St David's Day (2014)

I remember saying this on St David's Day this year: that education is what holds the world of humanity together, and it is not only carried out in schools — but schools have chosen that task, and must be held accountable.

I used to feel a mystical sensation about this day. But what I feel, mostly, is a kind of sadness for an era that has been passing for a while. From 1886 to 1986, a century of work and toilsome labour in the vineyards. After 1986, the slow despoiling of a realm.

Then again, the soil remains fertile and I see many new shoots.