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| WH Davies by Augustus John, circa 1916: National Museum of Wales |
'What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?' - the start of a beautiful poem, Leisure, by the Welsh writer William Henry Davies.
Not relevant today?
Life is certainly full of care, and sadness and danger.
Most people have too much time to sit and dwell on it, to realise what we are missing. We can't even sit quietly on a bench in a park, ruminating, marvelling at those 'golden daffodils dancing in the breeze'.
Like all the residents here at Sunrise I have more time to spare and stare than ever and, perversely, perhaps, I am enjoying it. Most of my life I have been too busy, too anxious to get on with the next task. There were always deadlines. I was impatient. I even enjoyed Mondays! Having retired long enough ago to put a strain on the Cardiff and Vale local government pension fund, I still found time to carry on working, for pay or charities.
It must have been annoying for Beverley and Robert, even more so for Rosemary over our sixty six years of marriage. It was selfish and I am grateful for their love and patience. My new life has made me a changed old man. I love in the dark of my room listening to music, I enjoy reading and, most of all, I love writing. And in this unreal new world of ours there is so in the nearly eighty years I have been writing for a living or just fun I have penned and typed countless millions of words.
In my newspaper days, unlike the common assertion that today's news is tomorrow's fish and chips wrapping, mine were probably forgotten after a turn of a page. I still enjoyed writing them and at least I have kept some of my efforts even if they will never be read. Today, if you read this, I will be pleased that I did not just stand and stare.
Here is that wonderful poem read by Sir John Gielgud:
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