Reflection

At my granddaughters 18th Birthday party last night I had the opportunity to reflect, not only on the last 18 years since she was born, but on life in general.


Her grandfather was there and we have been divorced for very many years.  It is always sad when relationships end. When things end through death, widows, rightly so, get a huge amount sympathy and many prayers offered.  As years pass they get used to their situation and hopefully move on with their life, remembering their loved ones in an appropriate manner.  With divorcees it's different.  There is blame, not prayers apportioned, scorn  not sympathy and some people will inevitably pin their colours to the mast for one side or another.  Divorcees, like widows,  hopefully try and move on.  That's where the similarity ends.  For a widow, it is over.  The finality that comes with death is total.  For divorcees, especially those with children the agony goes on, probably for the rest of their lives.  There will always be nights like last night, and there have been for me over the years.  Eighteenth birthday's of the children, engagement parties and weddings.  Then the round of christenings of grandchildren, and eventually the cycle starts again, eighteenth birthday parties for grandchildren and all that follows, again.  The past is always there, never a real distancing from it, and all those past years, when a couple divorce, there was never the thought or acknowledgement that the other would be in your life for always because there were children involved. It is right for the offspring of that marriage that this should be the case, and should be seen to be amicable.  But for the individual the past is always there, whatever your personal feeling, you have to confront it, sometimes when you don't want to. I personally think, it's a lot harder for the divorced woman that it is for the widow.  At least she knows it over.

The Kiln Goddess - NOT!

This is my tutor and this is how 'Throwing' should be done.  I would like to post a picture of my hands and arms looking so confident and clean while working on the wheel, but it's not going to happen for  long time yet!!!!  The mess I was in this morning at pottery class was embarrassing! I am just not getting the hang of throwing.  It's so frustrating.  I see others doing so much better and it irritates me, not because I want to be the best, but because I can't seem to control the clay at the shaping stage. Once I have 'opened it out' I loose control.  I am sure there is a reason for this and I will get the hang of it eventually, but for now it's got me at screaming point.

I have the decorators in this morning, which means I have to disconnect my computer.  This could be goodbye as I may never be able to reconnect again! A laptop is definitely on my agenda for next year!

Breast Cancer Care

A very long and rewarding day helping out with a friends 'Open House' day for Breast Cancer care.  Herself a breast cancer suffer, she has worked tirelessly to make this event successful and she has succeeded.  I have just had a message to say she has raised £300.

If you read this, very well done my friend, you are an inspiration.

Superdragon Auction.



 

Goldie Lookin Dragon

 What a fun night last night was!  I found myself at the Superdragon auctions at the Riverfront Theatre, Newport. The atmosphere was one of excitement, and I certainly don't think either of the two charities were expecting to raise the amount of money that was actually raised last night - almost £100,000!

The two benefiting charities were Tenovus and Born Free. I was thrilled to bits when I found myself sitting next to the founder member of the Born Free charity -  Virginia Mckenna!  What a smartly dressed lady, and an intelligent one at that! That wasn't my only surprise of the night by a long way.  As a huge fan of Eastenders, I was thrilled to pieces when John Altman (Nasty Nick Cotton) came on to introduce the Superdragons to the bidders. What a nice man he is, so totally different from his character in Eastenders. He was genuinely interested in what was going on and took the time to really look at the dragons. You can always tell when someone is genuinely interested.  He has been a patron of the Born free trust for many years we were told.

The dragon pictured above 'Goldie Lookin Dragon' went for £1,900.  There were two absolutely beautifully dragons, that I had not see on my trail earlier in the year, because they had been I the Celtic Manor. They went for £4,900 and £8,000 respectively.

When 'Elvis' came up for sale, the curtain went back and we were treated to an Elvis Presley impersonator act, which as really good.  The Newport rock band 'Goldie Lookin Chain' were on stage at one point, but only in a supporting role, not performing.

I have had enough to say in the past about Newport City Council and their inefficiencies, but through this summer, with the 2010 Summer Festival, they have come up trumps!.

Bleak, hard, lonely place...

Forgotten in the mists of time.

Lying under mossy mounds, where no one remembers them.

A return to the cholera cemetery in Tredegar today proved to be one of the better visits I have made there.  The day was wet and misty when I arrived and bitterly cold, like a January day.  The temperature was 4 degrees lower than when I left Newport, and as I pulled up on the moors I wondered at the wisdom of trudging across to the burial ground.  But I had made a promise to a friend that I would take her, and she had refused the opportunity to cancel our trip, so I felt honour bound to try.  The paths were wet, and very muddy which meant that they were slippery. When we reached the cemetery, the mist and rain just added to the evocative feel of the place and outlined more clearly to me than previous visits, the banishment of these poor people, cast out from society for no other reason than they were ill.  Cholera is still a dreaded disease today, back then it was terrifying and the non-infected did not know what to do with the dead for fear of them still being contagious.  I understand all that, but such an example of man's inhumanity to man tugs at the heart strings.  Thank God we know now that this treatment of the sick and the dead was all metered out due to ignorance.

Cardiff Coffee Concerts

I listened whileYuri Paterson-Olenich played Rachmaninov at the Cardiff Coffee concert this morning.  It was magnificent.  Even for someone who knows very little about classical music, I knew this was a wonderful talent.  This young man was born in Brighton and had piano lessons there, just an ordinary boy in every way, except he could play the piano! He went on to the Royal Academy of Music and did a post graduate course in Moscow.  Exceptional.  I was very privileged to hear this and see him perform. I can't recommend listening to one of his performances highly enough.

The winds of change ...



Hundreds of people have been marching through Newport this week protesting about the closure of the passport office.

Protesters marching in Newport City Centre this week.



More than 300 jobs will be lost if this closure goes ahead.  The announcement comes hot on the heels of Marks and Spencer announcing they are pulling out of the city centre to relocate on the outskirts of Newport; likewise NEXT and Monsoon

The city is undergoing many changes, with many parts being re-developed.  The erection of a new university and halls of residence along the river front have been a welcome addition to the city, but people are wondering what there will be to attract potential students into Newport if there is no lively city centre and shopping facilities within walking distance.  It's a funny set up here in this small city, on one hand we are having superb additions like the university and campus, new bridges, multi million pound redeveloped railway station and the mass attention that the Ryder Cup brought.  On the other hand we have shops  pulling out and now the passport office closure (which must have supported the retail outlets with its fluidity of customers) We are overrun with £1 shops & charity shops, which irritates me.  I agree there are small galleries and cafes, but little retail to sustain anything. It seems as if its all one huge contradiction of plans.  I for one don't understand it all.

Wednesday Pottery

Done on the wheel this morning.  I am quite pleased for week 2.



Everyone has a different way of working.  This new pottery tutor suits me, at least he tutors, unlike the previous one, who never showed me a thing! But people are funny.  Some of the 'old school' who are quite set in their ways, will not accept that this guy is different, the he does things in a different way.  At least he gets around us all, and shows us what to do. But because he is young and structures his class differently he is criticised by some. It must be hard for him.

The past is the past I say.  We can't regain it, so lets look forward, move on and make the best of what we  have now.  I have had to apply that to life, so I am sure, with a little effort, it can be achieved in a pottery classroom!

Made in Dagenham



Two of the cast in 'Made in Dagenham'.

The reviews of this film may be off putting, as it celebrates radical feminists and militant upholstery seamstresses at a Ford's plant in 1968.  They were striking for equal pay to the men at the same plant.  This is a tale of ordinary people and it lifted my heart!


I won't spoil the story line, in case anyone reading this blog hasn't seen it, but this film has pertinent things to say to the modern generation, about standing up for your principles in a dignified way.


'Made in Dagenham' will not rate among the great films of our time, but it's a timely entertaining one, with it's principles firmly in the right place.  Well worth watching.


P.S  Some of the scenes were shot at the old Hoover factory at Merthyr.  Such an easily recognisable landmark, some people obviously knew it was coming up in this film and started to applaud when it came on screen!

Colds and coughs!



The bronze pendant necklace I made this morning.



Coughing, sneezing, sweating and freezing...  that's been life for the past week!  However, I recovered enough to go to jewellery making this morning and managed to make this rather attractive pendant. I hope to goodness I can sell some of these things.  I need to recoup some of my outlay!!!

Necklace and earring set made by me!

I enjoy doing this sort of thing, but am finding it expensive.  To buy the beads costs a fortune and to recoup any money I would have to sell a lot of items.  I am amazed that such a hobby can cost such a lot!  Personal satisfaction is great, but the reality is, as I am now finding, that unless I sell some stuff, make it a self funding hobby if you like, I can't afford to do it!!! I wonder how others with this hobby survive?  They can afford it I suppose, or have a client base and make things to order.  The money that was being spent at the Cardiff bead fair yesterday was phenomenal! Good luck I say...  as for me I shall have to find a cheaper hobby I think!

National Poetry Day

Carol Anne Duffy - Poet Laureate

                                                        
Yesterday - October 7th - was National Poetry Day, in fact the whole week is National Poetry Week.  Radio 2 has been reading peoples favourite poems all the week from 1pm - 2 pm.  Well done BBC radio 2 it's been excellent.

Last night I went up the valley to Blackwood to hear amateur poetry being read by the authors.  A classmate of mine from college had entered this competition, and been selected for the top ten, so I went along to support.  He read his poem and it was beautiful, about the anniversary of the death of his wife.  However, he didn't win, not even the public vote, but it's participating in these events that gives you the pride, not the winning.  There can be no winner or losers in poetry in my opinion, as they are all beautiful in their way, and all written from a personal perspective. I think it takes courage to write something and then get up on stage and read it to an audience when you are an amateur, unsure of yourself and the genre. Well done to all who participated and well done to the organisers.  I saw nothing advertising an event like this in Newport city!

A Mixed day.

Having driven home after a family funeral in my home town yesterday and feeling very nostalgic, I had a phone call from friend Anne asking if I would like to go to the cinema last night.  I thought I would, I needed to be shaken out of the mood that hangs over you after a funeral.
 
We went to see Eat Pray Love with Julia Roberts. The book of the same title was written by Elizabeth Gilbert, a sort of travelogue of her travels to Rome, India and Indonesia and it's true story.

It's about emotional growth essentially.  A woman realises that she is not getting what she wants from life, and, after a painful divorce sets out on a journey of self discovery that takes her around the world.

 Elizabeth Gilbert walks out on her marriage when she realises that it is no longer what she wants. It is a kind of travelogue of her travels really. Even though millions of us can empathise with her need to get away from a marriage that isn't working, how many of us can take a unpaid 'year out' travelling the world to 'find ourselves', and for such a protracted period of time? However, it was a pleasant few hours, and even if some people were green with envy of her financial ability to do such a thing, it was well worth watching for the scenery!  For me it was just the kind of escapism I needed after a mournful day...

It's a win for Europe!

It's ours!

Europe have triumphed over the U.S.A in the 2010 Ryder Cup!  With five Europeans in the world top ten we were always going to give America a tough match, but to win this historic trophy on a course that was especially designed for this tournament is terrific for European golf and just marvellous for Wales itself.  It will certainly put the Celtic Manor Resort on the map, and deservedly so.  I have visited this venue twice, once on my birthday with my son and family.  He drove/walked me around the resort and it really is a spectacular place.

Congratulation and well done to the European team!

A Beady Afternoon!

Friend Anne working at our cottage industry!



A productive afternoon passed very pleasantly. I have spent so much money on this project I hope that I sell some of my wares to recoup some of that money, if I don't,  it's bye bye beading!!!  We were both very pleased at what we achieved this afternoon, and are looking forward to going to a Bead Fayre next weekend, there should be an amazing selection available.

While we were working ... the weather improved and the 'competition down the road' was surging ahead with Europe in the lead!  Lets hope they can sustain that lead tomorrow, as the competition has been extended.  This is the first time that this has happened in Ryder Cup history, but as I said previously, the weather is unpredictable, particularly in the U.K.  It promises to be an exciting day!

What a difference a day makes!

Sunshine ... at last!

Saturday was fine and sunny, just what the doctor ordered for all of us after all the rain this week, particularly for the Ryder Cup team and it's organisers. People locally have been saying why did the organisers choose the month of October when it is traditionally a rainy month?  Well, I don't know, but is October traditionally rainy?  I was married in mid October (some year ago) and it was glorious. I don't think that necessarily follows. So, what happens when this match is played in Scotland in four years time?  I am sure the weather there will give a few problems as they usually have tougher seasons than us in the South!


However, that was yesterday.  Today rain stopped play - as they say. I went out to get a paper earlier and I have to admit there were some severe water laying on the roads, but I didn't hear this downpour during the night! I really hope it clears for later. This is a huge disappointment for all concerned.


Anyway, was I bothered about all this yesterday - No!  I went to Cardiff with my friend Anne and we went to this glorious bead shop that she had located on-line.   Crystal and Ice Bead Shop was, for us, like being in a sweet shop!  I spent far too much money, but the choice there is amazing.  They are online:

http://www.crystals-and-ice.co.uk/

Any beadaholics out there... this place has a fabulous range. Anne is coming to lunch today and then this afternoon we are have a bean-feast of our own.  We are going to make some stuff to sell and some for Christmas gifts - hopefully.  More about that later...

P.S I have just read that Gleneagles, where the Ryder Cup is to be held in 2014, (and incidentally bid against the Celtic Resort for this year) was also underwater this weekend! It's not just South Wales that is having bad weather!!!

A wet start!

Ryder cup rain!

As I write it is still absolutely tipping down!  The golf kicked off this morning, on time, and the European team made a good start.  However, after just two hours, play was suspended due to the rain and so far there has been no time given for play to resume.  It seems today is a washout with the Welsh weather being the only winner on this wet Friday!

More Ryder Cup

Prince Charles at the Celtic Manor Resort,
 with Colin Montgomerie.

Where is all this traffic?  As we in East Newport are all stocked up for the siege and have been warned we won't be able to leave our homes for the huge traffic jams predicted, we now feel a bit cheated.  We are stock piled and waiting, but the traffic is very light!

I went to Tesco's for petrol early this morning to avoid the jams - there were none.  I pulled into the petrol station and the only sign of the Ryder Cup was an American guy in front of me in the queue waiting to pay.  He said to the cashier 'I don't understand your money, will you take what I owe you'? He handed her £80 in twenties, she smiled politely and gave him £49.55 back! When he left we both smiled, and she said 'He was one of the nicer ones!'  I didn't ask what that meant - I paid and left! 

There was no traffic on the way home, the roads are deserted, far more than usual.  Either the warnings are paying off, or there has been an over reaction by the organisers.  I still say - the competition days have not started, it may all change yet!

Ryder cup - kicking off !

Celtic Manor Resort, NEWPORT.

Up until today you would not know that here was a major world wide golf tournament on my doorstep. However, sitting here late afternoon with my friend Mary, we heard helicopters flying overhead to what we assume was the Celtic Manor Resort helipad. Traffic so far has been as normal.  Me and hundreds of other locals are tuning into the Welsh (and national) news to see what is going on.  It's sort of surreal; not as if it's our Celtic Manor everyone is talking about!

Prince Charles was here today (we think that's why there were so many helicopters) and tonight, after a reception at Cardiff castle there is an extravaganza at the millennium stadium with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey and Kathryn Jenkins (where's Tom I want to know?) I would like to be a fly on the wall tonight especially when the Yanks try to sing the Welsh national anthem at the end!

The weather though has let us down, and the forecast is not too good for the remainder of the week - Sod's law!  It was fine for a while this afternoon, but it was not long before the autumn mists, already shrouding the beautiful rolling valley, blotted out the stunning views from the fairways.  I wonder if our visitors will ever see how beautiful this part of Wales is?

The Ryder Cup Effect.

Colin Montgomerie with one of the Newport dragons.





As I live in Newport, I thought this small city cannot host the Ryder Cup and me not mention it in my blog! Then I saw this picture of Colin Montgomerie with one of the Newport dragons and thought I would post a short piece.

Newport is supposedly poised to maximise the economic boost from the Ryder Cup 2010.  We are told that the city has benefited from 1,600 jobs and around £98 million has been poured into the economy since 2003.  There is no doubt that since 2001, when Newport's Celtic Manor Resort won the right to host the 2010 Ryder Cup that this new city has been transformed.  There have been much needed road improvements, particularly on the A449 and the Coldra round about, and Newport has definitely been propelled into the international spotlight.  But what about the long term effects? I hear that the Welsh Assembly are planning to bring more sporting events to Newport in the coming years, but will all this give Newport a future?

This city is best known for the Chartists riots, It remains to be seen if the aftermath from the Ryder Cup can usurp this notorious history.

More Raku

Finished dish.

After the bisque firing and before the final Raku process.

I am posting pictures of this dish simply because it is one of my favourites from the weekend. very simple, yet stunning in the kitchen.

Raku Pots - update

From kiln to sawdust.

On the weekend myself and my pottery friends went back to Wrington to finish the pots we made a week  ago (see posting of 21st Sept 2010).  The beautiful autumn weather continued throughout the day and we were able to have our lunch al fresco! We worked through from 10am to 6.30 pm.  this whole course is a delight from start to finish.




Douse with more sawdust.



                                                                               Finished Pot.

                                                   Sunset at The Walled Garden, Wrington.

The end of our time at this lovely place at the foot of the Mendips.  This is the last thing we saw, the sun setting over the tiny little village Church in Wrington.










Jewellery making.

 

Just a small sample of what I made on Monday.  At £2 a class in the Chaple hall in Ynysddu is fantastic value.  You then pay the tutor for the beads and findings that you use.  These four pair of earrings cost me £6.  Four Christmas gifts for £6 isn't bad.  Okay, I have to by the small boxes to put them in, but that will be minimal on the Internet.  Good value for token Christmas gifts and stocking fillers.  It would be even cheaper if you made them at home yourself of course, but then you have the initial outlay for the tool.  It depends on whether or not you want it for a hobby or not I suppose!

Dylan Thomas - A Child's Christmas in Wales.





 Having dutifully handed in my homework today, I thought I would do a short posting on this lovely book - A Child's Christmas in Wales - that I had to study for homework last week. It's not the first time I have read it by any means, but to hear it read by our tutor today gave it a whole different perspective.  It is a far better story for being read aloud than it is to read.  Thomas writes in a prose style that highlights the pleasure of words.  It is evocative of Christmas and viewed with great pleasure by me as I was born and brought up in the Welsh valley's.

It brought back so many memories for me and the sentence in italics below are probably my favourite piece of the text, as I can identify with it.

"I can never remember whether it snowed for six nights when I was twelve, or whether it snowed for twelve nights when I was six!"

Well, neither can I remember that kind of detail, but Christmas was always a snowy time (or so it seemed) when I was a girl.  Those were the days when winter was winter not these muggy, watery, sunny, mild days we have now at Christmas.  Ahh... nostalgia!





Raku pottery

Barley Wood Craft Barns, Wrington





Stage 1 - Throwing a pot.

Stage 2 - Throwing a pot



For the second year running my pottery friends and I went to the lovely Barley Wood Walled Garden craft barns in the village of Wrington ,nestling below the Mendip hills.  What a lovely venue for the teaching of crafts.  In our case we went to received pottery tuition, just as we did last year. 

The walled garden dates from 1901 and were constructed for Henry Herbert Wills, director of the Imperial Tobacco company in Bristol.  Walled kitchen gardens were the zenith during this time, supplying every kind of fruit including figs, grapes and nectarines to the family in Barley Wood house. Although not part of the house any longer, they are still beautifully tended by the current owners, and the craft barns, a relatively new addition, lend themselves perfectly for creativity in this glorious location.  In addition there is a delightful cafe/restaurant within the walled garden complex.  They serve wonderful freshly cooked country fayre.  A wonderful day out if you are a gardener, of the craft persuasion or simply for a ride in the country with a delightful lunch.  I can't speak highly enough of this venue.

I must not forget our pottery tutor Bill Moore, an excellent craftsman with enormous patience.  This extremely talented man has a display of all his own work in one of the craft barns, and it's all for sale if you are looking for a gift or just collecting pottery. This place and the whole experience for my friends and I have been a real find over the last year or so.













Independent Ballet Wales - The lady of The Lake/ Llyn-y-Fan

This time last year I went with my friend Anne to see the Independent Ballet Wales perform 'How Green Was My Valley' at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. I was enraptured. This evening I was fortunate enough to see them perform again at the  Riverfront theatre in Newport.  This young, vital group performed 'The Lady of the Lake', the fairy bride who left her underwater home to marry a farmer and lived as his wife in the Brecon Beacons. Ultimately, she returns to her water home in the lake, it is quite a sad tale, but beautifully performed again this year.

These young people take the most famous Welsh folk tales of all time and perform them as breathtakingly as any professional performing the classics.  These young dancers are pushing back the boundaries of classical ballet while bringing life to the finest characters in literature. 

A literary coincidence?

 The Boathouse, Llaugharne

 On our return journey home from Pembrokeshire, my cousin and I stopped off at Laugharne.  Neither of us had been there for many years and decided it was time to return.  Lying on the estuary of the river Taf is this lovely home of Dylan Thomas.  He lived there from 1949 until his death in 1953.  It is said that Laugharne is probably the town that inspired Thomas when he wrote about the fictitious town of Llareggub in 'Under milk Wood'.

It was amazing that on my first day back at college today (2nd year HND course with the University of Newport Wales) the tutor should ask us to read short stories for homework, recommending Dylan Thomas's 'A Child's Christmas in Wales' as the one for student discussion next week.  There followed a question and answer session on Dylan Thomas and his lifestyle, which was good for me as I was able to shine with my recently refreshed memory of some of his work and background - unusual for something to go my way!

Pembrokeshire 2010



Proof that I had a paddle!



Canadian geese gathering for migration.



Beautiful Newport bay.

Pembrokehire was equally as beautiful this year as last.  My cousin and I made the most of our three-day break and we were lucky to have experienced just one day of rain.  Considering the summer we have had this was good.  However, the day it did rain - it poured!!  We parked at Manobier bay, read the papers and nodded off for a while, that was all we could do!  It was far too wet to go out and explore. We had set aside this day for a return trip to Caldy Island and hoped to attend a service in their local church, but the weather was so rough all sailings to Caldy were cancelled.


The day before had been warm and sunny and we managed to paddle (see photo above - actual proof!).  We took ourselves off to Newport, (Pembs. obviously) and explored the area. A picturesque little town between Fishguard and Cardigan on the A487. We found a lovely place for coffee and were so impressed we went back there for lunch. On our way down to the beach we saw Canadian gees gathering prior to migration.  It was a magical sight.


If anyone reading this blog is thinking of a break, you won't go far wrong with this pretty little town especially if it's peace and tranquility you're after.

Goodbye and Hello!

Having had several emails from followers of missjonesonline.blogspot.com I thought I would post a thank you message to say thanks for your kind comments and best wishes for continued success with missjonesjournal.

Keep following, you will either be bored or amused if nothing else!

Ponypool Jazz Festival

On Friday I was invited  to the Pontypool Jazz festival. When I heard that the marquees had been abandoned, after being washed away three years ago (the whole Festival was a wash out that year apparently) I was disappointed, but I needn't have been so. It was brilliant, even though it all took place indoors.


This years Festival has a 'Jazz from Wales' theme and showcases the tremendous number of hugely talented Welsh-born and Welsh-based jazz musicians. The singer in the second half was a young girls called Alicia Hooper, it seems her dad is the well known Welsh jazz musician Dennis Hooper. She sang the Amy Winehouse number 'Valerie' brilliantly and there were loud called for an encore, even from the friend I was with, who doesn't get excited about much! There was an encore of course, and we all left Pontpool park on a high. If that was the first night, I am sorry I can't make the rest of the weekend!

Transporter Bridge, Newport

The river Usk taken from mid-crossing

On our way up they valleys yesterday, I decided to take my friend as a foot passenger on the Transporter bridge. She had photographed it last year when it was being refurbished, so I thought she might like to see how the work had panned out! I have been over twice since it re-opened, thus the photos. However this was not to be yesterday!

The SDR bridge taken from mid-crossing.

A man, from London, dressed as the Incredible Hulk had scaled the iconic landmark and unfurled a banner. The banner then became entangled in the workings of the bridge gondola and it had to be closed for safety reasons.

Newport's iconic Transporter Bridge.

Well, a worthy cause I am sure, but the police time and disruption to the newly refurbished landmark isn't really worth it, as it will be old news tomorrow and he ends up in court. What message does then send to the person he wants custody or justice from?

The Cholera Cemetery, Tredegar.

 I paid my third visit to the Cholera Cemetery in Tredegar today. I took a friend of mine with me as I have been promising to take her for some time. She, like me, found it an emotional, lonely and evocative place.

I have blogged about this before on missjonesonline.blogspot.com so I won't repeat myself, but I will post a poem that I wrote after my first visit there some two years ago.

The Cholera Cemetery

-six standing gravestones visible. The rest have fallen with the winds of time or stray animals which, until relatively recently, were allowed to roam the moors and disturb them. The graves are now fenced in and only sheep are allowed to graze there to keep the grass and heathers at an acceptable length.

May their souls rest in peace and rise in glory.

The Cholera Cemetery

Lying like coffins,
granite grey and worn.
Headstones, where words,
once engraved,
have faded now.
While others,
swathed in moss.

Shaped like coffins. Broken in two.
Unkempt, uncared for.
Forgotten.
Erased from social order,
stigmatised in death, as in life.

Bleak, hard, lonely place,
apart from society
and conscience.
Only a secular burial,
prompt and impersonal.
Shunned by humanity.

People who once laughed,
danced, loved.
Made contribution to a culture
that has rejected them.
Now lying under mossy mounds
where no one remembers them.

The tightrope walker ... Olivier Roustan

Newport had a 'Big Splash' weekend. Well, it goes on until Sunday 5th September I believe, and this afternoon was good, really good, with loads of people about. This was due to the tightrope walker in the main and of course the good weather. My friend Anne and I went to support yesterday, but it was really chilly and quite breezy so Monsieur Roustan couldn't perform, which left a lot of people disappointed, but you can understand his point!

But conditions were better today and the man walked the walk. So where did he walk? Across the wires that run along the top of the Newport City Footbridge. His daring walk on the suspended wire was really spectacular and a little spine chilling. The danger was ever present, he looked like an ant when he started on the East side of the river Usk, but as he came nearer to the West side the reality hit you. This was a man, a human being doing this and a rapturous applause rang out. It was quite emotional. Well done Olivier!

The dragon trail...

There are seventy of these dragons dotted around the city and it's outskirts. They are there as a celebration of Newport's vibrant art scene (yes, we have one apparently) and the dragons photographed showcase a cross selection of work from some of the areas leading artists.




Newport superdragons are the result of many months of hard work from a truly amazing group of people. Sadly not long after they were placed around the city at least 15 of them were vandalised. Predictable in any city I suppose, a sign of the times, which I think is deplorable.




I wonder how the sculptors felt about that, and the school children who designed the smaller ones? In society today there is always a small number of people who will spoil it for the rest. It spoiled the dragon trail too. A super idea for tourists and locals to follow the map to where they are situated, but after the repair of the vandalised dragons, they were put in safer locations and not necessarily placed back where they were, so that rotted up the trail to a degree.





It must be disheartening for the organisers of this event, which is part of the Newport Festival Summer, a fore runner to the Ryder Cup. One wonders what will happen when that comes to town. You can bet there will be someone out there waiting to disrupt that event too.

Revival!

After deciding not to blog earlier in the year, and then returning to my first blog,

http//www.missjonesonlineblogspot.com

to find that somehow the format had been changed and it was all up the creek, I decided to make this second one, that I started in March, my main blog from now on.

So What am I going to talk about today? I am going to tell you about Tuesday, when I went on a dragon hunt, well more of a trail really and how pleasurable it was.


Please see next posting.

The Passion

Joseph Mawle as Jesus - 2007

During Holy week our vicar is showing the BBC2 production 'The Passion', first shown at Easter 2007 and not to be confused with Mel Gibson's story of the same title which caused so much controversy in the cinema. This one is being shown in Church over three nights, and discussion invited afterwards, a bit like a Bible Study evening with a film, and it ends tonight. I didn't see it when it was shown on television, but some interesting discussions have arisen and it is fascinating to hear other peoples viewpoints on those times.

This portrayal of Jesus, by Joseph Mawle, is very good in my opinion, but not necessarily so by others watching. The story itself is rooted in the tangled and chaotic world of the city of Jerusalem during Passover week. This production tells the story from three points of view - the religious authorities, the Romans and the Jews.

It is stimulating and thought provoking for this time of year and I would thoroughly recommend anyone to watch it if it is repeated again on television, it puts a human face on Jesus, brings him more in line with modern thinking, someone we could rely on in these troubled times of ours, not a vision in white, well groomed and always perfect. I applaud this production and wish I had seen it the first time around.

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Beautiful Bruge?

Today's photographs are of the lovely city of Bruge mentioned in yesterdays blog entry. They are typical of the architecture, well preserved, in this region. There are palaces, Churches, market squares and lovely old town houses all existing side by side in this lovely place. The Groene Rei (the Green Quay) is where tourists board a boat which will give you an inland waterway perspective of this charming city. (see photograph below)

It is because the city is so lovely that I was saddened to experience this, my fifth visit, to the city with some distaste. It has become so commercialised, it is almost unbearable to think back twelve or so years, when it had a magic all of it's own. Now all the eatery's are using the same menu's and everything is served with chips! There was litter being dropped and blowing around the lovely market place and it had a feeling about it that was created just for economy tourism - economy of the most expensive kind, £16 for Flemish stew and chips. Waiters harassing you as you pass by to eat at their place, trying to show you to a table if you stop to examine their menu. I know we are in a recession in Europe, but that is not to be blamed for the lack of individualism and enthusiasm that the Belgians once had for the pride in their lovely city, seemingly lost, in their drive to compete with tourism.

Even the chaple of the Holy Blood which is of Romanesque origin is shrouded in a white waterproof covering whiles repairs are being carried out; a programme that is scheduled for completion in ten years time!

How complacent we become when we are entrusted with such a lovely national treasures, in whichever country we live, as we strive to maximise import and expenditure at the cost of disrespecting our heritage.