June 6, 2012 · 12:49 pm

Something Missed That Way Goes


It is with much sadness that I note the passing of one of literature’s modern-era masters. Mr. Ray Bradbury passed away yesterday at the age of 91. He will be greatly missed.

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June 6, 2012 · 5:48 am

Portmeirion—Part 2


Today we continue with the second of our three-part tour of Portmeirion, Wales.

There are three things for which Portmeirion is most famous.  We’ve touched upon two—the exquisite Italianate architecture of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis; and the use of Portmeirion as The Village in the 1960s cult television classic The Prisoner.  The third claim to fame is, of course, Portmeirion Pottery and china.  Portmeirion’s pottery and china business was the brainchild of Susan Williams-Ellis, daughter of Sir Clough, and the intent was to sell these creations in a Portmeirion-based souvenir shop.  So, Portmeirion Pottery gets its name not from the site of manufacture, but rather from the original site of sale.  The actual pottery is made at factories in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.  Interested shoppers and collectors can click on this link to peruse Portmeirion wares.  I’m sure you’ll recognize some of the various patterns and styles, as they’re sold around the world (including here in the U.S.).

Some of the interesting sights you’ll see today include White Horses Cottage, on the beach just beyond the main hotel.  White Horses’ claim to fame is that actor Patrick McGoohan chose this cottage as his residence whenever he filmed on-site in Portmeirion.

Also pictured below are various angles of Round House, which currently hosts a shop that sells collectibles, memorabilia, and books related to the television series The Prisoner.  But, during filming of The Prisoner back in 1966-1967, it was transformed into Number Six’s residence.

Below the main village you’ll see the main hotel, which in the series doubled as the “Retirement Home.”  It was where those who gave up their secrets to their village captors lived out their golden years.  Both the main hotel and White Horses lie along the beach.  The beach itself is a very interesting feature.  One can walk out onto it for hundreds of yards during low tide, but at high tide it completely floods.  Indeed, during spring tides, this flooding can extend into the first floor of White Horses, making it uninhabitable during that time.

And, finally, while on Monday you got to see pictures of Ursula and me, today you’ll get to see the third member of our expedition, our eldest daughter Cherry.

More to follow in Friday but, until then, content yourselves with these:

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June 4, 2012 · 5:57 am

Portmeirion—Part 1


So, this week we take a mysterious and magical tour of Portmeirion, Wales.

Portmeirion, as you’ll recall from last Friday’s blog on The Prisoner, was the setting for The Village—an apparently idyllic community that harbors a dark side, a side dedicated to separating from people the secrets they acquired from their previous government employers.  Those who cough up their secrets live out their lives in peaceful bliss.  Those who do not . . . well, The Village has a very impressive graveyard, and a deadly sentry that makes escape impossible.

It was in the mid to late 1990s, on a trip to visit our eldest daughter at her Air Force duty station somewhere in England.  Knowing of my admiration for The Prisoner, Ursula had set up a surprise for me—two nights stay in one of the Portmeirion Cottages.  It was quite an experience, as we were only a few short steps away from the residence of Number Six (Patrick McGoohan)—the protagonist of The Prisioner.  Alas, Number Six’s residence is not one of the available cottages.  Instead, the “Round House” is home to The Prisoner Shop, and you get only one guess as to the theme of the merchandise sold there.

The man behind this Italianate village was architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis.  He devised every aspect of the village, and supervised its construction over a fifty-year period that started in 1925 and finished just three years before his death in 1978 at the age of 94.  Some aspects of his grand vision were not completed until well after his death—the Pantheon (a.k.a., “The Green Dome,” Number Two’s residence in the television series) for instance.  Initially, the dome was green—a wooden structure painted that color.  But in the early 1990s that dome was replaced with copper which, in several more years, may actually become green yet once again.

More on Portmeirion (including their world-famous pottery and China) on Wednesday.  Until then, enjoy the show below.  But bear in mind that these photographs were taken the old fashion way—35mm color negative film converted to color prints.  These original prints were scanned a couple of days ago, and then corrected with a little computer post-processing.  So, what I’m really trying to say is, don’t expect the usual quality you’ve come to expect of my photographs.

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