Christmas brought the usual mix of greed, gluttony, and sloth, but we also spent a good deal of time enjoying some favourite locations of North Wales – mountain biking among the pine trees of Coedwig Niwbwrch, playing hide and seek around the ancient motte-and-bailey castle of Aberlleiniog, and snow chasing in the mountains of Eryri (sadly there wasn’t enough to build a snowman).
On the beaches of Ynys Môn, we searched for sea glass. This is a bit of a family tradition, and we have a large jar filled with them on the shelf of our kitchen. Searching for sea glass is a stringent process and something we take seriously in our household. Sea glass must be sufficiently treated by the seas and oceans so that the rough sides are completely smooth, devoid of jagged edges, and have the necessary frosted appearance. Potential sea glass that has not sufficiently weathered is termed ‘arse glass,’ and dropped back immediately onto the beach or thrown into the sea. The distinction between sea glass and arse glass is often a source of heated debate, and sometimes we have to allow some flexibility with our definitions – particularly when the spoils are few and far between.
There are a few beaches where sea glass can be more easily found around the island. Frequency and – accordingly – preciousness vary according to colour; white and brown are the most common, whereas orange and turquoise are very rare. Interestingly, sea glass as a whole is becoming rarer across the world as glass disposal and recycling methods become more sophisticated (which of course is a good thing). Much of the better pieces of sea glass that can be found on our beaches are over decades old – and some of the higher quality examples of sea glass are far more valuable than the original glass containers or bottles they are derived from. I like to challenge my kids to imagine the history of each piece of sea glass – where it came from and for how long it has journeyed to reach their pockets. Arse glass – on the other hand – is often indistinguishable from broken glass; effectively, nothing more than rubbish. But just give it time, that’s all it takes for the rough and the broken to become polished and precious.
Happy 2023 to you all.
