#llanddwyn

[lymphomalass]

Just to share my recent painting of a famous view on Ynys Môn/ Anglesey, Gogledd Cymru/North Wales.

“The Victorian Cross and Tŵr Mawr lighthouse at Ynys Llanddwyn” was inspired by our first trip onto this island off the South Eastern corner of Anglesey last year. I’d wanted to go for months after seeing photos of the place on social media and I wasn’t disappointed!

The mystical allure of the place is added to by its sometimes being tricky to access, being cut off at high tide, and the stories of Saint Dwynwen, after whose church the island is named.

One version of the story goes that the daughter of King Brychan Brycheiniog in the fifth century, Dwynwen, was caught in an ill-fated romance, when Maelon Dafodrill fell passionately in love with her, against the wishes of her father. Dwynwen prayed for help and was given a number of requests, including that through her God would look after all true lovers. Dwynwen retreated to Ynys Llanddwen, where she lived as a hermit until her death, in about AD 460.

In the Middle Ages, the island became the richest part of Anglesey thanks to becoming a thriving pilgrimage destination. It is unoccupied now, after Reformation suppressions and sandstorms took their toll, just home to Dwynwen’s ruined church, two crosses, two lighthouses and a row of empty pilot cottages.

The cross in this painting was built in the 'sixtieth year of Queen Victoria 1897 ', and Tŵr Mawr lighthouse in 1873.

The island is usually approached from the Newborough Warren car park at LL61 6SG (for which you will need to pay at the exit). Then, it is a fair walk along the beach from there. But the views would make the trip worth it even if distance and tides make the island inaccessible to you, and the island is, to my mind, somewhere worth all my difficulties learning to walk again after the chemotherapy from blood cancer gave me 5 collapsed vertebrae!

The original A4 painting is available unframed for £75 including UK postage (please just message me) or printed to your order on all sorts of things at: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/140440817

Thanks!

Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

[sowhatifiliveinfukuoka]

My former life...

Ynys Llanddwyn, Anglesey, Wales (flickr)

[callumreuben]

[westeroswisdom]

House of the Dragon tourism is contributing to traffic problems in a village in Wales.

A village on Anglesey used to film the House of the Dragon series has seen “road rage” incidents between tourists trying to get to a popular beach, according to residents. Ynys Llanddwyn and the nearby beach have been made even more famous by TV programmes, including the Game of Thrones spinoff, who have used the area as a filming location. But to get there visitors have to drive through the village of Newborough, often causing large and complicated traffic jams. [ ... ] The only road to the beach starts in the centre of Newborough, but it is narrow in places. Parked cars also mean traffic can only pass in one direction at a time. But with thousands of cars a week heading to the beach in high summer, people in Newborough say the road regularly can’t cope.

Maybe Newborough (Niwbwrch in Welsh) might consider obtaining a couple of electric buses to transport tourists from the outskirts of the community to the areas along the beach seen in House of the Dragon. Fares collected for the rides would pay for the cost of the buses.

Newborough/Niwbwrch is an interesting place in its own right.

Llinos Medi, leader of Anglesey council, added: “Newborough is a village steeped in Welsh history. “The local community faces a number of challenges during the summer months, in particular, with visitor numbers increasing significantly."

[maypoleman1]

25th January

St Dynwen’s Day/ Burns Night

A Piper Piping in the Haggis at a Burns Night Supper. Source: Visit Scotland website

Today is St Dynwen’s Day. Dynwen, despite being celibate, became Wales’ patron saint of lovers. Apparently visiting her shrine at Llanddwyn Island on Anglesey is a must for all couples who want their love to proper.

Tonight is also Burns Night, on which the life and works of poet Robert Burns are celebrated all over Scotland today, his birthday. The first Burns Night was held in 1801, but at that stage it was a private gathering of the poet’s friends, wishing to celebrate Burns’ contribution to Scottish literature. By the 1860s, the day had become a Scottish cultural event with Burns’ Nights involving traditional the enjoyment of Scottish fare, pipers, traditional dancing and much whisky. Burns himself was a romantic influenced by the Classics, but also by Scottish rural life and Celtic myth and ghost stories. His songs and poems were often written and recited in the Scots dialect. Long before the advent of the SNP, Burns Nights provided the opportunity for expressions of Scottish cultural pride and nationalist sentiment.

Lake Semerwater. Source: Herriot Country website

On this day in rural North Yorkshire, St Paul manifested (today is also the feast day of his conversion) and went door to door in a nearby magnificent city, begging for alms, to see how Christian the Yorkshire folk were. Suffice it to say, they weren’t very, and poor Paul was sent packing from every house he visited, save one, a Quaker dwelling on the outskirts of the city. The good Quakers gave the saint room and board and overnight heard him calling on Simmerwater to rise, Simmerwater to sink. The next day the family found their guest was gone and so was the city, replaced by a huge lake - Lake Semerwater. When the weather is calm, the walls and roofs of the submerged town can be seen from the lakeside. Or so they say…

[yvelou]

So it turnsout that the lovely couple I photographed recently walking hand in hand on the pretty island of Ynys Llanddwyn also photographed me!!! 😆 (Talk about synchronicity!)

Having just taken a photo of him and his wife walking hand in hand up the hill, i was just coming from my spot an saw a man (Kev) taking a landscape shot.

So I think that I’ve just ruined his shot completely by walking right into his frame & say something along the lines of “So Sorry!! Don’t you just hate it when someone walks into your frame!! (Not feeling that photogenic in five thousand layers of jumpers and coats!) 👀

Well it turns out, we both walked into eachothers frames on this day and we got some awesome pictures to share as keepsakes in the process! 📸❤️

We just took photos of eachother!.. 😆 I mean, you can’t make this stuff up, this is pretty cool! I’m so made up that he shared his take from the day as I absolutely love the photo & he also told me that he and his wife both love the pictures I shared of them too!

What a coincidence! 😊📸🌅

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Dwynwen

Died 460

Feast Day: January 25

Patronage: lovers, sick animals, Welsh St.Valentine

Daughter of Welsh king Brychan Brycheiniog, Saint Dwynwen fell in reciprocal love with a young man named Maelon, ultimately rejecting him for her deep desire to join the religious life. In a dream, she was given a drink which freed her from Maelon's attention, at the cost of turning him to ice. She then prayed that Maelon would be released, that all lovers find happiness, and that she never have the desire for marriage. Saint Dwynwen became a nun and lived out her days on Llanddwyn Island off the west coast of Anglesey.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[angiethewitch]

Ynys Llanddwyn

[delicatuscii-wasbella102]

Llanddwyn Anglesey, Wales  Photo by Claire Maw

[lymphomalass]

Dydd Santes Dwynwen Hapus! Happy Saint Dwynwen Day! The 25th January is the St Dwynwen's - the Welsh St Valentines! St Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of love, a fifth century Welsh Princess who prayed that God would meet the hopes and dreams of all true lovers. She founded a convent on Ynys Llanddwyn off the west coast of Ynys Môn (Anglesey), where she remained until her death in 465AD. The island became a site of pilgrimage with visitors believing that the sacred fish or eels living in the well there could foretell the fate of their relationships. Steve and I love walking to this romantic island at low tide, and I painted this picture of this beautiful place, which sold on X (formerly Twitter) within days, to a mother buying it for her daughter's house warming gift. But prints and other items featuring this art (without the words) are still available at:

with 25% off at the moment. Is there someone you'd buy a Toblerone for bearing the words "Caru Ti" or "Love You" in Welsh...? Thanks! Diolch! Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

[sowhatifiliveinfukuoka]

My former life...

Ynys Llanddwyn, Anglesey, Wales (flickr)

[bloodhailmp3]

ynys môn / ynys llanddwyn

[denhugh]

St Dwynwen's Cross, Llanddwyn Island

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Dwynwen Died 460 Feast Day: January 25 Patronage: lovers, sick animals, Welsh St.Valentine

Daughter of Welsh king Brychan Brycheiniog, Saint Dwynwen fell in reciprocal love with a young man named Maelon, ultimately rejecting him for her deep desire to join the religious life. In a dream, she was given a drink which freed her from Maelon's attention, at the cost of turning him to ice. She then prayed that Maelon would be released, that all lovers find happiness, and that she never have the desire for marriage. Saint Dwynwen became a nun and lived out her days on Llanddwyn Island off the west coast of Anglesey. {website}

[chrkrose]

House of The Dragon season 2 spoilers

This is what we have so far about Nettles possible introduction on season 2 of House of The Dragon:

So we don’t have any confirmation of casting news for her, only rumors because apparently HBO hates me.

On June 21 at Llanddwyn Beach there were leaks of a scene being filmed involving the Dragonseeds, so it’s very likely Nettles was there. People speculated this might be her, which I hope is true because she looks super awesome:

There were a few characters that were confirmed to have been there filming the scene, which were: Addam Velaryon, Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White.

Another character rumored to be filming in the same location besides the confirmed dragonseeds and Nettles is no other than Daemon Targaryen. There’s also a rumor involving a scene with Daemon and Caraxes.