[singlepic id=833 w=320 h=240 float=none]
Along with 24 other local charities, the SCS had their own decorated Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Parish church in Pontardawe. Alan, Michelle and Janet had worked as hard as Santa’s little elves to produce a canal-themed tree with decorations depicting our work on the canal.

Michelle, however, did not stop at just a tree. At its foot is a four foot model barge, one of the two which she has made for remote controlled sailing on the canal next Spring. At present, though, its captain is a Mr. Claws and from the direction that the barge is heading it looks as if he is better qualified for sleigh and reindeer control.

We all met at Alan’s house in the shadow of the church before visiting the Festival and we must thank Janet, Alan and Bethan for preparing a wonderful pre-Tree buffet.

As shown below, the tree is topped off with a scale model of the Trogg Father, a gnome of vast wisdom and antiquity in Icelandic mythology who, though lampooned by Grimbobbins and Fligtoads, leads the Model Army out of a frozen Gnomansland into the idyllic Canal of the Dream World.
The story was recently adapted for the silver screen as ‘For Whom the Bell Trolls’.

[singlepic id=834 w=320 h=240 float=none]