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The castle diary of Useless

Useless is the network’s eraser-in-residence. This time it has been posted to the battlements with a notebook and a very small flag. Every fact in here has been checked by someone more qualified, i.e. anyone.

Useless, a pink-and-blue eraser with googly eyes
  1. Day 1

    Cadw calls Wales “a land of castles”, with the remains of up to 500. I have been to one castle. It was a bouncy one. Cadw booklet: The Castles of the Lords and Princes of Wales (PDF)

  2. Day 2

    Edward I was called Longshanks because he was so tall. I am called Useless because I am an eraser. Neither of us chose our nickname. Cadw: More about Beaumaris Castle

  3. Day 3

    Conwy Castle was originally white. I was originally white too. Then I met a pencil. Cadw: More about Castell Conwy

  4. Day 4

    Edward I spent Christmas at Conwy with just one barrel of wine. I spent Christmas in a pencil case with one paper clip. He had the better party. Cadw: More about Castell Conwy

  5. Day 5

    Harlech was fed by ship up a path of 108 steps. I counted the stairs to the library. Fourteen. I had a lie-down halfway. Cadw: Castell Harlech

  6. Day 6

    Hundreds of diggers moved a whole river so ships could reach Rhuddlan. I once moved a crumb. Nobody wrote it down. Cadw: Castell Rhuddlan

  7. Day 7

    Beaumaris has 300 arrow loops in its outer walls. My pencil case has one zip. It still lets the crumbs in. Cadw: Beaumaris Castle

  8. Day 8

    The garrison at Dolwyddelan got white tunics for winter in the mountains. I am pink and blue. I would be spotted at once. Cadw: Castell Dolwyddelan

  9. Day 9

    Caerphilly’s leaning tower leans more than the one at Pisa. I lean too, but only when someone sits a ruler on me. Cadw: Caerphilly Castle

  10. Day 10

    In medieval Wales, cattle were as good as money. I tried paying for a biscuit with a drawing of a cow. It did not work. Cadw: More about Castell y Bere

  11. Day 11

    Welsh castle towers are D-shaped, not round. I am eraser-shaped. It is a very rare design. Cadw booklet: The Castles of the Lords and Princes of Wales (PDF)

  12. Day 12

    Caernarfon took 47 years to finish. My homework took 47 minutes. I am still proud of it. Cadw: Castell Caernarfon

  13. Day 13

    Beaumaris was never finished, because the money ran out. I know the feeling. I am half rubbed away. Cadw: Beaumaris Castle

  14. Day 14

    Llywelyn the Great took the site of Castell y Bere from his own son. I once took a sticker from a pencil. We are not speaking. Cadw: More about Castell y Bere

  15. Day 15

    Dolbadarn’s curtain walls are slate slabs with no mortar. I am a rubber block with no instructions. We both just stay put. Cadw: Castell Dolbadarn

  16. Day 16

    UNESCO says the royal accounts even record where the workers came from. Nobody records where I came from. I think it was a shop. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd