Synopsis The churches of Wales are one of Britain's great
unheralded treasures, yet for many years there has been no book devoted
to them and they await the kind of complete coverage given to churches
elsewhere in Britain. Astonishingly, this is the first opportunity for
a book on the subject to show them at their best in colour as well as
words.
The archetypal Welsh church is not in town or village, enhanced
by generations of patronage: it is the isolated, simple, evocative
walls-with-roof, in a landscape often spiritually charged. The Welsh
churches tell us about medieval times, and the Age of Saints that came
before and, amazingly of the pagan Celtic times before that, which they
were meant to erase.
Illustrated in colour, "One Hundred Welsh
Churches" encompasses a millennium of churches around Wales, from tiny
St Govan's tucked in its cliff-face, through ruined Llanthony to the
magnificence of the cathedrals at Llandaff and St David's. It is an
invaluable repository of history, art and architecture, spirituality
and people's lives which will appeal to the historian and the tourist,
communicants and those without a god.
It is now the Year of the Rat. The first in the sequence of 12.
Being the first sign of the Chinese zodiacs, rats are leaders, pioneers
and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical
and hardworking. Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills
and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the
twelve signs. Intelligent and cunning at the same time, rats are highly
ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic
promoters of their own agendas, which often include money and power.
They are energetic and versatile and can usually find their way around
obstacles, and adapt to various environments easily. A rat's natural
charm and sharp demeanor make it an appealing friend for almost anyone,
but rats are usually highly exclusive and selective when choosing
friends and so often have only a few very close friends whom they trust.
Me and Angela were up North for a big family reunion on Monday. It was for my mother's side of the family and al the Shek sisters and brother were there.
We will get some photos put up onto the Shek Gallery site in due course. Having the photos done with each sibling and their children actually made more sense of who is who.
Seeing as I am still working from home struggling with a sore throat wearing my jacket indoors and even having the hood up to keep my uninsulated head warm, I have got round to uploading my set of photos from the reunion event in Newcastle.
Ha, will need some help now putting the correct names to the photos so I don't offend anyone with my total lack of knowledge of who is who. Actually it was good to meet up and see everyone together, but also to leave all the oldies at their own house party (of course I do not count myself as one of them) and head off to another party of our own for a couple of games on the Nintendo Wii.
Gordon and Angela Fong - living in Southbourne, working hard, enjoying life, travelling the world, eating great food and drinking some nice tipple along the way.
A friend via work, Tim Hughes, has published a book entitled Wales's Best One Hundred Churches. Some information is provided below.
Happy New Year, Chinese New Year that is.
