This weekend turned out nice and sunny, but with a definite Autumnal feel in the air. We travelled over to Wainuiomata to share in the 65th birthday celebrations of my younger sister. Goodness me, where have all those years gone? I can remember the night she was born- at home, she obviously came with a rush, and several weeks early. My older sister and I (11 and 12 at the time) were woken up with our mother calling out to us. With no phone in our house, we had to run up the road in our dressing gowns and slippers in the dead of night, knock loudly on our neighbour’s door to wake her up, and get her to phone for an ambulance. No wonder that was a night to be remembered!
Me with Karla
Birthday Cake
Several hours later it was time to head back to Levin. But not before we drove around Wainuiomata to see all the changes since we were last there. And I wanted to check out my very first house, we moved in to “Nappy Valley” as the place was called in the mid 60s. Back then, house prices were relatively affordable for young couples who were prepared to work hard, and we got a Government funded house loan, and cashed in the Family Benefit. Even though we had two young children, both of us were working, and my hubby at the time had an evening job as well. We moved in with no carpets or curtains, and second hand everything. Difficult, of course, but we were young, and we managed.
First home
Robin had been chatting to one of the birthday guests about our narrowboat trip on Dot and Derek’s boat Gypsy Rover over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Imagine our delight when we returned home that evening to find that one of the U Tubers which Robin follows had put up a video of this very trip. Robin cast it to the TV and it was almost like being there again.
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Pontcysyllte, meaning ‘the bridge that connects’, carries the canal majestically over the raging River Dee below. Designed by Thomas Telford and Williams Jessop and constructed by John Simpson (stonework) and William Hazledine (ironwork), the aqueduct was completed in 1805, and is a result of some bold civil engineering solutions. A cast iron trough suspended 126 feet above the river, supported iron arched ribs, carried on 18 hollowed masonry pillars. One of the most astonishing feats of engineering from the Industrial Revolution, this in now been classified a World Heritage Site.
Sunday morning always means a cooked breakfast, and Robin does the honours. Kransky sausages and eggs, with a few cooked tomatoes for me. It’s always a good start to the day.
He’s waiting to tuck in
1 comment:
That aqueduct is absolutely amazing! I just finished a book that took place in the first half of the 1800s and a few inventions figured in it, one of which was the glass aquarium, something I’d never really thought about! Glad you got to be with your sister on her special day.
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