A rainy day is like a lovely gift. You can sleep late and not feel guilty Those are the words of Elizabeth Howard . On a summer morning the sound of rain is . It is a lovely gift that we appreciate as the water butt fills or we walk in the rain getting only ever so slightly wet . In the winter though the sound of rain is less inviting . More of the opportunity to stay in bed and not bother with the day . With Autumn just around the corner we surely will get more of these wet days . Days where rain on the motorhome roof would be . Snugly inside , heater on , coffee bubbling away and a good book to read . We still have not heard from Eurotunnel about a credit note but then they take up to 14 days to reply. So time yet before I have to ring them up. As I walk I think about the rain . How many days of rain have we had since Covid raised its ugly head? I probably could count them on two hands . I can only remember one heavy rain
. I wondered whether the village fete organisers felt the same way about the rain that fell from the heavens . The fete had been organised a few months back and it was intended to be spread about the village . Stalls near the church, Along the High Street and in the playing fields . We had intended to go but the rains fell steadily all day. I dont suppose that the fete organisers thought the rain was a lovely gift.
Rain worries us these days . Living on the top of a hill in Derbyshire I never gave it a thought Living close to the River Dee it is more a worry . The river would be higher with heavy rain as it rushed its way to the sea in the Dee Estuary . When I walked I noticed a sign along the bank. Natural Resources Wales were closing the footpath on the 21st August for two months whilst they repaired and strengthened the banks . Two months would be a long time to find alternative walks around the area . Two months whilst they repaired and replaced the casemates that hold the river back . Two months of laying hessian along the river bank to stabalise it . Two months of cutting down overhanging trees and making breaks in the bank for the river to push its way through . All that should keep our village safe .
So who did it ? It is like a murder mystery story. The sign appeared . On the bank of the old Bersham Colliery. The Wrexham sign . The Hollywood type sign that someone erected on the old colliery bank. The colliery had closed many years ago . The only remnants were the slag heap and the old colliery buildings . Speculatation was rife. The plot thickened . Who had put the sign up. They must have asked for permission. You dont just turn up with a huge number of scaffolding poles in a Land Rover . They must have taken some time to erect the sign. It could be seen from the distance and was causing a lot of questions and but no answers . The sign looked like the Hollywood sign . The football club said they knew nothing about it . The local council denied all knowledge. The new owners of the club said that they had nothing to do with it . It was causing such a stir in the town . Love it or hate it - it was in your face as you drove down the A483. Comments from local councillors were giving no clues to who had put the sign there . But it was making folks talk . It divided the town . Some loved it and said it was a good advert for the town. Some found it amusing . Others hated it and said it detracted from the scenery .
We decided to take a visit . It meant finding Colliery Road . We had searched out the parking and found ourself near the winding wheel of the old colliery . The buildings looked like many I remembered when I lived in the shadow of our colliery. The pit head baths , the training rooms . Memories were flooding back . The slag heap was difficult to climb . Uphill all the way. Channels where the rain had run down. Trees growing in the poor soil. It was a slow climb to almost the top. We found the sign . It was gleaming white in the morning sun . It had a magnet for visitors and walkers .
