Wales

[Ralph]

Not sperm or blue tip...but that one that gives you a warm welcome in the hillside.

I just thought I'd start a thread on a bit of the UK I regard with some affection.

10 Things I love about Wales...

1 Dual signs - I feel as if I'm abroad
2 Lovely stretches of sandy beaches at the Gower
3 Felifoel Ales just because it's made in Wales - at least I think so..
4 Tenby and Saundersfoot - great holiday atmosphere in the Summer months
5 Twisty narrow roads with high hedges
6 Proper Beer Gardens
7 Businesses called Davies or Jones & son
8 Maggots aledgedly
9 The Mumbles Mile
10 Little villages with those 1950s newsagents with sweeties in large clear containers


And some things I found don't happen:

1 the use of "boyo"
2 People start talking Welsh when a stranger enters the pub
3 All male choirs singing in hillsides

[Milky Tears]

I hate Wales for destroying my favourite TV show. I put my foot through Cardiff last year. Swansea is too wide and Penarth's "Welsh Agenda" disgusts me. Don't even get me started on Newport!!

[Ralph]

Ralph fears a Scotland backlash

Milky's from Ayrshire mind...

[Rob McCow]

My friend Tim (Tim, Tim, Tim) used to live in Wales, just north of Cardiff in Treharris.

Treharris is a great name for a place.

I also like the Brecon Beacons, they're rather superbly dramatic and we had a great time driving round them at 90mph on a windy day!

There are loads of proper beer gardens in the UK, I don't know what Ralph is talking about there. What's so proper about the Welsh ones?

[Larry]

with out doubt Wales is a beautifull country they have a lovely accent and though i've never witnesed it in person when 70,000 Welshman sing their national anetham at the start of every Rugby international at the Millenium stadium it sends a shiver down the spine.

[Wayne]

My great grandmother's family all hailed from Aberwystwyth, But i've only been to Wales once, in 1972, when i was 9. We went to Pontins at Prestatyn.
My overiding memory of this childhood holiday was the fact that we went to Rhyl, & they had a red Dalek outside Woolworths with a door cut out so that kids could have a ride in it.
It looked great, & obviously i wanted to have a go, But when i put my money in the slot i wasn't impressed, 'coz all it did was wiggle around a bit, & didn't even say 'EX-TER-MIN-ATE or anything.
I also remember visiting Llandudno & another place which i think was called 'Colwyn Bay'. Wales does have a reputation for being a lovely place though, & i'd like to visit it properly some day. Mind you, i could say the same for Scotland, which i've never been to at all. In fact i don't think i've ever been any further north than Leeds.

[Dave Tudor]

I suppose with it being so close, and because we nearly always went to north Wales for days out almost every Sunday when I was a kid, I suppose I now take the place for granted. A shame, really, as I should take advantage of its close proximity and explore it more. It's good to escape to the coast - and there's plenty of lovely coastline to enjoy in Wales - and driving through the country, there's some absolutely stunning scenery.

My overiding memory of this childhood holiday was the fact that we went to Rhyl, & they had a red Dalek outside Woolworths with a door cut out so that kids could have a ride in it.

God, yes! I remember that very Dalek! I remember sitting in it, but I can't remember whether or not my mum and dad would give me any money to have a go!

[Wayne]

God, yes! I remember that very Dalek! I remember sitting in it, but I can't remember whether or not my mum and dad would give me any money to have a go!

You didn't miss much. I wish Mum & Dad had taken a photo of it though. I bet it's long gone now. In fact, i wouldn't be surprised if the Woolworths is now a Primark, or something.

[Dave Tudor]

I'm sure I read somewhere that that particular Dalek was the only one of its kind still in existence, and that it's now owned by a private collector (though I could be wrong - where are Andrew Pixley or David J. Howe when you need them!?).

Oh, and the last time I went to Rhyl (an awful place, if the truth be told), which was about seven or eight years ago, there was still a Woolworths there!

[Wayne]

Rhyl (an awful place, if the truth be told)

Is it? I only remember the Woolworths Dalek. Though i can imagine it being the Welsh equivalent of Doncaster, or something.

[Captain Tancredi]

There are loads of proper beer gardens in the UK, I don't know what Ralph is talking about there. What's so proper about the Welsh ones?

I can remember when they used to be shut on Sundays...

There are certain parts of Wales which I love- the Conwy Valley up to Snowdon is a good one, for a start. And Cardiff has come on a lot in the last ten years- when I used to pop over from Bristol about 15 years ago it was very drab, second-rate and down-at-heel, but when I was last there (about 3 years ago) there'd been a lot of building done and it feels more like a modern European capital.

Now all they need to do is get that chip off their shoulder...

[Jon Masters]

Land of my Fathers (or grandmother more accurately)

10 things I love about Wales
1. Tenby and the Pembrokeshire coast - many happy holidays as a child
2. Mid Wales Biology fieldtrips and school camps - some of my fondest memories of me and my mates
3. Blaenau Ffestiniog - the slate mines and then the railway down to Porthmadog
4. The Welsh language - beautiful to listen to, and a real pleasure to hear a different voice so close to home
5. Snowdonia - real mountains that you can walk up with children and dogs
6. Anglesey
7. Welsh cakes and Welsh Rarebit - the real stuff, not the poor imitations you get in England
8. Portmerion - where fire demons come down from the sky
9. The A5 between Llangollen and Bangor - its a Roman road and a major thoroughfare but it still twists and turns through some great scenery (nightmare to drive in the dark though)
10. The Beautiful Game - as it should be played.

Iechyd da!

[Ralph]

Iechyd da!

I always wondered how that was spelt...

[Ralph]

!

There are loads of proper beer gardens in the UK, I don't know what Ralph is talking about there. What's so proper about the Welsh ones?

Have you been to Scotland?

[Pip Madeley]

I have Welsh relatives (auntie and two cousins), they live with my (non-Welsh) uncle in Caerphilly, just a few miles south of Cardiff. A lovely place, I wish I could visit them more often.

[Wayne]

I'm disappointed Ralph hasn't used to this thread as an excuse to post a picture of Catherine Zeta Jones, or that good looking one from BB that was all over the lads mags.

[Ralph]

I'm disappointed Ralph hasn't used to this thread as an excuse to post a picture of Catherine Zeta Jones, or that good looking one from BB that was all over the lads mags.

Well there's still plenty of time to post all that is Welsh!

[Wayne]

Well there's still plenty of time to post all that is Welsh!

No time like the present.

[Ralph]

The thread seems to be warming up nicely

[Wayne]

The thread seems to be warming up nicely

Hotting up, i'd say. (pant, pant)

[Ralph]

Indeed!

[Stephen Morgan]

Wales, the place I call home Boyo's.

I'm proud to be Welsh, and wouldn't really consider living anywhere else.
Wales is a country steeped in religion and history, full of chapels and historical landmarks from one end of the Principality to the other.
It is also a country renowned for it's mountains, hills and valleys, from the soaring heights of Snowdonia in the north, and it's stunning views, to the depths of the valleys in the south, Wales is full of natural beauty.

Why then do I prefer to holiday in a caravan in the South West of England?
But I tell you what, no matter how much time I spend in the West Country, there is nothing nicer than coming up to the new Severn bridge and seeing the sun setting on the golden daffodils as I travel towards home.

[Captain Tancredi]

Wales is a country steeped in religion and history, full of chapels and historical landmarks from one end of the Principality to the other. It is also a country renowned for it's mountains, hills and valleys, from the soaring heights of Snowdonia in the north, and it's stunning views, to the depths of the valleys in the south, Wales is full of natural beauty.

You really need Richard Burton to be reading that...

[Wayne]

Any place that spawned Steve Morgan is good enough for me.
God bless you Steve, you're a good on-line mate, & i've love to meet you someday.

(Fast Show: I'm not pissed you know!)

[Larry]

You really need Richard Burton to be reading that...

Ah Richard Burton, a wonderfull actor and a wonderfull rich voice to go with it..