Chester (Y Gaer)

Today my husband and I met his mum in Chester, the nearest city to us about 6 miles away in the country of England! It is a Roman city with quite a few roman remains and it is pretty. Alot of tourists visit there and do touristy things but we like to go there for some nice food and a bit of retail therapy.

We ate at Chez Jules which is a french resteraunt and was gorgeous. The food was beautiful! I enjoyed a chicken and bacon salad followed by a chargrilled pork chop with vegatables, mmmm delicious! It was nice to have some adult time with Jasons mum without the kids fighting or arguing or demanding...

Chester has lots of different resteraunts; mexican, spanish, italian, french, brazilian to name but a few and we are lucky that they are of a high quality so theres always lots of choice.

My shoulder has given me a little more pain today but the medication from the doctor is helping.

The boys have just returned from school with a "Finger of Fudge" - I sang the old advert song to them and Joe got quite annoyed!




but the advert is from my childhood and it brings back happy memories, plus the song is really cute don't you think?

Friday Shoot Out - Aged and Weathered

This Fridays My Town Shoot Out is called "Aged and Weathered" by Pauline. A challenging project!

My husband wanted me to focus on aged and weathered stuff but I explained to him that it was all about showing everyone your neck of the woods.

Sorry, I have had to use archive photos this week because I had a bad reaction to last weeks chemo then loads of hospital appointments this week so I haven't had the energy to get out and do the photos I had planned.

The photo above is of my mum and her dog Fudge standing inside a tree in Erddig Park! The hole has been created by a fungus which has eroded the centre of the tree over the years. Sadly this tree was burned down by vandals. You can see evidence of the start of such erosion in a picture featured below.

The grounds of Chirk Castle. This stepway has already been repaired since this photo was taken. Maybe it was the impact of the hundreds of little feet who have run down the walls. You can see the lichen and moss growing in the crooks of the stone.

The above picture is a bit obvious. The grounds of Gresford Parish Church. The stone second from right is where my brothers ashes are inturred. His stone has been there for 19 years and is cared for but many of the older ones are definately aged and weathered. Gresford Church is one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. A former area of pagan worship with evidence of Romans at one point!!! The Yew Trees that you see are ancient and are actually part of a pagan belief that as the roots run deep and long they anchor the dead souls to their resting place.

St Marys Catholic Church in Wrexham Town Centre. Very aged and weathered!

A tree in Darland Woods where I walk my dogs. Evidence of fungi and lichen. The whole in the trunk is erosion caused by a fungi infection. Over the years this may grow with the tree causing it to have a cavity in its centre. All it may cause the tree to fall down - who knows?

This is my back garden with an appearance by Wilbur. I wanted to take a shot of the fence which is extremely aged and weathered and due for replacement. It has been damaged by the weather but in additon the neighbours kids didnt help by continually bashing it with footballs until chucks came out. See the Ceanothis tree? That plant is only supposed to flower in May and yet here it is in September sporting some pretty blue buds.

Help! The Romans are coming!

Before I start this blog, I wanted to add this picture of me which I HATE! I look so old in this picture it was taken at the Ice Cream farm yesterday. I just wanted to show you how I look when I go out. Can anyone else see why people give me odd looks?

I live right on the border of Wales and England, the dogs and I quite often hop the border. The city of Chester is only a few miles away so I am lucky to have, not only a lovely shopping centre on my door step but a city with historical significance.

There are many Roman remains in Chester including half of an Amphitheatre which is currently being excavated. Last weekend there was a historical display at the site and my boys thoroughly enjoyed a visit. Harry in particular enjoyed himself because he has been studying the Roman invasion into Britain and he quite likes swords and fighting!

The Roman soldier above is making Roman coins. The boys have one each to treasure.

The Roman lady here is in the process of writing my sons name "Joseff" in latin. He was really impressed with that!

Harry loved dressing up in the Roman armour! Quite often when we go shopping into Chester we are roused by the sound of Roman marches. A centurian taking a guided tour of school children around the city. I love to see their faces as they enjoy it so much!

The gladiator in this picture is in the ampitheatre itself.

The Gladiators here are fighting Celts. I, sadly, am one of the Celts!!!!!! My lineage can be traced back and apparently I have genetic features which point to celtic origin! It is interesting that there was a ban on the welsh/celts in the city of Chester between certain times of the day; if you were caught, the punishment was death. To my knowledge, the law has not been lifted!






Harry loved the fact that a Celt came up to Joe, swept him off his feet and ran away with him. He also found it amusing that the Celt pinched a purse off a lady.... personaly..... I find this particular type of stereotyping offensive (only joking, our nation were known to pillage).

So the boys had a really good time in Chester. Harry came home with the biggest smile on his face and a sword plus... what do you call them (chemo brain).... a shield, yes he came home with a sword and a shield. I then had to go out into the garden and have a fight with him. He was the Roman (of course) and I was the celt!

"Hey, mummy, you are a good fighter" said Harry - well "don't be surprised" said I, I grew up with two brothers and played cowboys and indians, cops and robbers or war - I just prefer not to play boys games these days!!!!!

I spotted two grey hairs growing back today! How, very dare they!!!!! I didnt have the heart to pluck them out because my hair is precious!