A story well told

Those of us who braved the ice on Thursday had a rare treat. We were entertained by a story teller, Idris Evans. Shunning the modern trappings of laptop, projector and software, the only artefacts Idris used to illustrate his talk were a 1787 Anglesey penny and a pair of cow shoes. But what a picture he painted of the art of droving cattle from North Wales to London; an art that developed from about 800 AD to the arrival of the railways in the mid 1800s.

Idris took us from Anglesey, on a journey across the Menai Straits, through the Vale of Clwyd and on to the outskirts of London, in the company of cattle, pigs and geese. This was a journey peppered with stories of armed riders, highwaymen, cock-fighting, promissory notes, Welsh émigrés and much more beside.

The interest in the talk was high-lighted by the brisk sale of Idris' book 'Hard Road to London'. For those who missed the talk, borrow a copy from another member. For a brief glimpse of Idris follow the link to a BBC programme clip http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p010frsp