My first association with Wales was quite a few years ago when as a teenager from England I used to visit Llangollen on our annual family camping holiday. I couldn’t pronounce any of the names then, even badly, and certainly places like Llangollen and Llandudno had me foxed! Blissfully unaware at that tender age of any rivalry between Wales and England, and certainly knowing nothing of the shocking practices that had gone on in the past to try to stamp out the Welsh language, I started to fall in love with the beauty, friendliness and unique character of Wales, which continues to draw me back even today.
Peak fitness
I used to enjoy climbing mountains over the winter months. I would delight in ascending Snowdon with friends or family in bitterly cold but sharp conditions, which gave way to such spectacular views of the Snowdonia National Park. The abundance of great peaks to climb and the camaraderie of the campsites and hikers’ gathering places, like Betws y Coed, became like home to me.
But it was later in life, starting with my Oxford University days, that I started to really deepen my connection with Wales. By a quirk of fate, my grammar school in Manchester selected Jesus as the college where I would be most likely to gain a place. Little did I know then that Jesus was the college where Welsh-born students predominantly tended to go.
All things Welsh… and French
Of course, it was an added attraction to me, given my leaning towards all things Welsh. However, it also gave me the invaluable opportunity to really push my knowledge of French on, under the watchful eye of resident Fellow and Tutor, the now sadly late Anthony Pilkington. The one-to-one or one-to-two/three tutorials were of course somewhat painful at the time, on account of all the reading, evidence gathering and proposition building they required. The considerable upside though, was that I got to interact with a genius and someone I have come to see since as an outstanding expert in forming people into their most useful and successful adult selves.
Tony Pilkington was a master of the spoken word, which he used to great effect to hold all his students accountable. If you ventured a somewhat fatuous idea either on the page or spoken, his eyes would widen but only very slightly and subtly. The reproof would come as a barely discernible query. “Do you think so? Really? Good Lord”. In this way he remained generous and patient, yet held you accountable with subtle humour, which makes me smile to this day when I read it back.
Accountability
I owe a lot to Jesus College and Tony Pilkington, but I didn’t think it would extend to cover my work today. Holding individuals to account, with their permission of course, is something I do a lot. But interestingly, I find myself using the very same words and will often use just the word ‘really’ to encourage a client to think again or more deeply or to reframe an issue from a different angle. I didn’t know then about the power of words or the difficulties involved in encouraging without overtly judging, but I certainly do now. The whole learning experience reinforces enormously for me the value of lifetime learning for all of us.
Work life and love life
I’ve pursued my love of Welsh throughout my life. My wife was born in Wrexham, I worked from an office in Wrexham for a good number of years and still work today with several prominent and successful Welsh businesses, having got involved initially with delivery of Welsh Government support packages for businesses intent on getting into Export markets around the world.
St David’s Day will always be special for me, and I hope it is for you too. It’s good to remember how all the seemingly random connections in your life come about. I don’t think it’s stretching the point too far to say the harder they are to make; the more value lies in them. Don’t focus on the negatives, embrace them with open arms and you may be surprised at the joy that course of action brings you.