28 March Tuesday   Roath Concert

 

I relax and journal and get into my performance blacks.  I now have the friendship flags pin, the Champagne pin and the Daffodil from Callington

to wear on my tie. . We leave for the concert in Roath about 17:40 (5:40 pm).  Andrew drives the coach.  The St. Edwards church has a small footprint, but the sanctuary and altar are lofty—the quire and altar are as big as

the sanctuary.  The acoustics are wonderful as we practice.  There is a 7+ foot grand piano that has to be pushed into the quire, but we still have to split the group on the top step so the pianists can see the director.  The Roath Community Chorus is led by Ben Pinnow.  He is a serious and focused director and there are about 40 of the Roath group.  They obviously do a lot of performing.

We coordinate how we come on and where the other group will sit. The audience has be trickling in this whole time.  Both choirs go back into the Vestry—with the large Roath group and 25 of us makes a tight space.  .  We perform first and we do well.  Both the audience and the singers in the quire respond enthusiastically.  The Roath group is great—probably the best group we have sung with.  Their balance and blend are superb.  Their first piece even has percussion.  For their finale they sing ‘Land of My Fathers” Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, the Welsh National Anthem.  It is passionate and from the heart.  I have learned the refrain and can’t help but join in full-throated holding back tears.  The basses can’t help but look around and see me singing with them.  It was another ‘peak choral experience’.  Amazing!  The audience and both groups applaud appreciatively. 

After the concert we are escorted east and south two or three blocks to a private club, Penylan Bowling Club where the group has set up a party for us.  We enter through the back and up front to the pub

space.  It is very crowded.  Even their director, Ben shows up.  The guys are still watching the end of the Rugby match, Wales vs. Latvia--Cymru (Wales) wins!  We Que-up to the bar and I get my pint.  Soon husbands are passing out buttered Bara Birth and Welsh Cakes.  Tonnie slips into a gentleman’s chair and when he comes back he says, ‘That was my seat’ and she says it’s mine now’—and a friendship begins.  We group around tables and try to find chairs. 

I end up with Cheryl, for the Roath group, and her husband, John.  He immediate takes a shine to me and we start talking about everything from COVID, to Lock Down, to Retirement, our ages (he is younger than me), Paris riots (retirement age), medical coverage, his ARMD and Marianne’s, his community garden plot, leeks, garlic and tomatoes (that I grow).  He’s a kick.   I ask about ‘Cwtch’ and Cheryl says that’s ‘spooning,’ John grabs my me in a shoulder embrace and says ‘hug’—that’s a cwtch, and I say I always think of it as a warm cozy blanket by the fire.  They agree.  Later, they have to go and take care of their cooped-up dog. 

Jason breaks out his guitar and starts entertaining the room--singing 60’s and 70’s songs.  Soon we’re all singing.  Some of his selections are 'crowd-pleasers'—some aren’t.  One guy near Tonnie is always singing at the top of his voice.  When Jason does “Green, Green Grass of Home” everyone joins in…”hair of gold and lips like cherries…”  It’s 23:00 we’re fading and Andrew’s waiting.  There’s ‘thank-you’s’ all around and we herd back out to the alley and into the coach.  He gets us back to the H.I. quickly and I pack and get everything ready for the morning.  I start reading the Jones book--motto "Without God, without anything."  I sleep very well.