The powerful rural stories of the semi-legendary people who lived in the ancient village of Tremeirchion and the unorthodox community of Sodom in the Clwydian Range of Denbighshire are told for the first time in  On a Dark Night with Enough Wind  (Y Lolfa). The author, Lilla Pennant – part English, part Welsh – tells her story which is connected to our rural past with its drama, comedies and tragedies.  

“From my early childhood I was fascinated by the self-sufficiency and wisdom of the people who lived ‘on the mountain’ near my childhood home. I wanted to know their story. Over the years that I interviewed people and drafted this book I learned about a whole hidden way of life. I acquired a huge respect for the people of the hilltops, their courage, ingenuity and wit,” said Lilla Pennant.  

The book is a snapshot of a traditional way of living, with the oral histories collected by the author in the 1980s, from the community in which she grew up. At the time, one particular family lived in a farmhouse that showed barely any trace of the twentieth century. Pennant tells the story of the people who lived in the Welsh hills, who were neither farmers, nor employees, but lived by their wits on dark winter nights with a steady wind.  

“I didn’t intend to write this book. I set out to write about the rich history from this part of the Vale of Clwyd, but I am not a historian, and it was not going well. I started writing from the oral history that I had collected, and the book took off! Since writing this book in the 1980s, genetic research has found that descendants of the earliest surviving race in all the British Isles were to be found not in Scotland or Ireland, but in North Wales, or the mountainous world of North-West Wales to be precise,” said Lilla Pennant.  

Reviewers have described  On a Dark Night with Enough Wind  as:  

“Lilla Pennant has created an important piece of work documenting the stories of a life in Tremeirchion and Sodom by seeking out and listening to the oral stories of people living on the mountain and then committing the stories to paper for future generations to read.” Roy Hogben  

“The book had me gripped from beginning to end. It is an interesting mix of a mystery story that turns into a elegy for a lost way of life. Above all I was moved by her obvious love for the people she writes about and her desire to make sure that their stories are not lost.” Jessica Starmer  

Lilla Pennant grew up in Wales. She has worked as a freelance writer in London and New York. She has written two small books on remarkable civilian stories from both world wars. She has also worked in the field of family violence and published professional articles in this field.  Lilla Pennant currently lives in the United States.  

On a Dark Night with Enough Wind  by Lilla Pennant (£7.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.

AmeriCymru:  Hi Nichola, and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. What can you tell us about your entry to the 2020 Wildlife Artist of the Year competition?

Nichola: Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to share my work with your members and communicate. 

My Tansy Beetle, watercolour has been shortlisted for Wildlife Artist of the Year 2020. My work is one of 159 artworks selected from an incredible 1,200 entries from across the world.

It really is a huge honour to be shortlisted by this competition. Through art, we can raise awareness and support wildlife conservation.  This exhibition is usually held in Mall galleries London but due to the pandemic is now a live online exhibition. You can view my work here:

https://davidshepherd.org/wildlife-art/artwork/tansy-beetle/

My work is featured in the category Facing Extinction. This category invites artists to celebrate these vulnerable species, capturing their behaviour and importance in striking imagery. They may be gone tomorrow if we do not act today.

AmeriCymru:  In 2005, you became a visiting artist for WNO. What does this entail? Where can people see samples of your work online?

Nichola:  I observe and draw the rehearsals and performances on stage.  For over ten years, I’ve been documenting a visual history of Welsh National Opera through the medium of drawing alongside my sister Sarah Hope, who is also a professional fine artist. Our work is held in public and private collections across Europe, Australia and the USA

Working from live performance requires a responsive gaze and the ability to capture movement and emotion with immediacy and confidence. Watercolour allows me to work with colour in a very fluid way and this medium offers up unique qualities.

I’ve been fortunate to draw two productions at Lyric Opera, Chicago. It was an amazing experience and I fell in love with the city, the  friendly people and crazy weather!

My work can be viewed on www.nicholahope.com or on social media - Instagram and Facebook  @thedrawingeye 

AmeriCymru:  In 2019 you were invited to do a drawing demonstration in the galleries of the National Museum of Wales for the public event 'After Dark'. Care to tell us more about this experience?

Nichola:  I began drawing natural history specimens at National Museum Wales in 2019. I’m currently interested in shorebirds connected to Wales.  We have a diverse range of habitats that are important for birds. Some, such as the seabird colonies of Anglesey and Pembrokeshire, have probably been that way for thousands of years. 

I was invited to do a drawing demonstration at After Dark, an event held by National Museum Wales in Cardiff. The museum was opened up in the evening and was attended by a thousand members of the public. 

The museum’s taxidermy collection was used as an inspiration for drawing. I chose to draw a grey heron in ink and wash. I hope that this inspired people to look closely and respond creatively to the wonderful wildlife we have.

AmeriCymru:  Your work is clearly inspired by the animal world. What can you tell us about your 2019 exhibition - 'London Rats' - at the Workers Galley in Porth?

Nichola:  The Workers gallery is located in the little village of Porth, South Wales. Three of my works from a series called London Rats were selected for the exhibition Drawn to Life. This aligned with the Big Draw festival 2019. Over 25 countries including Wales participate in this worldwide campaign each year.

London Rats is inspired by the role of rats as Other in folklore and history. Rats are hugely symbolic. Interestingly it’s year of the rat!

AmeriCymru:  What's next for Nichola Hope? Any new exhibitions or events?

Nichola:  My exhibition of opera paintings and drawings at the Pierhead Building, Senedd Welsh Assembly was due to open in May 2020 but has been postponed due to the pandemic. I’m looking forward to rescheduling the show for a future date!

I’ll be submitting a sketchbook to the Brooklyn Art Library, NYC later this year and that will be part of a touring exhibition and will be digitized.

AmeriCymru:  Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?

Nichola:  I admire how AmeriCymru raises Wales’ cultural profile to American audiences and  I’d love to see more cross Atlantic artistic collaborations between Welsh  and American artists in the future. 

You can vote for Nichola Hope for the People’s choice award here: Wildlife Artist of the Year 2020

Artwork        TITLE: TANSY BEETLE        ARTIST: NICHOLA HOPE        ARTWORK CATEGORY:         FACING EXTINCTION        MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR        ARTWORK SIZE (CM): 38 X 46

Between the mid 1840s and late 1860s about 5,000 Welsh people, inspired by the Mormon faith, left Wales to start a new life in the far west of the United States. In  Welsh Saints on the Mormon Trail  (Y Lolfa), written by Wil Aaron, the story is told of their journey by ox-carts and on foot from the Mississippi and the Missouri to Salt Lake City, and of their subsequent lives in Utah. 

The book explores a little-known episode of Welsh history. The Welsh Mormons were crossing a continent at a particularly dramatic time in American history. The ‘49ers’ and the Pony Express shared the trails with them. They were passed by the first trans-continental stagecoaches. They saw the beginnings of the Indian Wars and the end of the Civil War. Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickock rode the same trails and Calamity Jane and Crazy Horse have a place in their stories. Part of the Mormons religious responsibility was to keep diaries, and hundreds of these documents describing their adventures are now kept in the Church archive of the Mormon Church History Library in Salt Lake City. Wil Aaron has made good use of this rich resource and of the Welsh journals and memoirs collected on ‘ welshmormonhistory.byu.edu ’. 

“This is a book about the grit and steadfastness of ordinary men and women whose remarkable tale deserves a place in the history of the Welsh people,” says author Wil Aaron. 

Professor Jerry Hunter of Bangor University writes, “Here is a volume I shall return to time after time, and I know that others will do likewise. The author has consulted extensive historical resources and has discerningly deciphered them, arousing anew an interest in the story.” 

Wil Aaron’s career has been in television. He has made documentaries and factual programmes for the BBC and HTV in Cardiff and in London. His production company,  Ffilmiau’r Nant , produced many of S4C’s early successes.  

Welsh Saints on a Mormon Trail  by Wil Aaron (£14.99, Y Lolfa) is available now. BUY IT HERE