This post is a shameless plug for the new website of 21 Plus, a support group I’m involved with. If you live in Monmouthshire, neighbouring Welsh counties or the Forest of Dean, have a child with Down’s Syndrome and think you could benefit from sharing experiences with similar families, get in touch with us via the website at http://21plus.org.uk
Local news: The Hill, Coleg Gwent’s Education and Conference centre in Abergavenny is due to close, under plans announced recently. A real shame if this does happen.
A couple of Tuesdays ago, a few of us held the last meeting of the Wye Valley Chorus in Monmouth. There was no singing and the mood was sombre as we took votes to decide on which charities would receive the remainder of the bank balance. Instead of the usual banter, there was awkward smalltalk. As individuals left afterwards there was no “see you next week”; instead there was, “Well, I suppose I’ll see you sometime…”.
The chorus had been for many years a familiar part of the barbershop scene in Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. In the last two years though, despite the heroic efforts of director Paul Mills, membership dwindled and at a meeting before Christmas 2008 the membership voted to wind it up.
Some of the membership have joined Synergy, a chorus based in Abergavenny.
I have bought a boudin noir from the Trealy Farm stall at the Monmouth Farmers’ market. Now what do I do with it?
This was the view this morning from the Kymin, the big hill behind Monmouth, looking towards Abergavenny, the Blorange and the Skirrid. I’ve never seen it so clear.
The 10th October edition of the Forest & Wye Valley Review, a local free newspaper, has an article reporting triangular black craft seen by anonymous witness over the A40 dual carriageway next to Chippenham Mead at 10 PM on Friday 26th September.
The witness describes the two objects as “low enough to hit with a stone… There were several lights on them, arranged symmetrically on the underside and there were white lights on the three points of each triangle.”
Moving “slower than 5 mph” they took at least 15 seconds to pass over the dual carriageway. They were “absolutely silent and there were no other cars on the road at the time”.
The witness provides a sketch showing craft very similar to the ominous black triangles that have featured in so many UFO sightings in recent years.
The article appears to have flushed out others who have seen similar craft. The 17th October edition has a front page article reporting similar sightings in Westbury last winter and Whitchurch in 1994.
Perhaps it was all a big fib.
Perhaps it looked a bit like this triangle filmed over Florida in March:
I think cycling is a good thing: healthy, environmentally sound, cheap etc. Cyclists rightly complain that roads are not designed to accommodate their needs and risk their lives daily by peddling unprotected among tons of high speed metal objects, that is to say cars and lorries.
But then they spoil it by cycling on the pavement and expecting pedestrians to get out of their way!
This has come to my attention recently on the Wye Bridge in Monmouth where cyclists regularly push past me on the pavement (for American readers, the sidewalk) heading into the town centre. These aren’t just kids who should know better either: these are foursomes of hard core übercyclists with their fancy skin tight shirts and helmets, decked out in the proper gear for a day out on their bikes.
If you are one of those cyclist who doesn’t bother to obey the Highway Code and get off your bike when on the pavement you shouldn’t be surprised if you begin to lose the respect of other road users.
Went for a walk here today as I hadn’t seen the countryside on this side of town. Picture is taken with my mobile phone so very wide angle too much foreground!) and panorama stitching a bit iffy.
Monmouth is to be one of the beneficiaries of the Sustrans connect2 scheme after the project was the winner of the People’s £50 Million Lottery Giveaway recently. The scheme aims to provide cycle and foot paths into town across the Wye and Monnow rivers, going some way to restoring the town’s connection with these rivers.
Connect2 – Schemes – Monmouth: Local Connections
The RPE course at the University of Gloucestershire.
Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
summarized & visualized
The author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
Professor of Philosophy & Pedagogy
Community Woodland Information
Between An Island of Certainties and the Unknown Shore
Monnow Man 