View from the Bog

A few years ago I was managing a small charity in Cinderford, Glos when, late one afternoon, there was a tap on the window. A young lady was looking for an internet cafe or similar to print a document for a friend. Being a kind hearted soul (and knowing Cinderford has never been over-endowed with internet cafes and the library was closed) I suggested I could print it in return for a small donation to the organisation. With the document opened to review before printing I couldn't help noticing it was a piece of work on the hydrology of Borth Bog. Knowing the area well from my Uni days at Aberystwyth we got chatting and it turned out her friend worked there on research. A bit of a coincidence but nothing remarkable. The reason the friend wasn't there was she was in the area looking to buy a house. Where I asked - near Borth came the reply. It's a lovely bungalow north of Borth in Ynyslas by the railway and river and sits up on a tump. It's called ******** I said at which point the lady clearly thought she was in the presence of either a genius or an incredible anorak. Neither are true because ******** was where I had lived for a year whilst at Uni some 40 years previously.