Observations from a Hill

Pictured, the view down the strand at Criccieth from the top of the castle, before the thin cloud lifted and the sun came out. The temperature was already a humid 25˚C before noon, and by the time we made it back to the car somewhat frazzled and sunburnt an hour later, the mercury had briefly hit 30˚C before notching back a couple of degrees. Heading back into Abersoch, we were forced to seek refuge in a shady bar for cold beers and a read of the paper. The haze over the bay has returned this afternoon, taking some of the ferocity out of the sun, but I think a cold can of something might still be required sooner rather than later...

Well, the summer solstice arrived this morning, along with Fathers' Day. The boys came down from Ynys Môn to Llŷn to see us, bearing flowers and a card. We went over to Plas Yn Rhiw across Cardigan Bay, along the long, elegant strand of Porth Neigwl nestling under Mynydd Rhiw; the early C17th manor house and gardens that was the erstwhile home of the Keating sisters. The gardens were at their best: a long but surprisingly shallow horizontal plot to the front of the house; its lack of depth to the front disguised by clever landscaping and planting to convey an impression of a much larger garden. It's always a joy to behold, especially at this time of year, and an entirely organically managed affair. The house is currently closed until next spring for structural repairs, so we were guided to the small cottage down the hill, Sarn Rhiw, which was the tiny retirement home of the Welsh poet R.S Thomas and his wife, the painter Mildred Eldridge [Elsi], the glorious view from the garde...

We went down into Abersoch today for a wander about the little town. As Jane remembers her mother saying; a few decades ago, this was just a very sleepy little fishing village at the very western edge of North Wales that had just one tiny general store with counter service only, and men in cow-gowns serving the mostly Welsh-speaking public. These days the place fills up in late June with tourists mostly interested in sea and strand, and sporting and boating activities. Many, many of these tourists are wealthy by any normal standards, and the wealthier among them often own boltholes of their own in the area, used only for a couple of weeks in the summer and which remain shuttered but maintained for the rest of the year.  Today you couldn't move but for exotic and stupidly expensive automobiles, the most ridiculous of which was similar to the one pictured, an Aston Martin SUV in British Racing Green. A more ludicrous concept I cannot imagine, given that AM Lagonda is synonymous with...

Back down here in our regular bolt-hole rental in Pen Llŷn for a few days. We drove down via Tremadoc under leaden skies and through intermittent rain to be welcomed by a brief spell of bright sunshine and blue skies, which rapidly gave way to the above scene. Still, the forecast for the next week looks set to be for some hot and sunny weather, so here's hoping: we've hedged our bets on the clothing front so we don't get caught out too badly; and anyhow, the point of the break is really just for the change of scenery: Pen Llŷn really is that different to where we live in the mountains, just shy of an hour away from here. We plan on doing plenty of exploring tomorrow while there's just the two of us here, anyway, so lounging around in the sun is really not on the cards anyway. When the others join us in their various teams [I exaggerate: couples]: first for Fathers' Day on Sunday, and then on Monday, we'll tailor our activities to suit. Whatever, I'll keep yo...

It's interesting that China should feature at least three times in today's Financial Times: in the editorial, an op-ed byline, and a piece on higher education. The op-ed was written by one Ray Dalio, a longstanding visitor to the country and Sinophile and hedge fund founder of Bridgewater Associates. He, more than most Western commentators I've read in recent years, has an understanding of both Chinese history and philosophy, and the country and its people's current place within the world's economic system; even quoting Sun Tzu: '...to subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill...'. Not to seek an empire through imperialist expansionism, but to accrete influence through trade. Making your nation indispensable to the world's economy is infinitely wiser than waging territorial war for gain, as pretty much every imperialist nation on earth has learned to its cost over time. There is much to learn from this. Instead of carping on about China'...

It's curious how one's internal demeanour can go from a state of tranquil, in the moment repose, sitting in the late afternoon sun in the garden, mindful of nothing but being; to absolute outraged turmoil, simply by picking up the day's paper. Pictured, the place of mindful no mind that is our garden, where time can simply evaporate into just being. Then I make the mistake of reading the newspaper, and find a piece by Zing Tsjeng about the rise of some pretty weird far right [so-called Christian] doctrinaire thinking on the other side of the pond. There has always been Christian fundamentalism in the US, which matches [ironically] pretty much the kind of Islamic fundamentalism prevalent in Iran, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, to name but three examples. The home of the brave and the land of the free would seem, from the perspective of this moderately sane and lofty place of sanctuary at any rate, to be attempting to actually become a theocracy itself; mirroring those very ...