Saturday, September 06, 2008

Bookshop Blessing

After a lunchtime wedding interview in church, I made my way across to a crowded centre with many headed for the Wales Azerbaijan football match, to City URC for a brief meeting of a support groups being set up to help and advise the bookshop staff, before joining in the assembly gathered to celebrate the re-opening with a blessing. Three dozen turned up. I know the invite had gone out to hundreds, and was disappointed that only three Anglican clerics showed up. But we did have the secretary of the RB and his head of publications, which was good. Tom Arthur and Peter Noble, Moderator of URC Wales were there to welcome us to this flagship (or is lighthouse?) of a project. If felt very honoured to be asked offer the blessing prayer. It's so good to have the shop open, and I bought anther book to celebrate. That makes six I've bought there of late. Now I must make time for more reading. I've still got five to go.

On the way back to church to pick up my bike to go home, I had time to take in an event in an enclosure at the top of Churchill Way next to the Capital Shopping Centre. There was a stage sumounted by a giant TV screen, with a hundred yards of screened of area, and a few fairground rides. You had to pay to enter, and the place was bristling with security guards having to re-direct confused shoppers trying to get access to car parks or Jessups, beyond the enclosure. No signage, and staff whose idea of communication was to redirect by waving an arm in the air in an indeterminate circle - the noise was also very loud. It was billed as 'Pulse - street party' part of the Cardiff Gay Pride event, badly rained upon over in Cooper's Field and mostly cancelled as a result. We didn't pay to go to street parties when I was young. But then there was nothing as ambitious in organisation in those incredibly far off days ....

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