Week in Wales!

We’ve been visiting Wales annually for over 20 years so there’s always a strong sense of wellbeing and quiet satisfaction when we arrive at Bryn Dowsi. Although ordinarily we love discovering new places, over the years, this week has evolved into a comfortable experience that celebrates our family, our enjoyment of the outdoors and importantly, allows us to relax, preparing for winter’s chilly embrace. And although Mavis wasn’t able to join us in Wales, we still enjoyed our week, doing something different every day, be that re-visiting old haunts, exploring some new places and eating and drinking far too much.

Birthday Bash

My extended family and I celebrated my cousin’s birthday in style last weekend at the wonderful Art Deco Midland Hotel in Morecambe. Marian decided to have a “bit of a do” to celebrate a random birthday rather than wait for the next funeral to meet up! What a brilliant idea it was! In keeping with the venue, we dressed in 1920s style clothing and danced the night away (in my case, as well as my damaged knee allowed) to some fabulous live music. And we got a guided historical tour of the hotel thrown in! It was a perfect occasion!

Looking forward to a wedding

Large gatherings are no longer a regular occurrence in the Bradbury family. With brothers and cousins living hundreds of miles apart, grown up children leading independent lives and, simply meeting normal everyday and work commitments, it’s no longer easy to assemble “en-masse” in a single location. So it was with great delight that over Christmas, we received the news of a summer wedding. Andy’s niece Hannah, is to marry Marcus with a joyful family celebration in Devon!  It will certainly outshine the festive but somewhat depleted gathering we had at Grandma’s yesterday when just 8 of us met for supper.

Transition

It was an unusual week in Wales this year.  Firstly, the weather was amazingly mild for November which meant we were able to get out and about rather more than usual but secondly, Nerea  was only with us for the weekend as she had arranged some work experience at home.  Despite her absence, and she was much missed, we still had a lovely time, exploring our favourite beaches, getting out into the hills and eating far too much. But “times are a-changing” and it seems as if the next phase in the inevitable re-structuring of our little family has begun