Pierre Belon (1517-1564) compared bird skeletons with that of man.

Model beetles in the Cardiff Museum exhibition

Until recently Charles Darwin took all the kudos for discovering and publicising evolution, but Bill Bailey the performer and comedian has brought Wallace's papers to light and obtained recognition for his work.

Cardiff Museum recently held an exhibition illustrating Wallace's life, his beliefs and discoveries, along with a film on Bill Bailey's part in recognising this fantastic man who spent some of his life in Wales.
 Wouldn't it be nice to think that the Usk countryside actually had a part to play in developing his ideas.

http://wallacefund.info

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-21549079

Caribbean Pirate's House for Sale

Henry Morgan (1635-1688), was born in Llanrhymney, Glamorgan, and lived at Penllywn Manor, in Pontllanfraith near Blackwood. He travelled to the Caribbean in the 1650s and developed a reputation for raiding Spanish settlements. He probably died in Lawrencefield, Jamaica.  He led an interesting life which is catalogued online. I include links below.

The house was built in the 16th century by Thomas Morgan of Machen. The family also have connections with Tredegar House in Newport, (now open to the public).

Henry Morgan

During its 500 year history, Penllywn Manor has been a convent and welfare clinic.  Until recently it was known as the Penllywn Arms, and served the area as a pub and restaurant.

This stone property retains many original features including fireplaces and beams and is now available for purchase.  I wonder if its haunted?

http://www.cavazzi.com/morgan/


Brief Bio Henry Morgan

Details of a report on the haunting of Penllwyn Manor:

http://www.webster.uk.net/SpecialInterest/RIPSouthWales/Penllwyn%20Manor%20Inn.aspx

H A P P Y C H R I S T M A S !!

Just to say THANK YOU for all the support and encouragement you have given me.

My intention was to write about places I know and love, and some places I always intended to visit and never quite got round to it.  I try not to concentrate on the most popular locations or events you may know of already.

I have been surprised at the response I have received from readers from around the world.  People enjoy my photographs of Wales because they lived here and moved for work;  their parents lived here and moved for work;  they visit regularly and are looking for places to visit;  and some are just curious about this beautiful place.

Whatever your reason for reading, may I wish to

a Very Happy & Peaceful Christmas.

Farteg ??

A village at the top of the eastern valley is known as Varteg.   Now, because of our Welsh Heritage, it has been mooted by the Welsh Language Commissioner that it should be known as Farteg. (No, please don't tutter, this is serious.)  The argument goes that we need to have bilingual road signs and as there is no 'v' in the welsh language, then we have to use 'f.'

NOTE:  There appears to be no evidence that the name Farteg 

was used in the past, so perhaps Varteg 

derives from the language of some other invader/visitor 

to the area, now lost in time.

Originally I was against this name change.  The village would become a laughing stock with people making silly jokes about smells and flatulence.  Children would grow up disowning the place of their birth.  Embarrassment would be caused all round.

BUT, publicity of this suggestion has spread as far away as Canada, and Minnesota, USA.

Despite the statistics that 99.9 per cent of residents do not want the name, this could perhaps become a money spinner for the area, bringing tourists flocking to have their photograph taken alongside the road sign.  They may even look for souvenirs such as sticks of rock - Farteg right through, of course.

One interesting definition (farting about):

"To waste time with idle and inconsequential tasks; 

to go about one's activities in a lackadaisical manner; to be lazy.."

So people could visit this re-named village just to laze around and enjoy the wonderful views from this Top-of-the-valley location.  It could become a retreat from everyday stress and bustle.  

I'm beginning to think there could be great advantages to this new name!

A quote from Wayne Tomlinson: "At the end of the day it's the residents' opinions that matter." 
I agree, so please Welsh Language Commissioner take note.

Update January 2014:   The local Council have advised the Welsh Language Commissioner that they will keep the name Varteg.  Many local residents are very relieved.

Senghenydd new miners' memorial

Unveiled one hundred years after the horrific pit explosion, in September 2013, the national miners' memorial sited at Senghenydd is well worth a visit, especially if you approach over the common from Nelson, enjoying the scenery and fantastic views beforehand.

The car park is small, but there are no parking restrictions on the road outside.

The two miners depicted in bronze are very well sculpted and each holds a miner's lamp.

Implanted in the top of a wall surrounding the sculpture is a series of engraved tiles, each naming one of the miners killed in the explosion in 1813.

Surrounding this wall are two circles of engraved tiles at ground level.  These each provide the names of collieries, the dates of disasters which occurred and the numbers killed.

Each tile has been sponsored by families or companies named on the tile.

I can't help feeling that although impactful, the impact would have been so much stronger if the tiles had been arranged en bloc, rather than spread in rows.

The whole arrangement is surrounded by gardens, making a place of contemplation and thought.  When planted up will add to the serenity to the whole area.