And therefore the next item is the 90-second statements. Darren Millar.

Diolch, Lywydd. This coming Saturday, 11 February, marks the three hundredth anniversary of the birth of that greatest of Welsh hymn writers, William Williams of Pantycelyn. And it’s apt that his anniversary will fall on the very same day that Wales will be playing England in the cauldron of the Millennium Stadium, because, during that six nations game, there is no doubt whatsoever that the Welsh fans will be singing what is probably his most famous work, ‘Guide Me, O thou Great Jehovah’, with great gusto.

William Williams was more than Wales’s most famous hymn writer. He was also one of the greatest religious and literary figures that this country has ever produced. Along with Daniel Rowland and Howell Harris, Williams was one of the leading figures in the dawn of the Welsh Methodist revival, which dominated Welsh religious thinking and attitudes for much of the eighteenth century.

Born in 1717, Williams is often simply known as ‘Pantycelyn’, the name of the family farm on which he lived most of his adult life. His family were non-conformists, and he was educated locally, and then at a non-conformist academy near Talgarth. He intended to become a doctor, but, having heard Howell Harris preach in the churchyard in Talgarth in 1737, he underwent an immediate conversion experience and fell in love with his new-found saviour, Jesus Christ. He became fired with religious conviction.

Despite this non-conformist upbringing, Williams felt that he was being called to the priesthood of the established Anglican Church, and, in 1740, he was appointed curate to Theophilus Evans, a minister in charge of several rural Welsh parishes. But Williams was refused ordination as a priest because of his Methodist leanings.

He was a great preacher, and a great organiser of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist tradition. So, when Welsh rugby fans sing out ‘Bread of Heaven’ this coming Saturday, they will be paying tribute to a remarkable and fascinating man.

Swansea City Supporters Trust. Firstly, I must declare an interest as a member of Swansea City Supporters Trust. Unfortunately in Britain, professional football clubs—especially at the top level—normally have a very large local fan base, but ownership of the club by one or more individuals, quite often from abroad. I know Cardiff City fans would recognise that situation.

Swansea City is different, because even though a foreign owner has over 50 per cent of the shares, the supporters trust owns over 20 per cent of the club. The supporters trust has one member on the club’s main board, an opportunity for the views of supporters to be raised in the club’s boardroom. The supporters trust has direct contact with supporters, and is representative of us.

With the supporters represented on the main board, Swansea City have avoided the arguments over kit colour, team name, club badge and ticket pricing that have beset other clubs. Direct supporter involvement is, I believe, crucial to keeping the football supporters and the owners working together. A club in the Premier League, owned partly by the supporters, is, as far as I am aware, unique. But, having a supporter representative on the main board is both unique and also is desired by supporters of other clubs.

This shared ownership stems from the dark days of Swansea City nearly going out of the football league. The supporters trust’s success owes much to the hard work and dedication of its officers and those who have served on the football club board. A team partly owned by its supporters, playing in the Premier League, is a huge success—one I hope continues into next season—and something that I hope will become more common in the future for other clubs.

On 6 February 1952, King George VI sadly passed away. Princess Elizabeth, next in line to the throne, returned home, stepping off the plane as our Queen. That was 65 years ago this week, and not a day has gone by that our sovereign has not put our country and its people first. She is our longest reigning monarch and the first of the United Kingdom to reach a Sapphire Jubilee—a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to a family, many of whom have served our country valiantly during times of conflict. It’s an incredible reign that has seen her appoint 13 Prime Ministers, from Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher, and, of course, the Rt Hon Theresa May MP. She has undertaken state visits to 116 countries, to include those across the Commonwealth, with style, grace and elegance. She is patron to over 500 charities, having raised over £1.4 billion. Supreme Governor of the Church of England, she is loved the world over and no more so than here in the United Kingdom, and by all generations. Congratulations, Ma’am, and God save the Queen.

I didn’t intend following that, I have to say, but as one who preaches on a Sunday in non-conformist chapels, I was also going to pay tribute to William Williams Pantycelyn from Llandovery in Carmarthenshire. One of our main hymn writers, he was born 300 years ago to this coming Saturday. One of the leaders of the Methodist revival in Wales, he wrote some 820 Welsh hymns when the vast majority of the population were monolingually Welsh speaking, and some 120 English hymns: ‘Bread of Heaven’ or ‘Cwm Rhondda’ being among the most popular. Of course, that will be cried out in the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

A whole host of wonderful poetry exists within his Welsh hymns, such as,

Iesu, Iesu, ‘rwyt ti’n ddigon, / ‘Rwyt ti’n llawer mwy na’r byd’.

We will have all learnt that in Sunday school. And another:

Pererin wyf mewn anial dir,/ Yn crwydro yma a thraw’.

And the wonderful, when you are concerned about something or feeling a little depressed:

Mi dafla’ ‘maich oddi ar fy ngwar / Wrth deimlo dwyfol loes; / Euogrwydd fel mynyddoedd byd / Dry’n ganu wrth dy groes’.

So, this Saturday, whilst we sing out ‘Hen Wlad fy Nhadau’, ‘Calon Lân’ and, yes, ‘Bread of Heaven’, as we drive our rugby heroes forward to a deserved victory over visitors from the other side of Offa’s dyke, do recall the anniversary of William Williams Pantycelyn.