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When Dragons Dare To Dream
Published this week, When Dragons Dare to Dream is the follow-up to Jamie Thomas’ successful The Dragon Roars Again and starts where that left off, charting the amazing progress of the Welsh football team through the Euro 2016 finals.
‘Qualification for Euro 2016 meant absolutely everything to us, as a team, as a nation of people who have waited our whole lives to see Wales competing at a a major tournament,’ said Joe Ledley. ‘That feeling of qualifying was just amazing, and we couldn’t wait to get to France to put our country on the map and make a nation proud of us once more.’
‘We players had the time of our lives – every single day was a pleasure, and I like to think the fans enjoyed it just as much as we did; we just didn’t want it to end!’ said Joe, ‘To try and tell our nation’s incredible story over the summer is no easy task, but Jamie’s done a brilliant job of it with this new book. It’s a must-read for any football fan!’ he added.
Euro 2016 was the first major tournament for the national team since 1958. The success of the team was a dream come true for many fans and culminated with the team reaching the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
The book includes in-depth analysis of and insight into the journey taken during the summer of 2016, including an exclusive interview with Mark Evans of the FAW which offers a glimpse into the preparations for and events in the team base during the tournament. Players and team staff also offer their exclusive comments, including Joe Ledley and Chris Gunter.
‘I’m very pleased to say that this is another very good book that tells Wales’ incredible story from the perspective of so many people who were involved: players, coaches, fans, journalists, everyone!’ said Chris Gunter.
Raised on Anglesey, author Jamie Thomas is a 23-year-old Media Masters graduate and lifelong Wales fan who writes on many aspects of Welsh football for various media outlets.
‘I was ecstatic with the reception my first book received from everyone – whether that be people involved with the Wales squad on a day-to-day basis, fellow Wales fans or other journalists,’ said Jamie.
When Dragons Dare to Dream by Jamie Thomas (£9.99, Y Lolfa) is published on November 1 st .
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His views come from the new updated edition of John Dawes: The Man who Changed the World of Rugby by Ross Reyburn in which Dawes and the late Carwyn James cite their views on what could be done to transform the modern game for the better.
Reyburn’s biography is the only first-hand account of the 1971 Lions in print backtracking the tour’s success to its birthplace at Old Deer Park where Dawes created the spectacular London Welsh side in the late 1960s. And it also provides as shrewd an analysis of the faults of modern rugby as you will find anywhere in The Legacy of the Dawes Era chapter.
Carwyn James and the late Daily Telegraph rugby correspondent John Reason in their book The World of Rugby – A History of Rugby Union Football published in 1979 with prophetic foresight attacked a new law allowing tackled players to pass the ball if they kept it off the ground wrote:
‘If the tackler is not rewarded with at least an interruption in the attacking side’s control of the ball ...he will stand up and maul for the ball, as they do in rugby league. Is that really what the International Board wants from rugby union football?
The changes in the tackle law ...have introduced the pile-up, as players seek to keep the ball off the ground and opponents seek to smother it. The solution is obvious. Return to the old law which required a player immediately to release the ball once he had been brought to the ground.’
John Dawes, who translated his vision of attacking 15-man rugby perfected at London Welsh to the 1971 Lions in his great partnership with James, echoed similar concerns telling Reyburn in 2013:
‘What the game has developed now is physicality. These days the first thing you look at in a player is how big he is, how strong he is. You don’t see the ball go down the line from set pieces. What you see is a mess. You would be penalized in our day for a pile-up. But now they just dive in jumping on each ther. I can’t understand how the referee allows it. Playing physically as they do now injuries will increase.’
Dawes’s injuries prediction has proved all too true and in April 2015 Prof Allyson Pollock argued the game was too dangerous in its existing form for schools. Reyburn argues backing the views of Carwyn James and John Dawes need not be complex. World Rugby needs to return to the old tackle law, ensure existing laws are strictly enforced so the straight scrum feed returns and solo clear-out charges are penalised and return rugby to its traditional role as a 15-man game cutting the substitutes bench to four players available only as blood or injury replacements.
It is now over 30 years since Carwyn James sadly died aged just 53 and John Dawes’s direct involvement in the game has passed. But rugby union’s debt to these two visionaries from the Welsh valleys need not have ended.
The updated edition of Ross Reyburn’s biography, The Man Who Changed the World of Rugby – John Dawes and the Legendary 1971 British Lions (Y Lolfa, paperback £9.99) is available now.
It includes articles by former Wales and Lions flanker John Taylor, the late Evening Standard sports editor JL Manning and former Birmingham Post rugby correspondent Michael Blair highlighting the debt the game owes Dawes.
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Originally published in Welsh, Evacuee – From the Liverpool Blitz to Wales is the remarkable story of Barbara Warlow Davies, an English-speaking four year old, who was evacuated from Liverpool to Talgarreg in Cardiganshire during the Second World War.
The memoir recieved wide acclaim with former politican Cynog Dafis praising the volume and saying, ‘I don’t believe I have ever read such wonderful, moving and appreciative tributes that are yet so real and sincere than the ones Barbara pays to her aunt and uncle.’
‘If you feel the need to restore your faith in humanity, I urge you to read this book.’ he added.
Born in Liverpool three years before the outbreak of the Second World War, Barbara had already experienced the Blitz of May 1941 in Liverpool when thousands died at the hands of the Luftwaffe before her arrival in Wales.
Here she recounts her life story, from losing her Mum six weeks before her third birthday, to being rescued from an explosion which killed 164 people at the Ernest Brown School before her move to live in rural Wales.
She had such a great welcome in Talgarreg that she decided to stay there after the war at the home of John and Rachel Davies in Pantglas who were like parents to her.
‘I am deeply indebted to Talgarreg School: to the two teachers, Miss Watson from New Quay and Miss Elen Thomas of Green Grove, Talgarreg, and especially Mr Tom Stephens, the headmaster, for the care, kindness and education I received,’ says Barbara,
‘Tom Stephens’ love for the Welsh language soon became ingrained in me, and I still have a great love for all things Welsh.’ she added.
Barbara recalls her wartime experiences and remembers Rural Cardiganshire after the war, with descriptions of farming customs, such as the day when the pig was killed, and how everyone coped with rationing.
The book contains moving portraits of some of the characters of the area; penned by a woman who is forever grateful for the warm welcome she received in the community of Talgarreg.
Evacuee by Barbara Davies (£7.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
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The Life and Work of William Salesbury by James Pierce is the long awaited biography of William Salesbury, a gifted linguist, scholar and lawyer who dedicated and risked his life to bring to his people the learning and benefits of the Humanist revolution.
He was the principal translator of the 1567 Welsh New Testament and is considered one of the most significant figures in the history of the Welsh language.
William Salesbury was the Deputy Attorney General for Wales from 1532. His abiding passion was language and he succeeded in steering the first Welsh dictionary and the first translation of the New Testament into Welsh through the political perils of the reigns of four Tudor monarchs.
He introduced his country to the printed word, to Renaissance and Humanist learning, and his lifetime’s work was arguably responsible for saving the Welsh language from extinction.
Salesbury was a determined and politically astute man, yet his posthumous reputation has been blighted by academic controversy.
The Life and Work of William Salesbury will illustrate his major contribution to language and linguistics and should re-instate him as one of Wales’ most influential scholars.
‘A colleague of Ridley, Cecil, William Herbert and John Dee and employed by the notorious Richard Rich, his private life was dogged by marital strife, internal exile, a disputed will, physical assault and the seizure of his property,’ said the author, James Pierce.
‘Yet he pioneered Welsh printing, wrote propaganda for Ridley, compiled a dictionary, produced the first extensive translations of the scriptures into Welsh and the first science book in English and oversaw the passage of key legislation through Parliament.’ he added.
‘His contribution to the culture and history of both England and Wales is substantial,’ said James.
‘This is a well written, coherent argument that makes an original contribution to scholarship,’ said Dr Adrian Morgan, ‘It is a much needed and long awaited biography of one of the most significant figures in the history of the Welsh language.’
Born in Gwent, James Pierce studied Art before joining the teaching profession, eventually becoming an EAL specialist working with children from around the world. He learned Welsh as an adult and has had a lifelong interest in language and literature. He is married with two children and two grandsons.
The Life and Work of William Salesbury by James Pierce (£14.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
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The assembly member Elin Jones was one of the main inspirations behind a new novel by a local Aberystwyth author it has been revealed.
The Morlan centre in Aberystwyth was packed last week when over a hundred people came to listen to a conversation between Elin Jones AC, the reviewer Catrin Beard and local author Dana Edwards.
The three were there to discuss the inspiration and background behind Dana’s new Welsh lanaguage novel, Pam?
Pam? tells the story of Pam, Gwennan and Rhodri as they leave university and make their way in the world during the tumultuous decade that leads to the establishment of the Welsh Assembly.
But the three share a secret. As they begin to enjoy the status and privilege that comes from successful careers, what happened in Abersytwyth threatens to destroy everything.
The novel is set during the late 90s – the era of establishing the National Assembly in Cardiff, dramatic elections, and the growth of Welsh media in the form of Radio Ceredigion.
Dana explained that she chose to set the novel during the 90s because it was ‘a hopeful time, where there was a real feeling that it was possible to change society through the activism and enthusiasm of ordinary people’.
To reflect the nostalgia of the period old pop classics from the 90s were played during the evening and old issues of the contemporary magazine Golwg were placed around the hall.
It was noted that there was an element of the career of Elin Jones in the form of the main character, Pam, with both having been elected as local councillors and both having previously been a part of Radio Ceredigion.
‘It was never my intention to write the life story of Elin Jones,’ says Dana, ‘but of course Elin’s success, like many other women who secured a seat in the first Assembly, was an inspiration’.
‘A brilliant crowd came to launch Dana Edwards’ new novel in the Morlan ond a wonderful summer’s evening in Aberystwyth,’ said Elin Jones AM, ‘I enjoyed the conversation with Dana and Catrin Beard – and to stress the point once more, I am not Pam!’
This is Dana’s second novel, following the success of the English language novel The Other Half and it was chosen as the Welsh Books Council Book of the Month for August.
Pam? by Dana Edwards (£8.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
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Gwenno Dafydd, professional broadcaster, singer, actress and leadership coach, writes the ultimate canon of female stand-up comics.
‘Funny is f u nny’ , as Joan Rivers said , regardless of gender—and with Stand Up and Sock it to t hem Sister , Gwenno Dafydd has finally managed to upend the old stereotype that women lack humour . She has tirelessly interviewed eighty four people working professionally in the comedy industry including numerous funny feisty females of all ages and backgrounds who share their success stories about their love affair with comedy and the challenges they faced and overcame in the male-dominated , aggressively competitive world of stand-up comedy.
A product of 20 years of research, Stand Up and Sock it to t hem Sister , an empowering story with resonance for every woman who wants to make it in a ny man’s world, was long overdue. Through thorough research with plenty of laughs interspersed, Dafydd looks at the genesis of female comedy from the time of music hall and supper clubs in Victorian London through to the excitement and challenge of the international world of comedy today. Featuring a unique section of Tips for the Top and interviews with over sixty-five comics working world-wide, from the pioneering Joan Rivers, Jo Brand, Jenny Eclair, and Helen Lederer , to relative newcomers such as Nina Conti, Shazia Mirzah , and Amy Schumer, Stand Up and Sock it to them Sister offers a practical guide and invaluable advice on the practice and challen ges of being a stand-up comic and how to make it in the w orld of comedy. Stand Up & Sock It to Them Sister is a n inspiring and unique read for everybody who is interested in reading about th eir favourite stand-up comics and learning about the history of women and comedy. According to Roy Hudd , Author and world expert on the British Music Hall ‘It was about time that a book of this nature was written and female performers given the recognition that they deserve. These amazing Role Models from the last hundred and fifty years or so that Gwenno has compiled can only inspire future generations of funny women. She has done a great job.
The book will be launched at Edinburgh Fringe Festival o n 17 August 2016.
Publication date 1 August 2016
Paperback £11.99
978 1 910901 55 7
Find more abou t Gwenno on her website : www.gwennodafydd.co.uk .
Mae’r ddarlledwraig gantores actores ac annogydd arweinyddiaeth broffesiyniol Gwenno Dafydd wedi ysgrifennu casgliad di-guro o ferched sy’n creu comedi ‘dal dy dir', fel mae hi yn ei alw . ( stand-up )
‘ Digri yw Digri ’ fel wedodd Joan Rivers, s’dim ots beth yw r h yw y person sy’n creu y comedi a gyda Stand Up and Sock it to t hem Sister , mae Gwenno Dafydd wedi llwyddo unwaith ac am byth i chwalu’r myth wirion fod me rched ddim yn ddigri . Mae hi wedi cyfweld wyth deg pedwar o bobl sydd yn gweithio yn broffesiynol yn y diwidiant comedi , gan gynnwys nifer helaeth o ‘ Difas D igri a Genod G wirion ’ ( Enw trafodaeth ddiweddar Tafwyl gyda Jon Gower a m y llyfr ) o bob oedran a chefndiroedd sydd yn rhannu eu storiau o lwyddiant am eu carwriaethau gyda comedi a’r her barhaol sydd yn eu wynebu . Mae hi’n dangos sut mae nhw wedi llw y ddo i oresgyn y rhwystrau yn y byd yma sydd wedi ei boblogi yn hanesyddol gan ddynion – byd treisgar , cystadleuol a heriol – byd comedi ‘ dal dy dir ’ .
Bu Stand Up and Sock it to t hem Sister yn lafur cariad 20 mlynedd o waith ymchwil dwys a c mae ’ n llawn o storiau sy’n adleisio’n gryf iawn i unrhyw ddynes sydd eisiau creu llwyddiant mewn byd o reolau dynion . Hen bryd i’r stori au yma gael eu hadrodd . Ymysg y gwaith ymchwil gofalus mae digon o ddigrifwch a mae Gwenno Dafydd yn edrych ar gomedi me rched yn blaguro o gyfnod y ‘music halls’ a clwbiau swper yn Llundain hyd nes y dyddiau presennol a’r cyffro a’r her o’r byd comedi rhyngwladol . Gan gynnwys pennod arbennig o ‘ Ganllawiau i Lwyddo ’ (Tips for the Top) a chyfweliadau gyda dros ch w e deg pump o gomics benywaidd yn gweithio ar hyd y byd , o’r arloesol Joan Rivers, Jo Brand, Jenny Eclair a Helen Lederer , i gomics fwy diweddar megis Nina Conti, Shazia Mirzah , a’r anhygoel Amy Schumer( Trainwreck ) mae Stand Up and Sock it to them Sister yn cynnig canllawiau ymarferol a chyngor amhrisiadwy ar yr arfer a’r sialensau o fod yn gomic ‘ dal dy dir ’ a sut i lwyddo yn y byd comedi . Mae Stand Up & Sock It to Them Sister yn lyfr unigryw , llawn ysbrydoliaeth ar gyfer unrhywun sydd a diddordeb mewn darllen am eu hoff gomics benywaidd a dysgu mwy am hanes me rched mewn comedi . Yn ol Roy Hudd , ( Arbenigwr ac Awdur fyd eang ar Music Hall Prydeinig ) mae’n dweud , ‘ R’oedd hi’n hen bryd i lyfr fel hwn gael ei ysgrifennu ac i berfformwyr benywaidd i gael y clod haeddiannol . Mae’ r Rol Fod e l au anhygoel yma o ’ r ganrif a hanner ddiwethaf a mwy mae Gwenno wedi eu casglu ond yn mynd i ysbrydoli cenedlaethau o ferched digri sydd i ddod . Mae hi wedi gneud job wych!
Caiff y llyfr ei lawnsio yng Ngwyl Ymylol Gomedi Caeredin ar y’r 17eg o Awst 2016
Diwrnod cyhoeddi 1 af o A wst 2016
Clawr med d al £11.99
978 1 910901 55 7
Unique collection of Welsh wartime songs to be launched at the National Eisteddfod
By AmeriCymru, 2016-07-28
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A unique collection of Welsh songs from the First World War will be launched at the National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny this year. The author, Meic Birtwistle, along with Welsh folk singer and harpist Siân James, will present Rhyfelgan in a special event at the Tŷ Gwerin on Wednesday, 3 August at 3pm.
A century after the First World War, this book features Welsh-language songs composed and sung at the time, some in support of the war, others expressing vociferous opposition to it.
A number of the songs haven’t seen the light of day for a hundred years, and many of them are published here for the very first time.
The author’s interest in these compositions began when he learnt that one of his relatives, John Volander Jones – a minister, writer and keen supporter of David Lloyd George – was in fact the author of a number of popular Welsh songs about the war.
Meic Birtwistle says: “It’s often the case that soldiers who have been through war don’t want to discuss their experiences. This was true of my father and his experience of the Second World War. This is why it’s so important that such wars are not forgotten, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that this doesn’t happen”.
“A century after the Great War, I feel that there’s been a tendency to sanitize and moralize the war, and portray it as a just war. However, that’s not how I was taught about it in school, in college or by my community and family. One of the aims of this book is to
highlight the voices raised – in song – against this unnecessary fighting.”
“My family’s history has given me a distinct perspective and responsibility to study and declare my conclusions about the use of songs to support or oppose the war.”
As someone who was originally destined to be a soldier himself, Meic Birtwistle is aware of the danger of romanticizing the war, as happens in a number of the songs in the collection.
Following his research into the musical context of the time, Meic reveals some treasures that still resonate through the years. They are in the tradition of ‘Oh! What a lovely War’.
The new book Rhyfelgan by Meic Birtwistle will be available at your local bookshop or directly from the publisher, Gomer Press on www.gomer.co.uk
Bibliographical details
Rhyfelgan
Meic Birtwistle
Gomer Press
ISBN 9781848518872
paperback
134 pages
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meic Birtwistle is an experienced journalist and
television producer.
He studied for a BA and MA in History and Welsh
History at Swansea and Aberystwyth Universities.
He lives in Mynydd Bach, Ceredigion and enjoys his
work, politics and rowing in his spare time.
Jack Scarrott’s Prize Fighters - Memoirs of a Welsh Boxing Booth Showman by Lawrence Davies
By AmeriCymru, 2016-07-26
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Jack Scarrott’s Prize Fighters – Memoirs of a Welsh Boxing Booth Showman
by Lawrence Davies
ISBN : 978-0-9570342-3-5
Price £14.99
Published : 31/8/2016
451 Pages, 56 black and white photos and illustrations
Martin Fury and Jack Hearn- two of the most famous bare-knuckle fighters to have emerged from the gypsy camps of South Wales, and the forgotten story of their great battle.
Shoni Engineer - the one-time claimant of the Welsh middleweight title, with full accounts of his battles against 'Dublin Tom', Tom 'Books' Davies, Jem Guidrell of Bristol, John O'Brien and William Samuels.
William Samuels - the flamboyant heavyweight champion of Wales, with an expanded accounts of his rivalries with Bob Dunbar, Toff Wall, Tom Vincent, and Shoni Engineer, as well as an in-depth look at his later career and his remarkable impact on the history of Welsh boxing.
Dai St. John - The towering miner from Resolven, who whipped 'man after man' with bare knuckles as a teenager before his great rivalry with John O'Brien the Cardiff born Welsh middleweight champion, and his dramatic rise to the status of national hero in the Boer War.
Bob Dunbar - the fearsome bare-knuckle fighter and booth boxer, who went on to claim the lightweight championship of Wales, his great defeat of William Samuels in 1882, and the tragic untold story of the events following his retirement from the ring.
Dai Dollings - the bare knuckle fighter and booth boxer from Swansea who would become one of the most famous and influential boxing trainers of the early 20th century after emigrating to New York and becoming the chief trainer at the world famous Grupp's gym - where he seconded some of the most famous fighters of the squared circle, and tutored the renowned boxing trainer, Ray Arcel.
Numerous fighters who featured on Jack Scarrott's boxing booth are also fully explored within the book, along with tales of their early fights on Scarrott's 'Pavilion' including such luminaries of Welsh gloved boxing as:
Tom Thomas - The gentle farmer's son from Penygraig who would become British middleweight Champion after many battles on the travelling boxing booth of Jack Scarrott, and the tale of how the cruel lick of a gypsy's whip made him pull on the boxing gloves.
Jim Driscoll - The Cardiff boxer known as 'Peerless' Jim who was crowned British featherweight champion, and became the toast of Great Britain following his defeat of Abe Attell, the world featherweight champion.
Jimmy Wilde - the astonishing tale of Wilde's rise to fame as world flyweight champion and arguably the greatest boxer of all time, his many knockout victories on the boxing booth, and the legendary day when he knocked out 23 seperate challengers.
Pedlar McMahon - a 'pocket Hercules' and boxing booth champion, his rise to fame on the boxing booth of William Samuels, his great rivalry with booth boxer Frank Lowry and tales from his time as a champion of Jack Scarrott's booth.
Joe White - A Swiss-Canadian middleweight who became one of the favourites on Scarrott's boxing booth, his early contests on the boxing booths of South Wales through to his challenge to a young Freddie Welsh as a battle hardened veteran.
'Dangerous Jack' - one of Scarrott's early champions, a ferocious black fighter, known for his slashing style who put down mountain fighter after mountain fighter, and the hilarious story of his discovery by Jack Scarrott himself.
'Yuko Sako' - The 'Japanese Strangler from Yokohama' - the strange but true story of one of Jack Scarrott's booth boxers - a compact Welshman disguised as a mysterious Japanese fighter to draw the interest of the fairground crowds.
Details of the early careers of many Welsh champions and notable booth boxers of the period are explored within the book, including Percy Jones of Porth - the first Welsh world champion, Frank Moody of Pontypridd - British & Empire Middleweight Champion, Johny Basham of Newport - British & European Welterweight Champion, Jack Davis of Pontypridd - who once challenged for the British heavyweight title, Freddie Welsh of Pontypridd - lightweight champion of the world, Patsy Perkins - lightweight champion of Wales, Jimmy Dean - the famous 'Cast Iron Man' of Pontypridd, 'Darkey' Thomas, Frank Reed, William 'Mother' Lee, Dai 'Rush', Thomas 'Bungy' Lambert, Arthur and William Butcher of Talywain, 'Twm' Edwards of Aberdare, and 'Bullo' Rees of Aberavon.
Prior to the publication of this book, many of these men have never been recorded in any other book of Welsh boxing history, and along with Mountain Fighters, Lost Tales of Welsh Boxing by the same author, they comprise the most complete recorded history of the origins of Welsh boxing and the early Welsh glove fighters ever published. Both books represent over fifteen years of intensive Welsh boxing research on the part of the author, and have a combined length of nearly 1,000 pages covering a century of Welsh boxing history. Illustrated with over 50 mostly unpublished photographs and illustrations, 'Jack Scarrott’s Prize Fighters - Memoirs of a Welsh Boxing Booth Showman' is a must buy for any boxing fan who wishes to re-discover the origins of Welsh boxing, and read the astonishing story of Jack Scarrott, the acclaimed showman and boxing pioneer, who until now had been consigned to little more than a footnote in the careers of the great Welsh boxing champions.
From the Back Cover :
‘Fifty years I’ve been in the game, mister, and all that time I’ve been right here in the mining valleys. I know every town and village in South Wales, and I knew every boxer worth calling a fighting man they ever turned out. Dai St. John, Tom Thomas, Jim Driscoll, Freddy Welsh, Johnny Basham, Jimmy Wilde, Percy Jones, and many more that were before their time. I knew them all, and a good few started with me in my booth. I was scrapping for a living in a boxing booth before I started a booth on my own, and I was only about twenty one when I started on my own. Believe me, the life of a booth boxer in those days was tough. Mountain fighters! That’s what they called the miners who used to fight bare-knuckle on the mountains…’
Jack Scarrott was born into a family of travelling people in 1870, and travelled throughout South Wales in his youth, coming into contact with many of the bareknuckle fighters of his time before starting his own fairground boxing booth where spectators were invited to ‘step up’ and stand against his own boxing champions for a number of rounds in order to claim a cash prize. Travelling throughout South Wales in the years that followed, Scarrott’s travelling ‘Pavilion’ would become famous for the number of boxers that it would start on the way to national acclaim. In addition to the more familiar names of gloved boxing champions that Jack Scarrott recalls, there are also numerous tales of the early knuckle fighters of South Wales, including such notable fighters as William Samuels, Martin Fury, Shoni Engineer, Robert Dunbar, Dai St John, and John O’Brien. Jack Scarrott’s memoirs, first printed in serialised form in 1936 have never been published in book form until now, and benefit from an expanded in-depth look at the events that comprise his recollections of nearly fifty years of boxing history, from the days of the forgotten bare-knuckle men of the mountains to the boxing champions that would start their careers under the flapping canvas of his boxing booth. Illustrated with over 50 rare photographs and illustrations, Jack Scarrott’s Prize Fighters- Memoirs of a Welsh Boxing Booth Showman, stands as one of very few accounts of a time long forgotten when bare-knuckle battlers and fledgling glove fighters fought for supremacy on the fairgrounds of South Wales.
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No Job for a Little Girl by Rosemary Scadden is based on interviews with those women who had to leave home in the 1920s and 1930s – some when they were as young as fourteen years old – to work as low-paid maids in the big cities.
Domestic service was Britain''s biggest employer a century ago with 1.5 million people working as servants – more than those who worked on farms or in factories. In a period where there were very few opportunities for young women, many had to leave home in search of work. And, as No Job for a Little Girl proves, the young girls of Wales were no exception.
The women’s own words bring an immediacy and vibrancy to the memoir. Their experiences highlight how much chance played in their conditions of service. Their precise duties and personal feelings are described, bringing to life a forgotten world of deference and social immobility. Ironically, it was the outbreak of the Second World War that transformed the lives of this lost generation of women.
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No Job for a Little Girl is available from all good bookshops and online retailers.
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For more information, please visit www.gomer.co.uk
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A Story Of Survival, Love And Community In One Of Britain's Worst Disasters.
Following days of bad weather, water from a spring had destabilized a huge coal slag tip – one of the black man-made mountains which surrounded the village. Thousands of tonnes of coal tip waste slid down a mountainside and devastated the mining village of Aberfan. The black mass crashed through the local school, where pupils were celebrating the last day of term.
One hundred and forty-four people were killed. One hundred and sixteen were schoolchildren. Gaynor Madgwick was there. She was eight years old and severely injured. Her brother and sister were in classrooms either side of her. Both died.
Recalling the horrific event in a diary four years later , Gaynor wrote,
‘I heard a terrible, terrible sound, a rumbling sound. It was so loud. I just didn’t know what it was. It seemed like the school went numb, you could hear a pin drop. I was suddenly petrified and glued to the chair. It sounded like the end of the world had come.’
In Aberfan – A Story of Survival, Love and Community in One Of Britain’s Worst Disasters , Gaynor tells her own story and interviews people affected by that day – from the bereaved and the rescuers, to the police and royalty. She explores the nature of courage, grief and faith, to create both a moving personal story of one family’s pain and a definitive account of the events that shook the nation and the world.
‘For the past 50 years I have lived as a sort of prisoner or victim of my past. Now I am trying to break free.’ said Gaynor. ‘I started this book by looking again at the writings of my young self. I’ve tried to explore the determination, courage and resilience which got me through. Then, I set out on a journey, to find those same qualities in my community, to see how it had coped, survived and often thrived.’
The Earl of Snowdon – who was there hours after the disaster – described it as ‘ one of the most moving experiences of my life.’
‘Gaynor Madgwick’s book, Aberfan , is a brave, heartbreaking and inspiring journey in which she re-visits the story of what happened to her and to the whole community of Aberfan on that dreadful day.’ he said. ‘It is a book that should be read by all of us in memory of those who died and those who survived.’
Said Broadcaster Vincent Kane,
‘Gaynor Madgwick was pulled injured from one of the classrooms where her friends died. She was left behind to live out her life. This is her story, sad, sweet, sentimental, and authentic. I commend it to you.’
‘October 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of that awful day. For 50 years we have been trying to recover from the Aberfan disaster. It’s a long road, and we take it one day at a time.’ said Gaynor.
‘I’ve tried to tell this story in a way in which it has never been told before, beginning by reliving Aberfan through the eyes of a survivor. As a survivor, now 58 years old, I have been haunted by the memories of the Aberfan disaster.’she continued ‘I wanted to create the fullest picture of the disaster and its aftermath while people were still around to tell their story.’
‘For me, I can’t start the next chapter of my life if I keep rereading the last one; this book will help me move on. My hope is that it will help others move on too.’
Aberfan - A Story of Survival, Love and Community in One of Britain's Worst Disasters by Gaynor Madgwick (£9.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
Aberfan will be launched at Ynysowen Community Primary School in Aberfan, Merthyr Tydfil at 6pm on Wednesday the 13 th of July in the company of Vincent Kane (OBE), Iain Mclean (FBA, FRSE), Greg Lewis, Gaynor Madgwick, Melanie Doel, and Ynysowen Male Voice Choir.
A press conference with Gaynor Madgwick will be held prior to the launch at the school between 4.00pm and 5.00pm which the press are encouraged to attend.
