chit chat

[nuthatch]

The polling station was quite busy in Fishguard:



This was taken there too - they were renovating the building, which appeared to be a pub or former pub:

[nuthatch]

Placi was contemplating how many stones could be piled on top of one another before they toppled over - I can't find the discussion now but they seemed to like doing something similar on the beach here:

[Willpar]

Ah Ha, that's where you have been nuthatch. Nice photos. Looks like a lovely place.

[nuthatch]

Views from the garden of the place we stayed in:





The building is the public toilets The only other thing there was an ice cream van on the beach every day.





Had to have their own photo

[nuthatch]

There was a bird repeatedly coming to the wall outside the bedroom window (grubby ) and poking around with stuff in its beak but I couldn't see any sign of a nest or anything:



There were lots of tiny birds in the garden with a lovely song but I couldn't see them very well or recognise the song - dunnocks?





Some flowers in the garden:





There were lots of bees going in and out of the stone walling in one place so must have been a nest there.

[nuthatch]

More down at the beach:

[Willpar]

Lovely photos nuthatch. Away from the madding crowds. My kind of place.

[Placido]

Some stunning pix there, Nuthatch. S'pose the stacks of flat stones are mainly slate ??

[Jacksparrow]

The bird is too indistinct for a good ID. I'm thinking Blackcap or a warbler of some kind

[nuthatch]

Yes, Placi - mainly slate. The local slate which was quarried in Abereiddi and nearby Porthgain and Trefin was of a poor quality and had to be covered with a coat of mortar to make it waterproof.

When I read this it became clear why the roofs look so funny (to us). They look as though they're not yet finished. They put narrow slats of wood over the slate at intervals and then cover the whole lot with mortar. You can probably just make it out in two of the photos.

They then discovered that slate waste could be used to make bricks, which led to another Porthgain industry.

There was a lime kiln there too at Porthgain. Limestone and anthracite shipped in from South Pembrokeshire were burnt in this kiln to produce lime. It was carted away by farmers and spread on the fields to 'sweeten' the acidic local soil. It was also used in building - as a mortar and as a wash for walls.

You can tell that I've got a leaflet detailing all this