South Wales

For the last half of half term, I rented us a cosy, little cottage in South Wales.

It even had a playground and hot tub.

While we were there, we hiked up to the Carreg Cennen Castle located in the Brecon Beacons National Park not far from our cottage. The castle dates back to the late 13th or early 14th century.  Human remains found at the original site of Castell Carreg Cennen date human activity at the location back to prehistoric times. The site may well have also been an Iron Age hillfort. Roman coins from the 1st and 2nd century have also been found, although it is unlikely the Romans occupied this site on a permanent basis.The autumn leaves and colours were gorgeous! My pictures don't do the colours justice.

Here is Abby with some proper Welsh cows with huge horns located at the bottom of the hill where the castle was.

Sadie insisted on hiking up the hill. She would get very upset if we tried to pick her up. It made for some slow walking but she was determined.

The girls never tire of exploring castles. They always love running from room to room, up and down imagining what life would have been like.

 In the south-east corner of the inner ward a set of steep steps lead to a vaulted passage and a natural cave beneath the castle, which leads deep into the hillside. A fresh water spring rises in the cave, which would have been a useful supply of water in the dry weather. I went down with the girls while Charles stayed with Sadie. It was very slick, dark and narrow. We didn't have a torch so I used my phone camera for light and made the girls go much further than they wanted to. It reminded me of a proper dungeon. I would not have been surprised if we would have stumbled upon a skeleton of some wretch who had lived there suffering the last few years of his life for some crime. There were three small holes in the stone at one point, and I could imagine the old man having these as his only view out to the real world while he was locked up. We could have gone a lot further if we would have had a torch. I sure wish we would have known to rent one when we paid to get in. Oh well, it was really exciting going as far as we did.

This is the slippery tunnel down to the caves.

Looking out a small window from the tunnel to the caves. Its a long way down... 

Alex in the castle kitchen oven.

This is outside the castle. It would have been a well-fortified, protected place being on top of this huge hill.

Here we are on the opposite hill from the castle. Sadie wants to get down and walk so she can fall over the edge. I am not letting her.

Alex standing behind the castle.

This is the hill the girls and I are pictured on where Sadie wanted to go walking off the edge. You can see why I am holding her....

Abby contemplating life...

And now, the walk back down and Sadie is back to walking.

We enjoyed cosy fires, lots of hot chocolate, old Halloween movies and loads of good food! It was a really good break!

Hellfire Cave and other Half Term Shenanigans

We had lots of friends over during the half term and lots of sleepovers. Here we have best friends tying leaves together to let them go down the river together. Ah, How sweet! BFFs Forever!  

One of the days during half term, I took all the girls to High Wycombe to the Hellfire Caves. They were having a "CarnEvil" that day too for Halloween with little booths set up for face and pottery painting. 

All through the caves there were spooky scenes for Halloween.

Sammy and Abby's friend were freaked out by a few of the Halloween scenes. I love the fear and horror on their faces. The caves were actually kind of scary because in parts it was quite dark. I was trying to carry the baby and had Sammy and Alex clinging on to me for dear life in certain parts, as well as a bag hanging from me. It wasn't exactly easy to navigate. Then Sadie got brave and started walking off into the dark. That was fun too. They have a special night Halloween tour that I definitely don't think the girls could have handled. The caves are made up of long, narrow passages that go about a mile and a half into the ground. There is a large room called the Banqueting room and other smaller rooms with chambers of statues of the various Hellfire club members from the past. The final destination is the inner Temple which you reach by crossing the River Styx. The cave dates back to the 1740s when they used to mine for chalk. The Knights of St Francis of Wycombe or the Hell-Fire Club as it was later called was a natural progression from earlier clubs founded by Sir Francis Dashwood in the mid 18th century. Sir Francis formally re-opened the Caves in 1951 at a charge of one shilling and with candles provided free. A wave of publicity ensued and visitors started to roll in, especially when the local vicar, Father Allen, told the Daily Mirror that 'my tummy wobbles like a jelly every time I pass the entrance.' He followed this with a sermon denouncing the evil influence which emanated from the Caves. The main purpose of the Club was "a set of worthy, jolly fellows, happy disciples of Venus and Bacchus, got occasionally together to celebrate woman in wine and to give more zest to the festive meeting, they plucked every luxurious idea from the ancients and enriched their own modern pleasures with the tradition of classic luxury." You can read all about the fascinating history of the caves and the hellfire club here. Apparently, Benjamin Franklin was one of the most famous visitors to the club.  

After exploring the caves, we went on top of the caves to a huge mound where the church of St. Lawrence and the mausoleum are. The girls had a great time rolling down the hill and looking out at the gorgeous autumn leaves.

Sadie even got in on the haunting!

Here are some of the girls siting on the wall of the mausoleum

Anyway, all in all it was a perfect day out for the week of Halloween....  

LEGOLAND

Near the end of September, we went to LEGOLAND for Alex's birthday. She didn't want a party this year. Her only wish was to go to LEGOLAND. We could not have picked a more perfect day. Blue skies and not a cloud in sight, meant for huge crowds, which was the only downside of the trip.

Lego castle where the girls found their favourite roller coaster

Sammy posing with the Lego pharaoh

Lego Friend

Alex is absolutely obsessed with the Lego movie. She has watched it hundreds of times. She had to pose by this figure from the movie. (I can't remember its name.)

They had famous landmarks and buildings from different countries. It was fun to walk around and recognize each country and their famous Lego landmarks.

Alex was so thrilled to be at LEGOLAND. I think she told the whole school and whoever else she met on the street that we went there. She is still talking about it and its November!

Here is a familiar one.

Here is Sadie playing in the playground while the girls go on one last ride.

These aren't from LEGOLAND. I just threw them in because they are cute.

Skyping with Damascus

 Last night I skyped with my friend in Damascus, Areen!  I am so excited I got to talk to her! Last time I heard from her, a few months ago, I got a message that she couldn't move and was bed-ridden.  I asked her what had happened. She said she was on her way to Tartus, Syria on business and got in a bad car accident. This happened in March and she was bed-ridden for 3 months with a broken collar bone, back and leg. I can't imagine being in that kind of condition in the middle of a war zone. She got some medical help but was mostly nursed back to health by her mother since medicine and hospitals in Syria are almost non-existent. You would never know it by looking at her now. Of course she wasn't walking around while I was skyping her but she looked amazing! She had eye make-up on and her brunette hair looked washed and lovely flowing down her back as she flipped it from side to side looking a bit worried about how she looked.

Areen is very thin but an incredibly strong woman. I could just feel her strength and determination while we chatted. She has been through so much enduring six years of war! I have been praying for her constantly as well as friends of mine too.  She talked about how she has really felt an extra power or strength within her  many times that she knows is not her. She said she always thinks to herself, "is Joyce and her friends praying for me again?" We both cried when she said that. I told her I felt so helpless that there was nothing else literally I could do for her but pray and fast for her. She called me her sister and she is mine.

I got to see her mother again and her two sons 12 and 14. She got to meet Sammy and Alex (Sadie and Abby were in bed). Her mother remembered me going to her house for a meal with a bunch of my friends and Areen back in 2000. The memory is a bit fuzzy for me (there were too many big meals and too many houses with tables full of lovely middle eastern food) but I believe her. It was such a nice reunion!

Areen used to live on the northwestern outskirts of Damascus in an area called Qudsaya where her home was damaged from nearby bombs a couple of times. However, she recently moved to the centre of Damascus because it is safer. Qudsaya was too dangerous especially now with the Russians bombing. She also recently got a new job with a development network and is very happy about it. She said it is an opportunity sent from God for her. She has been able to improve her English a lot because of it. She has to send reports in English to a manager in Brussels.  There is a chance she could get transferred out of Syria to another office somewhere in the next year or two. I hope that happens.

She spoke about not going out after 5pm at night and when she does go out her boys are never allowed to be alone. There are gangs of thugs who will take people and you will never see them again. I don't know how she has managed all this time. Her husband fled to Egypt a few years ago to escape the military draft. It is a miracle that she has been able to be protected and been able to protect those boys. However , I fear for her boys especially as they are getting older. I hope she can get out of Syria in the next few years. Her boys go to school still most days. She said they have to because they don't want to put off their schooling for years. There is no end in sight for this war. One of her boys was making animal shadows with his hands on the wall behind her while we talked and Alex and Sammy were laughing at them. She said that there is plenty of food in the markets but the prices for food is very high. People can hardly afford it. 

She was sitting in a very empty room on what appeared to be crates or something. There were blank cement walls behind her and a cement floor (though I could not see the floor very well).  It seemed to be lit by a lamp or two. Her mother is looking very old but had a lovely smile and warm greeting for me. I felt very self conscious as I sat in my big leather chair with shelves of books and clutter behind me. At one point, Alex wanted something to eat and I was embarrassed for her to hear that. She talked about how she wished to be transferred or somehow get to England. I thought to myself for a second, if she was, what would I do? Then I immediately started rearranging my house in my mind so that she could stay here if her boys, mother and her needed to. I would bring them right in to my house and take care of them until they could get a place of their own. What really helped me have further peace of mind is when I asked Charles about the scenario and he didn't hesitate in the least about bringing them into our house and helping them. I wish I could do that for her.

Every time I saw Areen in Damascus she was wearing a hijab even when there were only women around. This time, on Skype, she was not wearing it. I wondered if she has decided against it. It doesn't really matter but I am curious. I am sure she still covers up a lot when going out so as not to draw any undue attention to herself. 

At one point in the conversation, she asked me what I was currently reading. She knows I am a bit of a reader. I hesitated a bit at first but told her I am currently reading a book about the daughter of Saddam Hussein's private pilot and her life under Saddam. She laughed and said that she could not read things like that. They were too political and emotional. She was reading about Sufism because it was about dreaming and pondering and lighter things. I can completely understand.

After speaking to her, I could not stop thinking about her and as I thought I would, I dreamed about being in Syria last night right there with her in the middle of a war. It was terrifying. There is no end in sight for this conflict. It has become too complicated. The country of Syria as we knew it, no longer exists and who knows what will come out of it.  I just wish that innocent people like my friend Areen and her family didn't have to suffer so much and live in such awful circumstances through it all.