Old dart #4 - moving north

Sheffield:
Sheffield is crazy about cutlery. It's a town famous for it's steel, and part of that industry is devoted to the manufacturing of knives and forks and the like. I even went to a cutlery museum. Anyhow, it was great to hang out with old friends such as the Reeses:


Andrew has just started as associate vicar at Christ Church Fulwood and I had the privilege of seeing him get licenced at the evening service. He even had to swear allegiance to the Queen. HAHAHA!!!
It was also great to spend time catching up with Izzy Brook, pictured here (on the right) with her flatmate Carol. After spending 6 months in Oz back in 2005/06 Izzy went to Lebanon where she was duly caught up in a war zone as Israeli forces bombed the daylights out of the country. Her escape back to the UK makes for a hair-raising story!



Wales:
This was an attempt to trace what little UK heritage I have. My Mum's ancestors came from the North Wales coast, so I hired a car and set out to see what I could find.

Rest in Peace Thomas Thomas (1816-1875):
First stop was Rhyl, where my Great Great Grandfather (Thomas Thomas) fell off a bridge to his death while returning home from a drinking binge. I tried to find the bridge. Here it is:



According to the newspaper reports of his death he hit his head on the concrete slab seen here just above the slope before being found on the waters edge:



A sad way to go for a lonely widower.

I also drove around the Isle of Anglesea in an attempt to find the graves of further relatives, but found no tombstones that I could positively identify. Although I did find this neolithic tomb in the middle of a turnip field:



My base for the Welsh leg of my trip was a B&B in Bangor (a town known as 'Banga' to the locals), the owner of which is a lovely 73 year old Welsh lady. She was most hospitable, even to the point where she invited herself into my room to have a chat while I was wearing a towel. She then she asked to borrow £5 to pay some workmen who were doing some repairs. She paid it back. Welsh hospitality at its best.

Edinburgh:
Love it. I reckon this trip has taught me that I'm a big city kind of guy. Edinburgh has just the right amount of charm and pace. Not so big that it's pretentious, but not so small that its totally predictable. Had a fun day with MTC buddy Lynne Wilson as we checked out the vista from Calton Hill:



Terry and Ruth Johnston have warmly welcomed me into their home, which is nice given that I'm almost a stranger to them (I met Terry once in Sydney five years ago).

Tomorrow I'm heading to Dundee to see Doug and Hannah Forbes. Less than a week to go before I'm back. Getting very tired now.