Daffodils and St David

National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

Ash Wednesday fell on St David's Day, 1st March, this year. Daffodils were much in evidence in Cardiff both in the city gardens and on the lapels of shop staff. St David was a monk who founded several monasteries. Those who joined him lived a life of austerity and spent their days in hard physical work. Arriving in Cardiff on the day there seemed little to link the Welsh capital with the country's patron saint beyond the two shopping centres that bear his name. I found myself wondering what the man known for his simplicity of life, humility and wisdom would have made of twenty-first century consumerism.

Cardiff is also home to the Doctor Who Experience, a tourist attraction in the regenerated Cardiff Bay area. Visitors take a trip on the Tardis with the Doctor, encountering both Daleks and Weeping Angels, before enjoying an exhibition of costumes and other Who paraphernalia. Love it or hate it, the television series has been a part of British life for over half a century.

The Doctor himself is a curious character. Unpredictable, conflicted, heroic and with a fondness for planet earth, he challenges and often destroys those who threaten the well being of her inhabitants. Death and destruction are inevitable as the Doctor and his companions encounter Cybermen, Daleks and other murderous races intent on domination.

During this first week of Lent Christians recall Jesus' wilderness encounter with evil personified. Tempted to abuse his power for domination rather than redemption, Jesus turned away from the devil and embarked on the road to Calvary. No power struggles, no war, no forced surrender of the enemy. Just one man, God incarnate, who would change the world by dying on a cross.