Annabel took us to Brian and Ann's home in Gower, near Swansea, and we received a warm welcome. Gail and Haydn, and Jackie and Paul turned up soon after, for our Vavilov reunion weekend. They all look just the same as they did nearly 4 years ago when we met them on the Antarctic trip - not a day older, of course. There was much chatter before Brian (aka the Mountain Goat) decided we should all go for a walk. We piled into 2 cars and went down to the coast for a walk along the cliffs and then back via a golf course. On the way we saw the ruins of a Norman castle. It's so hard to comprehend the age of some of the places we've seen in the UK.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner, cooked jointly by Brian and Ann - beef bourginon with peas and mashed spuds, followed by strawberries and cream, and then (yes, there's more) a yummy cheese platter.
The next day Brian took us on another walk, this time to Worms Head. The Head is a small peninsula, fully accessible only at low tide. You can walk right out to the end if you have time (and the legs) to do so but it's hard going. The track goes down and down and down to a rocky stretch, very uneven underfoot, that you follow towards a high point. We staggered up the side of the high point and then detoured to look at the seals that were sprawled across the rocks below us. They posed obligingly, and one of them swam around in the water for us. We didn't go any further (up and over the high point, then another low rocky stretch to the promontory at the end) as we'd left Ann, Paul and Jackie behind, so we turned around and reconvened at the Worms Head Hotel. Being a Saturday, it was a popular location. We enjoyed a drink, and Sue was introducted to a Crabbie - an alcoholic ginger beer. Maybe a bit sweet for some, but she enjoyed it! Don't suppose you can get this in Oz? Then it started to rain so we returned to Brian and Ann's place for lunch. After a nanna nap we all dressed up (as much as you can when you are on holiday) before the maxi taxi came to collect us for our dinner in Mumbles (yes, that is a real place name). We admired the view from the waterfront and then went to Patricks for our dinner. Very nice. Back home, no one was interested in sleeping, so Jack put on a slideshow of our Arctic photos. Ann and Brian and Jackie and Paul have all done the trip we did, so for them it was a reminder of their experiences. Gail and Haydn haven't been to the Arctic yet, but Gail has plans - she'll work long enough to save up money for the trip, and then she'll retire.
Weather the next day was rather doubtful - intermittent rain - so we decided to visit the Museum of Welsh Life near Cardiff, rather than go to the Brecon Beacons National Park. I think our legs were a bit sore after the previous day, too. The Museum was fantastic, and it helped having Ann and Brian to give us some more background on Welsh culture and history. Probably the best exhibit was a row of cottages with attached gardens - each cottage was furnished according to specific times in Welsh history - 1805, 1855, 1895, 1925, 1955 and 1985 - and the gardens showed how people at these times used them - ranging from pig sties and vegetables, to flower gardens. We enjoyed a barbecue dinner - BBQs are not just an Aussie tradition.
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