Bells and bleach

Regarding Matt Salusbury’s Forum article on sunken bells [FT396:54-55], there is more to the bells of Aberdyfi (Aberdovey) than just a folk song. There is a legend of Welsh folklore that refers to a place known as Cantre’r Gwaelod (The Lowland Hundred). This is an allegedly lost kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Welsh Atlantis, located in the Dyfi Estuary. The story goes that the kingdom was protected by a gated causeway, but that a drunken prince neglected to close said gates at high tide, thus destroying the whole realm. The bells of Aberdyfi are actually supposed to be the bells of the church of Cantre’r Gwaelod and, just as they rung as the kingdom flooded, so they can now be heard in times of crisis.

The myth does have some root in reality (sort of literally). You see, on the opposite bank of the Dyfi Estuary from Aberdyfi is a village called Ynyslas. At low tide, at the edge of the sand dunes, you can find the petrified stumps of trees, remnants of a sunken forest. These remains extend along the coast, south, to the town of Borth. A fascinating story, it was featured on an episode of the BBC’s Coast series, with Neil Oliver. I have been visiting the Dyfi Estuary for over 30 years.

• There seems to be some confusion among your contributors as to what Trump actually said about bleach. One writer reported that he said that people should inject it, another that we should drink it.

Neither is [strictly] true. The actual remark followed a question, posed after a presentation by William N Bryan, acting undersecretary for science and technology at the US Department for Homeland Security, who asked if it was possible to make a disinfectant that could be put into the lungs.

Trump’s actually said: “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that. So, that, you’re going to have to use medical doctors with. But it sounds — it sounds interesting to me.”

John Wilding East Yorkshire