After our patriotic English supper near St Georges day last year, with Rev Richard having Welsh roots, this year it was decided to do a Welsh supper, held close to St Davids day.

So last night we all gathered up at the Parish Centre for a meal of Leek and Potato soup, followed by a Welsh stew, and then Bread and Butter pudding, with a mixed bag of entertainment including Rev Richard singing the Welsh National Anthem, John Dewhurst reading from Dylan Thomas, and as usual with a number of contributions from the choir.

It has to be said that there were some decidedly non-Welsh items on the running order – indeed some that we used at the English evening last year! However, the gentlemen of the choir contributed the finale, a male voice choir version of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross written by Emrys Jones. The first four verses are comparatively quiet, at least according to the music, however the final verse is marked double f, so with the full group of eight men in our choir is apparently pretty loud! Following on from that, the full choir did a new version of the well known Cwm Rhondda, with words to welcome John Edwards, our new assistant priest. When it was announced, Rev Richard started to look worried – as the past couple of concerts, he has been the subject of various items with new words – there was a definite look of relief when Andrew said that Rev Richard was being given a break this time, closely followed by “Hello John!â€?.

As before, the revised words for the item were written by Andrew Powell, one of the other basses, who spends a lot of time during the week on the road for work (not sure if that is a valid excuse…). However, he provided two items this time, the other involving Beth. Outside Beth, Julia, Andrew Powell and Andrew Bosely who played the piano, I think I was the only person who knew what was going on. Certainly Paul, Julia’s husband, based on his intro didn’t know what was going on, and apparently Andrew Powell had some awkward questions earlier in the day when his wife found a long black hair in their bathroom! Anyway, thanks to Andrew having brought his video camera along, you can enjoy Beth, Julia and Andrew performing a version of Three Little Maids from The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan. Dodgy camera-work by yours truly, comedy introduction by Paul…