Parish visit

Yesterday morning, we took Owain back to Fishguard to catch his train home to Cardiff. By special request we re-visited the Parrog beach at Trefdraeth / Newport, walked along the coat path, and skimmed stones on the sea, near the the old lifeboat station, before feeding him with lunch for the journey.

We lunched in the stylish Parrog restaurant (visitor centre) in Goodwick close to the Ferry terminal and railway station. Then we took time to look around the town before heading home. We also stopped for a look at Henllys Castle near Eglwyswrw on the way back. It's a reconstruction of an Iron Age fortress above the ancient Parish church of Meline. It's visible from the main road as a collection of thatched round houses on a wooded hilltop. Unfortunately it was too late in the day to have a good look around the site, so it will have to keep for another time.

Today we drove north to have lunch with our friend Margaret, now incumbent of a group of six parish churches in the mountains to the east of Aberystwyth. After an hour's drive along the main road along the coast it took us twenty minutes driving inland and uphill to reach her 'Ficerdy' at Llanafan. It's still a predominantly agricultural area, and Welsh speaking, which has done wonders for her Welsh. She took us on a tour of the churches after lunch, all in the most spectacular locations with small congregations, struggling to make ends meet, and yet contributing something vital to the health of rural society. It was great to see her looking so happy, and enjoying a ministry that's radically different from anything she's done before.

On my way there, I lost my Samsung Galaxy phone, which must have dropped out of the car when we stopped at a filling station. When we got back home in the evening, I had to borrow Clare's phone, also on Orange EE, to call the helpline and get the phone's SIM card blocked to prevent use and theft of PAYG credit. As ever I had to walk a quarter of a mile up the hill to get a signal, but when I did, I was greeted by an Indian lady who chatted in a very friendly and reassuring way while sorting out my problem. Whether she was in the sub-continent or UK, I neither know or care, but it was a genuinely comforting encounter, as I was coming to terms with my carelessness.