Cool Wales

I don't know if it's to do with St David's Day but there are plenty of news items around at the moment and it is a reminder that there is plenty to celebrate.

The rugby seems to be back on track for a start. As for soccer,

there is not only Swansea's historic 5-0 win in the League Cup Final and Gareth Bale at Spurs going from strength to strength but Ryan Giggs will probably play his thousandth game at senior level today.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood Shirley Bassey was performing at the Oscars and Michael Sheen has been unveiling a Hollywood star on the walk of fame for Richard Burton and the Stereophonics have a new album.

Free Wales Harmony

I enjoyed this introduction to Welsh pop and rock music on Radio 4 recently. Tebot Peuce, Edward H Dafis, Catatonia, etc. It's mostly outside my knowledge though I'd heard of most of the talking heads (Dafydd Iwan, Caryl Parry Jones, Meic Stevens, etc). I remember seeing Disc a Dawn sometimes as a kid, a sort of Welsh Top of the Pops. Heather Jones would be on there with the weirdest looking backing band. They even had a boy from Cwmbran on there once, Steve Beck. He used to dress like a rockstar (one glove, high heeled boots, make up) even in Croesy! I saw him once and called him a name and he chased me.  Check out the link here.

Mechanical Santa

We normally go to Wales at Christmas but this year we're at home except for a quick trip to see my sister in her new house last Tuesday. While there I took opportunity to get a clip of the family Santa Claus - another memory of my mother. Someone was noisy as I filmed which prompted me to shush them (another memory) in the noisy manner of a drunk - one of my mother's favourite jokes. The next day my sister had got on a bus and the kids were happy to sit over the wheel - a definite "no, no" for us (makes you sick) and yet one more reminder of my mother and her advice.

An update

The trip back from Aber last Friday was long but uneventful. I came via Newport but just didn't have time to visit my dad. On reflection, I should have been up at 6 am not 7 am. There we are. It was imperative that I got back to London in good time as I had agreed to take the funeral of a lady (Betty Plant) who I knew from the BUPA care home I visit fortnightly. The funeral was at the Marylebone Crematorium in Finchley. There were only a handful of mourners. We wisely chose not to sing. There was a brief tribute by her grandson and a poem then I spoke briefly from Romans 6:23. Refreshments were served back at the grandson's home. One funny things was that I had heard recently that she had been to Lourdes, which made me concerned about whether she would really have wanted the sort of funeral I would do. Anyway, it turned out she was a cricket fan and the trip had been to Lord's! These occasions are not easy and I don't do them often but I feel one can just gently scatter the seed and hope for something. We had the clubs in the evening. Somehow I'd found time to prepare an Autumn quiz. Saturday was mostly taken up with preparations. However, in the morning four us headed up to Golders Green to give out a tract I'd prepared. It was called The power of God for salvation. One man tried to be clever and said he had his own power. As I pointed out that will soon run out though. In the evening we had the older young people around and I spoke from the call to remember your Creator in the days of your youth towards the end of Ecclesiastes. To make things interesting I put up some appropriate little posters, played some music (death by Ravi Shankar, young gifted and black, if I had a little time, etc) and had quizzes on age related diseases and guessing people's ages (I must replicate the latter quiz some time). Sunday was a good day as we carried on with Mark 11 and Romans 1. I had to spend a lot of time preparing in the afternoon a it has been such a busy week. The days following haven't been much less busy. On Monday there were lots of Jews about marking Yom Kippur. I was at LTS for the TSG, looking at Calvin's sermons on Acts (I only had time to read some of these beforehand but it was still worthwhile being present with the other 6 or 7 present led by Jeremy Walker. On Tuesday it was the committee for organising the next Grace Assembly, preceded by a trip to Brent Cross with my wonderful wife for a cuppa in the Krispy Kreme joint there. David Last will chair next May and Gerard Hemmings will be among the speakers. Watch this space. Then to round off Wednesday was another busy day with a trip up to the new library location in Bounds Green to help out with manning the place while the stuff that has been in storage was unloaded. Ian Densham did the lion's share as ever. In the evening we had a good turn out for the midweek meeting looking at Deuteronomy 32 and praying for GBM, etc.

Visiting Dad 11/12

Because my sister was away for the Bank Holiday weekend I made two trips down to South Wales to see my dad in the Royal Gwent.

I saw him first on the Friday when he seemed fairly bright though obviously not right. He's lost his appetite for one thing. I tried singing songs with him. We got somewhere with Bobby Darin's "thinking 'bout things" which I enjoyed for the line "thinking 'bout the things we used to do". He enjoyed havinga go at "I did it my way" and "Pennsylvania 65000".

I tried to get some work done in Cardiff and Cwmbran after that. The Saturday session was much less satisfactory as he slept throughout while I sat and read. Nothing would wake him.

Monday afternoon was more like the first session. On bothe occasions I read some more from Mark's Gospel (we're half way through Chapter 4 now) and prayed. On the second occasion when I asked about prayer he agreed and said 'Do it serious' which I'm not sure how to take. When I pointed out some gulls through the window he said he just couldn't care which is classic depression I guess.

Yn Y Gogledd

Last Sunday I was preaching at Capel Y Fron, Penrhyndeudraeth near Porthmadog in North Wales, as I did this time last year. It was a pleasant trip up and down from Aberystwyth. I went on my own this time. Quite a few members were away but there were several holidaymakers present, some with large families. I preached on the Lost Sons from Luke 15. It was a fresh sermon inspired not by hearing Jonathan Thomas at the conference but further back. I also prepared a fresh sermon for the evening on Proverbs 24:15, 16. We also had communion in the evening.
The first people out in the morning were an elderly couple who had listened very appreciatively. They turned out to be Mr and Mrs Ramsbottom from Luton. There was also a family from the Met Tab I've met before and a family from Sheffield (he originally from London, a man I'd met before).
I went to the Perrins for lunch. Retired minister Mike has not been good for some months. He doesn't seem to be coping too well with ill health. Both were very concerned about swine flu, especially as they have a vulnerable friend and some people don't seem to be too careful. Mike is always interesting, however, and it was fascinating to hear him describing researches into his family history that have revealed not only Huguenot roots but the actual Jean Perrin who came from France to Kent in the 17th Century. He also has a copy of a book belonging to Thomas Perrin a builder and clearly a Christian. He also mentioned an ancestor baptised by Spurgeon in the 19th Century! He has prepared articles for Grace Magazine - keep an eye out. He and Elaine recently dressed up and did a Huguenot evening featuring readings and music (Mike plays the recorder). He has also been busy with his coin collection afresh. I hope Mike felt encouraged by the fellowship - I certainly did.

Pethau Cymraeg

Three things actually

1. Check out this link on Alan's blog here

2 I was going to comment on Ryan Giggs scoring the other week for Manchester United. He has now scored in every season (17) that the Premier League has been in existence! More here and here. Great footage here.

3 Then there was also Duffy at the Brits. More here and here.

Of course, things are going well in the rugby too.

Just looking for some reflected glory I guess.

Wales wizard against Oz

I was out all day so I didn't see the game but I hear that Wales beat the Aussies 21-18. That's the first time a home nation has beaten a SANZAR team this time round. Well done Wales!

Weekend Wales

We spent the weekend in Wales. We went first to Llanfyllin, where Eleri's sister and brother-in-law were staying in Glyn's sister's home. (In 1833 S Lewis wrote 'This place derives its name from the dedication of its church to St Myllin, or Mewn Llyn, concerning whom a tradition is extant that he was the first baptist ever known in Britain, and from being constantly in the water baptizing and inviting those who passed by to partake of that ceremony, was called by the natives St Mewn Llyn, or "the Saint in the Pool." This can't possibly be right!) It was nice to see them and Glyn's parents and their friend and her girls. A chapel in the village is the site of where Ann Griffiths, the Welsh hymn writer, was converted. I also noted that Charles I had stayed in Llanfyllin (en route to Chirk Castle). We played football and watched Last choir standing on TV - two Welsh choirs (one from the north, one from the south) in the final I see (typically the Cardiff contingent among us knew at least one fellow in the southern one).

On the Sunday we headed to Penrhyndeudraeth, where I was to preach in Capel Fron. We went via the infamous Llyn Celyn off the Tryweryn river. I was able to preach with some freedom from Ezekiel 37 and Psalm 94. We had a lovely time with Mike Perrin and his wife Elaine and a friend of theirs who very kindly gave us a load of lovely blueberries, which we are enjoying. We enjoyed walking and talking and fishing newts out of their pond. (Interestingly the Welsh word for newt is madfall ddwr - water lizard. The Welsh like that sort of thing I think. Cf Twrch ddaear - earth boar [mole], dyfr gi - water dog [otter]). Mike's always interesting to talk to. A bit of a renaissance man, he's always into something. Most recently it has been kayaking and recorder playing. He had a nice anecdote about the 1986 funeral of Alfred Bestall (Rupert artist), a Christian it seems, whose funeral he took. Paul McCartney and Terry (Python) Jones were there among others with a lot of middle aged men dressed in red tops with yellow scarves!

The middle boys' paper rounds started again today so we had to head back. We got home around 1 am.

[Music from an ancient Welsh mss. By Yr Hwntws]

Cwl Cymru

There was an article in the Times the other day with the above headline. Eleri has cut out the headline and put it on our fridge along with others we have there such as 'You boys will be the death of me' and 'Rhodri answers bullies'. I didn't get round to reading it but I think the point was that Wales is now cool because of Gavin and Stacey, Duffy, Joe Calzaghe, the Grand Slam, etc. I remember playing the game as a boy - Richard Burton, Tom Jones, David Broome, the Grand Slam, etc. Two problems with this really

1. Wales is always cool

2. It's this sort of thing that could well niggle the English. For every Duffy and Calzaghe there are at least 10 English equivalents and so although Wales undoubtedly outpunches its weight per capita it's not really helpful in the end.

Nevertheless if you like lists of famous Welsh people go here for example. Under Welsh inventors, for example, you get these five interesting men
William Frost

William Robert Grove
Artie Moore
Ivor Spencer-Thomas
Thomas Williams of Llanidan
Other examples could be given.