Historical Author’s Note, Welsh Recipe & About the Author - One Last Spring

2 C. dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, golden raisins, Craisins, etc.)

3 oz butter

1 C. brown sugar

10 oz water

1 tsp mixed spice*

2½ C. flour

4 tsp baking powder

1¼ tsp salt

1 egg

In a saucepan, heat the first five ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pour into a covered bowl and allow to cool overnight.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add egg and fruit mixture, and mix until well blended.

Pour into a greased 8 x 4-inch bread pan. Bake at 300 for 1¼–1½ hours. Cool on a baking rack.

Serve sliced and spread with butter.

*If mixed spice is unavailable, a similar blend can be made by mixing together:

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp cloves

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Historical Author’s Note

Author’s Note

Several years ago, my father pulled me aside to tell me a true story from his family’s past. It was a tale of a small Welsh village forever lost, of a community displaced, and of the resilience of simple country people who gave up virtually everything they owned for the good of those living in a faraway English city. It was, in fact, the material novels are made of.

Few people outside Wales are familiar with the sacrifice the people of Llanwddyn made when the Vyrnwy Dam was built, but after months of research, visiting the area myself, and knowing that my own ancestors lived through this experience, I feel as though I’ve come to know some of those villagers personally. They were real. Their loss was real. And their story deserves to be told.

In this novel, I’ve striven to maintain historical accuracy with regard to the building of the Vyrnwy Dam, St. John’s Day, and the response of those who experienced these events firsthand, and although Gwen’s story is fictitious, many of the characters in this book are based on real people who lived in Llanwddyn in the 1880s. The blacksmith, Erasmus Owen, really did help secure leases for the villagers so they could be compensated for the loss of their homes. As hard as it is to believe, the postman, Robert Jones, walked the roads between Llanfyllin and Llanwddyn every other day for twenty years. The seventy-five-pound stone said to be thrown by Sion Fawr at the St. John’s Day festival still sits in the new churchyard, and the village cripple, Jack Llanwddyn, was cared for by his friends and neighbors because he had no home of his own.

The Vyrnwy Dam project was completed almost a decade after the villagers first learned of it, and when valves at the dam were finally closed, it took 361 days for the lake to reach its almost 13-billion-gallon capacity. As water started flowing down the village streets, the last of the villagers reluctantly abandoned Llanwddyn, and the buildings were razed. On November 23,1889, water poured through the dam’s overflow for the first time, and on July 14, 1892, it finally flowed all the way through the newly built aqueduct to arrive in Liverpool.

The Liverpool Corporation planted trees on the hillsides around the reservoir and built a new hotel beside the lake. The area is now a popular vacation spot, particularly for fishermen and ornithologists, but if ever a drought hits the area long enough to impact the lake’s water level, many more people flock to the reservoir to catch a glimpse of the shadowy remains of the original village of Llanwddyn lying beneath its rippling surface.

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About the Author

About the Author

Sian Ann Bessey was born in Cambridge, England, and grew up on the island of Anglesey off the north coast of Wales. She left Wales to attend Brigham Young University, Provo and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

The author of several LDS novels and children’s books, Sian has also written articles for the New Era, Ensign, and Liahona magazines.

Sian and her husband, Kent, are the parents of five children and the grandparents of two beautiful little girls and two handsome little boys. They currently live in Rexburg, Idaho, and although Sian has few opportunities to speak Welsh anymore, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch still rolls off her tongue.

Traveling, reading, cooking, and being with her grandchildren are some of Sian’s favorite activities. Trying to do them all usually ends in chaos and laughter—which makes for the best days of all.

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Other Books by Sian Ann Bessey

Other Books By Sian Ann Bessey

Forgotten Notes

Cover of Darkness

Family Is Forever

Kids on a Mission: Escape from Germany

Kids on a Mission: Uprising in Samoa

Kids on a Mission: Ambushed in Africa

Teddy Bear, Blankie, and a Prayer

Deception

Within the Dark Hills

You Came for Me

The Insider