Contd. Cwm Cynfal, by the farm now named Cwm Farm due to mention in the Triads. Anyway strangest thing I found was the supposed burial place of Branwen had been excavated to discover many infant ear bones and Branwen herself had been punished by having her ears boxed by a butcher in Ireland.
But Welsh material can migrate (eg poetic references to battle locations and the relocation of the dedication of stones to heroes of the Old North etc, (not the stones themselves obvs)). Some of the place names exist in other locations too. I had an idea llech Gronw was originally further up the
Hi, hope your walk was good. I didn’t have any access to estate maps. I traced some place names back to various earlier dates using the Melville Richards archive and also sundry old mapping. There is mention of similar material in the Welsh Triads. Finding it hard to remember specifics now!
It was! It felt like a slight win, it would have probably felt a bit more triumphant if the leafleter hadn’t looked so frail and vulnerable.
Even then we wouldn’t know as they are mostly likely based on earlier oral stories! But there are relatively recent paintings showing watercourse running down from east of Ynys at Ty Gwyn to Harlech. Eg collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:...
I started one but then covid happened! Then I kind of lost heart. One of the things that intrigued me was the changes in the landscape as for eg at Harlech where the coastline has moved significantly, and the submerged forests hinting at a time where maybe you could walk to Ireland (if a giant)
Bryn Cyfergyd (now) is a remarkably shaped hill where one can imagine a man hidden in shadow. llyn y Morwynion very atmospheric with views that you can imagine looking back to see a persuer! Have a good walk!
Where is your walk?
Wrote my MA dissertation on the places in the Four Branches. Lots of them in the 4th branch. I had the idea the topography inspired the place names which later had narratives attached through reinterpretations of the names. So to me the narratives came out of the landscape itself.
That is insane
Chased after a reform leafleter and returned his leaflet to him and toe him what to do with it. Not much of a chase to be fair as he was slower moving and more wobbly than me and I have been laid up with severe sciatica for a month.
Diolch….Fydda i ddim yn ei fwyta!
Just found growing in my veg patch, think it might be a morel?
Painting by Lee Madgwick of a floating tower block crumbling from the bottom in a flat landscape and stormy sky.
Painting by Lee Madgwick. An old remnant of a seaside resort under a moody sky. Three attached premises face the unseen sea from the promenade. Two deckchairs are positioned on the beach.
A painting by Lee Madgwick of a lone abandoned, partially boarded up ruin under storm clouds.
A painting by Lee Madgwick. A brutalist building with an exterior staircase. Birds fly by. ‘Hope’ is scrawled in graffiti at the top.
Hi #portfolioday I’m Lee, I’m a painter from England. I have a penchant for abandoned and derelict buildings - an unhealthy obsession that finds its way into my strange and unsettling universe.
Photo of Life of Plants book by Emanuele Coccia
Got a sore back so I’ve settled in to catch up on some reading.
Coral background with faint heart illustrations. A glossy male Blackbird with a bright yellow bill faces left. Large title reads: “Birds as bad exes*” Smaller text reads: “*Yes, you read that right.”
Happy Valentine’s Day, from us to you. Tag your exes. Xoxox
I’ve signed up for this, looking forward to developing my id skills after just finishing a wildflower id course
Hen Harriers and other birds of prey are still being killed illegally.
Enough is enough.
Join us and call on the UK Government to license gamebird shooting and help protect these incredible birds before it’s too late. 👇
action.rspb.org.uk/page/185536/...
I feel like a 🐟 in a big podcast pond but here I am, probably the only podcast in the 🌍 about a river, the River Severn/Hafren/Sabrina UK. Expect archaeology, social & maritime history, myth & folklore, goddess worship, rights of Rivers, ecology & wildlife, music, Morris dancing, art, pubs & more
Looking at its own reflection?
That’s good, have a great 2026!
Hope it’s nothing serious
The image shows a small, rounded, purple glass vessel in the shape of a pomegranate fruit displayed against a light grey background. The display lighting enhances the translucent purple glass which replicates the colour of a ripe fruit. There is some encrustation dotted around the body of the vessel and around the calyx which has one lobe missing. Height 6.9 cm (2.7 in), Diameter 6.6 cm (2.5 in). Probably used as a container for perfumed oil.
For New Year’s Day 2026, a hellenistic glass vase shaped like a pomegranate. 2nd century BC - 1st century AD.
A symbol of abundance and good luck for the year ahead!
📷 Phoenix Art phoenixancientart.com/work-of-art/...
#Archaeology
On the track leading up to the magnificent Roman Catholic chapel at Biddlestone in Northumberland are some medieval remains that might explain how this remote village got its name.
1/7
My guess is 33, 8 and 5?
I get so many spam calls I don’t even answer if the caller is unknown. I send them direct to answer phone. I decided it is best not to engage at all with any unknown caller I read there is some sort of scam involving recording your voice although no idea what.
Keep rewriting and improving … much easier to know how to improve something that to start from a blank page. Make it more concise and refine. Finally read it out loud to check its written as well as possible
As a former MA student who found writing an enormous struggle … start with a plan … write as badly as required to actually write at all. Ie in note form, no grammar, no punctuation, full of quotations clearly marked with references. Then rewrite. And rewrite. Revise plan as ideas reform.
Walking in paces ?
