Visiting Dad 07 Plus

So last Friday I was off on the National Express bright and early once again. From Newport I made my way to Cwmbran and eventually Croesyceiliog. Ironically, it cost me £5 to get from London to Newport and £4.30 to complete the journey.

Anyway dad is now as well as before the big operation really, although some problems linger and he is still visiting the hospice weekly. It was good to join him in his little flat for the second half of Loose women followed by the news and the compelling Dickinson's Real Deal . We then integrated Daily Cooks Challenge with the end of a Gary Cooper film which turned out to be a 1953 film called Blowing Wild with an actress who turned out to be Barbara Stanwyck (not that my dad could remember her name). Not that I was sat about. I was busy making cups of tea, washing up and doing a wash in the machine.

Just after Heartbeat started my sister Gail and her two eldest girls arrived so it was nice to have time with them (and the third one later but not William). Most of them are in the Carey Family Conference this week.

Gail then gave me a lift to the station. I had a 40 minute wait before leaving and got chatting to the man who runs the cafe. Juma is a Turkish fellow, originally from far eastern Turkey near Harran (where Abraham lived one time!) now living in Wales and a professing Christian. Interesting fellow. I also spoke to two people on the train who turned out to be Canadians. The older lady (mother?) described herself as an aboriginal, which I had suspected though to be honest she looked a little oriental to me (I remember studying this one time - Native Americans are said to have come across the Bering Straits some time). of course, being Welsh makes it easy to identify. (That reminds me - Eleri took Dewi and Owain to the zoo while I was away. She told me that when a stranger asked where they were from Dewi (15) said 'Wales' even though he was born and bred in London. Interesting.) Anyway, I eventually got to my sister-in-law's where I often seem to end up for one reason or another (they are so kind). That's where I spent the night.

In the morning Glyn drove us down to Bridgend where Gwion and my nephew Iwan had been on an EMW camp all week in Bryntirion. They'd had an excellent week under Andrew Rees and Jonathan Thomas. Gwion had been commended for listening well and asking good questions. He'd spent over half of his spending money on a graphic version of the Bible that he continued to devour en route home. I'd have lots of objections to the book but for getting the sweep of the biblical narrative it looks brilliant. Gwion continues to get nearer to the kingdom I trust.

Glyn and Fflur and the family were off camping in Pembrokeshire so after a cup we caught the bus into town and then wandered through Cardiff doing a little window shopping. (I bought a book on vinegar for Eleri in The Works). We stopped at one of at least three Greggs bakeries to get lunch (there are 15 I see).

I'd booked the bus for 2 pm in case of hold ups so we still had a three quarter hour wait but that was fine. the journey home was straight forward and both of us slept a while. We had to stop briefly at Membury to pick up some people whose bus from Cheltenham had broken down. it was getting toward six by the time we arrived but we caught an 82 straight away and were home at a reasonable hour.