The Taill of the Uponlandis Mous and the Burges Mous, written by a Scot, around 1480, tells of fog and farne, and the fable was made. Today it’s call The Town Mouse and the City Mouse, part of Aesop’s Fairy Tales. It was an unusual tale for the times, as it blended the two protagonists with animal and human characteristics that satirized the new social classes in the rising burgess towns.

My 13th great grandfather, Sir/Lord Robert Richardson (Burgess of Jedburgh) was born during the reign of King James IV 1473-1513. According to the Scottish historian, George Crawfurd, he was descended of a stock of ancient and opulent burgesses of Edinburgh. Perhaps? George said the grandfather arrived in Scotland in 1424 in the reign of James I.

Robert Richardson became a Burgess.

Burgesses

were merchants or craftsmen who owned property in…

A walk along Holyhead breakwater is great exercise and provides some fantastic views of the coast of Anglesey and perhaps, if you’re lucky, Ireland and the Isle of Man. We visited a few weeks ago, in August, and parked at the Breakwater Country Park, where there’s a cafe and gallery. We walked along the lane and then along the breakwater to the end and back. It’s not a long or arduous walk and there are great views and fresh, salty air. Here are some pics.

It’s the longest breakwater in the UK at around 1.7miles. It was built to protect the shipping between Ireland and Wales (mainland UK) using the port from northerly winds and bad weather and construction commenced in 1848. Rock was quarried from nearby Holyhead Mountain, but the work was dangerous. Up…