In Memoriam

On This Day In History
1956: Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show

Quote Of The Day
"I wanted to say to Elvis Presley and the country that this is a real decent, fine boy, and wherever you go, Elvis, we want to say we've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you."
(Ed Sullivan)

I went to the memorial service for Lynva Davies at St. Michael's Cathedral this afternoon. She worked with me for almost all of the twenty years that I have worked at St. Michael's International School, and for many years before that. Forty-seven years, I believe. She was a remarkable woman. As much as she loved Japan, she loved her home of Wales also and worked tirelessly for the Kansai St. David's Society. As her colleague from that society said in her memorial speech, Lynva returned to Wales in 2021 because of hiraeth am gartref, a Welsh word that has no direct translation in English that means "a homesickness tinged with grief and sadness over the lost or departed, especially in the context of Wales and Welsh culture."

After the memorial service, I walked to Meriken Park to take a couple of photos to memorialise Lynva in her home from home, Kobe. I couldn't find any daffodils, unfortunately, but I did find some yellow flowers.

Two beautiful pieces of music were played during the memorial service. One was The Flower Duet from Lakme by Delibes sung by the Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and Hallelujah performed by the Cory Band because Lynva's father and two brothers performed in this band, although not in this recording.

R.I.P., Lynva Davies