Welsh reflections

When we arrived at Pen y Banc, I had mental energy for little else than sleeping, watching TV and thinking. I'm not a natural meditator, though clearly MND does force you to sit and stare, as the poet half-recommends.

So here are some reflections from last week.

Early (for me, i.e. 9.30 am) on Sunday we went to St Dingat's Church in Llandovery. Dingat I learn was one of the 36 offspring of Brychan, Irish chieftain and saint, of the sixth century. Well, there were a good deal more than 36 in the congregation. Just as we pulled up outside, a couple of minibuses from, I think, Coleg Elidyr, the local Camphill Residential Special Needs School, were disembarking their passengers. The service wasn't particularly inspiring, the music wasn't especially good, the liturgy was the same as ever, the sermon was comprehensible and straightforward (memorably telling us that academic scepticism about the Trinity was "a load of rubbish"). And yet it was probably the time when I have been most aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a church service. I was reflecting on why this should be so, and my conclusion was, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it unto me." The welcoming acceptance of those we tend to exclude from polite society was the reason for Jesus' presence. 


I recall listening the Dream Center's Youth Pastor speaking at Kingdom Faith in the mid '90s about the vision that led the Barnetts to that remarkable church in downtown Los Angeles. On the website it says, "The vision was birthed out of the fact that in 1994, Pastors Matthew and Tommy Barnett came to Los Angeles with the intention of building a church. They found that they first had to address the physical needs of this impoverished community." My memory is the vision was expressed in dialogue form: "Jesus, we want to build a church where you are present." The Lord, "Bring in the poor, the marginalised and the outcasts - I love their company and I'll be there." 

I've mentioned before the joys of the Beamer Tramper - the cross-country disabled buggy. We first came across it at Pembrey Country Park near Llanelli, and we went back there on Thursday. Blue-badge holders can book it free of charge. It allowed us to go for a really good walk together, which is a real treat. 

We made it up to the view point looking over to the Gower Peninsular, passing en route the hugest specimens of the blue wild flower, Viper's Bugloss, I've ever seen. From the wonders of nature to the perversity of humans. Once we were up there there was a puzzling spectacle below us. Men in orange visijackets and black and green bundles were spread out below us on the grass and dunes. As we came down we discovered more. It was the debris of a student event, we were told. 70 people had been working since Monday clearing up. They still had some way to go by the look of it. The ground had apparently been covered. 

When we reached the information centre, however, we were told it had been a good occasion. I gather it's not dissimilar to Glastonbury after the festival. Both fun and creative events, both leaving a lot of rubbish. I suppose there are some similarities in the natural world, such as vultures and dung beetles. We live in an interdependent world. But surely we can do a bit better than just abandoning our detritus indiscriminately behind us? We're not merely animals.

Life is good even when it's bad (Wales episode 2)

Tuesday : This is Aberaeron. I don't know why I like it so much, but I suspect it's a place where prayer is valid AND for us it's connected with the holiday when Paul proposed to Penny, which I remember as a beautiful sunny family holiday. Anyway that was our Tuesday expedition, west over the hills, through Lampeter and down the Aeron valley to the coast. We parked on a headland south of the town, and while Jane and Jess walked, I sat and enjoyed the seascape. I think it was porpoises we saw (though my cheap binoculars weren't much help). It might have been a whale! No, it wasn't it was a basking shark. I'm sure; they weren't leaping, but the dorsal fin appeared above the shadow now and then. Wow! That is awesome. (Just seen them on 'Springwatch'.) After lunch we drove into town and parked in the shade and went walkabout, ending up by the harbour surrounded by its painted houses (see picture). The observant may notice I have a sweater on my knees: this is not in case it gets cold but to protect them from the sun. A wise precaution, though sadly they hardly betray signs of having seen any sun now. Vanity of vanities.
Wednesday : We headed south, again for the seaside. Sadly, I missed the turn and so sent Jane through the former mining villages behind Llanelli. It wasn't exactly the scenic route, but a bit of history. However we eventually reached Pembury, our destination. Long-term blog-readers may realise that this time I was able to join Jane and Jess on their walk through Pembury Forest, thanks to the wonderful Beamer Tramper which you can prebook and borrow (free) from the visitors' centre. The Tramper is the Land Rover of disabled buggies, which is just as well, since we managed to wander into rutted forest tracks. Half way we had our lunch in the sun by a track passed by joggers, mountain bikers, a dog-walker, and some horse riders. We ended up at the beach, which is vast and sandy, but were too mean to have an ice cream (£1.50 a go). No doubt at weekends and in holidays it's crowded, as there are 8 tarmaced car parks, plus spare grass ones.
Thursday : The forecast said the wall-to-wall sunshine was going to break, and so we'd planned to go somewhere where we could leave Jess in a shaded car park without her being roasted, viz. the National Botanical Gardens. Earlier in the year than our last visit, so different flowers were out, like the bottle brush trees in the Norman Foster glasshouse. It's a great place for disabled access, and also for fluffy birds like Romeo the robin with their authentic calls. I and another bloke had great fun in the gift shop, prodding them all and trying out all the calls. We must have sent the assistants spare. We had our meal out for the week in the outdoor café - which reminded me of France - formidable. And as you can see, the sun still shone.
Friday : Well, the weather did begin to break today and from that point of view I made the wrong choice in heading north rather towards the coast again. However it didn't rain, much, except when we were having lunch in the car. We hadn't taken waterproofs with us; so it looked as if Jane would get soaked walking the dog. However we were in the woods near Beulah just north of the home of bog-snorkelling and Jane bravely reckoned that the trees would provide some shelter and off she strode into the wilderness. On this occasion the sun shone on the righteous, and after an exhilarating climb through the forest she returned. As a reward I treated her to coffee and cake in the Coed Tallwm Forest Centre in whose car park we had parked. As you can see, it has disabled access and facilities as well as a warm welcome from the host who also owns the surrounding woodland. It's an undiscovered treasure, which deserves to be better known (OS878542; http://www.forestcottages.co.uk/cafe.php). On our way back via Abergeswyn we saw a blue haze on the hillsides, which turned out to be masses of bluebells among the bracken shoots - amazing. And so back to the cottage and our last session of 'Poldark', which we'd begun to watch. Thanks, Ruth and Anthony, for the loan. As well as the romance and Cornish scenery, it's a tale of vicious commercial rivalry, which made me wonder whether the business world is still as unpleasant as that. Maybe 'The Apprentice' confirms that it is.
It really rained on Saturday, but not before Jane had packed the car. And so ended a thoroughly good holiday. Thanks, Jane, for taking me to lovely places. Thank you, God, for amazing scenery and great weather (this year). I really appreciated it.