Never mind, let's not quibble over mere m/hr. We did get some time in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. G and I headed towards the first hotel we could find as they always have a washroom
on the main floor and when you walk in with authourity, no one asks questions. Cardiff is an industrial city, used to build ships but still has some steel works close by and has the new millennium rugby pitch that all "Walians" ????, would kill over as they love their rugby more than life. It is said that people work as cleaners for free in the rugby stadiums in this country as they are given free tickets to all the games and would live and die for a game of rugby.
A small story, well, not so small, of the emblems of Wales, one of which is the leek - imagine, a LEEK! I've taken to capitals today, must be my frustrated attitude over bus ridership.
Okay, way back in the 5th century there was this ruler whose name escapes me. I shall ask of him later. Anyway, he was an evil, villanous man and wanted to enjoy the efforts of acquiring land. So he gathered an army and told them that their wages would be paid to them out of all the plundering that they carry out and then gather from the people of the lands. He never ended up paying them, however, so eventually they all turned against him and revolted and joined with the town's people to harm him and then oust him out.
Soon enough he was looking for advice and went to two wizards for advice of how to get his people to like him and respect him. The wizards told him to build a huge castle to help give him more prestige and to help protect him. He tried to build his castle but every time it would crumble and fall.
Again he went to the two wizards and this time they told him to sprinkle on the land the blood from a man who was not born from a woman. He set out to find such a man and he did. This man said to him that it was foolish to spread his blood (as his mother was a nymph)
and that instead the ruler needed to go deep under the castle area and kill the two dragons that lived there and then things would calm down.
The ruler dug deep within the earth below the castle and with all the noise, he woke the two sleeping dragons, one white and one red, who then fought each other until death. The red dragon won.
Then the castle was built and the people of Wales saw the red dragon, Wales, as victory over the white, England, as England's loss. From then on, the red dragon has been a symbol of Wales. The third man by the way, the nymph-born?, was Merlin.
True or not? You will see many red dragons here,,, and,,,, it makes a great story.
Anyway, so here we sit, in the special area, G asleep, me sipping peppermint tea and glass of white wine alternatively, whilst water splooshes over the bow and I write to y'all. Life is somewhat unexpected but cool.
