Well all, I guess that inevitable “update on my time in Aberystwyth” is now here…drum roll please. I will endeavour to word the following with clarity and good spelling since I have reason to believe there may well be a new “Aber following” reading this webpage.
Well, when I left Lee Abbey on Friday 13th…bad luck? “We don’t believe in luck” it had been the worst working day in my life, not simply my time at Lee Abbey, but in any job I’ve been in so far…it was truly awful which started with a bang on the head at 7.10am and finished with a complaint from a guest who should have known better…I very nearly laid her out and would have happily quit I felt so low. I also received quite an upsetting e-mail which meant all in all, my frame of mind was somewhat chaotic when I left for Cardiff.
Friday:
When I arrived at my friend’s house, it was SO great to see him and we had many good conversations before he left to go out and I got ready for bed. The next morning I was greeted with a cooked breakfast and it wasn’t long before I was setting off for Aberystwyth. Unbeknown to me, I had missed one turn-off when copying an RAC directions guide and it threw my route out completely. It wasn’t until I turned on my Sat Nav that I realised I’d been travelling in the wrong direction for about 10 miles. That little sojourn was to delay me for about an hour, but the thought of seeing my Mim again spurred me on towards the finish line. Not to mention the absolutely stunning Welsh countryside was sun-lit in all its glory.
Saturday:
I finally docked at 12:45pm and managed to park in a car park at the end of Greenfield Street (Mim’s road). I rang her to let her know I was here and as I was talking to her on her mobile I heard her leave her house via the
front door. Within seconds our conversation on the phone ended as she walked around the corner and our eyes met for the first time in about 7.5 weeks. It was GREAT to see her again and as we embraced, any stress and
concern from the journey just fell from me as I realised afresh why I had come all this way; to see the woman I love!
Within minutes I was settled in, had set up base camp and was able to give her the long awaited dress. Soon afterwards I was eating some wonderful nosh and a little while later I was touring the infamous Somerfield’s. On the way we met Josh (Mim’s friend and the fiancé to Mim’s housemate Rachel) who commented on the exciting inventory pit stop of “Somerfield’s”. It was quite a novelty to go shopping together but as this “dinner party” I’d heard so much about approached, I was felling increasingly ill.
But the “dinner party” was a success, and I met Mim’s housemates Layla, Rachel and Karen, Josh again, Alun and Colin, Beth and Freddie. These are absolutely wonderful people and all of whom I could imagine myself having got on well with and made close friendships with if I’d have been at university in the same place at the same time. As it happens, they’re Mim’s friends, which means I’ve inherited them and so hopefully, will be able to keep in touch with them.
Sunday:
On Sunday I got to sample Mim’s church of St Mike’s. A wonderful blend of modern and classic worship styles, all of which was carried out tastefully and professionally. It was then that I got to see Chris again which was also nice.
We had lunch with Sam & Poppy (Sam being Tim Wakeling’s brother…remember; the “all rights reserved” chap who founded this prestigious website?) which included a chance to meet Dave and Tim replete with an introduction to Dave's Mice...which as I recall, later pooed on Poppy's hand.
Later Mim and I were joined by Sam & Poppy for a nice stroll along “the Prom”, Mim then left us to go for her music rehearsal for the evening service. I was then invited for “afternoon tea” (apparently there are others out there who still practice this ancient tradition). Freddie was my host and what a wonderful Host he was. He barely sat down for the whole time since he was more concerned about everyone else’s well-being. There I saw Alun, Colin and Beth again as well as some other folks whose names I have heard on many occasions. Later, Mim commented on how amazing it was to meet a group of friends one day, and be left in their company the next …that’s the body of Christ for ya!
After the evening service I was taken to “the lounge” or something? Anyway, 'twaz a chance for all the students in St Mike’s to consume yet more food. After this, I went for a walk with Chris and we toured the Castle ruins before finding a nice bench to plonk ourselves on. It was great (and necessary) for us to catch up.
Monday:
Monday was quite a lazy day for me in the morning, though in the evening I accompanied Mim to her “hall group”, apart from seeing Mim in her element, I got to see where she spent her first year at uni…the very room! However the words: “I thought you had to be convicted of a crime to live somewhere like this” from the film “The Prince & Me” kept rolling around in my head. This was also a chance to meet Mim’s partner in crime – Edem. After this I went off with Mim to Freddie’s house to watch The Last Night of the Proms” video which Alun had recorded. This was because he and Mim, Colin, Freddie, Reuben etc had all gone to see it in Hyde Park. Initially I had gone for a walk because this week was dragging up certain issues for me and I was rather reluctant to be “social” that evening particularly since it was watching a video about an event I had nothing to do with. But in the presence of such great Christian company, I was soon pulled around and had a great evening.
Tuesday:
I think I had another lazyish day on Tuesday, but whilst Mim had her cell group in the evening…I was put in the care of Chris. Which meant I finally got to see where he lived, not to mention, Kev, Reuben, Jase, Mark, Dave, and someone else (I’m not doing too badly with these names). He cooked for me and I started their washing up as the gargantuan level of dirty crockery in their lounge was enough to force any House Team leader to act. We later watched X-Men III, the latter half of which Mim returned to watch with us. Mim and I then went off and grabbed some chips (Mim was fairly hungry and I never say no to chips) and we went off for the infamous “kicking the bar” walk. This is an ancient tradition in Aber whereby one walks to the end of the seafront and kicks the railing, before walking to the other end of the seafront to repeat the exercise. This was a starlit night and one of the highlights of the week for me. It ended in a “Dawson’s Creek”-like moment on the quayside. Even commenting on this fact only momentarily brought me back to planet earth. It was the most romantic experience of my entire life. How can one not get caught up the euphoric wondering of what the future holds at times such as this?
Wednesday:
Oh yes … Wednesday … I remember. This was the day that I was requested to “hike” (is the only word I can use for it) to the top of Constitution Hill with my darling. I had prepared a packed lunch for us both (a family chore which I don’t recall ever doing for someone else before) and kinda hoped it would be too late to go on this walk because Mim had a prayer meeting she wanted to go to. So off we went, well … how steep? I was huffing and puffing all the way and I think my little darling did VERY well not to ditch me after all of my childlike whining and moaning! The view at the top however, was well worth the wait. Why are there never any trustworthy-looking folk around to take a picture for you at such times? I did however convince Mim to take the train back down the hill (not that she needed much convincing of course). She went off to her prayer meeting and I got on with some postcards.
In the evening, we joined Sam & Poppy again for another round of fish and chips. Then we had hoped to go to a nice pub to listen to some folk music but it was chockablock. So the girls in their infinite wisdom decided we should bail…AMEN I thought to myself. So we went for a nice prom-walk instead. A sort of half kicking the bar type walk. Interestingly, it was rather humorous to watch bar-kickers at work.
Thursday:
Thursday was a day in the life of a taxi driver…as Mim received the blessing of what it might be like to own a car…and her half an hour hike to campus was reduced to a five minute drive some 3 or 4 times for me I might add. She had Brownies in the evening so I got to see her in her uniform nudge nudge wink wink lol. Anyway, we then went out for our meal out at an Italian restaurant, dressing up for the occasion. It was nice to do the stroll there and the stroll back, and for Mim, to finally discover what the inside was like to the couply restaurant she’d heard so much about for so long.
Friday:
I recall Friday being another lazy day by and large but I know that the evening was the CU meeting which was very informative and very enjoyable. Whilst I can imagine it being quite tiring to juggle the denominational differences and preferences of so many Christians, I can also imagine it to be a very rewarding place to meet fellow believers to be recharged and encouraged to fight the good fight. Not to mention listen to interesting and varied Bible scholars. Again, another fab opportunity to meet more of Mim’s friends. I should point out at this time however that due to lots of driving in the rain (and thus needing sidelights) on the Thursday, I had neglected to notice that my car lights had been left on. Thus when I came to offer Mim and Rachel a lift to CU on the Friday (it being imperative that Rachel got there on time given the fact that she is the CU secretary), my car had a COMPLETELY flat battery. My Gladys!!!!! That’s never happened before. It was highly embarrassing, though fortunately, we were with Wonder Woman who frog-marched us to the taxi pick-up point outside the train station without further ado. And so we got there only a few minutes later than we otherwise would have done.
On the way back from the CU, I was pleased to be walking, as it meant I got to talk to Mim’s friends again. Freddie and I were deep in conversation when it was decided that we should all go to “Fresh Ground”, a small Christian café for a late night natter over a coffee etc. Mim and I settled in (I tucked into a smoked salmon bagel with cream cheese) and waited for the others (who had to go to Ruben’s first) but to no avail. It turned out, they’d got delayed, and by the time they arrived, the shop door had been locked. So after a few failed attempts at ringing their mobiles, we gambled that they might have retired to Freddie’s house and so tried their door…good guess! And so ensued an awesome heart-to-heart between all present sharing testimonies of how we came to Christ etc. Next to the "Dawson’s Creek quay moment," this was the highlight of the week for me.
Saturday:
This day brought the interesting yet exciting challenge of “jump-starting” my car. We had cobbled Alun at the previous night’s CU meeting to come round and help me. He was happy to oblige and even had brand, spanking new jump-leads. Neither of us knew exactly what we were doing (which made it all the more fun) but we had a rough idea. And within minutes, Gladys’ heart was revived. On parting I gave Alun a decent blokey hug (something which I don’t think lads are into at Aber, or anywhere in the UK outside of Lee Abbey) but it was from the heart. He’s a really nice guy, one of several friends I hope to keep in touch with since visiting the lovely Welsh town of Aberwristwatch.
I can’t remember the details of which day Mim surprised me with a cup of tea to wake me up gently, or what day we had what meal on…all I know is that my girl spoiled me rotten and became the domestic goddess for the week. I was looked after exceedingly well by her and her friends and I have nothing but fond memories of that week.
