Welsh Country March-April 2017

NTS
35 HOT FROM THE KITCHEN – Chef
Mary Ann Gilchrist worries that Visit Wales
will not get enough visitors to explore
areas like mid Wales.
56 STAY AWHILE – If you can escape for
a break, do try one of our super places.
Lifestyle
37 GRUMPY OLD GEEZER – Has huge
concerns about Welsh Water.
37 MUSIC – Our choice of four CDs.
38 PICTORIAL WALES – A warm
welcome to Thomas Winstone who
shares with us a selection of his amazing
photographs.
43 POERTY – A poem from Alun Davies
with a clever illustration from Welsh
Country’s designer Zoe Gladwin.
45 ARTS - Use our fabulous artists and
crafts people to find that perfect present.
47 BOOKSHELF – Our book choices
that we hope you’ll enjoy.
48 PARSON & PUBLICAN – A new
feature this issue is from The Parson &
The Publican - what a mix!
50 PAMPER – Some gift ideas for
Mother’s Day.
61 GARDENING – Penny Davies
from the National Gardening Scheme
explains about the early spring garden.
66 HOROSCOPES – Christine
Chalklin gives her forecast for March
and April.
67 NOTHING TO WEAR? – There’s
clothing temptation from: Craghoppers,
Didriksons, Teva and Weird Fish.
Plus....
64 WELSH COUNTRY MARKETPLACE
64 WELSH COUNTRY WEBLINKS
Welsh Country
Welsh Country is produced and published in Wales.
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38
Issue 75 Mar - Apr 17
Croeso – Welcome
Happy St David’s Day!
It’s the end of January as I am crafting my
Welcome piece for M/April and I for one am
so pleased that most of Wales has escaped a
harsh winter. We’ve had amazingly little snow
or ice and I’m hoping this continues as we head
towards Easter. The seasons are certainly not what
we are generally used to, but my fingers are crossed
that Easter will herald some gentle spring sunshine
and lots of visitors visiting Wales to discover how
much our country has to offer, no matter what your
age or your interests. I remain convinced that Wales
has something for everyone and I want Visit Wales
to do all they can to get lots of visitors to pay us
a visit. Driving around during the holiday season I
can get rather irritated if I’m following a slow trail of
caravans and motor homes but then have to take
a breath and remind myself that tourism is vital for
the Welsh economy and our advertisers that are
involved with tourism really need these visitors.
As well as St David’s Day and Easter to look
forward too, there’s also Mother’s Day. For those of
you lucky enough to have your Mum still with you,
don’t forget to make the most of her on her special
day. I’ve put together some beauty gift ideas in our
Pamper pages but perhaps your Mum would like a
special treat from one of our artists or craft makers,
we have a brilliant selection for you to choose from,
just don’t leave it until the last minute or you might
be disappointed. Also many of our Best Of Welsh
& Borders food and drink producers are able to
do mail order or you can visit a farmers’ or local
produce market and pick up a foodie treat for Mum.
As always I’ve slipped easily into my favourite
topic - Welsh food and drink. I was hoping to be
able to let you know which food festivals are being
supported by the Welsh Assembly Government
but that information is not yet available but when
it is I’ll post it on welshfoodbites. Two festivals
which are going ahead are Monmouthshire Food
Festival, which is held in the historic setting of
Caldicot Castle, from 20 th - 21 st May. Organiser
Charlotte runs a great festival, with lots to do, so get
there if you can. Then from the 28 th - 29 th May, it’s
Cowbridge Food & Drink, another of my favourite
festivals. Of course I’m biased about these two
festivals as we’ve plenty of our Best Of Welsh &
Borders producers attending them – please diarise
these two fabulous festivals!!!
Until next time…….
Kath Kath Rhodes, Editor
kath@welshcountry.co.uk