A reflection in November!

Why do people put up their Christmas trees in mid November? There are some homes around here that have had them up for weeks, and this weekend more have gone up in peoples living rooms!


I know times have changed, but when I was a girl our tree went up Christmas Eve, and with my own children the tree went up the Sunday before Christmas, whenever that was. You never saw many trees up before then in anyone's home, so what's changed?


I know it is disregarded by millions as a Religious festival now and it is the season of Father Christmas etc, but this has long been the case, so why are people bringing things forward to stretch out a season that thousands cannot afford? Unless, they are enjoying the cheer for more weeks than is necessary with coloured lights and so on - how sad it has all become!

Finished pottery pieces.

This is the Christmas candle vase taken from above.

Christmas candle vase.

Rennie Mackintosh style dish with crystal glaze which gives the 'blob' effect,

Pot 1 - done on the wheel all by myself!

Pot 2 -done on the wheel - again all by myself!

I am particularly proud of these two coloured pots.

Homelessness

Homelessness effects many families. In many cases, in all walks of life, people leave home after some altercation, and sleep rough. Many of them just need help, support and assistance during a rough transition time.



Sadly, we as a society see them all as drug addict or alcoholics, and yes, they are out there, but all homeless people should not be tarred with the same brush. We should ask ourselves, how we we like to be categorised by society? 'They have too much money' or 'they have not enough to join our circle' - we wouldn't like that, but it's happening every day on the streets.



Over 45% of people on the streets in Newport are transitory homeless. Which means that within a short period of time they have come from their family homes and have nowhere to go. It could happen to us or to one of our children or grandchildren. Why am I writing about this this morning? It's because I have agreed to join a homeless project in our Church, whereby one night a week (a Saturday in our case) we open the doors of the Church hall to homeless people, for them to sleep and eat for one night. There are seven Churches involved in this project, so that each night of the week, through the two worse months of the year, the homeless have food and shelter and emotional support over the emotive seasons of Christmas and New Year.








The initiative is being run by Newport Night Shelter (NNS) in conjunction with the Teen Challenge initiative, that has existed in Monmouthshire for many years. It was they who approached the individual Churches, through the auspices of Newport Churches Together
and then passed the project over to those Churches who wanted to partake. We needed seven Churches before we could go ahead, one for each night of the week. The information will be advertised through NNS, who will phone ahead with the names and dates of birth of our guests, so that we know how many are coming and who they are when they arrive, If the place is not pre-booked then there will be no access allowed. This is for our own safety and for the comfort of those actively seeking help. We are all volunteers, and apart from myself and two people who will be advising from NNS, no other volunteer has worked with the homeless before. There will be no alcohol or drugs allowed into the hall, and while people will not be frisked before entry (this will be carried out on trust - and this fact established before booking) they will be turned away immediately if they do not hand over what they are carrying. All possessions will be returned to guests before they leave. The most important part of all this is that volunteers do not sit in judgement on the people asking for help. Who are we to judge?



This is a challenge from God and we are raising to that challenge just as Jesus did. I do not make this a religious forum as you Blog followers are aware, your beliefs are your own, but if you are a Christian please pray for us and our guests as we embark upon this difficult challenge through the next two months. I will keep you posted as they say!

Local Pottery Class

Me and my young pottery friend tried out a local pottery class last night. Feeling pretty fed up with the Local Authority class we are currently attending, we decided to try one more local (well, local to me that is) class.

It was pretty good, different ideas and certainly more tuition, which is why we went, and a mixed class; men and women, which is always better in any adult education class. I have never been one for moving around with a gaggle of women - I get bored with that!

We managed to make two item each last night, under guidance, which we don't do at the regular pottery class. We were given suggestion as to what to do and shown examples, again this is not done in the Risca class. The cost however is greater, but then I suppose it's the old adage 'you get what you pay for'! There were lots of paints to choose from, colours galore, and we learned last night that there are many types of clay, which after ten months at Risca we thought there were only two or three!

What does that say about local council tuition? It needs to step up it's act. They say there is no money for local authority education, but I get masses of literature through the post from Risca. Who pays for the producing and printing, much less the postage and admin time of this advertising blurb that goes straight into the bin?

More attention should be paid to provision of supplies in these classes and the quality if the tuition. Lets have less focus on advertising a class that does not do what it says on the tin! To me it is all the wrong way around!

Saint Govan

In poetry class this morning we all had to read out some of our favourite verse. I choose 'The Journey of the Magi' by T.S Elliot for the imagery it creates, especially in verse three, but one student choose something entirely different to the rest of us. He chose 'Saint Govan' by A.G.Prys.



This was of particular interest to me, as my cousin W and I, had been to look at Saint Govan's Chaple (The cell referred to in the poem) back in September when we had our break in Pembrokeshire. I didn't know this piece of verse existed until this morning, but it has already become one of my favourite pieces. Not a great work, like T.S Elliot, Byron and Shelly, but appeals to ordinary folk like myself.

Saint Govan

by

A.G. Prys- Jones

Saint Govan, he built him a cell

by the side of the Pembroke sea,
and there, as the crannied seagulls dwell

in a tiny secret citadel,

he sighed for eternity.

Saint Govan, he built him a cell

between the wild sky and the sea,

where the sunsets redden the rolling swell

and brooding splendour has thrown her spell

on valley and moorland lea.

Saint Govan still lies in his cell

But his soul, long since, is free

and one may wonder and who can tell

if good Saint Govan likes heaven as well

as his cell by the sounding sea.

I think this is a nice little verse, as I said previously, not up there with the greats, but nice and simple, especially if you know the place! This will always conjure up images of a cloudy September morning to me, on the side of a cliff in Pembrokeshire, with my cousin awaiting my return at the top.

Interesting things

I love meeting interesting people and today I met a guy who forages for food - not to supply his own needs, but for restaurateurs! He was extremely interesting to talk to, and I suspect a very intelligent guy - he speaks six languages!



The party I was with were all firing questions at him, but that's what happens to interesting chaps when you sit around a table with them. I don't know if foraging is the kind of thing I would like to do, it seems a bit perilous to me, grubbing around for food on the woodland floor, but it sure tasted great. I realise you have to know what you are doing which he was careful to point out.



This guy was on the BBC programme Autumn Watch a few weeks ago talking about his subject, and the guy who's restaurant we were in, Matt Tebbit, who owns and runs The Foxhunter near Abergavenny, has a regular spot on Saturday Kitchen, so I was mixing with the famous this lunchtime!


I am assured that locally sourced foods are more popular in restaurants than organic because it's cheaper. Well, most people have to think twice before putting organic Coriander in their supermarket trolleys in this present climate, and we all have had to start shopping in Aldi's for heaven sake, so why shouldn't restaurants cut back? What nobody was prepared for is that the taste of wild produce is so much better and fresher of course, and therefore foraging is one of the few industries where there is growth. Long may it reign!

A Day in London.

Having had a delightful day in London yesterday with a friend I decided that my poem for poetry homework this week would be about City rain. For most part of the time we had a dry, if somewhat damp day, but when it started to rain, it poured down. We, of course. did not have umbrellas.

'We can pick up an umbrella in a £1 shop', said my friend before commencing our journey. Well, I can assure you blog followers, there are no £1 shops in Knightsbridge!

Despite the pouring rain and the huge crowds, walking down Oxford Street in the rain, in the heart of this throbbing city made me feel alive. I was glad to be back. I have not been to London since the break up of my marriage, when I spent a huge amount of time there. I thought it may make me nostalgic, or thoughtful at the very least - it didn't. I am just glad I survived that period and will continue to visit London, and many other places for a long time to come I hope!



Now - to put pen to paper on my thought for a Free Verse poem about 'City Rain'.

Slow Going!

This is my gargoyle, finally finished, that I made earlier in the year. I know I didn't make it in this class, and I guessed it would be put at the back of the queue for firing, but nevertheless, six months is a long time to be hanging about. Poor old boy, lying around on pottery shelves for such a long time!

I was pleased that we had the two minute silence in class this morning for Armistice Day, I was quite surprised, but very glad.

Remembrance Sunday

With the news this morning that there had been another young man killed in Afghanistan, it made the services around the country all the more poignant.

The Veteran

We came upon him sitting in the sun,

Blinded by war, and left. And past the fence

there came young soldiers from the 'Hand and Flower',

asking advice of his experience.

And he said this, and that, and told them tales,

and all the nightmares of each empty head

blew into air; then, hearing us beside,

'Poor chaps, how'd they know what it's like?'

he said.

And we stood there, and watched him as he sat,

turning his sockets where they went away,

until it came to one of us to ask,

'and you're how old?'

'Nineteen on the third of May.'

Margaret Postgate Cole.

The Vagina Monologues

This performance tonight was excellent. The three actresses on tour at the moment are Sally Lindsay, Lisa Riley and Lesley Joseph. Fabulous performers. It takes some guts to perform this in front of a live audience! Especially a raucous crowd in the Welsh Valleys!

Based on author Eve Enslee's 'Vagina Interviews' conducted with women from all around the world, this hilariously funny, witty and moving collection of tales tells lusty, yet outrageous stories from women everywhere. They were all very human stories, some poignant - but it's not for the prude! There were women from eighteen to eighty years in the audience, all sharing that same knowledge of men or life. It's a riotous evening, billed as 'The Ultimate Girls Night Out' - as it was!

All Saints and All Souls

This is how All Souls is celebrated in America, we British are a little more reserved.

All Souls day is traditionally marked on 2nd November directly after All Saints day. We had a really lovely service in our Church on Monday night, conducted partly by candlelight. This celebration is mainly an opportunity for the Church to commemorate the faithfully departed, and many people have the names of their loved ones read out during this service. The reasoning behind this stems from the notion that when a soul leaves the body it is not entirely cleansed from minor sins. However, the power of prayer from the faithful left on earth maybe able to help these souls gain the beatific vision they seek, bringing the soul eternal peace. Well, that's what Anglicans believe, and who am I to say different. I only write here what I hear in Church.



Whatever, the tradition, it's a lovely service and well attended. There were no seats left in our Church on Monday night and we can seat over 200 people. That indicates how popular this celebration is. I was thinking on Monday how sad it is that we won't see the majority of these people again until this time next year. I am not sure if the problem lies within the Anglican Church or within the people themselves, but something is wrong when people only turn up for high days and holidays! I suspect both sides need to adjust their thinking. The people should be telling us what is wrong with Church worship and we definately should be taking it on board.

Halloween & Pottery

Halloween was spent with the girls from pottery class who came to my place for the day to practice some pottery. This is my effort (pictured above) just a small occasional dish. We rely on our pottery tutors goodwill to let us do the firing in class. It was an enjoyable day and my friends had not long left for their various homes when the doorbell started ringing and the 'Trick or Treat' children were out and about. This year was not too bad as they were younger children all accompanied by mums and dads, but other years I have had some very sinister looking teenagers knocking the door and I don't like that. It's quite a threatening thing when you live alone.

The house across the road actually decorated the house externally for Halloween, I have never seen that done before in the UK. They had orange and brown fresh flowers laid on their windowsill outside. When the children went 'Trick or Treating' in the evening, a bunch of theses flowers were left on the doorsteps of the people who did not give them sweets or fruit!

This is all big business now. I have spent Halloween in America in the past, and it is very big over there. This country is sadly becoming more and more like the American style celebration. When I was a girl in the Welsh valleys, and my children youngsters in Newport, we had Ducking/Bobbing Apple night. This involved fishing apples out of a bowl of water with your mouth! Far more satisfying than walking around the streets dressed up as skeletons, scaring people and asking them for 'goodies' in my opinion!