Memories of home far away!

Aug 28 2008 by Judith Phillips, North Wales Weekly News

PAINTINGS of the Conwy area dating back to the late 19th century have been discovered by a Llandudno man in a house on Canada’s west coast.

Geraint Jones, 32, who is currently staying with his fiancee Vanessa on Vancouver Island, spotted the paintings by her great great grandfather after attending a family funeral.

He said: “After the funeral the family was looking through a previously unopened folder including watercolours and sketches by Vanessa’s great great grandfather Francis Krause, which were salvaged from her uncle’s house in Vancouver Island.

“These paintings may not have been seen for many decades.

“All of a sudden I spotted a scene that looked very familiar. The painting was of Penmaenmawr and Conwy Morfa, painted from West Shore beach, just a few minutes’ walk away from where my parents live now.

“I was blown away by the amazing coincidence. To be 4,500 miles away from home, with a group of people many of whom I had never met before, staring at the view of the village I grew up in, painted by a relative of my fiancee was surreal,” he said.

Geraint, whose parents Gwynfryn and Barbara live in Bridge Road, Llandudno, met Vanessa last year after chatting to her on the internet.

“Vanessa found me interesting as she had a lot of family history in Wales. Her grandfather lived in Porthmadog and her great great grandfather is buried at the cemetery at St Benedict’s Church in Gyffin.

“We instantly developed a rapport. From very early on I knew she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. The only snag being the distance,” explained Geraint.

In June 2007, Vanessa visited Geraint and they hit it off.

“The only problem we then faced was how to be together permanently, as neither of us could bear being apart for months at a time. So as I had some money saved up I decided to take a holiday of a lifetime and head to Canada.

“A year ago I arrived in Vancouver and spent the next six months travelling and meeting loads of people, many of whom are now good friends, as well as doing all I could to support Vanessa in any way I could during her studies. Vanessa then took a break from her studies and in February we both moved to Llandudno to live with my parents.

“Vanessa is due to restart her studies in September and we are due to marry very shortly so we came to Canada just over a month ago. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after we arrived Vanessa’s cousin died in a tragic motorcycle accident, which shook the entire family and it was at the funeral we found the pictures.

“We now have the painting of Penmaenmawr on our wall, above my Welsh flag. I am staying as a tourist in Vancouver while Vanessa and I complete the application process for me to be sponsored to become a permanent resident, and while I miss home that painting certainly helps me remember it,” he said.