Great Expectations

We went to see a pleasing musical performance of Dickens' Great Expectations on the stage at Theatr Clwyd, in Mold, last night. There were 3 adults and 4 children in our party and everyone enjoyed it. Try to catch it if you can.

British-Irish summit in Cardiff

What a fantastic and fascinating evening and dinner with the British Irish Council at Cardiff Castle yesterday. Thanks to the Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM, First Minister for Wales, for hosting this and for inviting me. It was the precursor to the Council's meeting today, comprised of the British and Irish Governments, the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. On this occasion Phil Jarrold, WCVA Deputy Chief Executive, and I went as guests.

I shared a dinner table with Ieuan Wyn Jones AM (Deputy First Minister, Welsh Assembly Government); Rt Hon Jeffrey Donaldson MP MLA (Member of Parliament and Member of the Legislative Assembly, Northern Ireland); Kevin Brennan MP (Minister for the Third Sector, Westminster); Deputy Hunter Adam (Minister for Health and Social Services, the States of Guernsey); Nicola Sturgeon MSP (Deputy First Minister, the Scottish Parliament); Gearoid McNamara (Consul General to Wales, Republic of Ireland); Hugh Rawlings (Director of the Constitutional Affairs, Equality and Communication Department, Welsh Assembly Government); Tim Barraclough (Scottish Executive); Judith Simpson (clerk of the Privy Council). I sat next to Hunter Adam, with whom I discussed voluntary sector data for Wales and medical charges. Hugh Rawlings was on my other side and we talked about interesting things at some length. I also took a chance to feed into a conversation with Kevin Brennan MP and we touched on the European Year of Volunteering in 2011.

Cardiff Castle itself is a beautiful setting for a dinner and the food was delicious. We had:

Monkfish Terrine
Brecon gin and lemon sorbet
Roast Fillet of Celtic Pride Beef
Bara Brith mousse
Welsh cheese board
coffee
Penderyn single malt Welsh whisky or Merlyn Welsh cream liqueur
wine

Once the dinner was over we went back to the St David's Hotel in Cardiff Bay where I sat up talking with a number of people until about 2.45am. Now I am home and a little tired...

Jennie's birthday

Jennie was 12 last Monday and we had a busy weekend. She had friends on a sleepover on Sunday and they went to a film called Hotel for Dogs. I came home from work to a house full of children, which was fun and exhausting at the same time. I am off to Cardiff tomorrow for work at Baltic House and an overnight stay at the St David's Hotel.

Rambert Dance Company

As part of Jennie's 12th birthday celebrations we have just been to the Rambert Dance Company performance at Venue Cymru in Llandudno. It was soporific initially, with a piece called Eternal Light, but then it became cheerful and amusing with Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals. The final piece, called Infinity, held my attention throughout with its balletic, wriggly, yoga-based movement and lots of dancers standing on their heads. The last part of the music sounded as if it had been recorded with a shower accidentally left running in the background. I liked it.
You do have to be fit to be a professional dancer.
We are lucky to have such high quality performances in north Wales without the need for trips to Manchester or even London.

Gareth Gates

I should have said that the autograph and photo of greatest importance to all the women at the Adelphi stage door, after the performance of Joseph, was one of someone called Gareth Gates who acted in the title role. There seemed to be considerable female excitement surrounding him! The pic is of a couple of random women who were celebrating their 50th birthdays - Rosie took the photo on their camera.
Come to think of it, I don't think there were any men at the stage door. Even I lurked furtively on the other side of the road next to a bouncer by a night club whilst listening to two scantily clad girls slagging off a series of friends and ex-lovers - some shared - though maybe not at the same time. Who knows?

London

I had to be in London for a meeting about the 2012 Olympics last Friday so Rosie and Jennie came up to meet me there in the evening. We had a great day on Saturday visiting the Tower of London and ogling the Crown jewels. Jennie went round 10 times on the conveyor belt and ultimately decided that she would like Queen Victoria's small crown - the one she wore on top of her widow's veil.
In the evening we went to an entertaining performance of Joseph at the Adelphi Theatre on the Strand, followed by a long wait for Jennie to get autographs. We went on for a late hearty meal at TGI Fridays. I like the bussle of London. This was a full restaurant at 10.30pm!
On Sunday we linked up with some old friends, Robbie and Jill, at the British Museum and spent a long time looking at Egyptian relics and the Rosetta Stone.
The train journey home was a dream to Crewe and then a nightmare of long waits and buses between Crewe and Rhyl. Luckily Rosie's sister rescued us from there.

British Library - Lieutenant Colonel H M Day (IA)

I have just renewed my reader's card for the British Library and spent some time browsing through my late adoptive father's (British) Indian Army Service Record. He was born in 1899 in England, educated at Monmouth, and went to the Officers' training school in Quetta, then in India, in 1918. He went into the 5 Cavalry initially, where he fought on horseback on the North West Frontier and in Iraq. I think we are still in Afghanistan and Iraq aren't we? Nothing changes. He then transferred to the 5/7 Rajput Regiment after about 5 years and spent time in the Burma Military Police and the Burma Frontier Force. He was Commandant at Bhamo, as far as I can tell, when the Japanese invaded Burma. He retired from the Indian Army, as a Lieutenant Colonel, when India gained independence in 1947. That's enough about him for now, but no doubt I shall return to him later.

Snow

Snow this morning, but only a light dusting and not enough to cause problems with travel in North Wales. However, I gather it is bad in the south east and I have to go to London on Thursday so I hope it all clears up by then. The London meeting is about the 2012 Olympics and volunteering and I should be seeing George Thomson from Volunteer Development Scotland for a meeting in the evening. I hope this all works out.

busy

Why haven't I posted anything to this blog? Well, I've been in Cardiff and I am working on a bid to the Department of Work and Pensions for WCVA to do some work over the next 2 years. Watch this space.

La Dolce Vita

We decided on La Dolce Vita restaurant again, in Rhos on Sea. The Ty Gwyn in Betws y Coed was fully booked. The food was delicious, the restaurant was rather crowded.

Dydd Santes Dwynwen - yfory/ St Dwynwen's Day tomorrow

The following is in the Welsh language and says that we are going to celebrate St Dwynwen's day, which is the Welsh equivalent of St Valentine's Day.
Mi fydd h'n Dydd Santes Dwynwen yfory, felly mae Rosie a fi yn mynd allan heno i ddathlu efo pryd o fwyd. Mae'n well nos Sadwrn na nos Sul. Mi fydd ein merch, Jennie, yn aros dros nos efo' r teulu rownd y cornel. Dan ni ddim yn siŵr eto ble dan ni'n mynd i gael cinio, ond rhywle arbennig gobeithio.
Dan ni ddim yn dathlu Dydd San Ffolant achos mae'n brysur mewn tai bwyta ac ati, a roedd Santes Dwynwen Cymraes a doedd San Ffolant ddim. Mae'r ddau ohonynt yn dathlu cariad - cawsom noson rhamantus iawn, gobeithio.

Cabinet Office, London

I had a successful teleconference with the Cabinet Office and a number of people in London and Scotland today. The technology worked well, although some people's voices were a little quiet. I will return to what we were discussing in a later blog.
It was good to talk with George Thomson, chief executive of Volunteer Development Scotland, today. I first met him last year at the UK Volunteering Forum in Belfast. We may be able to link up socially and to catch up when we are both in London the week after next. Then we will be discussing volunteering and the Olympics in 2012.
A positive day!

Google search of this blog

There is now a google search facility for searching this blog at the top of the blog page.

Hens - eggs and pets

Keeping hens, that's what we've been considering. Maybe only two to four birds in an Eglu, which provides an attractive and modern home for them. The eglu is pretty secure against foxes too, though I am not sure about bears. But we don't have bears.
Also, we need pullets at point of lay. Pullets are hens which are under a year old - see, I'm learning! Anyone any ideas as to where to get them in North Wales? We don't need pretty hens, we need productive ones.
No cocks wanted. They would rub our neighbours up the wrong way.

Fibrespeed in North Wales

The Fibrespeed project has brought mega-fast cable broadband to business parks in North Wales through funding by the Welsh Assembly Government. However, we need to move to Fibrespeed Phase 2, bringing similar to communities and homes and wider business locations. This can be done via masts and cordless connections to Fibrespeed. The meeting I went to this afternoon is looking strategically at the needs and investigating suitable funding or investment by internet service providers (ISPs).
It will happen.

Long live President Obama!

The Bush era is over and a new regime is in place. Expectations are running very very high and Obama cannot possibly maintain such popularity in the long term. But for now, the world looks forward to a new age.

Then again, there are people who will be sad to see the end of the George Bush presidency, like some of the more traditional members of my American family. I trust that Obama will convince them of his worth.

Long live President Obama!

I wonder if the UK might ever become a US State. Maybe it is already and nobody mentioned it. If we had to select between the European Union and the USA, which way would you go?

Family history

I am enthralled by family history research and have gone back to 1505 with my English adoptive maternal family. They were mainly yeomen and, later, gentlemen farmers in Suffolk. However, I have spent some time over the last few evenings looking at the 1911 census for England which has recently gone online. Brilliant! My friends with Welsh ancestry will have to wait a little longer but it will be worth it.

Glyndwr University and recession conference

I have just had a fascinating day in Wrexham at Prifysgol Glyndwr University on 'Facing the Recession' . The speakers were from the University, the Bank of England, the Welsh Assembly Government, a bank and a private sector company. The audience was mainly private sector, but John Gallanders, from the Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham (AVOW) was there in the morning and I was there for the day from WCVA. I think John was called away at lunch time. In the afternoon I was able to make some points about the crucial roles of the voluntary or third sector, such as in tackling mental health issues, including depression, in times of recession. There are also opportunities to increase levels of volunteering amongst company staff who are on part time working. This can assist in maintaining and developing social capital, as can developing a variety of models of business structure such as social enterprises and cooperatives. A stimulating day - and back to the office at Morfa Hall, Rhyl tomorrow. I must find out how to do a Welsh 'to bach' on a 'w'. There should be one on the 'w' in the university name. Will anyone leave a comment telling me how to do it - and on other letters which need it too. Os dach chi'n medru, diolch yn fawr.

late again

It is late and I am still up. Does everybody do this? There is so much to do and I keep going until later than I want and then I need to just sit down and chill for an hour or more before going to bed - and then I find there are sheets to change which delays for another 15 minutes. Nobody's fault. Life...

Broadway Tower

I have changed my signature photo to one of Broadway Tower. This is near the former Toc H centre at Dor Knap, where I spent my first residential weekend with a group of inspiring people many years ago.