I have just returned to Mum's again from a two week stay in Cwmbran with my aunty, Jen - actually, she isn't a real aunty either! Complicatedly she is the niece of my step-grandmother so I think that makes her some sort of cousin-by-marriage, if such a thing exists! She has just undergone major back surgery and, although she can stand up, walk about and lie down, she is not allowed to sit upright for more than twenty minutes at a time and musn't bend down. As she lives alone this makes day-to-day living pretty difficult, especially as she is not allowed to drive for at least six weeks. So, off I went to help with cooking, shopping etc.
I've had a lovely time as, yet again, I have never spent any time just in Jen's company and as she was a very talented English and Drama teacher before she retired, we have had some good literary discussions, plus a few rants about the education system. I am definitely turning into a 'grumpy old woman'! Jen is Welsh by birth but doesn't naturally have a very strong accent but she had me in stitches with her impersonations of the 'typical' little Welsh woman.
I'd only ever been to Jen's house once before and if you have ever gone to Cwmbran you will know that the planners like their roundabouts in that part of the world! I made at least three detours on my way there and only realised that I was approaching Jen's house because I saw the transit van belonging to 'Tom Brown, Speedway Rider' parked opposite and I knew his parents were Jen's neighbours - being an ex-speedway fan has its advantages, sometimes!
One of the other things I noticed from my Google directions was that I was to drive along Five Locks Road. When I asked Jen why it was called that she told me that there was a canal there - I seem to be attracted to these waterways, don't I? It was the Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal and the first Sunday I was there I went for a walk along the towpath which is tarmaced for most of it's length and very well used by cyclists, dog walkers and walkers. I walked for one and a half hours in one direction and then turned and walked back - the sun was shining and the moorhens and ducks were scooting about in the reeds and huge shoals of fish (roach, I think) were basking in the sunshine just below the surface. Of course, one of the big advantages of canal towpaths is that they are relatively gradient-free so there are no huge hills to climb and there are sometimes pubs where you can stop and enjoy a quiet drink! On the second Sunday I was there I drove to another section nearer to Abergavenny and had a walk there too. There were a couple of narrowboats for sale and some that looked very forlorn as if they hadn't been visited for a long time. Did you know you can buy narrowboats on eBay?
One morning, Jen noticed that the large Golden Orf in her pond were gathered at one end of the pond and looking distressed. The pump had become disconnected from the filter hose the week before and so the water had not been flowing, via the filter, down the little waterfall, so I reconnected it. Then she noticed a dead fish on the bottom of the pond. I fished it out with the net and as I pulled it out I saw a very faint mouth movement, so we quickly got a small container, filled it with pond water and popped the fish in where it lay disconsolately on its side at the bottom. Never one to say 'die' (I have been known to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a piglet, unfortunately with no success) I got the plastic outer casing of a Bic biro and spent the next couple of hours (or possibly more) bubbling air into the container to try to get more oxygen to the little chap, whilst trying to remember to take a few breaths for myself to stop me hyperventilating! Amazingly, after a few hours the little fish started to swim about more or less upright and seemed on the way to recovery so I popped him back into the pond where he made had made a full recovery by the next day. Before you ask how I knew he was the same fish I have to tell you that he was the only white fish in the pond and now goes by the proud name of Lazarus! I know you all suspected I was mad before and I suppose this story now confirms that but, hey! it was just great to save a little life and Jen was thrilled to bits.
On Wednesday, I left Cwmbran after issuing Jen with dire warnings about returning if I heard that she hadn't been careful of her back, and drove back through the Forest of Dean. On the spur of the moment I decided to call in at the first place that I had wwoofed to see how they were doing. I was made very welcome and stopped for a cup of tea and a chat about my various adventures, and guess what?............. those piglets that I weaned survived and are now out in the paddock with the others!! Result!
I now have a week in Cheltenham in which to sort out my winter clothes and pack away my summer ones before I head off to Stroud and a 150 acre farm - after all my garden weeding through the summer a full-blown farm could be a bit of a challenge, so watch this space........
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