On Wednesday people from all over the world gathered around the grave to say our final goodbyes to a lovely man. The grave yard at Machpelah Chapel in Pontrhydyfen is on a steep hillside and having made sure everyone managed to climb the hill I turned around to look across the little valley. It was a moment of mixed emotions.
Still With me is this week’s Heritage Chart No.1. I will raise a glass of champagne knowing that next week someone else will probably have that coveted top spot. It could be Bruce Springsteen or maybe Owen Paul. BUT there is an audience out there and I think I might just have found it.
There is barely a day goes by when I don’t just stand there and stare. Sometimes I actually say to myself something like ‘Isn’t that awesome’ or look to the skies and say, ‘Now you’re just showing off’. I have been known to stand there and give the view a round of applause. You would think after all this time I would have seen it all, that I should have become bored and moved on but no…when it comes to Swansea Bay I’m still a fan.
I’ve waited 53 years to have this chat with Caleb Quaye. From the early days of Elton John to hearing a voice louder than Rock this is a story that needs to be heard.
As I’ve tried to come to terms with the news this week so many memories have come to mind. All of them with her smiling face, big voice, her generosity and kindness. She touched so many people and left an indelible mark on all those she met. That’s why we have all shed tears this week and that’s why we loved her so much.
I had gone to visit my future Mamgu In Law for afternoon tea and ‘bara brith’. ‘Mamgu’, I said, ‘why have you got a painting of a log cabin’. In her lovely West Walian accent she said, ‘That’s the cabin I used to live in’. I was intrigued and asked her where this log cabin was. It was then her voice changed into the broadest America accent I had heard this side of Carmarthen…’Scranton’.
It’s been quite the week hasn’t it? Record breaking temperatures have made even the most basic, normal tasks a little bit of a burden. As I checked the weather forecast and my daily commitments at the start of the week it was as if both were heading for a massive collision on Thursday.
This weekend is another one of those landmark weekends that gives us an excuse to stop for a moment and think about how the year has gone and what lies ahead. Tomorrow is the summer solstice marking the longest day in the year.
It’s been 60 years since my first World Cup and I’m just as excited for this one as I was for my first and here’s the reason why…
When we look at places like Silicon Valley or South Korea, Japan, China or Taiwan it is really hard for us to believe that we were once what they are now. How wealthy were these people? So wealthy that even the Bank of England decided to open a branch in the town. So wealthy they could afford to build The B.C.Y.C.
