Frynwys Features #4: The Never Ending Winter

So it's safe to say a fair bit has happened in Frynwys since the last check-in. I find sometimes that to make up for my home village's lack of interesting distractions, I must leave a period of two to four months and store up any goings-on until the next installment. It's a bit like keeping a growing turkey in your freezer until Christmas, although if you tried to eat this one you'd end up with a keyboard and mouse for afters. Still, now that the sufficient standing time has passed, here's what's been going on in the village of late.

The first (and no doubt biggest) thing to mention is that Frynwys was recently caught out when the Beast from the East collided with Storm Emma over the south west. The entire village was snowed under for three days, with no one able to move their cars or make much headway through the drifts. But it did allow for some great sledging on some of the hills, and I saw several people making the most of it when I braved the blizzards myself. The ponds froze over, and by the time they began to thaw out, the snow on the road had mostly turned to brown slush thanks to grit. Like everywhere else in Wales, it took everyone a while to get moving again, and as a side effect the only shop in the village ran out of milk, which demonstrates the ability to make a cup of tea takes top priority during a snowstorm here.

Once the worst of the winter weather passed, we were still left with a bitter chill. Fortunately though, the first signs of spring started to appear, in the form of frogs crossing the road, and the emergence of daffodils. The fish are still in residence at the pond, much to the annoyance of the wildlife warden who I saw trying to catch some of them a few weeks back. It seems that the warden has a lot of things to worry about, as there have been teams of people in the nearby woods felling trees. Large sections of trees have been cordoned off with tape only to be chopped down the following day. I have no idea why they're doing it now, but it has only been the odd cluster so far, so hopefully Frynwys will not become deforested any time soon.

Another bit of good news is that there seem to be more dogs in the area than last year. Specifically I've seen a number of puppies being taken out on their first walks into the fields around the village, and they are an energetic bunch. So far I've seen golden retrievers, Cocker spaniels and at least one field spaniel out and about. It's nice to see so many new dog owners in the area and to see the puppies making sense of the world around them. Frynwys has always had a large percentage of dog owners, but in the last three years especially I've seen the number of dogs increase steadily. With so many spaniels in the area, the fish that were released into the pond are now ducking for cover every time one of them cannonballs into the water.

Now that summer has truly arrived in South Wales, it seems the people of Frynwys have been out and about enjoying the record-breaking temperatures. As someone who suffers from hay fever, the fact that I'm surrounded by trees and long grass is a constant source of irony and itchy eyes. In recent days I spotted a tractor in the biggest field cutting back the grass which releases much of the pollen, but the trees are still doing their bit in keeping noses running across the village. Many of my neighbours have been visiting the village park and the local pub, the Dormarch, especially since the start of the sunshine and the World Cup. Their investment in the tournament seems strange to me, especially since Wales were knocked out of the qualifying round, but it's nice to see people having something to enjoy given the never ending stream of bad news we usually get.

Anyhow, that concludes this installment of Frynwys Features. As always if anything else interesting happens in this quietest of quiet villages, I'll be sure to let you know.

Frynwys Features #3: Return of the Goldfish

It's that time again. A lot has happened in Frynwys since the last installment, although in Frynwys terms "a lot" is often what other towns and cities would call "nothing much". This time around there is more news from across the village; at the ponds, on the roads, in the fields and not too far beyond.

The first thing of note is the sudden increase in the number of people repairing fences in the area. This in itself isn't uncommon; homes need maintenance all the time and so to hear someone repairing a bit of woodwork in their garden isn't a strange occurrence. However it's become such a regular occurrence that I'm beginning to wonder if there's a club somewhere encouraging it. Is there a local group which organises Sunday afternoon meetings in someone's front room, filled with china-laden cupboards and linen-clothed tables? This isn't so much a news item as it a personal grievance, but if I hear another hammer hitting the back of a fence or a shed, I might have to start investigating this phenomenon further.

In other news of the slightly less infuriating variety, it appears that someone did not take the nature warden's warning about releasing fish into the pond seriously. Somebody in the village recently noticed up to thirty enormous goldfish swimming around in it, big enough to qualify as small koi carp. The last time this happened the local wildlife which inhabit the pond took a major blow, especially the frogs which use the pond to nurture their frogspawn. That was just a few small fish. After about a week it seems that these fish are not only thriving in the pond, but multiplying. I don't know if the wardens have spotted them yet, but I've spoken to a few people who live near the pond and they certainly have. What sort of measures the wardens will put in place this time remains to be seen, but if they put up another sign I suspect they might need to rethink their deterrence strategy.

With regards to the local animal population, a few new dogs have been spotted in the area. Not strays but dogs with owners attached, and in particular a black pug has caught my attention. He appears to be less than a year old, and is quite hyperactive from what I've seen of him. He runs around the fields to the south of the village in search of other friendly dogs. Most of the other dogs take little notice of him, but if he meets another puppy then an impromptu greyhound race will certainly take place. He's only run up to me once, and I haven't seen much of him since, but hopefully I'll catch sight of him again in the near future.

And last but by no means least, it appears that a few ravens are making their home in the nearby forests. It's not often that you see a raven (at least as I've found), and they're fairly distinctive compared to jackdaws and crows, not by any subtle difference in their plumage, but in their size. They are as big as seagulls, and seeing them foraging in the fields next to smaller birds really highlights this. Also the characteristic rattling call they make is now becoming a semi-regular feature in the skies above Frynwys. Why I never noticed them before is slightly baffling, but alongside the resident jays, crows, jackdaws, magpies and other birds, they make a nice addition to the local ecosystem.

That's all for this installment of Frynwys Features, with my home village more than living up to its reputation. Hopefully by next time something more interesting will have happened, but until then the wait continues.

Frynwys Features #2: Labradors and Lamborghinis

I feel I've said it enough times on this blog to make it redundant, but Frynwys, as a centre of activity, is often as silent as a church. Still, as I demonstrated in the first installment of this recurring feature, things do happen in the village from time to time, and since my last bulletin a few more interesting things have occurred. Mind you, when I say a few, I mean it in the literal sense because it was hard to find enough to fill this segment.

So what's the most striking thing that's happened in Frynwys of late? Well, I suppose there's been an improvement of sorts to the infrastructure, though not in the way you might think. It seems that local volunteers working with the wildlife wardens have dug up a new gravel path on the field near the pond. The path is usually been in mud which takes ages to dry once it gets soaked by a rainstorm. Now with the new gravel in, traversing it is a bit easier. I've noticed in recent weeks that local schools are sending kids down there with their teachers, armed with spades, shovels and the like; presumably to help the wardens with maintaining it. It is quite strange to see entire classes of school kids trapesing through the fields, but at least the community is getting involved with something in the village.

In other news, there's been a rare car sighted on the village hall road; rare in the sense that the car in question is of the expensive kind you don't see in Frynwys at all. As I was walking past the road leading to the village hall and the shop, I caught sight of an orange Lamborghini turn to the right and roar off with a loud blast of the exhaust. I'm guessing it was a Gallardo judging by the shape of the taillights. I know for a fact that no one in Frynwys owns a supercar; the closest is probably the old Lotus on Taliesin Close. Whoever owned the Lamborghini probably came from one of the outlying towns, maybe Pontypool or Caerleon, and stopped by the shop to pick up some milk. I am of course speculating; any self-respecting Lamborghini owner probably has a fridge stacked with milk. Still, it was quite nice to see a car painted in orange for a change.

Speaking of bright orange, we move up one space in the colour spectrum to red, as the local Labour councillor campaigned in the village ahead of the council elections. They arrived on my street with a couple of campaigners to try and spread their message, but when they arrived at my house my mother answered the door. She has been less than impressed with the local council's record, especially on education, and she let the councillor know it. The councillor responded with the same question-dodging tactics most (if not all) politicians use, pointing out that improvements had taken place without providing concrete examples. Needless to say, my mother was less than impressed, and I think you can guess who she didn't vote for at the election.

For the final bit of news, I've also noticed an increase in the number of dogs in the area (pets, not wild ones, obviously). Like many villages and towns in South Wales, Frynwys already has a lot of dog owners amongst its population, but it seems that more people than ever now own a dog judging by the number of them I've seen walking around. The most notable additions have been Labradors and spaniels of varying shades, but there are several other breeds, most often terriers. Due to the fact that Frynwys is quite rural, it's a great environment for dogs, as they have plenty of fields and small wooded areas to run around in, although the recent outbreak of Alabama rot is a real cause for concern. Although rare, there have been an increasing number of cases across the UK, and the most recent case in Wales happened in Magor, Monmouthshire. The cause is as yet unknown, but hopefully vets can find a way to treat it soon and bring a halt to the casualties this terrible disease has already inflicted.

That's it for this installment of Frynwys Features. As I speak the village has returned to being its usual quiet self, but if anything out of the ordinary happens I will cover it in a future installment. Keep an eye out for incoming poems in the next few days. Hope you're all doing well and I'll see you again.