We had a slower start to today and then drove west, again, to Wales. We drove over the magnificent Severn Bridge over the Severn River. The weather has turned cloudy and miserable again, but the light reflecting on the cable stays was pretty. Today was the first time Aunty Jean had been in a country with a language other than English is spoken. We all enjoyed looking at all the signs written in both English and Welsh. They love consonants and double letters in Wales!

In Abergavenny we had morning tea in a tea room that is owned by a Welsh man who has visited Australia 22 times. He is going again in November! Abergavenny is a lovely village. They have taken the cars out of the main street and the buildings in this area are well maintained. It is a popular tourist destination. The Prince of Wales will visit here on Thursday.

In the misty rain we drove off to find Maerdy. At a petrol station Merady asked how it was pronounced – Mardy. We drove around the narrow streets looking at the ‘two up, two down’ houses in rows, each with their identifying coloured door and window frames. It is a mine workers village that would have been much more ‘alive’ in the past.

We drove back to Tredegar to find our hotel. Unfortunately, when we arrived they had lost the booking and there was ‘no room at the inn’! All was fixed with a phone call to the pub up the road, ‘The Nag’s Head’. ? They only have two rooms, but they are clean and lovely. It is like we have our own little suite on the side of the pub. We had to sit in the bar and wait while they cleaned them, but this gave us time to chat with the barman and a local man.

At dinner we told Aunty Jean she was going to Paris on the Eurostar. She was rather overwhelmed. There were more tears. She cannot believe it. We are all excited for her and it good that we can stop worrying about accidentally saying something!

At night we made our way back to the Prince of Wales for the singing that we had travelled so far to see. We were not disappointed! The locals welcomed us into their fold; we squeezed into some seats and sat in wonder at the ability of the musician on his fancy keyboard and the singing. Some sing beautifully and others are not quite so good, but the audience don’t mind and they all sing along. It was not long before we were singing and dancing with the rest of them. They remembered Merady visiting two years ago, and how Alexander had sung. We were meant to leave by 11 o’clock, but ended up there till the end, at midnight. There were handshakes and kisses goodbye. It was a wonderful evening.