On the verge of Christmas.

After six hours sleep and breakfast, we drove home practicing the anthem 'And the glory of the Lord' from the Messiah, by singing along to it on YouTube in the car. After a late lunch, we collected our Christmas veggie bag and groceries. We were due at St Catherine's for a four thirty choir rehearsal ahead of a six o'clock Nine Lessons and Carol service. With all the rushing around we were both dog tired, and gave it our best effort, but three hours of singing felt more like an ordeal than a celebration. 

A hundred adults and children turned up and the choir was double its usual numbers. Considering how under-rehearsed it was, the service went quite well, driven by Colin our director of music and organist at a brisk pace. Children were supposed to sing at the crib, but I'm not sure if many did, they were so quiet and just stared at the congregation, as if they were in a Nativity tableau. It might have been easier if they'd been encouraged to turn to the crib behind them. Room for improvement here for next year.

I couldn't help wondering about the spread of the omicron covid variant. Apart from the kids, everyone in church was masked, apart from choristers when singing, socially distanced, sort of. It seems however, that Wales infections are still predominantly the delta variant which hasn't yet been swamped by omicron. There are more new restrictions on public events and advice about domestic social mixing from Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, much clearer than the English government's comparatively muddled messaging. This won't have much impact on the majority of Christmas family gatherings. Use of lateral flow tests is recommended as a precaution, although there had been some supply issues, as the demand is naturally very high.

Today after three weeks of set-backs is having her engineer broken gas central heating boiler replaced at last. The incompetence with which British Gas dealt with her plight until she kicked up a rumpus is truly phenomenal. The equipment is being installed, but will anyone explain to her exactly and in detail how it works, and most importantly, can be controlled?

Yesterday night I received an email request to provide a job reference for Rufus, and drafted this after returning from the carol service, although I would preferred to go to bed early, but promised to deliver by tomorrow. I needed a brisk walk in the dark to rid myself of accumulated tension before turning in. Singing in the Parish Carol service after driving home with no respite in between was pretty exhausting. To be avoided with better planning in future. Christmas hasn't started yet.

Pueblo rendezvous

Late this afternoon I made the hour long walk on back lanes up to Mojácar Pueblo past citrous grenadine and fig trees in orchards at the foot of the hill on which the pueblo is perched. The aroma is enchanting. I had a rendezvous with Don Miguel, the Parish Priest to make arrangements for the bi-lingual ecumenical service of Nine Lessons and Carols, scheduled for the first Monday of Advent, just after I leave. It's an event that's happened here for over twenty years, and is popular with locals and expats alike.

When I arrived at the church. he was sitting at the front, with a small group of women, playing the guitar and singing in a lovely tenor voice. Then the women sang something they knew, and discussed a little, as if they were working on a common song repertoire. I wondered what they were preparing for. Eventually he summoned me to join him in the sacristy, and then we worked on confirming the order of service and which language the readings would be in.

Don Miguel spoke a little English but was happy to let me work with him in Spanish, putting up with my faults and vocabulary lapses. It was a delightful experience with much laughter, plus the pleasure of being on the job with a ministerial colleague, and although the uphill climb had been quite taxing, I felt I had a spring in my step on the return journey.

Clare flies back to the UK from Arizona tonight. I was glad to catch her and Kath briefly on Skype before they set out for the airport, and wish them godspeed before the ten hour flight and then four hour trips back to Cardiff and Kenilworth. They've had a wonderful two weeks with Rachel and Jasmine. It'll be reassuring to have them back within a few hours flying time.

   

First carol service of the season

After scraping a couple of days worth of frost from the car, I  drove home from Kenilworth yesterday, and didn't do much for the rest of the day, apart from walking into the city centre for exercise. It's cold in Cardiff too, as cold as Kenilworth was over the weekend. Cold weather seems to have more of an impact on me these days, not just because I'm still acclimatising after time spent in Spain, but I think it's because in losing weight, I have shed a layer of body fat, and now need to dress up more than I used to. I didn't have enough energy to walk in both directions, so caught the bus home as the sun was about to set to avoid getting too chilled. Even in a warm house this winter, I soon feel the chill when the central heating goes off.

This morning, Clare needed the car, so I left for St German's just after half past eight, to take a bus to the centre and walk there. Traffic going into town was moving very slowly, several city buses failed to show up on schedule, and after fifteen minutes it was one of the out of town buses that appeared first, and joined the traffic queue for the centre. Half way down Cathedral Road, a large builder's lorry was parked on the wrong side of the road, causing an obstruction. I couldn't see whether this belonged to a scaffolding work team or if it was parked to pick up a builder's skip, but whatever it was dramatically constricted traffic flow, as outbound traffic can also be pretty busy at this time of day.

It's not the first time this has happened on rush hour journeys. I don't understand why Council's traffic management doesn't issue regulations banning large vehicles from parking or delivering on arterial roads during peak traffic periods, not least to mitigate pollution caused by stop-start motoring, and help make journey planning more predictable for people doing business that involves going into or through the city centre. I'd argue this is needed, as it's not unusual for these large vehicles to be double parked as kerbside parking spaces are already fully occupied. 

Anyway, the bus eventually deposited me in Greyfriars at ten past nine, and a fifteen minute brisk walk got me to St Germans with just a few minutes to spare. Tredegarville school children, teachers and many parents were there for their annual carol service, and the place was a-buzz with anticipation. All I had to do was welcome people and say an opening prayer. As St Nicholas day is today, I told them all briefly that he was saint who inspired Father Christmas to be kind and generous to children. So much better than debunking the myth, as I understand some clergy are prone to do if they get the chance. Kids will find out the truth about Santa soon enough as they grow up, but it's important to affirm that the tradition of generosity and kindness goes way back, and is what matters most.

The service was structured like a Nine Lessons and carols, with much simplified bidding prayer and bible readings, with a nativity tableau at the end. The singing of the whole school, as well as that of rehearsed groups was superbly uplifting, a great tribute to the school's hard working teachers and the wonderful esprit de corps that characterises it. I think everybody's favourite was chorus of two dozen angels in white chiffon, doing a hip hop rap version of Gloria in Excelsis, with waving arms and hand clapping. Afterwards a parent whose family is Greek came over to chat and thanked me for mentioning St Nicholas, since today is Cardiff's St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church's patronal festival. I was pleased that I was able to remember to say Καλά Χριστούγεννα' (Happy Christmas) as we parted. It's many years since I last had the opportunity to use that greeting!

I chatted with a few people over a coffee provided by the school Parents Association afterwards, then walked back into the centre, lingering in the shops for a while before catching a 61 for home. Then finally, I got around to buying stamps and printing off labels and Christmas newsletters. There's still a few days to go before the posting deadline, so I wasn't in any hurry to set up an assembly line and finish the job in one go. That can wait for another day. The evening was spent idling in front of the telly instead.

     

Family Sunday

With the longest night of the year behind us, complete with heavy rain storms, it's a relief to think that days will gradually get longer, even if the evidence for this is often obscured by banks of low cloud. I just had one eight thirty service this morning at Llandaff North again, and later went with Clare to St Catherine's where for the second time this month there was a baptism during the Eucharist. It's a reflection of a local population with a significant proportion of young families, and the warm welcome they receive from the church.

After an enjoyable Sunday lunch of swordfish steaks, perfectly cooked brown rice and brussel sprout leaves, followed by apple crumble, Anto drove back to Kenilworth for two more days in the office before he starts his Christmas break. Kath, Rhiannon, Rachel and I went to St John the Baptist City Parish Church for their Nine Lessons and Carols. It was lovely to hear the bells ringing out above the traffic as walked up Quay Street from the bus stop. 

The choir sang well, and we sang along enthusiastically to the usual set of hymns. Interestingly enough there were about eighty people present, much about the same number as it was when I first arrived twelve years ago. Despite all the talk about church in decline, and despite the considerable difficulties for people getting to services inside the pedestrian precinct on a regular basis, the effort made for special occasions remains quite constant, both on the part of the congregation preparing and publicising the service, and those in the wider constituency of visitors and residents wanting to worship in the heart of the city.

It was great to be able to greet all our old friends in the congregation personally afterwards. I love just being there in the congregation with nothing to do except pray and enjoy the building. It still feels like home for me, a place to refer to, to come home to when my locum duty travels are done.