April 21, 2018  Saturday     Our last full day in the Old Rectory  :(


Today, we spent the day rambling around the Old Rectory and walking around our street.  English countryside has completely captivated my heart!  Where America is all about efficiency and accomplishment, the English countryside is about being fully present in the moment.  You don't fix and consume a cup of tea for merely nutritional purposes, you experience a cup of tea.  It's done purposefully, you wait for the water to boil, you steep the tea, and you pick out a lovely spot in which to consume the tea.  None of it done in a hurry.  That sums up the whole of our 12 days!  Oh, how I will miss England.

This post will be some of my favorite parts.

Back of Old Rectory.

 Nothing "happens" in this video.  It's all for the bird song and garden views.  https://youtu.be/KY4rwlG33Rc

A garden path with a duck.

Rod and a blooming tree.

The front entrance.

Collin in the garden.

Tour of the Old Rectory:  Through the gate.   https://youtu.be/JMYDiHhnjpk

Tour of the Old Rectory:  Round the back.   https://youtu.be/HpePJ_NmLi4

Tour of the Old Rectory:  Main entrance.  https://youtu.be/Ilh_6pym-p0

At the end of our short road, stands St. Mary's Church, Burford.  (Not to be confused with St. Mary's Church, Tenbury Wells, which is a stone's throw away over the river).  The church's baptismal font goes back to the 14th century and is still in use. 

St. Mary's Church.

Looking towards the sanctuary.

The stained glass dates to the 14th century.

At the back of church near the baptismal font, looking toward the sanctuary.

The view of the back of the church.

Let's return to the Old Rectory.

We were surrounded by sheep and lambs.  We loved it!

This powerfully fragrant plant was blooming in the sun room.

I wish you could smell this!  It's too strong until I open the doors of the conservatory.  https://youtu.be/rn_6chn6jd4

The cupboard was full of pretty dishes for us to use.

All the bathroom sinks had hot and cold faucets. 

The kids found and put up the badminton set.

 Badminton in action.  Oh, and it's called a shuttlecock in England, not a birdie!   https://youtu.be/ebopo0S-HhU


English countryside is definitely a "do-over" for me! 

Tracing the Morgan roots in Pontypridd, Wales

Friday, April 20, 2018

We made it down to Pontypridd in Wales to try and determine more information about Thomas Morgan, our ancestor, who immigrated into the US.  We knew his name, but not birthdate.  We guessed he was born around 1880 came over around 1900, based on the fact that Crad Morgan (Rod’s Grandfather) was born in 1906 in the US.  We also knew the road name….Fairfield Avenue.  There is a small museum in town and the curator was very helpful with general information about Pontypridd.  Pontypridd is an old area within a much larger county of Glamorgan in South West Wales….needless to say Morgans are everywhere!  She pulled up the commercial version of ancestry.com and did a search for Thomas Morgan, born in Pontypridd within the years 1875-1885…..see the picture below…over 100,000 births! Ack!  In order to see the birth certificate, we needed to know what month and what year, so more research is needed!   ~Rod~

Morgan Street

See "Morgan Street" behind us?

The museum was organizing a display on emigration from south Wales and had a number of posters advertising how to cross to the US (Cardiff is a short distance away)…the yellow poster would have been a few years before Thomas went, but the idea was the same….the cost would have been about 1 month’s wage to cross.  They had many ledgers that list people who crossed (it is cross referenced in ancestry.com, that is why the birthdate was so important) with reasons such as “holiday”….people would just head to the US and stay…forever…Wales didn’t care if they stayed or left, economic times were hard and the coal industry was drying up.  They went through Ellis Island and even had to stay in quarantine, just like we have seen so many times on TV documentaries and movies.  

We spent some time in town and the area, which reminded me very much of West Virginia…rural and hilly!  We also visited the Fairfield area, but there was no Avenue…just a Lane and Close (alley); the curator said the area was re-developed in between the World Wars and Fairfield Ave might have been eliminated.  Needless to say, we (kids too) enjoyed looking into this glimpse of our past…it sparked good discussions on how life would have been different if Thomas Morgan stayed in Wales….and what conditions must have been for him to move across the world!

Downtown Pontypridd

A cool souvenir shop

The river that runs through town

more downtown, walking district

Family discount?

Rod's general reflection on rural England (Tenbury Wells)

Here are some thoughts of daily life in rural England….it is very similar to rural U.S.  Our town, Tensbury Wells reminds us very much of West Branch.  There is a main drag through town with shops and restaurants along either side.  It is not a tourist town, so no souvenir shops and such.  The main livestock in our area were sheep…they are everywhere!  A few pigs and cows and even fewer horses.  We got used to driving on the other side of the road, although the most common comment from the kids in cars is “curb!”….meaning we are getting too close to the curb, not the oncoming traffic.  The major roads are nice, but the more rural are narrow, in some cases very narrow!  Speed limit signs are few and far between….and NO stop signs, all are yield signs (think rolling stops).  The locals have been very nice and we have been able to understand everyone just fine (no thick English accents).  The stores and shops are just a little smaller than U.S. stores and getting food and supplies is the same.  The new “Tesco” grocery store is just a small version of Meijer…and they have tons of food to choose from; pop has a sugar tax of about 20 cents per bottle of Coke.  The body type here in England is very reminiscent of Americans….it is easy to see the difference between Italy (no obesity issues) and England (just like us); but still don’t see exactly why.  Bottom line, there hasn’t been that much of a culture shock for us….not like Spain and Italy.

Airbnb links for The Old house in Tenbury Wells and Harlech

Here are the links to the Old Rectory House in Tenbury Wells:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/3078547




And in Harlech, close to the beach and across the street from Harlech Castle:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/5181176

April 18, 2018       Malvern Hills and Statford-upon-Avon


Malvern Hills is an area listed as "An Area of Outstanding Beauty" located south east of us.  We finally had a sunny, warm day so we hightailed it to Malvern Hills for the morning.  The views did not disappoint!

View from the top:    https://youtu.be/InTtC5G0P9c

We will be returning home with one less traveler:   https://youtu.be/CzdIMxNLVT8

At the top!  

Aaron and Clare with their walking sticks.

Grace on the summit.

Paul at the top.

Simon, watch out for airplanes!

The Leader of the Pack!

Two cutie pies!

I got a little rock climbing in.

Clare got some rock climbing in too. 

Collin contemplating life.

Simon and Rod contemplate too.

Rafiki and baby Simba.

The next Superhero group.  Watch for them in theaters near you!

Rod rockin' his zip off pants!

After Malvern Hills, we drove to Stratford-upon-Avon which is the birthplace of Shakespeare.  We learned a lot and was able to watch a little Shakespeare performed by a couple of actors.

The front of the house.

See below.

Main room of Shakespeare and his wife's portion of the house.

The hearth of Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, his wife. 

Shakespeare's parents main room.

More of the main room.  Having a bed for guests visible from the street was impressive!

The hall of Shakespeare's childhood.

Mr. Shakespeare made gloves and other leather goods.

See below.

The room in which Shakespeare was born.  A trundle bed tucks under this one and Shakespeare slept there until he was five.

A period cradle, not necessarily his.

Back of the house which include the addition of an inn that was added later.

A wall of summaries of Shakespeare's plays.

Back of house including gardens.

The front again.

Town shots.