A bit of home in far-off Wales writes Andy Mitchell

Indeed, this has been the summer holiday which will go down in history along with 1976, to be quoted ad infinitum in 30 years time, as the summer we all remembered (whether we were there or not)

The Met Office declared on the radio today that “meteorologically speaking”, Summer was now over. Oh you reckon do you Mr Met Office eh?... there are plenty more sunny days to be had in Blackpool during September, with the added bonus of not having the kids screaming all over the place.

Holidays this year centred on my own version of An Englishman Abroad, well nearly anyway. Mrs M is a declared Welshy, so off we went to the Homeland, one doing the driving, the other the pronunciation.

It is indeed a lovely country, even if it does take ages to get anywhere! We visited the fabulous Portmeirion and took in the fantasy of this peculiar place, famed of course for the role it played as the setting for the hit 1960’s series The Prisoner. I pondered in the gift shop on whether to treat myself to a black blazer piped in white just like Patrick McGoohan wore as “Number 6”.

It emerges I’m quite well known among the poor commuters on the local bus service around Wrexham. We met up with a friend who takes the service to Chester each morning and took every opportunity to tell one bus driver after another that I was the voice on the Tannoy who announces what the next stop is. I hope they don’t hate me too much.

Gift shops are everywhere of course, and in much the same way as you arrive in London to find rows of teddy bears dressed up as Beefeaters, so in Llangollen I discover what I’ve been after for the Mrs for ages.... one of those traditional black Welsh pointy hats with frills on.

I glance around and a bit of home stares me in the face. Llangollen Rock...made in..yes that’s right..BLACKPOOL!

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