Han Solo And Amelia Earhart
In May of 2023, to celebrate my fortieth year and also my parents' anniversary, we travelled to England, Wales, and Ireland. This is the eighth segment of our trip.
Pembroke Dock and the nearby Milford Haven are one of Wales' most storied ports. In 1877, one of Japan's first ironclads was launched from there, the Hiei. A century later, in 1979, a ship of a very different kind was built in Pembroke Dock. It was destined to become even more famous than the Hiei, even though it never sailed an ocean...
That's right! The Millennium Falcon was built in Pembroke Dock. Specifically, the full-size set used in The Empire Strikes Back. A full set hadn't been built for A New Hope, but after the movie (and the ship) proved so popular, the decision was made to craft a full-size model to allow for more filming options. It was built in secret (Well, as secret as anything in a town full of pubs and chatty Welsh workers) under the codename 'Magic Roundabout'.
My parents and I did not take any starships on our travels, but we did ride in comfort. From Pembroke Dock to Burry Port (and between many other destinations on our trip) we took a Transport For Wales train. They are swift, comfortable, and more timely than the public transportation in Canada. TfW is not resting on its laurels, though; the system is in the throes of a major reinvigoration to the tune of £800 million!
Looking out the window of the speeding train, we thought we spied fields of lavender - we had seen some earlier in the trip near the English town of Hitchin. Later, we were able to get a closer look at the photo I took from the train. We were in for a surprise! It's not just wind turbines and undermountain hydro projects powering the country, it's solar farms, too.
In nearly every corner of England, Wales, and Ireland that we've visited, we've been pleased to see thoughtful and well-kept memorials to those lost during the World Wars. The same was true in the town of Burry Port, which featured crocheted poppies on the gate to its cenotaph garden.
Our reason for visiting Burry Port has a remembrance connection. A colleague of my Dad's from the Antigonish Legion is originally from the town. Upon hearing that we were visiting Wales, his mother insisted that we come.
Lorna and Jeff (The mother and her husband) are wonderful people full of the "Warm Welsh Welcome". We got along with them swimmingly. They shared some homemade trivia games with us, and we knew that we'd fallen in with an excellent match.
Most of the tourists who pass through Burry Port do not stop for Lorna (More's the pity for them!). They come for another woman, or rather, a pillar dedicated to her. It was nearby Burry Port that Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.
We stayed with Lorna and Jeff for two evenings; during the day we branched off to other destinations in the region. In the next segment of our trip, we visited a breathtaking world straight out of one of my favourite book series.