Welcome to the online version of the Castle Square Newsletter.
Some of the content of the printed version of the Newsletter is available on other pages of this website. Below are the remaining articles and features from the Christmas 2007 edition.
The Newsletter is edited by Jan Harris and we are very grateful to her for putting together such an interesting magazine. If you would like a print copy of the Newsletter, please contact us using the "Contact us" button on the left hand menu bar.
The Minister's Letter
Dear friends,
It’s good to be back! I am very grateful for your willingness to let me take up the United Reformed Church’s offer of a three month sabbatical period to learn from other churches around the country.
During my first six weeks away I visited 44 churches and projects in south Wales, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire. Some of the churches were similar to Castle Square, in that they were near to a university. Others were more similar to Porth. In all of them (well, all but one…) I was welcomed and made to feel at home, and in many I felt after an hour or two that I had made real friends. I have borrowed some of their ideas for our worship in the next few weeks – and in January and February I will get to visit more, this time on the south coast of England and in Scotland.
Two things have struck me very forcibly.
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Firstly, a successful church does not have to be a big church. Indeed, the one church where I did not feel welcome was the biggest I visited – they were so used to visitors that no-one noticed me or asked who I was or where I was from, or even offered me a cup of coffee. Many of the churches doing sterling work were no bigger than Castle Square, and some were smaller. The United Reformed Church in Stourbridge, for example, has a small – and elderly – congregation in a very large building. But it has found itself called to start all kinds of new things for the community, including a “café service” – of which more later.
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Which brings me to the second thing. Every church that I visited that was growing, attracting new people or in any way exhibiting signs of life was a church which exercised the gift of hospitality.
Refreshments after worship, before worship – and during worship (see below) – as well as church cafés open during the week – were all hives of activity and centres of community. Not all of them were as well run as our Chewsdays (I got the wrong food in one, and had to wait an age in another…!), but they all realised that providing food and drink are at the heart of a Christian welcome. At Christmas especially that should not surprise us – after all, most of us celebrate Christmas with a special meal or a party with family or friends. If that’s how we celebrate our friendships on earth, surely we can celebrate our friendship with Jesus in the same way. Coming back to our Chewsdays project, I had no doubt at all that we have done the right thing.
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And for many of the churches I visited, as well as for us, welcoming people in this way had opened other doors. In the autumn Gateway Community (Elim) Church has been using our hall for its Thursday evening student group. In the New Year, we will probably be welcoming Trefforest OAPs and the Regeneration exhibition into our premises – as well as our own Ladies’ Guild, of course. All that is possible only because of the work done on our hall for Chewsdays.
These two aspects of church work come together in the idea of a café service. This is a service of worship which includes time for discussion and interaction, as well as prayer,music, and so on, in the informal atmosphere of a café setting, and with some food and drink available throughout the time together. Some of these services give you a chance to do something practical as well as sit and talk. It is proving especially attractive to younger people and also to families who can come together – although I visited one café service where the majority of those there were aged 60+. I hope that during 2008 we can experiment with a pattern of worship of this kind on a Sunday afternoon or evening, or perhaps midweek – not instead of our usual Sunday service, but as an addition to it.
There is much more that I could say about my experiences, and I am sure that I will be weaving them in to worship, talks to the Guild and so on for much of 2008!
But in the meantime, may I extend from Sioned, Elinor, Fiona and myself our seasonal greetings and best wishes for the year ahead.
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Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Happy Christmas and a Good New Year!
Gethin
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A family is a blessing
It means so many things,
Words could never really tell
The joy a family brings
A family is mutual love
The love of a father and mother ,
Showing children how to love
And care for one another.
A family is heartfelt pride
The feeling deep and strong,
That makes us glad to play a part
And know that we belong.
A family is a bond of faith
That even time can’t sever,
A gift to last throughout our lives
A family is forever.
From Vena
How clever some people are. They are able to put together words which really make us think and ponder over. Some of their remarks make us smile, with some we heartily agree whilst others prod our conscience. Here are some sayings by well-known people. I hope you’ll enjoy them.
‘In the end it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years’.
(President Abraham Lincoln)
‘Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning is young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young’.
(Henry Ford)
‘In old age you must put up with the face, the friends, the health and the children you’ve earned’
(Fay Weldon)
‘Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity’
(President Thomas Jefferson)
Wouldn’t we miss the lovely gardens planted by our forefathers?
‘I, personally, have succeeded living 85 years without taking any trouble about my diet.’
(Bertrand Russell)
We should send that one to our daily papers!
‘By the time a man realises that his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong’
(Clergyman Charles Wadworth)
‘It’s great to have grey hair. Ask anyone who’s bald’
(Comedian Rodney Dangerfield)
‘We’ll never know whether something new and wonderful is possible unless we try.’
(President Jimmy Carter)
In Castle Square we have started a new enterprise this year – our Chewsdays Lunches – which has proved to be a great success. The leaders of the project have worked very hard indeed helped in turn by the rest of us and supported by the regular diners. I think Jimmy Carter would be pleased as we are trying.
Joke from Bernice
The school was preparing for the Christmas nativity and were choosing the children for each part. John wanted to be Joseph, but when the names were announced, he was to be the innkeeper. He wasn’t very pleased.
The big night came and the school hall was full of parents and local dignitaries.
Joseph led Mary across the stage and knocked at the door of the inn. ‘We need a place to stay, can we come in?’
The innkeeper replied ‘Mary can, but you can’t because I wanted to be Joseph!’
Letter from Lee Suan
Dear all,
Greetings from my loft in Salford! It has at last been converted into a spacious multi-purpose room complete with skylight. I am so fond of it that I am prepared to put up with the heat in summer and shiver up there in winter and of course, now I will have to live in Salford forever! I am also in the process of having the bath replaced by a shower cubicle but, like the loft, it could be 8 months before I see it even though the materials are already in my house!
Amidst rumours and counter-rumours, I am still based at the Royal Blackburn Hospital. However, at the beginning of December, my nurses were told with two days’ notice to move to Burnley General Hospital and since the beginning of November some of my patients have to travel to Burnley for treatment. D-day for me has now been whispered to be 1st April 2008 so I will let you know in next year’s Christmas letter. One of my consultant colleagues retired at the end of summer and organising the retirement do was such a mammoth task, I am trying to work out how to include it in my curriculum vitae!
This year I visited my Mum three times in Penang and she is very well. The last visit was to celebrate her 80th birthday and I took the opportunity to visit friends and the wider family in Singapore some of whom I had not seen for 31 years! I also visited Sibu in Borneo where I grew up and even though I was there only 3 years ago it continues to change beyond recognition! But my ex-school classmates remain as much fun as ever and we had a great re-union and are now busy preparing for another re-union in 2010 when all of us will be 50 years old!!
My nephew is still working in the Nottingham hospitals and having to decide soon what he wants to do in the future. My niece is a second year medic in Aberdeen and both of them have been to admire my loft over the summer.
Between Christmas last year and the New Year, Jan and I visited Copenhagen briefly and for our birthdays we were in Jersey, both of which we enjoyed very much for different reasons. My work took me to meetings in Birmingham, Shanghai, Barcelona and Boston. So between the holidays and work, I have been permanently jet-lagged and this has remained my excuse for any lapses in memory and poor timekeeping! In addition, I took my first flying lesson in September and flew a two-seater aeroplane (with the instructor beside me, of course) between Liverpool airport and Blackburn. I have some fantastic views of my hospital from the air and may take up flying lessons in the distant future.
There was only one (Phew!) wedding this year when Jan’s elder son, Peter and Claire tied the knot in June. And recently Jan has become a great aunt to Rhys.
I still enjoy the fortnightly cup of tea after worship at Eccles Congregational Church but for the first time in 9 years I have not gone back to Mandarin classes but continue to revise (at my own pace) from the many Mandarin textbooks (all at primary school level), up in my loft.
As I write this, Manchester United appear to be hanging on just behind Arsenal in the premiership again ensuring that anxiety sets in each time I listen to any matches they are playing. And Euro2008 will be interesting as I will have to find a team to support with all the home nations not qualifying - any suggestions, anyone?
For the first time in 13 years I will be working over Christmas but once more, I hope to travel with Jan to somewhere in Europe between Christmas and the New Year perhaps by the new rail link from St Pancras.
As always, I wish you a very peaceful, joyful Christmas and an interesting and fulfilling New Year!
With love
Lee Suan xx
Report of International Girl Guiding Trip
by Elinor Rhys
1st Maesycoed Guides, Pontypridd
Where did we go? – Tattersalls, Ratoath, County Meath, South Ireland
Who went from Wales? – 12 Guides/Senior Section, and 3 Leaders from Wales
Which countries were at the camp itself? – Wales, Ireland, Kenya, South Africa, Australia, Philippines, Singapore, Norway, Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, Canada, U.S.A, Scotland, New Zealand
When did we go? – 4th - 15th of July 2007
My Highlights –
On the 5th, after arriving at Dun Loaghaire and finding our Youth Hostel, Avalon House, as soon as we’d settled in to our room for 12, we headed straight out to catch a City Sightseeing bus. We got off at the Guinness Factory where we had a tour of the factory itself and climbed to the top of the tower to have a free drink of pop (we weren’t allowed Guinness!).
On the 11th we had a go on the Leinster Bounce which is a load of inflatables, basically. There was a bungee bouncing thing, a volley-ball bouncy castle, a table football where you were the players, a bungee cord where you had to run as far as possible tied on to an inflatable wall by a bungee cord, a climbing wall that wasn’t an inflatable and a laser thing but we didn’t have permission to go in there. We had an hour to do as much of these as possible and for as long as we wanted. I had a go at the climbing wall, the bungee cord, the table football and the volley-ball.
Another great event was the International Day on the 11th of July! During the day every country had their own stall and did different things to raise money as well as show a bit of information about their country. All the money that was raised went to a local charity. Our stall sold welsh souvenirs and welsh cakes which me, Bethan, Naomi and Ellie had to cook as quick as possible because they kept getting sold out! Our stall raised 123 Euros! We had a chance to see the other stalls and had henna done our hands by the girls from Singapore. It lasted from about 2pm – 5.30pm and a lot of the Irish girl’s parents came for the afternoon. That evening we had an International Evening where every country performed something form their country and explained a bit.
We sang a couple of songs in Welsh, did a bit of folk dancing, sang our National Anthem and did the “ogis”. It was really interesting to see all the different dances and to hear all the different songs from all the other countries.
The next day, the 12th, was brilliant too! We went to Causey Farm (see picture) where we saw all the animals there, donkeys, horses, goats, rabbits, pigs, chickens etc. , we did a bit of drumming, a bit of Irish dancing and bog hopping! Bog hopping involved a lot of mud, old clothes and...well...hopping/jumping. It was really fun even if we had to travel to have a shower and we got incredibly dirty!
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What did this trip achieve for me? – I made sooo many new friends from other countries that I never would have met otherwise, and from all around Wales, we’re incredibly close now! It was really exciting to be able to see the main landmarks of Dublin with friends instead of with family – it makes all the difference. On Guiding terms I think it has opened my eyes to see that there is so much more to Guiding than there seems to be and so many people who work voluntary to try and make every single event, international or local, a great success. They usually succeed!!
Message from John
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Castle Square for all the love and concern you have shown to me over the past few months. I started my course of Chemotherapy at Felindre on 6th July and had my sixth and last treatment on 19th October. Then on November 13th I had my famous nose job done so it has been a bit of a bumpy ride for the last five months.
I am beginning to feel much better now and your thoughts and prayers during this period have been a great comfort to me and have helped to keep me positive. I have been deeply touched by all your enquiries after me and this has been much appreciated.
Wishing you all a joyful Christmas and a happy and healthy 2008.
Love from John
Memories of Christmas Past - Margaret Stuart
I had thought hard about what I could write for this year’s magazine but no thought came until this morning when Gethin spoke of Christmas now and years ago. What a change there has been – as a child, credit cards were unheard of – no ’buy now and pay next year’. Parents did without over the year so that there was a little more for Christmas.
There was no television to bombard youngsters with adverts for gifts that cost ‘only forty or fifty’ pounds!! – more than most men earned in two or three months.
But oh, what a thrill as Christmas drew near. As far as I was concerned it started a week or so before, making the Christmas puddings. Raisins to be stoned, suet to be grated (no packet stuff), breadcrumbs to be made and the big earthenware mixing bowl found and washed. (I still have the bowl in my garage). Come the night of the mix, everything ready, the ingredients, the basins and, of course, the clean white cloth covers. My brother and I weren’t able to do the actual mix but we did have a final stir for good luck. The boiling was a nightmare – so many puddings to be cooked, many to be given to friends and family – the kitchen full of steam and a careful watch that the boiler did not boil dry.
Next came the yeast cake – the same preparation of the fruit etc. And the same earthenware bowl. To make sure that the cake would rise, the bowl would be wrapped in a warm blanket overnight – no central heating to keep the rooms warm. The timing of the making depended very much on when the local bakehouse could find room in the oven.
How excited we were when Christmas Eve eventually arrived. Last minute shopping to be done with the shops opening very late – carol singers around the door and the Salvation Army singing in the streets.
My brother and I found all excuses to stay up late and when we did go to bed determined to remain awake until Santa came – we never did succeed! Christmas morning and I can still feel the stocking, empty when I went to bed and now heavy on my legs. Nuts in the toe, an apple, an orange, a tangerine, some sweets and a few bits and pieces. At the side of the bed were presents – not many, but always a book and my favourite – a jigsaw. Downstairs had been transformed with decorations – never before Christmas Day as far as my parents were concerned. The goose ready to be taken to the bakehouse – a real treat as poultry was only on the menu once a year. The time of Christmas lunch or dinner as we called it then, depended on my father’s shift. Police work did not stop for Christmas and it was a great joy when he happened to have the day off.
The remainder of the day passed in a haze, lots of fun, visitors and laughter – all without expensive presents or alcohol. Bed time was always fairly early as it had been a long, long day.
When I see what many children today expect and get at Christmas, I wonder how much happier they are and if they, and we adults haven’t lost something very precious – how to enjoy and be content with all the small things that make Christmas so special.
From Connie
With the festive season fast approaching, you can feel the tingle of excitement in the air and our minds go back to that baby born in a manger, in Bethlehem. To the shepherds that followed the star to where He lay. To the Three Kings who brought their gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, the first gifts ever given to the infant King.
There will be a lot of excitement at this time. Family getting together, young people home from University, children waiting to see what presents Father Christmas will bring, everyone singing carols around the Christmas tree, going to church and then home for dinner. What a wonderful time!
Yet Jesus came into this world with no fuss, only a manger for His bed and the love of His mother and father. His birth is still talked about today, over two thousand years later and His book is read all over the world, a best seller over and over. His life is the greatest story ever told and is written in two thousand four hundred languages.
So when we are so busy at Christmas time, maybe we can make time and remember the Baby born in Bethlehem and the difference He has made in our lives and the love He has given us so freely and at such great cost.
Letter from Len and Gwyneth
Dear Friends
Len and I have spent our first year in Toton. It has gone extremely quickly and we have settled in well. We have been very busy getting the bungalow to suit us. We have nearly finished, but more work needed to be done than we anticipated. After a short rest, we will continue the work in the New Year. Our family here and from home have helped us enormously.
Janice and Lee Suan have called on us and recently Gethin paid us a visit and we were very pleased to see him, although there wasn’t any comfort in our lounge. The carpet had just been laid in the lounge and hall and the room was bare apart from two chairs and a stool, but it didn’t seem to worry him.
Also it was lovely to have a good chat with Margaret Neale when she telephoned recently.
If anyone is visiting our part of the UK we would be pleased to see you.
Len and I go to the Methodist church in Toton which is well attended. There are lots of activities and meetings. A full time youth worker is employed between the Church of England and Methodist and he works closely with the young people. They are fortunate that the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides hold their weekly meetings in the church and attend morning service on Parade Sundays and special services. Last Sunday was a toy and sweet service and the gifts were given to the needy children in Erwash.
I hope to join an afternoon ladies meeting in the New Year. There is an organization called ‘Crossroads’ who provide friends to stay with folk who cannot be left alone. They allow three hours a week so carers can have some time to themselves. Hopefully Len will be happy with this arrangement.
Colin’s family is growing up. Rhianna has started piano lessons and Sophie the flute. Sian is already playing the clarinet and Julie plays the guitar in her church. We see a lot of our grandchildren and Len looks forward to them coming. The twins have two rabbits and sometimes we receive an SOS to go and feed them. Len enjoys doing it but I am not so keen! Len misses the seaside but we are able to visit more national Trust properties.
Kevin’s girls are young ladies. Kate is working her gap year in a solicitor’s office and Emma is on a child care course.
We have all the news of Castle Square from Ann and John and we are glad to hear the lunch project is a success.
Hope to see you some time next year.Wishing you all a peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year.
God bless,
Gwyneth and Len
John Wesley’s Rule
donated by Margaret Stuart
Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
At all the times you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can
John Wesley (1703-1791)
A joke from Martha
Father and son talking and the father said to his son ‘I think you will have the same Christmas as I had when I was a boy’
‘What was that?’ his son asked
‘An apple and an orange’ replied his Dad
‘Oh great!’ said the son ‘a computer and a mobile phone!’
And finally - More memorable sayings
contributed by Ann
Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared is doubled.
There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
If we fill our hours with regrets over the failures of yesterday, and with worries over the problems of tomorrow, we have no today in which to be thankful