A Good Promise

Death lurks in the shadows. It plots and plans, then pounces to maim and kill. To destroy and take away any scrap of happiness you may have. To ruin thy life, that is deaths aim in this world (but not the next.) It wants to take away your fun and replace it with black holes of mourning. Death has no heart as it showed yet again last night when news of the dreadful bombing of the Boston marathon was announced to the world. And the very spirit of death walked tall, blooming in its macabre cloak, prowling amidst a horrified and bloodied crowd of thousands.
But do you know what stood taller? What shined brighter than a million diamonds adrift at the foot of the ocean? It was human. Those brave folks, who after the explosions had spread their miserable carnage, went out and tended to the dying and grievously wounded without care for their own skin. Those bent figures were not bowing at all! Evil must never forget this. All of those figures were shards of good, the un~killable good, who after receiving a body blow will shrug it off and gather its pieces (the mortal flesh) to heal and live again.

Good will always triumph over evil for you cannot break the human spirit.

The Tonypandy Terror

‎It has been one hundred years today since the birth of Wales' finest boxers (or one of them), the Rhondda born fighter Tommy Farr. Known as the "Tonypandy Terror", he became British & Empire heavyweight champion on 15 March 1937. Few (re: none) would argue his deserved lofty place in the ranks of greatest British hevyweights.

On 30 August 1937, Tommy gained the respect of the boxing world when for a whopping purse of $60,000 (a huge amount in those days), he fought world heavyweight champion Joe Louis at the Yankee Stadium in New York, and despite losing out due to a controversial points decision after 15 rounds, his place in sporting history was set forever. Never forget that the "Brown Bomber" (and these nicknames are delicious to a writer) was one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, who had knocked out 8 of his previous 9 opponents (and KO'd the next 7) but that mattered not a jot as the Bomber was mercilessly pumelled and hurt by the Tonypandy Terror in one of the hardest battles of his life.
The crowd thought Farr had won. And evidently referee Arthur Donovan did too because he was seen shaking Farr's hand after the bout, seemingly congratulating the Welsh fighter on a job well done. The 50,000 audience booed when Louis was awarded the narrow points decision.

Thanks to the wonders of video (with a nod to Youtube) you can watch it all here. Tommy Farr died in 1986 on St. David's Day aged 72 but he lives on in the hearts and memories and Welshmen and fight fans the world over. Long live the Tonypandy Terror! Cymru Am Byth.