Seasonal Snippets 27/12

Is It Possible?

Yesterday afternoon, less disabled by a full Christmas lunch, fbb began his search for a Traveline journey plan from Pant-Glas (near Nasareth) to Llangadog (near Bethlehem) accepting the inevitable, namely that Joseph and preggers Mary would have to find a non public transport solution for the walks at each end.

It was a tad frustrating; and fbb eventually gave up.

Using his world renowned encyclopaedic knowledge of bus operation in the UK, he created a journey plan in stages. The T2 was fine ...

.... with a departure from Pant Glas (between Penygroes and Garndolbenmaen) ...

... at 0753 and an arrival at Aberystwyth at 1035.

There is time enough to get a cup of coffee before joining the 1110 Traws Cymru T5 ...

... for the ride to Cardigan a k a Aberteifi.

Mary and Joe would have been well advised to bring a packed lunch, or maybe stock up in Aberystwyth, because their next leg leaves at 1310.

This is Richards Brothers service 460.

The Cymru Connect routes are sort-of part of the Traws Cymru network but not quite - and thus a bit confusing. Nevertheless the 460 will whisk the weary couple to Carmarthen.

Sadly, a bus forward to Llagadog is less convenient. They will miss the 1420 service 280 ...

... and it will have to be the 1620 service 281.

Carmarthen is not an unpleasant town to explore and there are adequate watering holes, so plenty of places for the swollen child bride to rest her aching limbs!

After just over an hour riding with Morris Travel ...

... they alight at Llangadog (St Cadog's Church), where barmaid Blodwyn awaits their arrival ...

... and takes them to Bethlehem village hall.

Mary and Joe soon settled down in their makeshift accommodation; and alongside them they found an antique crib, provided by Blodwyn "just in case".

"Just in case" proved "just right" because baby Joshua arrived early on Christmas Day.

The ever resourceful Blodwyn arranged for a local GP to call, so Doctor Shepherd, whose spouse is a midwife, popped in to greet the baby and do the necessary. So it was that the first arrivals on Christmas Day were the Shepherds!

Some time later the local Baptist Minster, Rev Balthazar Wiseman, turned up, proffering prayers and good wishes. But what was really kind is that he brought his wife and teenage girls; and thus it was that the Wisemans brought gifts for the baby.,

There was a gorgeous gold mobile for the cot (eventually) ...

... a large aerosol of air freshener for obliterating the posterial pong (!) ...

... and a big tube of cream, a sweet smelling balm of "eastern spices" flavour for the inevitable nappy rash.

"It smells a bit like disinfectant", said Mary, ruefully.

As she considered all these visitors, Mary pondered about the future. "I wonder what young Joshua might grow up to be. After this rather strange arrival, the future might be just as strange."

Happy, but tired, she said out loud, "I don't expect anything as weird as this has ever happened before!"

A Final Christmas Thought ...

... presented by Mike Hudson, the Pastor of Kilmington Baptist Church, East Devon

Yet Another Fake Van From Rails

Had you strolled a short distance along Ecclesall Road from Sheffield's Moorfoot, you would have come to Wards Brewery.

In 1972, the company was acquired by Vaux & Associated Breweries and continued to brew bitter as a subsidiary. Despite still being profitable, the brewery was closed in 1999 as the Vaux company was broken up after an acrimonious takeover by financiers.

On the final day of operation, an unofficial celebration to mark the years of dedicated work of the Wards staff was held. The much respected operations manager, and former head brewer Paul Simpson (also an RNR officer) was parodied by one of the brewing operatives who wore a homemade sailor suit. Also on this last day, several 'generations' of the brewery's excise officers, including Lorraine Baker and David Bates, bought everyone else a beer by installing a barrel in the brewer tap, The Devonshire, across the road from the brewery.

The land was sold to developers who demolished most of it to make way for luxury apartments.

Rails have commissioned an OO gauge Wards Brewery Van ...

... which tastes nowhere near as yummy as the beer!

As with other non-existent "private owner" models from "Oop Noorth" produced for Rails, this one is already ...

 A Mary and Joe P.S. blog PLUS - Tuesday 28th December 

Seasonal Snippets 26/12

From Nasareth OR Nazareth

The offering of THREE services (assuming 1S is a minor Sunday variant of 1) looks very impressive - at first. But, sadly, it isn't. The clicks lead to this table ...

... with a couple of evening departures travelling southbound - far too late for getting to Bethlehem. Northbound (i.e. in the wrong directions) we have a similar paucity of possible permutations.

The 0720 is the only possible time to leave Nasareth in the morning and will be the only possible time that gives any chance whatsoever of making it to Bethlehem in one day.

Whilst Bethlehem does have a very smart bus shelter ...

... fbb could find no evidence of any bus actually going there. So Mary and Joe will have to walk or cadge a lift from the nearest town which is Langadog.

So we invite the journey planner to get us from Nasareth at 0720 with an arrival at Llangadog the same day. It is a long shot, but may be possible.

The 0720 5A takes the happy hapless couple to Bangor, where they have a two hour wait (lovely) from a though train to Craven Arms ...

... where you have nearly an hour's wait before zooming off to Llangadog. 

fbb spent some time yesterday afternoon (Christmas Day!) trying to fathom timetables from Transport for Wales. He couldn't find any! He did find an earlier train from Bangor to Craven Arms at 0855 ...

... which would get you to Craven Arms at 1136. But then, joy of joys, you would have to wait until the 1434 unless you travelled via Cardiff and Swansea.

The whole Traveline route seems fraught with stress. Surely there must be a way of travelling south from Nasareth. What about the T2? 

Despite Google Maps' advice, there are no T2 journeys from Nasareth, they all whizz by without stopping on the main A437 road, past the fbb's 1979 holiday let as pictured yesterday.

The nearest time points to Nasreth are Penygroes and Garndolbenmaen ...

... which would involve as fair walk. Penygroes is to the north ...

... whilst Garndolbenmaen might be more helpful as it is south of Nasareth. But these are time points. Traveline will tell us if there are any stops between the two, some of which may be closer to Nasareth.

The answer appears to be that several may be possible.

Pant-Glas is about 2.5 miles from Nasareth ...

... where a draughty bus stop would give access to the T2 ...

... so a weary trudge for Mary who, you may remember, is "en famille"!!

Maybe someone from the village (Dai the Digger Driver???) might give them a lift to the bus stop?

Travelling south from Pant-Glas might be be less hassle - it would certainly be much cheaper - than the Traveline option.

We will see tomorrow.

Christmas Bus Spotting

National Express operates on Christmas Day and the company web site now makes it much easier to find real, actual timetables and in PDF form as well. Service 801 is an example.

Three trips from Bradford to London via Heathrow and three return.

Courtesy of Roy from Sheffield, we have a Christmas Day picture of an 801 to London ...

... and as Bradford return. Both were snapped at the junction of Abbey Lane and Chesterfield Road in Woodseats, Sheffield.

Thanks, Roy!

 Next Mary and Joseph blog : Monday 27th December 

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Never has there been a time when Fantasy and Science Fiction have been so popular on TV, in Films and, above all, with Computer Games. We enjoy ZOOCEPHALIC monsters (look it up!).

We treat things like ZOMBIES as a game, and, in similar vein we treat the idea of a Devil as a joke.

Surely if God is the personification of GOOD, then understanding EVIL in an anthropomorphic manner (look it up!) is utterly reasonable.

ZION was one of the names of one of the hills that made up Jerusalem. By association the name was used for the Temple that stood on the hill.

The holiness of the Temple became extended to represent Heaven itself. 

"Two things in life are certain, death and taxes", so said Benjamin Franklin. CHRISTmas has little to say about taxes (although the adult Jesus gave important guidance) but the gift of the Christ Child, the child who grew up to die for our sins, to make us fit for heaven, is all about heaven. We sing about it in many tradition carols ...

Hail, the heav'n-born Prince of peace

Hail! the Son of Righteousness

Light and life to all he brings

Risen with healing in his wings

Mild he lays his glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! the herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King

... because eternity is what CHRISTmas is really about.

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Seasonal Snippets 25/12

Nasareth to Bethlhem (Part 1)

Nasareth is a tiny village just off the A437 south of Caernarfon ...

... there it is, down at the bottom of the map extract. It has a chapel which is now closed ...

... and opposite the chapel was the village shop.

When fbb with Mrs and just two sons (number 3 was not even the faintest glimmer in the eyes of the devoted couple!) had a holiday in 1979, they stayed at Nasareth. To find their pad, just walk down Fford-y-Parc to the main road ...

... and there is the old farmhouse which they occupied.

Back then, the A437 road ran literally in front of the front door, but a revised road layout plus some new bits, mean things are a bit different now.

The fictional Joseph Carpenter now lives in that residence where he plies his trade making stuff for the villagers and customers round and about. The neighbours are shocked to hear that his girl friend, still in her youthful teens, is pregnant. He claims the child is definitely not his, but tongues wag even more furiously!

Inconveniently, one Christmas, they are called to deal with some infuriating legal matters in a village some distance away in Carmarthenshire.

The village is not too far from Llangadog on the back road to Llandeilo and it is called Bethlehem.

The Carpenters are poor; they do not own their own transport and will have to rely on bus,train or coach. Bus would be the cheapest by far, but is such a journey possible? then there is the problem of where they might stay in Bethlehem. 

The village used to have a post office and stores ...

... which offered limited B&B. As is the way of things, this enterprise closed down and the property is now a private house.

It is still recognisable by its strange shaped gateposts and the name above the front door.

The Post Office moved to an annexe of the village hall ...

... but the postal service is now also withdrawn.

Back in the day, the Bethlehem post office was famous for hand stamping mail, notably that bearing the annual Christmas postage stamps.

But the good news (possibly??) is that Blodwyn Jones, the caretaker of the village hall, has given the desperate couple permission to "doss down" on the floor; not overly comfortable, but dry and warmer than a hedgerow. Blodwyn works as a barmaid at the pub in Llangadog and there was simply no room at the Inn.

But we are rushing on with our seasonal story.

Nevertheless, all Mary and Joe have to do is to get there. The bus stop is up by the Chapel in Nasareth and there seem to be plenty of services available.

Well, it's a start. Looking good so far!

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Enjoy the lavish Christmas lights on the vast frontage of fbb mansions.

Note the way that the Christmas Tree (in green) morphs into the Cross (in white) but not very well. The two sets of lights fade at different rates!

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Much of our so-called traditional  Christmas owes its origin to the midwinter pagan festival of YULE. Obviously we can tuck into our Yule Log, but the boss of the festival was usually the "Green Man" ...

... who later morphed into the "Father of Christmas", then Father Christmas ...

... and yes, Father Christmas wire green not red!

The name God gave to himself during the encounter with Moses at the Burning Bush was YAHWEH which meant (roughly), "I am, I always was and I always will be", so it was the eternal God who stepped into our world at CHRISTmas!

The name of the Christ Child was not Jesus!

Jesus is the Latin or Greek version. 

His name in Aramaic, the language he and his family spoke, was YESHUA which means, simply, God Saves. It is the same as Joshua and, in another Hebrew version, it appears as Isaiah. In their own way, they were ALL Saviours - but Yeshua ben Yusuf (son of Joseph) did the "proper job"!

And a CHRISTmas song ...

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Wot about "Z"??

 Next Mary and Joe blog : Sunday 26th December