Skateboarding confessions to crowning a King: Archbishop of Wales reflects ahead of Christmas
ITV Wales Journalist Rob Shelley Reports
After a year that's been "bleak in so many ways" the Anglican Archbishop of Wales hopes that people will have some "quiet" time enjoying the "simple things" at Christmas.
You couldn't help but notice that festive lights were put up a little earlier this year and the Most Reverend Andrew John says that the celebrations will enable people to "forget" even if it's for a little while.
The Archbishop told ITV Wales: "This has been a pretty rotten, miserable year on the world stage, certainly, that's undeniably true, but people have struggled because life has been challenging because of cost of living issues and other things as well.
"I think people hope that in this celebration, even if it's no more than we can forget for a while, that counts.
"Maybe in the hope that we can forget for a while, that contains within it some hope that life could be different. Life could be better and people do still have a sense of imagination, that life could be better."
As he marks his first anniversary, the Archbishop has been reflecting on the past few months where his role has ranged from supporting people who did not know whether they would have a bed for the night to helping crown King Charles III.
His worship said: "I think the thing that unites those two things (homelessness and the King) is the fact that in relation to handing the Sovereign the sceptre of peace and at the same time wanting no one to be on the street, wondering whether or not they can afford their next meal. What unites them, is the sense that peace has got to be more than the absence of war.
"There has to be a sense of well-being attached to it, there's got to be a sense in which I cannot look after myself alone. I depend upon the other and when the other is less fortunately looked after than me, then not all is well and rosy in the garden."
This Christmas he hopes that people with or without faith will find a moment of stillness and quiet.
He said: "Somehow barriers are broken down at Christmas. There is something discovered which is so worth having that even if it is only once a year and a good thing, the (church) doors are open.
"People say we are like a great big oil tanker, we are very slow to turn, but we are very stable in choppy waters. I think that is true."
He added: "I think the church provides a place where people might find the quiet and discover in that quiet something beyond themselves, those with and those without faith.
"That's my hope for Christmas, even though it's been bleak in so many ways that in these simple carols and readings, these timeless bits of narrative and story, you know people touch the eternal. If that happens, great."
As families wrap presents for their loved ones and hide them away ready to open on Christmas Day, there's a small confession from the Archbishop.
He's always enjoyed this time of year, but as a child, he couldn't wait to get his hands on his gifts before the big day.
The Most Reverend Andrew John said: " I used to know where my parents used to hide the Christmas presents.
"They bought me a GS Coyote skateboard when I was a kid because I knew where they used to hide the presents, I used to access the presents before the great day.
"They'd go out and I'd jump on the skateboard and I had to account for the fact the wheels on the great day, they were all scuffed up and I was like 'I don't know about that. How did that happen?'"
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