Trip to Becon

After our usual Saturday lie-in and pancake breakfast, we drove out of Cardiff in overcast wet weather on the A470 in the direction of Brecon hoping conditions would improve later in the day. The rain eased and cloud lifted as we ascended from Methery Tydful to the Storey Arms, and stopped altogether as we went down the other side. We looked around the town, and visited an outdoor clothes shop where Clare tried on a possible new cold weather winter coat, but didn't buy it because it wasn't the right size in the colour she wanted. Then we had lunch in a small restaurant we've eaten in before where excellent cawl is served. As we were eating the sun broke through the cloud and the sky began to clear altogether.

I took photos of some of the more interesting old buildings with my Alpha 68, and then we made our way to the far side of town to a place hwere we could park and walk on the canal towpath up towards the canal basin, which isn't that far from the centre of town. It was a very pleasant hour's stroll before setting out for home. As we drove up the long gradient back to the Storey Arms at the top of the pass, the sun began to dip below the mountains and the few clouds that were in the sky turned a beautiful orangey pick. It was twilight by the time we reached Western Avenue, not quite dark, but the clear sky had turned deep purple with a pink fringed horizon, an altogether enchanting drive home, impossible to photograph on the move, however.

After supper, with no preparation to make for tomorrow, and nothing worth watching on telly, I immersed myself in a Channel 4  French language drama in six parts about a dysfunctional family in which everyone has secrets to keep from each other. There's a mysterious death in it, which looks like murder and turns out to be a suicide, with someone unexpected killing themselves starting the exposure of all that is hidden. It's set in the scenic region of South Eastern France, in the foothills of the Jura near Colmar. I remember driving through that part of the world, on a camping trip thirty five years ago and we went to nearby Strasbourg on our Rhine river cruise too. I wonder if we'll ever return?