29th October 2013 - Birthdays, Bothy's and Llanfihangel Troddi's

So, Happy birthday to my sister out in the USA. Well sunning herself on the beaches of Mexico to be exact.  No, I won't be telling the world how old you are!!  For my formative years I was always her younger brother, but somewhere during the last few decades I became her Big Brother, fair enough I am taller than her, but then Big brother as in Older ( though I doubt wiser!!). So how ever many years I have - I will keep her secret and allow her to be much younger. Certainly has the better weather - though the sun is still trying to peek out through the clouds over here and we are managing another last few days before the heating will have to come on...

So, a trip to Glastonbury was on the cards... Not the real Glastonbury, with a Tor and a medieval festival each Easter and the music festival. This was a Glastonbury at Bancffossfelin, a small holding not too far away. A very small house, rather too small even for our grandest downsizing plans, but a nice set of land, a few fields, some lovely woodland, a stream and a wood burning stove. I think a little too much to do and a little too expensive for the accommodation - but we are still looking. Sadly, no enquiries for our house yet!!

But the weekend had included a trip down to the Tollgate at Mitchel Troy. And having found that the real name for Mitchel Troy ( as in the welsh version) was Llanfihangel Troddi, ( the Church of all angels and on the river Troddi) - it had caused me to pen a new song for them. Well they had intimated that they would like a short anthem to warm them through the winter months. And so their party seemed like a good opportunity to give them the first rendition of the song, and of course, it was a party, so it had to be sung in the kitchen....

"I'm gonna take the Bothy down to Llanfihangel Troddi - It's never too late to visit Toll Gate!!"

A day of celebration ....    cheers...