Kansas Snapshots by Gloria Freeland - July 18, 2025

Whirlwind Welsh week

Grandson Josh normally spends his weeks evaluating the mental status of people who arrive at the emergency room in a Kansas City hospital. It’s a stressful job because a mistake could have a big impact on someone's life. But his ability to leave work behind when he goes home seems to insulate him from burning out.

A good example is from this past June. He left the hospital late Friday night and was at the airport Saturday noon, arriving in Manchester, England Sunday morning. We "eased" into the day, catching up on each other's news as we drove to our place in Wales. Once there, he slept a few hours, and then we spent half an hour trying to identify a brown-and-yellow-speckled bird that repeatedly returned to the fence post outside our dining room window. We eventually pegged it as a song thrush.

Supper for husband Art was one of his favorites - British fish and chips - while Josh and I opted for pizza, all from the local takeaway.

While we waited, Josh and I took pictures of an iconic red telephone booth. We were surprised the phone had a dial tone. Smartphone use has transformed most British phone boxes into public defibrillator "stations" or "little lending libraries" for locals.

Monday brought a visit to the Castle Fine Arts Foundry. Art, daughter Mariya, her wife Miriam, and I toured it last summer. Richard Turner and his colleagues were just as friendly as they were a year ago, explaining the lost-wax process of making bronze sculptures.

Supper was in a Llangollen pub with British friend Jan, followed by scurrying off to a Fron Male Voice Choir rehearsal about 10 minutes away. We "blame" Josh for getting us hooked on them. Two years ago, we met a member on the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a UNESCO World Heritage site we took Josh to see. Joel's dog Ralph caught our attention, prompting a conversation. Joel invited us to the choir's Monday-and-Thursday rehearsals. We made friends with the members, and now attend their concerts and twice-weekly practices whenever we're in Wales.

Tuesday's weather was glorious - my gosh, I’m starting to sound like a Brit! - so I suggested a visit to nearby Pistyll Rhaeadr - Britain's tallest waterfall. Josh had seen it before, but asked to visit again. Recent rains generated a rather spectacular scene. Two men with drones were capturing bird's-eye views with their crafts, and we were fascinated watching them.

Josh also wanted to repeat his climb to the ruins of Dinas Brân - a Welsh medieval castle that sits on a mountain peak about 1,000 feet above the adjacent Dee River valley. While he climbed, Art and I were more than content to watch from below, trying to make out his tiny silhouette next to the ruins. We were surrounded so closely by sheep that we could hear them tearing the grass from the hillside.

Later, driving back to Llangollen on the winding one-lane hedge-lined road, I videoed a ewe and her lamb running in front of us. This amused Josh. I shared the file with him and others, commenting, "No sheep were harmed in the making of this video."

Subsequent days involved a variety of amusements. Art and Josh enjoyed the Royal Air Force museum, inspecting the various military aircraft. While it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, I did find the section devoted to the Cold War quite interesting since I lived through many of those years.

A rainy shopping day in Llangollen was next up. Josh and I were not deterred, buying red Wales sweatshirts, a few items from the local Market on the Fringe shop, and other goodies. Art amused himself watching people while we parted with our money.

The following day, we visited the British Ironwork Centre, a one-time farm that has a shop which sells an eclectic collection of household items, and whose grounds are filled with more-than-life-size animals, super heroes, and more made from recycled items. Signs inform visitors what sorts of old appliances and other donations they are looking for to use as raw material. I've been multiple times, but the experience was new to Josh. He was like a kid taking pictures of all the super heroes and animals. I like the messages sprinkled here and there, such as "If we don't end war, war will end us" and "Reuse, reduce, recycle, repurpose."

Saturday found us in Ironbridge, England along the River Severn. It is widely regarded as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution because the modern method of iron extraction from ore was developed there. We saw remnants of one of the original furnaces, visited the Museum of the Gorge, which was originally a warehouse until the late 19th century, and the Coalport China factory and museum.

On the way home, I suggested stopping at Wroxeter, an archaeological site of a city thought to have once been as large as Pompeii, Italy. The visitor center was closed by the time we arrived, but we stopped to take photos.

Sunday was Father's Day, so Art, Josh, and I celebrated by going to Hickory's in Wrexham with our friends Jan, Steve, Leanne, Courtney, and Sam. It's an American-style barbecue restaurant chain with maps and decor of various U.S. barbecue locations that give rise to its menu items. Franchise manager Craig Gibson showed up with steins of beer for the four guys. He explained he and other employees travel to the U.S. once a year to check out BBQ places there to try to replicate some items, while tweaking others to local tastes. So while the ribs seem like something we’d have at home, the corn bread has maple butter on it rather than honey.

It was a lovely - OK, there is that British thing again! - end to Josh's time with us. He flew home on Monday, more-or-less ready to start work the next day. It truly had been a whirlwind Welsh week!