Summer Holidays 2023

As readers may have picked up, we have been away on holiday for most of the time since August 7. As usual, we have been in Wales but more unusually we took a nreak from holiday, coming back to London August 19-23, when I led the meetngs on the Lord's Day and on the Wednesday night of August 23. So the holiday has been in two parts.

Part One

Part on began with four days in Aber staying with my son and his family (7-10). it's alwasy nice to be in Aber. We didn't do much but window shop, have coffee, etc. I also spent a chunk of to days consuktinga  manuscript in the National Library. On the Tuesday night (August 8) it was good to be at the prayer meeting. On Friday 11 we drove down to Solfa to stay with our friends there. They have a lovely houose and made us feel more than welcome, including the trip out for a Welsh breakfast on Saturday 12. I have reported on preaching in the church at Roch on Sunday 13. We returned to Aber on the Sunday night. We then stayed for the week of the conference across the road to the manse in the home of our daughter-in-law's mother. It was great to see lots and lots of family and friends. I have reported on the main messages at the conference, August 14-18. We didn't get to any meetings apart from the main ones and some of those I watched online.

On Saturday August 19 we travelled back to London and stayed here until the following Thursday.

Part Two

On that day (August 24) we drove to South Wales. First we dropped in to my sister's in Bettw, near Newport. She was there with some of the family. I gave her the birthday ppresent I have been planning for some time. It is sixty jars of various things (sweets, tacks, tablets, spices, paper clips, air, etc, etc). It took a long time and is quite useless but Gail appreciated the gesture and understood it, thankfully.

We then drove on to Treorci (about an hour's drive) where Eleri had booked us and some tohers of the family into a farmhouse in Tynewydd (owned by Martin Roberts apparently). Built in 1652 it is quite charming but for the fact that the twon has grown up around it. We had a great time there adn in Treorci and elsewhere. We arrived there on the Thursday evening and had all of Friday there. On the Saturday we window shopped in Treorci and MacArthur Glen then headed back to Bettws for Gail's party. There were loads of family and friends there, including (quite out of the blue) my Uncle Peter from Canada. A really nice time.

Then on the Sunday we decided to Emmanel in Cardiff where two of my sons are members. Gareth Davies preached in the morning (from Romans on peace and hope) and our son Dylan in the evening (on the great commission). Emmanuel is slightly less conservative than we are but still very much on the conservative end which I like. It was good too to see many members of the family again. We had lunch with Dylan and Cat and then tea with Eleri's sister and family, also members of Emmanuel. It was our 35th wedding anniversary that day and that was noted too.

The next day (August 28 the Bank Holiday) we went to Ynysangharad Memorial Park in Pontypridd where we were joined by many family members. We talked, played football, found a Subway restaurant, looked at the memorial to the authors of the National Anthem (we actually sang it as we gathered). We then headed back to Treorci. It has been interesting travelling up and down the valleys, which we are very much aware of but quite ignorant of too.

We travelled back to London on Tuesday August 29. Good to be back.

Understanding Welsh speakers, hardest to easiest

I was in Wales the other week and this list came to mind. Something similar could be said for other languages I guess. I was at a bus stop next to a mother and child speaking German the other day and their conversation was pretty clear to me despite my very limited German (Lola was complaining that the church was old but her mother thought it was beautiful).

1. Children (slow and clear)
2. Learners (clear)
3. Second languagers (clear)
4. Public speakers, announcers (clear and often a translation to follow)
5. People from Llanelli or Bridgend
6. Native speakers who know your Welsh is limited
7. Native speakers who don't know your Welsh is limited
8. Native speakers from the Lleyn Peninsula
9. Old people or teenagers
10. Old people from the countryside (unclear and dialect words)

Lord's Day August 3 2014

Another week, another church. We are in South Wales at the moment and so we attended Free School Court Evangelical Church, Bridgend. I know the minister, Stephen Clark, and one or two of the members a little. The building is a large modern one with chairs. Some songs were from the hymn book (the old Christian hymns) and some were projected on to a screen. Some were accompanied by flute and acoustic guitar. It was encouraging to see so many present, even in the holiday period, especially with only a small drop in numbers come the evening service. Stephen preached two contrasting sermons - one expository sermon chiefly for believers from Jonah 4:5 and part of a series and one more loosely based on Romans 1 and 10 chiefly for unbelievers called "Don't die of ignorance". After the morning meeting there was communion, conducted by Iwan Rhys Jones, one of the elders.

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.