January 2020 – Gone West

Fame in Trefin – The Pembrokeshire Murders

A film company has turned up in Trefin. In fact they have rented out the blue house at the end of North End, right next to Cranog Close! They are part of the ITV sponsored filming of a new drama about the Pembrokeshire Murders – see https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/tv/itv-announces-new-drama-pembrokeshire-17596572

Location signs at the end of the road . . . .

We actually looked around this house that was (and still is) for sale – needed a lot of work done . . . meanwhile the film team carry out some internal filming. Had lots of “Quiet Please!”. Weather not too good! Gales and drizzle . . . .They are filming all over the place so not sure if our Trefin will feature in any external shots.

Meanwhile, to change the rather gory subject, the first daffodils bloom in our garden! Can Spring be just around the corner??

Dishy

Despite the large aerials in the loft, the number of freeview TV stations plus the selection (i.e. only BBC2 Wales and no BBC2) spurred us to getting a satellite dish. We had one on the boat but left it behind as it was a small one with a magnetic base – more suited for the boat. We also bought a ladder. We waited for a decent day – we had previously done a scoping session – i.e. Steve stood around, waving the dish just to see if we could get a signal and lo, it was so!

Wednesday saw Steve put the dish up – bit of a palaver as it meant carrying the TV and satellite box (a very old Technisat one) out to the shed. Once the bracket was drilled onto the house and made level, the dish was easily aligned, with all the correct azimuth & skew!

The only odd thing was the cable that came with the dish was very thin and only gave a 5/10 strength signal – it worked but . . . we swapped the cable for an old, shorter but thicker one and wow, the signal strength went to 10/10. Hmm. We left the dish up but left the cable simply dangling – just to use it for one night. Meanwhile, we ordered a better cable

Final dish position – seemed happy to be at a lower height than planned

The odd arrangement of TV & box but it’s the only way to check the signal without buying expensive meters

Toby supervises from his sun trap position

Friday morning – just an “after” picture with the new, thicker cable and the wiring all tucked under the guttering – job done. Probably saved us £100 . . .anyone need a satellite dish installed??

Getting There

Or are we? I used to say when we were working that we were “sliding further down the razor blade of life” but now we are back on the land and back in our own ickle house; I feel that we are getting there and perhaps starting to settle. However, someone did say that, the only difference between a groove and a grave is just a matter of depth, so perhaps we shouldn’t get tooo settled! Cuando el perro ha muerto . . volveremos a las islas afortunadas? Quizas…

Meanwhile, here’s the weekly update

Viv took part in the great British Bird Watch . . . dozens of birds

All more than happy to quaff all our seeds

Naturally, this chap turned up a day later . . all are welcome

Steve still maintains the weather station . . . a rod for his back for sure . . . the station is at weather.vivatek.co.uk and on weather underground at https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/IHAVER11

And people say, Are you really near the sea, do you have a sea view? Here’s their answer! A daily occurrence – Stena line’s ferry to Ireland. With winds greater than 40 mph, not a grand day to be ferrying.

Well, we have the kit and almost the enthusiasm but the cold and the high winds put a stop to our planned erection of the satellite dish! Tomorrow, maybe . . .

And yes, we have a shed. And a compost bin.

And this tree . . . perhaps the biggest in Trefin? You can certainly see it from the top road and from the coastal path . . . is it getting toooo close to the house?? And what is it exactly . . . . answers on a postcard

Porthlyski Beach – Circular walk

A nice bright day with a frost first thing this morning, so time to go for a decent walk with Toby. Bright sunshine, cold but little wind – ideal. We have done this walk before but we parked in the car park at Porthclais and walked along the coastal path along the harbour and round to Porthlyski beach. Wonderful views – not a soul about just a few wild horses.

Nice National Trust car park – usually a small kiosk cafe in season.

Can’t believe the lovely sunshine – warm was I !

It was also very clear – with views to Grassholm (the gannet colony) and also the lighthouse on Bishop’s Rock

Apart from a group of ponies near the beach

Porthlyski beach – a favourite one of ours – especially on a very hot day

Toby went for a swim, of course. There’s a path back from the beach that takes you directly back to the car park via the Porthlyski cottages.

Saga Tour – Bluestone Brewery

Friday looked like a nice, sunny day. So time for one of our Saga runs . . . this time with a definite aim – the Bluestone Brewery! We admit to having tried a few of their brews and were keen to meet to meet their maker. I won’t be causing any local consternation if I say that the area is not renown for its beer but there are some new brewers here and Bluestone seems to be one of the best. See https://www.bluestonebrewing.co.uk/

We drove the pretty way, through the Gwaun Valley, often with grass growing up in the centre of the road but the views were stunning

The Gwaun Valley and the Preseli mountains

They have a great shop and bar – they were very kind to chat to us and show us around even though they were very busy – brewing (Ice Cold) and bottling. Note the three bottles, bottom shelf left of middle…..

We had a few tasters . . . the black ipa, the session ipa (Viv’s favourite) and the lager – just brewed

A quick peek into the brewing centre . . . smells good!

We bought a mix of 12 bottles (all their Ice Cold – notice the gap now) as well as noticing all the awards they have won. Let’s drink to their success for the future.

The brewery recommended several pubs to try their beers – we ended up at the Golden Lion in Newport – see https://www.goldenlionpembrokeshire.co.uk/

And we sat at this very seat by the fire. They have their own beer (brewed by Bluestone) and a fantastic menu – all a bit restauranty but very good!

Blue Lagoon – Abereiddy

Time for a stroll with Toby – down to the beach at Abereiddy and a walk to the Blue Lagoon, formed from all the slate quarrying years ago.

Only ten minutes away – Abereiddy beach, famed for its graptolites fossils and the blue lagoon

The slate workings cause the water to take on the blue colour

The slate was taken from here either by boat or on a tramway all the way to Porthgain

Just a bit further on is one of the biggest, sandy beaches on this stretch of coast, not easy to reach – no vehicular access and on foot, there’s a huge metal staircase to tackle – Traeth Llfyn – see https://www.thebeachguide.co.uk/south-wales/pembrokeshire/traeth-llyfn.htm

All wrapped up – it was a nippy day . . . . looking forward to the Spring & Summer

Still can’t get over how lucky we are to be here and to get this ever changing view from our house

You can’t go much further west

This Blog follows on from the rather vast blog, narrating our trips & travails on the good ship Adagio – see vivatek.co.uk. Hopefully bringing some lovely pictures of the Pembrokeshire countryside to you as well as some memories to keep our ageing brains alive when we are further into our dotage.