Posts Tagged ‘celtic’

Coastal Cottage Rentals

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Seaside holidays are extremely popular which is why every year, millions of tourists head for seaside beaches. Perhaps you like coastal holidays too. seaside holidays are fabulous, but that can be the problem too, because it frequently means overcrowding, queuing, rubbish and noise. Have you ever thought about renting your own private coastal cottage? Many only dream about it, but it is not that difficult or costly to arrange actually.

One item to bear in mind is that, public beaches are well-known and that is why they get too busy. However, private coastal cottages are often secluded or on private beaches, which makes for a much quieter holiday. Often, local people living only miles from the cottage do not know that they exist. In spite of this, most coastal cottages do not cost a lot of money to rent.

These coastal cottages are to be had in many countries around the world. They are certainly very popular in Britain, Europe and the United States. The level of privacy and the amenities available will depend on where you go. A coastal cottage in Wales will give you a very different holiday than a coastal cottage in southern France or Coney Island.

Many coastal cottages are located near a popular holiday destination. Not right in the middle of the location, but normally a few miles or less outside, so that you can easily drive in or even walk in, if you want some livelier entertainment. Typical coastal cottage leisure activities include swimming, sailing, fishing and walking.

Of course, one of the chief considerations when renting a cottage is the rent itself. Now the funny thing is that is not nearly such a big consideration as you might think it would be. The macro location is more important than the micro location. So, Wales might be cheaper than the south of France, but within Wales itself, there is not a huge variation in price, when you equate like with like. Clearly, a five-bedroomed coastal cottage will be more expensive than a three-bedroomed one.

Another point worth looking into is the ownership of the coastal cottage. Is it owned by a private individual who lives near-by or is it owned by a large business. Is the cottage a real, original cottage or is it a new, mock cottage building? If it is old, is it connected with anyone famous or a famous event? Knowing these facts can all heighten your pleasure.

Make sure that you are given some maps or drawings so that you can find the spot easily. Especially if you are travelling to the cottage in the evening or in the dark. Things often look far different at night than in the daylight, and if your chosen cottage is in a secluded spot, there may not be any street lighting

Finally, get hold of some pictures of inside and outside the coastal cottage you ultimately decide on and then book it early, because the best coastal cottages go earlier and earlier every year as this form of vacationing becomes ever more popular.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the rental of Welsh coastal cottages. If you are interested in a cottage or Wales in general, please go to our website at Welsh Products Online

What Is In A Wine Glass?

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

The growing trend of popularity of wine has led to a boom in things to go with wine like corkscrews, stoppers, coolers, napkins, pouring baskets, decanters, candles, thermometers, bottle jackets, hydrometers and dozens of variations of each accessory from electric versions to manual ones. Needless to say, a lot of these accessories will be used until the novelty wears off and then left at the back of the cupboard.

However, there is one category of wine drinking accessory that no wine drinker should be without and that is wine glasses. They are essential, I am sure that everyone would agree. But the good thing about wine glasses is that they are attractive when they are not in use too. A set of six lead crystal wine glasses is a fine-looking sight. And a fine set of glasses correctly shaped for the wine you are drinking will greatly enhance your enjoyment of that wine.

This is because the shape of the glass is very influential on the drinker’s ability to savour the taste and the aroma of wine. Therefore, it is essential to use the correct glasses for the type of wine being served.

Red wines gain a lot from contact with air, so, aside from opening the bottle an hour before drinking it, you could decant it. The older and heavier the wine, the more air it must have. The next step is to serve the red wine in large glasses. This is not so as to be able to get as much wine in there as possible! A full, normal size bottle holds six servings no matter what glass you use, but a large glass allows you to swirl the wine around the glass, thereby increasing its contact with air.

A large tulip shaped glass is a good example of this kind of wine glass and any dark red wine would benefit from being drunk out of such a vessel. Try a Rioja or Bordeaux, for instance.

White wines, on the other hand, do not need to breathe for as long as red wines and are best served slightly chilled. Therefore, the wine glasses tend to have a smaller bowl and a longer stem. The bowl is smaller, because swirling is not essential and the stem is longer, so that the warmth from your hand does not warm the wine up prematurely. Try a Chardonnay, a Sauvignon or a German wine in these glasses.

Champagne glasses are called champagne flutes because the bowl is long and narrow, which allows the bubbles to float through more of the wine than if the bowl were short. This is beneficial for the wine, the taste and its appearance. The stem is also long as with other white wines to diminish heat transfer.

The last main kind of glass is the sherry schooner, which is also used for port. Sherry and port are both heavy reds and so need to breathe, which is one of the reasons why they ought to be decanted. However, a schooner has hardly any stem, because the warmth from your hand is required to keep the wine at the right temperature.

Apart from the shape of the bowl and the length of the stem, the next most important factor is the quality of the glass and its design. Some people like hand-blown glass and it can be very beautiful, but it also tends to be light and fragile. I prefer to use lead crystal glasses, which are a lot heavier and can take a deeper pattern.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Waterford crystal vases. If you have an interest in Irish crystal or wedding rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

The Traditional Use Of Dairy Produce: Part 2 - Cheese

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

The Basic Preparation Food: Dairy Products.

CHEESE.

Cheeses are manufactured from milk which has been naturally or artificially turned sour. The first method is achieved by standing the milk in a warm place and allowing natural, beneficial bacteria to convert the milk’s natural sugars into lactic acid. The second method is effected by adding an agent, usually rennet.

Colouring and salt are usually added too. The whey is then allowed to drain off and the curds are pressed into moulds where they are kept until ripened or cured. Some cheeses are subjected to pressure; soft cheeses are not. Curds are ripened or cured by various means. The way it is done, the quality of the milk, the breed of cow, sheep or other animal and the quality of its pasture and the type of bacteria all govern the final product.

Some local environmental conditions are unique and those areas are capable of producing cheeses that are not successfully copied anywhere else: for instance Roquefort and Camembert, although factories do attempt it. Some even have a measure of success: remember that most of the world’s Cheddar cheese now derives from the United States and Canada.

The constituents of cheese are typically: 33% fat, 33% protein and 33% water with salt, colouring, sugar etc making up the rest. These percentages vary from region to region as some producers use full-cream milk, others skimmed-milk and yet others add extra cream. Some add extra sugar, most do not. All cheeses have a high calcium content and may be considered ‘concentrated milk’ and stored as such.

Many people say that cheese most not be kept in a fridge and while storing in water, as for milk, is not a viable option, a cool larder is definitely ideal. Try the traditional method of hanging it up in cheesecloth in a cool, airy place. If it is hot, dampen the cheesecloth with water to which a little vinegar has been added.

in Europe, cheese is frequently served with a salad or/and bread and is often presented after or instead of the dessert course. Hard cheese can be nigh-on impossible for children to digest and grating it first will make it more edible for them. After being grated the cheese can be scattered on vegetables or fish soups or sauces; combined with egg, pasta, rice and oatmeal dishes; put on baked potatoes or pastry; toasted on bread or put in sandwiches or salads.

How To Cook Cheese: A not well known fact is that many people find cooked cheese indigestible. The reason lies in its make-up. Here is why: cooked starch can be digested by the saliva in the mouth but other foods must pass to the stomach or intestines for this process. They are, however, broken up in the mouth. Digestion of protein begins in the stomach and is completed in the small intestine, while fat is not rendered soluble until it reaches the small intestine.

Cheese has a high fat and protein content, but when melted, the fat frequently covers the protein and stops the digestive juices reaching it in the stomach. This results in, its digestion is delayed until the fat has been absorbed by the intestines. Cheese can be made more digestible in the following way:

1] Adding to or combining with starchy foods. The starch will absorb the fat, not allowing it to cover the protein.

2] Using seasoning - Cayenne Pepper or mustard will irritate the intestinal lining, thus causing extra digestive juices to be released.

3] Cooking rapidly at high temperature. This stops the protein from becoming tough and stringy and so, harder to digest or you could add cheese to sauces late in the process.

4] Adding alkali. A large pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 75g will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins more easily digestible.

For the best gourmet Traditional Welsh Recipes, go along to our website at http://welsh-recipes.the-real-way.com/

categories: recipes,cooking,gourmet,celtic,tradition,food,kitchen,wales,diet,dieting,eating out,DIY,entertainment,other

Wedding Favours Your Guests Will Like

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

There are many presents that can be used as wedding favours, after all the point of wedding favours is to show your guests that you are grateful for them coming to your wedding and showing their support for your wedding. Therefore, you should really try to find wedding favors, that your guests will be keen on.

Naturally, the gift that most appeals to your guests, may not be one you would choose for yourself, but you are buying the wedding favours for your guests, not yourself. If you think about it, you should be able to come up with something that everyone will like and that you are pleased to give. In order to help you get the task done, we will offer you a few tips below.

Love spoons are a prevalent gift at Welsh and other Celtic weddings. A love spoon was a wooden spoon carved by a love sick man for the woman he loved. She would then either take or refuse the love spoon, although she was not bound by the acceptance of the spoon. Small versions are often used as wedding favours. They can be inscribed with dates and names and symbols of love such as a hearts, bells, vines, key holes, anchors and knots.

Wedding favours can also be suitable to eat. There are a pile of options open for couples who wish to give their guests some kind of edible favour. You can have many items personalized these days. Some firms specialize in personalized presents, which can also be given as wedding favours. Some examples of edible, personalized wedding favours might be: chocolate bars, mints, biscuits or gourmet chocolates. The box or wrapper could carry your photo or / and your names and the date.

Miniature wedding cakes are another idea for edible wedding favours. Miniature wedding cakes have a short shelf life so they will have to include a warning, which will in all probability be put on the wrapper automatically, but it is worth checking.

A half / quarter or miniature bottle of wine or other drink would also be quite easy to arrange as wine bottle labels can be bought in any home brew shop.

Picture frames are frequent wedding favors. You could give a picture frame and follow it up with a photo of the beneficiary of the frame enjoying your wedding party. This might be expensive and tricky to set up as you will have to keep records of who has been photographed and who has not. It would be terrible to miss someone out, would it not? You will probably also need a professional photographer or at least a dedicated amateur.

Wedding favours can be anything really, but I reckon that they are best if they are useful. We gave very atypical bottle-openers away at our wedding. They had a design of a couple getting married, our names and the date. They also had a magnet in them to collect the bottle top as it came off. I have seen dozens of our bottle-openers stuck on our guests’ fridges over the years and the wedding was three years ago.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Welsh love spoons, or Wales in general, go to our website at Welsh Products Online

categories: Wales,lovespoons,wedding favours,history,politics,social issues,religion,hobbies,celtic,education,government,travel,writing,other

The Welsh Terrier

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Initially, Welsh terriers were bred for hunting rabbits, foxes and badgers, but public opinion and the drop in the lust for blood generally have gone in opposition to blood sports and so this native breed of Wales has become a show dog and a pet. Breeders attempt to surpass each other by breeding the Welsh terrier to have a thicker wiry coat and deeper colouration. The Welsh terrier is also a popular pet because it is one of the most easy-going terriers.

The Welsh terrier is a fun loving dog. It just loves to run, chase and play, which makes it a tremendous companion and a perfect pet. Welsh terriers require lots of exercise, so be prepared for lots of walking, if you decide to get one.

It is a good idea to ’socialize’ your dog as soon as possible. This means that you should introduce your Welsh terrier puppy to children and other dogs at an early age. The more you encourage your dog to play with other dogs as a puppy, the less trouble you will have with your dog fighting or barking at other dogs and cats. It’s the same story with children. Children can play very roughly, and a dog could be forgiven for biting back, but it can be avoided by introducing your Welsh terrier puppy to children while it is still young. The child might learn respect, but the dog will learn forbearance.

The Welsh terrier is easily trained, if you like your dog to perform tricks. it is an intelligent breed and, being former hunters, they are good at learning commands and tricks. Train your Welsh terrier with kindheartedness and reiteration. They like to retrieve sticks and play with a ball. Many people train their Welsh terriers to catch a flying Frisbee too.

A Welsh terrier will groom himself quite scrupulously, but you can help out by brushing him once a week in order to remove the dead and loose hair. This will also help reduce the amount of hairs dropping inside your house, although terriers in general, and wire-haired dogs in particular do not lose as much hair as soft coated dogs. You could also lend a hand by wiping him over with a damp cloth from time to time in order to pick up any dust on his coat.

A Welsh terrier is very active and very inquisitive, so it is prudent to keep your dog in a yard that has been fenced off. However, the fence needs to be reasonably high, because the Welsh terrier has an excellent capacity to jump due to its long legs.

The Welsh terrier is Britain’s oldest breed of dog, but it is now under pressure. The British kennel club registers only 300 Welsh terrier puppies per year, whereas it registers tens of thousands of puppies of other, more fashionable, breeds. The Welsh terrier is a strong-willed animal, so it does need a strong-willed and patient owner.

However. if you want a Welsh terrier and you persevere with it, you will never look back. They have a lot to give and, as with so many things in life, you only get out what you are willing to put in.

If you are interested in Welsh corgi puppies, or Wales in general, visit our website at Welsh Products Online

How To Use Dairy Produce: Part 4 - Eggs (cont).

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Basic Preparation Of Foods: Dairy Produce.

Eggs: Part 2

Poaching: boil 1.5 inches (40mm) water in a frying pan; add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of vinegar. Break an egg into a cup, inspect and tip into boiling water. Reduce the heat. Fold the white around the unbroken yolk with a spoon and continue to simmer for another 3-4 mins. Lift out with a draining spoon and serve on warm buttered toast.

Scrambling: beat the eggs well; add salt, pepper to taste and a dash of milk. Melt enough butter to cover the bottom of a shallow pan. Heat the eggs slowly, stirring constantly. Cook in a basin floating on boiling water, if preferred. Dish up when nearly completely set, in about 5 minutes.

Frying: Melt enough fat to easily cover the base of the pan. Tip egg in gently and gather white around the yolk. When the white has set, baste the yolk to taste and remove whole with a fish slice.

Baked: lightly grease an oven-proof dish and pour the eggs gently into it. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and butter to taste. Bake in a moderate oven and serve in the same pan after the whites have set.

Omelettes: buy a pan and keep it only for omelettes! The base should be smooth and clean. Allow two eggs per person; whip lightly and add salt and pepper to taste. Heat enough butter to cover the bottom of a frying pan. When the butter is fairly hot, gently tip in the beaten eggs; as it sets, lift the handle and draw the set mixture up towards the handle, allowing the liquid egg to run down onto the hot pan. When all the liquid has set, tilt the pan back and roll the omelette over. Serve straight away on a hot plate. The omelette can be filled with almost anything, before being rolled over.

Pouring Custard: beat 2-3 eggs per 1 pint of milk lightly. Heat the milk and pour gradually over the eggs; add sugar and flavouring; cook in a double pan or jug and hot water until the required thickness has been reached. If it is not to be served immediately, pour a thin layer of water onto the top to prevent a skin forming.

Baked Custard: proceed as above and then pour the custard into a greased dish; sprinkle lightly with nutmeg and place dish in water to halfway up its sides. Bake at 350 F for 35-45 mins; test its solidity by inserting a knife - it should be clean on removal.

Steamed Custard: proceed as for above, but cook in a steamer or a pan in boiling water. The length of cooking time is about the same too.

Custard Tarts: pour pouring custard into unbaked pastry cases and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes. A little jam can be placed at the base of the pastry case first, if desired.

For deliciousgourmet Traditional Welsh Recipes, go along to our website at http://welsh-recipes.the-real-way.com/

Vacation Rental Homes, Are They Safe?

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Many people that go on vacation have a preference to rent a home in their destination rather than staying in a hotel. Most of these people do this because it gives them the freedom to cook their own food and eat out when they like without missing set meals that they have previously paid for.

It can be more difficult to find such a vacation rental than just making a hotel reservation. However, most holiday makers say that the effort is worthwhile. There are a few points that you should check up on if you are not to be dissatisfied when you get there.

It is very handy if you have friends or family living in the destination locale and if you do have this advantage, you should use it, but all is far from lost if you do not. There are often agencies for these kinds of vacation rentals as many people who live in such locations rent their homes out in the peak season and they do this via those agencies.

There are also quite a few web sites specializing in home rentals for holiday purposes. Some of these Internet agencies just charge on behalf of the property owner and others can arrange swaps, which is a great, low-priced way to travel the world.

The surveys that these web sites carry out are typically quite comprehensive, containing such predictable details as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, but also such details as whether there is a phone, a car, bicycles or scooters on the premises, along with distance to the shops, main road, airport, train and bus stations.

However, if you have any questions still unanswered, you are usually encouraged to ask them directly to the property owner via the agency’s web site. It is a good idea to rent a vacation home through a rental agency for safety reasons, because if a problem does occur then you have a go-between on hand. In these situations the agency would handle the entire affair, up to the point of criminal proceedings.

You may also like to ask about the age of the property, because often the day to day maintenance of the place is down to you while you are there, as are breakages, unless those things are covered by the owner’s insurance policy.

You should also find out whether you are allowed to make use of the home owner’s bedding, linen, and towels etc.. Often you just consider the house and its contents as your own, unles a cupboard or door is locked and you have not been given a key.

One last bit of advice is to get suitable directions. Places that you are not well-known will look very different in the dark than they do in the daylight, in particular if the property is off the beaten track.

Therefore, if you are expecting to arrive late or if there is a possibility that you might be held up, ask for photographs of key points taken in the twighlight. It will make certain that you get to your destination vacation home rental with no difficulties.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the rental of Welsh coastal cottages. If you are interested in a cottage or Wales in general, please go to our website at Welsh Products Online

Boarding Dogs In Kennels

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Are you the type of dog owner who likes to take your companion with you wherever you go? If you are then you know that that there are times when you can do this, but there are also times when you can not, for whatever reason.

On the occasions when that happens, you will often have to to find a boarding kennels that will take care of your dog while you are away.

A vacation is a time for relaxing, so you do not want to be worrying about your dog, if you can help it. Within your own country, it is not usually a big problem, but if you go to a foreign land, then taking your dog can be more trouble than it is worth. Not only for you, but for your doggy friend too.

If you can not board your dog with someone it knows, like a member of your family or a neighbour, then the only alternative is a boarding kennels.

I have placed my dog in a bad kennel once and I learned a few lessons from that. I placed my Becky in a kennel in a highly regarded village just outside our town. I was happy with what I saw and the sales pitch of the owner, so I went to Spain, thinking that all was fine for both of us. I had a great holiday and went straight to the kennels from the airport on my return, although I had told them a fortnight before that I would pick Becky up the day after my arrival. I just could not wait to see her.

I went to the kennels and they were surprised to see me. Of course, I was a day early. They said that Becky was ‘resting’ and that it would be better to ‘come back tomorrow’. No way! So they took me to see her. I nearly cried. She was sitting in a good sized cage, but on newspaper sodden with pee.

She saw me and just looked down at her paws. I called her name again, but she did not want to know. I paid the bill and put her in the car on the front passenger seat where she always sat. She just looked out the window and showed no interest in me whatsoever.

It took three days before she would speak to me again! The moral of this story is not to be impressed by big adverts or impressive locations as I was. Ask your dog-owning friends, write into the local paper inviting recommendations, phone the local animal protection society or the kennel club or look on the Internet.

If you are interested in Welsh corgi puppies, or Wales in general, go to our website at Welsh Products Online

Choose Your Wedding Ring Carefully

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

There is a huge number of wedding rings available in the shops these days. In fact, you have the world of wedding rings to pick from. The high street shops in a large town have a very good assortment, but the Internet lays the best jewellers and the best styles out for your inspection.

So, it is very important that you take your time when choosing one. Maybe the enormous choice of wedding rings makes that more difficult not easier. Diamond wedding rings have been the most popular since ordinary working people could afford them, before that a plain band of gold had to suffice, for people who could afford that much.

Nowadays, Western people have become more adventurous and they are choosing other stones like the stunningly beautiful blue sapphire. Some even choosing not to have a stone at all, going back to tradition, so to speak. However, there are plenty of examples of not so plain bands of gold too.

There is the Irish Claddagh ring with its distinctive two hands holding a crowned heart symbolizing love, friendship and loyalty; and there is the Celtic Knot with its intricately interwoven strands twisting and turning without end, symbolizing eternity and eternal love despite the twists and turns and difficulties of daily life.

So, selecting a wedding ring is not just a question of picking a beautiful wedding ring, you should be choosing one that says what you want it to say. You could look up on the Internet what the different metals and various stones indicate traditionally. If you cannot find a ring that says what you want, consider having one made. It is not as expensive as you might think.

Tradition is a good thing when it comes to wedding rings. After all, you want your ring to express your everlasting love and devotion for the person you are giving it to and your marriage could last fifty or sixty years, especially with people living longer these days. With a bit of luck, you will wear this ring for the rest of your life, so pick a style that seems timeless to you.

Picking a wedding ring is not as easy as it looks, because you are going to be wearing your ring every day for the rest of your life, so it should be something that you will not get tired of in a couple years. You should look at and try on many rings in order to get one that feels comfortable. You will want a ring that does not look out of date in ten years time. The simplest way of doing that is to go for a traditional style, because those styles have already stood the test of time.

One last piece of advice is to ask the jeweller to verify the total carat weight of the stones in the ring and the weight of each individual stone and the quality and weight of the metal (although it should be hallmarked) on paper, then if it gets lost or stolen you have something to show the insurance company.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the Celtic knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in gold rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

categories: rings,celtic,wedding,gifts,gold,traditions,ireland,britain,history,spirituality,religion,happiness,politics,other

The Ancient History of Barry, South Wales: Part Two

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

In the Twelfth Century, William de Barri owned Barry Castle, but it was attacked and destroyed by Llewellyn Bren in 1316. It is said that the Cavaliers rebuilt it, but that it was subsequently destroyed again by the Roundheads, never to be rebuilt.

The Norman invaders were thoroughly detested by the local people and they had to build large mansions to defend themselves from frequent assaults on them by the people of the valleys and the mountains. During the reign of Henry III, there were 12 castles within six miles of Barry. In Glamorgan, there were 30 castles and in South Wales as a whole there were 150 !

Porthkerry and the church lying to its west is said to have taken its name from Ceri, who is said to have founded a port, ie ‘Port Ceri’. People say that Ceri ap Caid, the King of Essyllwg, resided in Porthkerry before the Christian era and that his bard, Corvinor, was the first to have built a ship with sails and a rudder for the race of Cymru. Some believe that Ceri was a nephew or grandson of Caractacus (Caradog) and that he assumed the leadership of the government in South Wales when Caractacus was sent to Rome.

John Wesley preached in the Porthkerry Church pulpit, and sometimes outside too, between 1741 and 1743. There are two very old churches still in use today in Barry, St. Cadocs Church in Cadoxton and Merthyr Dyfan Church in Merthyr Dyfan. One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Cadoxton was the largest village in the Barry area: for example, in 1844 the Parliamentary register contained 25 names: 20 from Cadoxton and five from Barry. The one church was dedicated to St. Cadoc, who used to spend Lent on Flat Holm and Barry Island. The village took its name from the church, which was founded in 800 AD.

Merthyr Dyfan Church was founded in 600 AD and the name means Dyfan The Martyr. There were two saints of this name: one came to Barry to Christianize the inhabitants; the second lived in the 6th. Century and was the son of a Welsh chieftain. His sister was also martyred, giving her name to the town of Merthyr Tydfil.

The Christian faith grew exponentially in the Vale of Glamorgan and in the middle of the 2nd. Century, Llewrwg, Prince of Siluria, became the first king, anywhere in the world of all time, to be baptized into the Christian faith. He sent to Rome for more Chritian teachers and was sent Dyfan and Fagan. The former was martyred near the site of the church and the latter was canonized. St. Fagan’s just outside Cardiff was named after him.

If you are interested in Welsh corgi puppies, or Wales in general, go to our website at Welsh Products Online