Life is like the rolling hills of Wales, it goes up and down, round and round...and we never quite know what’s on the other side...

     Once again I took the road less travelled, on my way back from the old market town of Carmarthen yesterday. Not the same road as last week but another road I have never travelled on before. Again, I was sure it would take me to where I needed to go....to my dear and unassuming husband, who would be waiting for me at our home for waifs and strays.

     The lanes rose up and dipped and twisted like a ride at a fairground. Occasionally, I could see the sea glistening in the distance and I had this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach....all over me in fact.  A feeling of great contentment!  

      I stopped the car after dipping down into a valley where a river meandered through a very old oak wood. As I stood on an ancient stone bridge, watching the water flow merrily over sun dappled stones, I thanked God (or anyone who was listening) for allowing me to have this day...this life, which I love and yet is so vulnerable...as I should know and I will tell you why!

     To-day was quite different, today I was almost killed (well maybe that’s a wee bit dramatic but you get the picture!)

     Once again, I was on my way to the market town of Carmarthen for something quite important. And once again, I was enjoying the day, though not the busy morning traffic. You see, to get there, I always travel the fastest way...it’s the getting back that I enjoy the most...when the work is done and I can just enjoy the countryside....that is why I always take the road less travelled upon. I came to a stop at traffic lights (which were red of course) and just happened to look in my rear view mirror. There was a big black car racing down the road behind me and I was sure they would stop....but they didn’t. I don’t even think they saw me. Well the rest you can guess...they ploughed into me with such a force I thought my senses had all departed and left me in a trance....but only for a minute. I got out and saw that their brand new car was in a horrible mess and my old faithful was hurt but I could drive it home.

      ‘It’s all my fault...I wasn’t concentrating!’ said the driver. ‘I had so many things on my mind!’  I said a few things back, which went a little bit like this....

      ‘You could have killed us both! You could have ruined both our families! You could have made me miss out on all the wonderful things I enjoy and live for and the wonderful things to come....Think! Before you ever set foot in a car again...THINK! Set off earlier if you have too and with a clear mind...if possible!’

      I think she got the message and hopefully she will THINK in future of all the lives she could have ruined....for one moment of absentmindedness!

      After a trip to the hospital and eventually back home to the place and the people which I could so easily have lost....I took a deep breath and thought how vulnerable life is...how easily it can be taken away...enjoy it while you can my friends...it’s later than you think!

I wonder how many of us remember the Magpie Song! I certainly do because my father sang it to me so many times when I was a child. He was also very superstitious and if ever he saw just one magpie, he would climb through hedges and over gates in search of another. Thankfully, I’m not that obsessed but I am grateful that it’s two magpies that have a summer home (or nest) at the bottom of our garden.

     It is true, that every summer for the past few summers, the young couple (birds of course!) have come to stay at our home for waifs and strays. And I am fascinated by the way they build their nest...or at least, they built it some time ago and now they have arrived in time to carry out a few repairs before the breeding season begins.....as you can see from the photo.

     The nest (or summer home) appears to have a roof and two entrances. It must be very hardy to have survived the severe weather condition that have hit Wales in the past few months.

    Once magpies have paired up, they usually remain within their territory and it’s rare for them to travel further than 10km from where they were hatched.

     ‘Welcome back my dear friends....You’re doing a grand job!’

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.

Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss,
Ten for a bird that you won’t want to miss.

Holy Frog! That’s exactly what I thought as I strolled past the pond this evening. I have never seen so many eyes peeping out of the water and croaking like a revved up engine. It was amazing to see and to hear.

     I stood for a moment to look at the eyes and noses on top of their heads, their bodies immerged in the water. I am not a herpetologist but I find these amazing creatures so intriguing. Did you know that some frogs have heart shaped pupils and that they can only see in black and white? I wondered what they thought of me as I stared back down at them!

     These dear frogs could be as much as fourteen years old or more. It is possible to check their age by counting the rings around its body, just like a tree. These appear every time they hibernate.....I wouldn’t advise it though...poor frogs!

Leaving our home for waifs and strays, my dear and unassuming husband and I decided to go for a walk on the cliffs nearby.

     Within no time at all, we were on the path where I had spent much of my childhood and it brought back a memory, I shouldn’t really tell you about....but I will!

     Mitching school was not something I was proud of but I confess to doing it just the once...the trouble it caused made me never want to take a day off school ever again.

     I had talked my dear friend into purposefully missing the school bus with me and told her about the wonderful adventure we would have instead.  But when she saw what I had in mind, she instantly refused to do it...but the bus had gone and there was no turning back.

      Inhabited during the Upper Palaeolithic period, Minchin Hole is situated below a small limestone knoll and is one of Gower’s most impressive caves and  one the most difficult to get too.  But being a wilful child, I was up for the challenge and the weather was just perfect without a cloud in the sky. What I should never have done though, was to involve my friend who couldn’t climb a tree, let alone climb down the edge of a steep cliff especially as we were wearing our school skirts and knee length white socks, not exactly the right attire for cliff climbing.

     ‘I’ll go first,’ I said to my friend who looked very pale and begged me not to go.

     ‘Don’t worry about me,’ I said confidently, ‘just keep a lookout for people of any kind.’ You see, it was a small village and everyone knew us and no-one ever skipped school.

     As I said, I had never mitched before...let me add that mitching is an Indian word for truancy and I thought, at the time, I was doing something truly amazing. For at least one day, I was not a school girl but an explorer...I was going in search of remains of elephant, bison, bear and wolves, which had been discovered in the cave sometime before. I have a sharp eye and was convinced that I would find something they had missed, something left behind by smugglers or the Romans.

     Well anyway I went first and straightaway I realised it wasn’t going to be easy. The weather was sunny and seagulls screeched and screamed above me and when I looked closer, I could see they had nests everywhere in the cliffs. But it was too late; I was already planted safely on a ledge half way down.

     ‘Come on! Follow me!’ I shouted to my friend. But she refused and I could hear her sobbing from where I was sitting, contemplating my next move.

     ‘OK!’ I shouted up. ‘I will go on my own and if anything happens to me, run and get my father.’ I knew my father was at home, probably inventing some other gadget or another. He would be cross with me if he found out about skipping school, but I thought it would never come to that. How wrong was I?

      I was exhausted by the time I reached the cave and my knees were scratched and bleeding and then I heard the most piercing cry....it was my friend....no, she hadn’t fallen over the cliff, but she was trying to tell me something...something very important. If she had stopped crying I would probably have understood her sooner. Anyway, I soon saw what she was pointing at...again, something I should have considered...the tide was almost in.

     Now why I hadn’t considered the tide, has never ceased to amaze me. I had no choice but to abandon my excavation plans and start the harrowing climb back up. But that was easier said than done. I almost died a thousand times...I’m sure, slipping and sliding down the cliff, clinging to rocks that jutted out precariously. I could no longer hear my friend screaming and even the seagulls were silenced by my new found fear. The only sound to be heard was tide below, as the waves crashed against the rocks menacingly.

     It took some time, but I eventually made it to the top and flung myself on the grass completely exhausted. My friend was nowhere to be seen. I needn’t have worried however, as I soon saw her running towards me with my father in tow...I knew I was in deep trouble.

     ‘I thought you would die,’ my friend cried. ‘I just had to go for help.’

     As you can imagine, I was ‘grounded’ for quite some time. The experience taught me many things, but I guess the most important of all was to plan things more carefully....much more carefully. But never give up!

We recently had the pleasure of having my brother come to stay with us for quite some time, at our home for waifs and strays...may I just add, he is neither a waif, nor a stray.....

    As many of you know, from past tales, my brother and I grew up in a very unconventional home. We were encouraged to think for ourselves and to follow our hearts. I was lucky enough to do this, and by the time I was 21, I had travelled the world and lived a thousand lives....so it seems! But for my dear brother, this was not the case.

     On his 17^th birthday, my brother went to a party and decided not to stay overnight but to walk the long road home through narrow country lanes. These were the days of no mobile phones and we lived in a remote part of the country.

      It was a wet December evening when my brother sat on a bench in a village for a rest. He was happy and looking forward to so much in his young life. His love of science urged him to do well in his exams, which he always did.

      The time was a little after midnight when a friend of his pulled up on a motorbike. Because of the rain, my brother agreed to a lift...despite not having a helmet.

      Sadly, they didn’t get very far. They crashed in the lanes. Thankfully, his friend survived with just a broken arm but for my dear brother, life would never be the same again.

     A couple of months later, my brother returned home from hospital...paralysed down one side, epileptic, and short term memory which meant he would forget everything we told him within minutes. All our lives changed forever!

     The years passed and by sheer luck (call it what you like) he met a young girl (just a couple of times) at a centre for the disabled. Sadly she left the centre but not before giving my brother her telephone number and instructions to call her every night at 20:00 hours.

     That was almost thirty years ago and they have never missed a night’s chat in all that time. For many years, my brother kept a little black book which he recorded their conversation...so not to forget what they talked about. Over the years, my brother remembered more and more but he still suffers with short term memory. These daily 20:00 hour phone calls gave him an incentive to live. He still likes to look at science books but you can see how much he struggles...and how much he lost.

     Occasionally, when my brother has had to spend long periods of time in hospital, his 20:00 hour friend visits him with her parents. It is so heart warming to watch how much they love each other...but it’s impossible for them to care for themselves.

      When my brother came to stay with us for that couple of months, I learned so much from him.....

      Enjoy life my friends....it is later than you think!