Peace Cranes

G has another concert tonight - a repeat of the one where he was ‘mobbed’ by fans the other night! 

This one is held in St Mary’s Church in Conwy, a beautiful old church dating back to 1284. I’ve been meaning to visit for weeks as it currently houses an art installation of 1000 paper peace cranes, part of a community arts project linked to the twinning of Conwy and the Japanese town of Himeji. 

Of course, the project also focuses on promoting peace - a need seen as even more important in a world where conflicts now seem ever-present. The Peace Crane project links back to Sadako, a Japanese school girl who survived the Hiroshima bomb only to die of leukaemia. She started folding origami Peace Cranes influenced by the legend that if you fold 1000 cranes, one for each year of the mythical bird’s life, then the cranes would grant your wish or prayers. Although Sadako folded well over 1000 and continued to pray for her health and for an end to nuclear weapons, she sadly lost her battle with leukaemia. 

https://caruconwy.com/outreach/cranes-of-peace-community-art-installation/

https://theelders.org/news/story-sadako-sasaki-and-hiroshima-peace-cranes

I take some photographs, but will return when the church is both empty of musicians and, hopefully, flooded with sunlight.

And as for the concert, it goes very well with an impressive standard for a small town orchestra. G leads beautifully, and the audience responds enthusiastically- though there are no autograph hunting Koreans there tonight!