Alun Davies In a year where many of us may have felt trapped – unable to work, go on holiday or even see family over Christmas – escape has been at the forefront of many of our minds. Furloughed, locked down and home-schooling, who hasn’t entertained dreams of getting away, […]
Culture
Review: The Welsh Language in Cardiff – A History of Survival
Jon Gower In his introduction to this myth-debunking book BBC Wales’ Welsh Affairs Editor Vaughan Roderick suggests that it might perhaps be better to substitute the word ‘revival’ for ‘survival’ in its sub-title. It’s certainly the case that the fortunes of the language in the town and then city have […]
Review: Shattercone examines life’s stuff with honesty and clarity
Jon Gower With this haunting collection of short stories, which vacillate back and fore between Anglesey and the remotenesses of Canada, Tristan Hughes stakes a claim as a veritable laureate of loneliness. His characters, stranded within icy relationships, or trapped in neolithic burial chambers, or set adrift in empty northern […]
The musician who fell in love with Welsh bands, moved to Wales and learnt Welsh
David Owens There is nothing conventional about how Laura Nunez had her life transformed by Welsh music. It was the mid-90s when Laura was at school in London when she first heard Welsh bands like Super Furry Animals, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and Melys on radio shows such as the Evening […]
Review: Us Three is a comforting read in a world all at sea
Sarah Morgan Plunging into a decades-long story of friendship, there is no doubting the skill with which Ruth Jones captures character. Her television creations are funny, warm, and larger than life, and in ‘Us Three’ the central women of the title are just as vivid, complicated and recognisable. Catrin-Kelly-Judith-Harris-Lana-Lloyd (a […]
Stuck in front of the screen: The good and the bad on Welsh TV in 2020
Dylan Wyn Williams What a year. Unprecedented, to use the overbaked word loved by newsreaders and badly translated as the sigh-inducing “digynsail” by BBC Cymru journos. And quite unique in terms of telly viewing, as we actually followed the government’s advice first time round and stayed home, glued to our […]
Pnawn da! Brazilian TV show does Welsh language feature
A Brazilian TV show has done a feature on the Welsh language. Dr Rodolfo Piskorski, who is originally from Brazil and now lives in Cardiff, and is the first person to take the UK citizenship test in the language, was interviewed on news and live entertainment programme, Metrópolis. Dr […]
Lucasfilm to begin filming Willow in Wales in March
Lucasfilm is to begin filming a Willow television series for Disney+ in March, it has been revealed. The TV spinoff will be set decades after Ron Howard’s 1988 film, and Warwick Davis will return in the role of the great sorcerer, Willow Ufgood. The producers say are aiming to capture […]
From Britpop to brushstrokes with 60ft Dolls’ Carl Bevan
David Owens As the drummer in Wales’ premier rock ‘n’ roll renegades 60ft Dolls, Carl Bevan was no stranger to rock excess. But while music fired his hedonistic formative years, he’s now returned to his first love – art. Originally from Glynneath, the Cardiff resident has portrayed the city in […]
One of Wales’ oldest Christmas traditions goes national due to Covid-19
One of Wales’ oldest Christmas traditions is adapting itself to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a virtual national plygain due to be held this year. Plygain is a traditional Welsh Christmas service which takes place in a church between three and six o’clock on Christmas morning. The ancient tradition – […]