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| A horse on a nearby farm covered with a red blanket in the rain. |
Fascinating Fact of the Day About Chepstow, Shirenewton, Monmouthshire, Wales:
“The oldest site of known habitation at Chepstow is at Thornwell, overlooking the estuaries of the Wye and Severn close to the modern M48 motorway junction, where archaeological investigations in advance of recent housing development revealed continuous human occupation from the Mesolithic period of around 5000 BC until the end of the Roman period, about 400 AD. There are also Iron Age fortified camps in the area, dating from the time of the Silures, at Bulwark, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the town centre, and at Piercefield and Lancaut, some 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north. During the Roman occupation, there was a bridge or causeway across the Wye, about 0.6 miles (0.97 km) upstream of the later town bridge. Chepstow is located at a crossing point directly between the Roman towns at Gloucester (Glevum) and Caerwent (Venta Silurum). Although historians think it likely that there was a small Roman fort in the area, the only evidence found so far has been of Roman material and burials, rather than buildings.”
Yesterday, mid-day, we took off to see if we could come up with some photos. We didn’t do so well when it started pouring only minutes after we left the house. The rain was coming down so hard that the camera lens was wet, not a good situation.
There were only a few roads where we could take photos from the car and less where we could pull over so I could get out of the car. As mentioned earlier, most roads in the UK countryside are narrow and winding, without a shoulder making them unsuitable for pulling over.
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| It was raining so hard, the camera lens was wet while attempting to take a photo of this nearby church. |
Also, the high hedges along the roads prevent us from appreciating the exquisite scenery while driving, getting only an occasional glimpse in an opening. We’ve experienced this since we arrived in the UK seven weeks ago.
When we do get a peek of the countryside it is breathtaking reminding us of parts of New Zealand. Now, here in Chepstow, we are fairly close to two rivers, the River Wye and the Severn River and hope to have a few sunny days before we depart to take advantage of the stunning views.
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| The traditional dining room at the hotel restaurant where we had lunch on Friday. |
Today, Linda and Ken will arrive and most likely we venture out for some indoor activities on the rainy days. They are British and are used to all the rain this time of year.
Over the past few days, my phone has been acting up. It shuts down each time it freezes while I am performing a task. Also, loud music plays upon reboot and there is absolutely no way to stop that song. This is an issue when I am having trouble sleeping and playing games on my phone to lull me back to sleep. This sound awakens Tom.
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| Tom’s lunch. |
I’ve reset the phone to “factory reset,” run anti-virus software and an AVG cleaner, all to no avail. I’ve gone through all my apps and disabled all I can while uninstalling as much as possible. If anyone out there has a suggestion, please email me instructions to resolve the issue.
I’m not motivated to get it fixed or replaced since when we arrive in the US in 3½ weeks, our two new Google world phones will be waiting. The new versions of these phones are being presented online tomorrow, October 15th.
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| My Caesar salad minus croutons which Tom ate as usual. |
After reviewing all the information as to the models we’d prefer, we’ll place our orders to be delivered to Minnesota with 24 hours after our arrival. We’ll be able to communicate with our family, friends and each other while in the US and once we leave the US again two months later, we’ll have worldwide service paid in small monthly bundles with no longterm contract required.
We’ve conducted some research for a possible eating establishment for tonight’s dinner with Linda and Ken. But, we’ll wait to definitively decide until we touch base with them soon.
Have a fantastic Monday!
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| The continuation of the “ridiculous Nine”…”The average litter size for the wild dog is between four and eight puppies. They suckle for the first three months of their lives before being taught to hunt. For more photos, please click here. |