Christmas in Wales Part Two

Llareggub

To begin at the beginning .... sorry I had to get that literary allusion in but, yes, we did go to an art exhibit of drawings based on Dylan Thomas called Llaraggub but it didn't have any Christmas in Wales sketches.  Actually the sixty plus sketches were too small and it has been decades since I saw Under Milkwood so it didn’t excite either of us too much.  While we were at the museum there was a string of Christmas concerts by various groups so we stood on the fourth floor balcony and enjoyed it.  We left just as Father Christmas arrived.

A Musical Nation

 

It is difficult to take everything in.  Last week we went to Caerphilly to see the castle and when we got off the bus there was a choir right there singing Christmas carols and, when we left the castle, there was a different choir up the street at the tourist office.  We missed the brass band.   The castle itself is fascinating.  It has a double moat with the inner moat higher than the lower so grain could be milled even under siege.  While we were at the castle we kept hearing bells from a church on the hill so we asked the people in the gift shop if there was a peal scheduled because a peal is a big thing.  We never did find out.

Nadolig Llawen

There seems to be a carol service around every corner.  Friday on our way down Queens Street there were two separate musical groups playing Christmas music.  Both were stings and both very good.

Our destination was the Tabernacle Chapel right in the middle of the busiest shopping centre in Cardiff to see “Nadolig – y Stori” performed by the church members.  We went to the English performance but there were Welsh performances available.  Very well done.  The church is a welsh language church and we may give it a try some day.

We passed up Father Christmas at Cardiff castle as well as at the millennium stadium.  We could have seen him at the Welsh National History Museum, a great place, but we gave it a pass.

Ballet

Of course when we are in the city centre we always pass through the Christmas market.  Had to try the bratwurst and there is the ubiquitous beer gardens.  Sampled everything at the wine stall and bought two different kinds of mead.  One is Carolene’s anniversary gift and the other her Christmas gift.

Yesterday we once again passed through the Christmas market and stopped to listen to a brass quintet playing Christmas music as we were early for the ballet.  We then attended the Christmas favourite Nutcracker Suite performed by the Russian National Ballet company.  We both very much enjoyed it and Carolene, having gotten me to one ballet, got tickets for Swan Lake in the new year.   

No I am not wearing a tutu.

Christmas in Wales

Christmas in Wales

American Style Thanks-Giving

The British seem to have a thing about the Americans so American thanksgiving is celebrated by a lot of people here and the church we attend is no exception.  I think the real truth is that our church always likes to find ways to get together.  One couple took it upon themselves to cook a proper American style dinner for about fourteen of us.  This couple are the resident experts as they lived for about three years in North Carolina.  They did all the cooking and all the rest of us had to do was bring the drinks. 

The fascinating mix of people there was representative of the mix on Sunday mornings.  There are three strata:  students from Cardiff University; young couples with toddlers (and a number of singles that age) and seniors. The students all seem to be spiritual giants and Carolene and I are very much blessed by them.  One architecture student cooks lunch once or twice a month for everybody (even oldies) and his Thai Chicken is something else.  It seems that most of the thirtyish cohort have been to Bethel or someplace similar and are eager to act on their faith.  There we all were in this house in the North end of Cardiff having an amazing meal.

Now getting there was an adventure.  It was a cold bible-black night (I had to work that in somewhere didn’t I?) and there was a rugby game on at the Millennium Stadium so buses could not go through town.  We had to get off on our side of the Taff River and walk through Central Cardiff, which is a lot of fun on a game night, to the north end to catch a bus past Roath lake.  Our wait was about half an hour on a busy street across from a pub with a wide screen TV and lots of revelers.

Men’s Social Night

The pastor organised a pub night for the men at a pub called the Urban Tap House which is associated with a small brewery in Newport, so it was nice to support local business.  Again the mix of people was broad.  A few students, a few young family types, both of us seniors and the church ‘tweener.  The ‘tweener is well past age thirty but far from a senior.  It was a great night and we constrained ourselves to half pints so we could experiment with the variety.  We took a poll at the table to find out how each person got there:  one drove; one took the train (he was late); one the bus; one was driven by his wife; one rode his bicycle and the rest walked.  That about sums up how to get around in Cardiff. 

Carol Service

Last Sunday the church held its second annual carol service.  Last year they had it in the Welsh School of Music and Drama, a very posh venue.  This year they were told that it has to be booked a year in advance.  So leadership had a meeting and two people had clear visions of a carol service in Bute Park behind the Castle and a third confirmed this so they approached the park people who said no-way.  Somehow the pastor talked to the right person who said he would try it this once so we all went down there early and set up lights with two of the park employees.  Lights were hung in the trees, a band was set up and lamps with candles lined the path to the entrance to the park (which remained open past the usual sundown locking).  A number of passers-by joined us as well as some young families from the weekly toddler drop in that the church runs.  So there we all were with mince pies and mulled wine singing Christmas carols along with a number of doggie walkers and their dogs.  We are looking forward to next year already.

A Weekend in London

A Weekend in London

My school let me go to an IB conference within a stone’s throw of Big Ben and I jumped at the chance.  The conference itself was one of the best pro-Ds I have been on.  I wrote that up and delivered it to my deputy headmistress but, since this is a maths teaching blog, I will make it available to anyone who asks.

Travel Tips

We learned a few things about travel.  My deputy head suggested that if I go by coach I will be more likely to get funded so by coach we went.  The price was a fraction of rail, the trip was only a little longer, the seats were comfortable, we didn’t have to change trains two or three times and we ended up near Victoria station.  Probably for short or middle distances we will go by coach from now on.  In London we bought Oyster cards that gave us unlimited travel for each day.  A very good deal that you can get at bus stations etc.  We still have about £5 on our cards for our next visit.  Of course there are concessions for oldies.

In London

Although we got a good deal for our B&B it wasn’t cheap.  One doesn’t have to be in Westminster so we will look around a bit next time.

On Saturday we were up early and walked to Victoria train station for coffee.  After breakfast we walked around Westminster a bit to arrive at the boat for 10:00.  When I lived in London in 1972 there were a lot of things I didn’t see so the boat trip was a thrill.  We went down river and saw, from the boat, a lot of key historical places since the river figured so prominently in the history of London.  The boat stopped at the London Eye and the Tower but we stayed on until Greenwich.  We visited the Cutty Sark and walked around.  We stood with one foot in each hemisphere and watched the time sphere  (It didn’t go up) and found a lovely restaurant where I had bangers and mash.  The boat trip back to Westminster was cold and crowded.   

That night, to warm up, we went to a pub up the road.  London pubs are a lot smaller than their Welsh counterparts.  As soon as we got up to the bar a couple of locals engaged us in a lively conversation so the bar-maids ignored us and we went dry.  Our new mates soon rectified that and I found out that they had a beer from the Griffon Brewery.  I wish I was wearing my Guelph Griffon’s shirt.

Good news for bus fans.  The newest busses have open back doors like the ones back in the sixties and seventies.  Like the ones where my uncle Jim broke his leg off of.  On our first bus ride we sat adjacent to a gentleman who told us all about them. 

Sunday we rode busses and visited places that I never visited.   I never went to St Paul’s cathedral so we attended Matins there.  Very enjoyable service with good singing and lots of psalms.  We wanted to see the east end to we took the 15 bus and the one we caught was literally one of the old ones.  The conductor said it was 50 years old.  Perhaps I was on it in 1972 on my way home from the Tally-Ho Corner one night.  Smokers and dog owners had to go upstairs.  

After a bit of exploring it was time for a late lunch so we found a west-end pub (don’t go there at night) and had a light lunch and went to Westminster Underground to join a walking tour – another thing I have never done.  At first the guide told us a lot of what we already knew:  Bodicca and things like that but as he went on we got in on a lot of things that happened in a small area around Big Ben, parliament, Westminster hall and the Abby.  I had heard that Cromwell and Charles I were to spend eternity looking at each other but to stand there and see it was something.  Lots of good gossip to about politicians and statesmen.  After that it was back to our new pub and some excellent fish and chips.

At the conference I met a lot of very talented teachers.  The man who exchanged jobs with me in 1996 was there and gave an erudite presentation (he is quite high up in the International Baccalaureate food chain).

Friendly London

We were impressed by the number of people who said good-morning in the street.  Almost every time we got on a bus we ended up in a conversation with another passenger or the conductor.  This is not the same London I remember form the 1970’s.