We were afforded
more great hospitality this morning by the wonderful team at Gwesty’r Emlyn
Hotel. Kevin, the manager, gave us a history of the area and showed us one of
the four news rooms that have been created from the Doctor’s Surgery and the
Printers. In one other room, as it was being excavated in preparation for the
re-fit, was found to have an old well under it. Not to be put off they have
made a feature of the 100 foot deep well by covering it with safety glass and
‘up-lighting’ it.
The guest from that
room gave his permission for us to have a look at this amazing room.
After a short
drive we arrived in the seaside town of Aberysthwyth for a tour of the
Ceredigion Museum. This community Museum houses local history in an old theatre.
Very well done and plenty to look at.
Our treat was to
be shown some of the Welsh Quilts that the museum owns, most will never be seen
at any other venues as they are getting too old and fragile.
We saw a quilt
that was documented from the source of the fleece that was spin for the cloth
to be woven. This quilt was made for a young woman’s wedding.
My favourite was
the crazy patch ‘jewel’. This quilt was made up of silks, wool, brocade and
other cloth that was seamed with masses of embroidery. The backing for this one
was bright blue wool.
http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=197
From there we
travelled north, then east to Llandidloes. Below is the old wooden market building that houses a small museum upstairs.
This sleepy little town is home to
the Minerva Arts Centre.
Our timing was perfect as
Wednesday is the day that the patchwork group meets there, so we were treated
to Show & Tell, then homemade afternoon tea.
Minerva started when a group of quilters decided that they needed to help preserve locally made quilts and to share them with
the community. The centre now has custody of over one hundred quilts.
The visiting exhibition at
present is of quilts made by Canadians as their part in the War Effort during
WW1. Many thousands of quilts were sent by this loyal Commonwealth nation to
the UK.
Other quilts on display at
present were contemporary ‘Art’ quilts. All fabulous, especially when enjoys
with a cup of tea and good company.
http://www.quilt.org.uk/page-1-Home.html
After Llandidloes we headed for Birmingham. What a culture shock after the quieter
pace of Ireland and Wales. Still, Birmingham is going through an enormous
re-fit, with roads being ripped up and work going om everywhere. Some wonderful
buildings though.
We stayed at the Macdonald Burlington Hotel on New Street – directly across
the road from the railway station. Perfect!
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