Hankin Redden Blog

  25 – Chester and Chester Cathedral: 22 September 2024 The signs claim that Chester is the most visited city in the whole of the United Kingdom.   Based on my visit to Chester, this claim may even be true. So far as I could see, the property developers have not yet been given a licence to knock down all of the old buildings and replace them with modern eyesores – at least in the central city area where the ancient city of Chester was established by the Romans. Some of the original Chester City walls still stand.   Despite its age and its relatively well preserved buildings, the ancient churches which dot the streets of Chester are clearly falling on hard times.  Saint Peter Church on Eastgate is an ancient and beautiful building in the heart of the bustling Chester city shopping and commercial district.  Wiki claims this about Saint Peter Church. The church stands on the site of part of the Roman Praetorium, and some of its fa...

23 – Leaving Wales, Arriving in England: 21 September 2024 Just as Richard Reece Roberts had to leave the beauty of Wales and go to England, so too did I have to leave Wales and go to England.   I left yesterday, although right now, I could almost walk back across the border into Wales.   As U left, Wales continued to astonish me with its history and its beautiful scenery.   In Corwen I found this statue of Owain Glyndwr, Prince of Wales.   Owain lived from 1349 to 1416 and nearly achieved the complete independence of Wales from rule by the Norman kings of England = monarchs who did not speak English, but spoke only French.   As if to give me one final reminder of what a beautiful country it is, Wales gave me this view of itself as I passed the Tollgate Café shortly after I had left Corwen.   The google map reference is https://maps.app.goo.gl/U1UUtHjdWvSvDpqu9     But like Richards Reece Roberts, I had to leave Wales.  To find an...

  23 – The Very First Time I Married Margaret: 20 September 2024 Margaret and I actually married each other three times and not just twice; each of our marriages took place in County Kildare, Ireland. Our very first marriage was dubbed a Bedding Ceremony.   It too was a joyous, fun filled occasion and it happened on Saturday 17 August 2002. **** We had saved to visit Anne Ryan in County Kildare and we arrived in July 2002.   After a period of doing as little as possible, we hired a car to go touring.   Before we started our tour, Anne said she was holding a barbecue on Saturday 17 August and told us to be back by no later than 2.00 pm for the barbecue.   Because Adelaide is located in a desert State, barbecues are common; this meant we did not realise how uncommon barbecues are in Ireland.   It rains so much in Ireland, even in summer, that social events rarely take place outdoors.   This should have told us that Anne was planning something mor...

  22 – Northern Wales near Betwys y Coed: 19 September 2024 Richard Reece Roberts was especially hard to trace.   When he was born, his name was Richard Reece and this is the name under which his earliest records were made.   Richard was the Christian name given to him by his parents, and Reece was the surname of his father.   When Richard became an adult, Welsh custom required that his surname be changed.   Welsh custom was that male children adopt as their surname, the Christian name of their father.   Because the Christian name of his father was Robert, once he became an adult, Richard’s name became Richard Reece Roberts.   After the change in his surname, all subsequent records showed Roberts as his surname. Apart from the custom of a change in surname for male children, other factors made it even more difficult to trace Richard’s personal history. For reasons rooted in history, the number of surnames in Wales is limited compared to the numbe...

 21 -  Leaving Ireland, Meeting Snowdonia: 18 September 2024 I finally left Ireland on the 8.00 am ferry this morning and arrived in Wales just before 11.00. I never thought I would be glad to say a final goodbye to such a beautiful country with some of the most decent and kind people anyone could ever want to meet – but I most certainly am glad to be gone from Ireland. The Dublin taxi to the ferry terminal took me through miles of bleak industrial waste land.   Here the earth itself has apparently been blasted to the Moon so it could be replaced by the ugliness of industrial warehouses and the facilities that enable busy ports to function.   I was surprised that no one asked to see my passport or asked any questions either when I left Dublin or when I arrived in Holyhead.   Holyhead was a mirror image of the   Dublin Port industrial wasteland, but on a much smaller scale. Then, almost as if a magical switch had been clicked, I was surrounded by the...

 20 -  The Colours of Love and Marrying Margaret: 17 September 2024 In case you skimmed over my wedding poem because it was included as part of our Handfasting Ceremony pamphlet, here is a stand alone copy of my poem called The Colours of Love.  Here also is a copy of my poem Marrying Margaret.   The Colours of Love: John Hankin Margie's dominant colour isn't red, Although her name says she is The Red One.   Muted red hues do surround her. The deep ruby in her nails is always there. So too is the glow of her hair, Even if it does need assistance now and then.   The slow red burn of her heart can't be denied either. Its gentle shine brings the warmth of a woman incapable of anything but love. Her red colours reflect the reality of who she is. But despite the touches of red Margie's dominant colour isn't red at all.   Have you ever noticed the soft hum of the blue that surrounds her? Have you ever noticed the golden yellow...

  19 - Our Magical Marriage in 2009: 17 September 2024 This is an exact copy of the booklet Maeve prepared for our magical handfasting marriage ceremony that took place immediately after our official legal marriage in Ireland on that wonderful day in July 2009.   Apart from my brother Bill, every other person named in the pamphlet cancelled me and Margaret long before Margaret died. Although Maeve created most of what was incorporated into our Handfasting Ceremony, I inserted some words of my own that I wrote just for that day – these were words I everyone to hear me saying out loud.   My poem The Colours of Love was both an affirmation of love and a surprise for Margaret.   I wrote The Colours of Love in Adelaide specifically for our Handfasting Ceremony and I emailed it to Ireland so it could be incorporated into our ceremony. In the morning before the wedding, I worried that Margaret might look more closely at the Handfasting Ceremony pamphlet prepared by M...