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Al Ponting has passed from this life into the next. Some would say that Al died. And while his physical body has indeed stopped functioning on this earth and he is seemingly nowhere to be found, Al has not perished. As a matter of fact Al is living more richly now than he did while occupying a mortal coil. Though absent from the body he is present with the Lord. And his presence is still real in the memories and hearts of family and friends. And all the good that Al Ponting accomplished speaks ever still on his behalf. Was Al Ponting perfect? No. There is only One so in all the universe seen and unseen. But in the miraculous way of God Al became perfection in the eyes of his Father though the works of the Son and the sustaining power of the Spirit. For Al had given his heart, his soul, and his being to Jesus. Al's childhood and life as a young man was not an easy one. One of a family of 9 brothers and sisters, Al's parents divorced and Al and his brother Colin were sent to an orphanage. Later Al lived with his sister Joyce for a time. Al and Colin both became involved with drugs and Al spent time in borstal and other prisons on drug related charges. Colin was to spend his life addicted to hard drugs and then alcohol, while Al made an early decision to free himself of a heroin addiction. It was a sad day for Al in 2003 when he sang "The Old Rugged Cross" at his brother's funeral. Al became a Christian in the early 1980's and was baptised at one of two Elim Pentecostal Churches, Russell Road or Regina Road, London. I'm not sure which one. A builder by trade, he worked for both churches as a Senior Supervisor in charge of Y.O.P. (Youth) Schemes for plastering, carpentry, plumbing etc. At one of these churches he sang "Valley of Love" for the first time, backed by a Gospel choir. Al went on to write a number of songs at this time in his life, some co written with a friend of his, Eddie Diver, because Al was dyslexic and needed someone to help him put his thoughts into words. However he didn't record them until just before I met him at a folk event in Hereford in March 1996. Even then, having just completed a 3-year blacksmithing course as a full time student at Hereford College of Technology, he couldn't afford to have the recording printed off as cassettes. That was until I found him a gig at a hotel on Holy Island where I was working part time. It was on a Sunday evening and Al and I went straight from St Mary's church service on the island to his gig. At the service I noticed that Al put his very last pennies in the collection plate. In the break at his gig a young couple approached Al for a copy of one of his songs "Bluebell Time". When they learnt that Al didn't have a recording they asked why and being the honest man that he was Al told them. The man, a solicitor from the south of England, immediately wrote Al a cheque on the spot to fund the printing of 500 cassettes! The one proviso was that Al send him and his fiancé a copy of the tape. Shortly after this Al joined a folk band I was working with, "Firefrost", first as roadie and then also as percussionist and singer. We moved to Scotland in 1997 and married in St Catharine's Church. Blairgowrie in 1999. This was Al's third marriage and my first. Since November 1996 Al began suffering ill health and in 1997 he had a mini stroke and began a life of medication, which was frustrating for a man who had previously been very active. Still, he formed a duo "Freeloaders" with Australian musician Davey Shaw and gigged with Davey for several years in both Freeloaders and in Al's own peace band. During his career as a singer/songwriter, Al penned a number of peace songs, which he put together as a peace concert with a variety of musicians at the invitation of Caputh Church, Perthshire, Easter Sunday 2003. This concert was so successful that another followed in August of the same year in Dumbarton, Scotland. Being a builder and blacksmith by trade, Al had always had a desire to provide decent, affordable housing for folk in need - this vision being frustrated by his lack of millionaire status! Jacynth Hamill of "Caim" directed Al to Habitat for Humanity when she worked as a volunteer on a Habitat project in Capetown, South Africa in July 2003. Al contacted Habitat for Humanity in England and donations from his first peace concert went towards Jacynth's Africa fundraising. From then on Al decided to continue the concerts as fund raising events for Habitat for Humanity worldwide. He travelled with Caim to Gainesville in Florida, USA in two consecutive years and while there the second time performed with a band of Gainesville musicians and with Caim in Holy Trinity Church, Florida to raise funds for Alachua Habitat for Humanity. While there he also spent a day in a supervisory capacity as plasterer for one of the Habitat houses being built. Eventually Al's peace concerts and Freeloaders ceased as the musicians moved onto other projects and bands. About this time I met keyboard player, Rob Murray at a Caim concert and asked him to have a listen to Al's music. Rob liked what he heard and helped Al form the band "Freedom Place". When the band's direction started straying away from Al's songs into more 70's style rock, "Freedom Place" came to a natural end but when Caim began recording at Right Real Records, both Jacynth and Heather had the same thought - that Chris should hear Al's music. Chris liked what he heard and Al visited Right Real Studios in July 2007 to record 4 of his songs, including "Valley of Love". During this time Al and Chris became firm friends. Al had a sudden stroke resulting in renal failure at the end of August 2007 and died in Ninewells hospital, Dundee on September 1st, 2007. The night of his death several folk including Jacynth and myself kept waking up through the night with Al's song "Valley of Love" going through our minds and at the funeral Chris played the recording Al had made of "Valley of Love" in July and he also sang his own song "Goodnight" for Al. There were over 100 people in the little church of St Catharines where Al and I had been married 8 years previously, singing Al's favourite hymn "Amazing Grace" loud and clear. Al was a gentle, gracious man with a big heart. After the early days in London, he didn't go to church often but he had a strong faith in his Jesus and absolutely no fear of death. He knew where he was going! I found this poem of Al's recently which was published in a poetry anthology a few years ago: Facing Death Al Ponting
Oh death of death |
